Planetarium to Show Seven Wonders and Back to the Moon

A&M-Commerce Planetarium show.

By Dr. Cheri Davis

The Texas A&M University-Commerce Planetarium has a new line-up of programming including Seven Wonders and Back to the Moon. Showings take place on Friday evenings at 7:00 and 8:00 p.m.

Seven Wonders is narrated by Sean Bean—Boromir from the Lord of the Rings film trilogy—opening at 8 p.m. on Fridays through March 28.

Join us as we travel back in time to explore the greatest wonders of all time including the Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Great Pyramids of Egypt, then to Persia to view the Mausoleum, to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and other ancient sites. Investigate the theories of how these wonders were created and get a glimpse of some of the universe's greatest marvels.

On Fridays, beginning March 21 to May 2, Back to the Moon will be shown at 7:00 p.m. This program begins with the first era of space exploration in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Find out what the era of landers and orbiters taught us about our nearest neighbor including the discovery of the Moon's origin, composition, and structure.

The Google Lunar XPRIZE is introduced as the largest incentive-based competition to date, designed to commercialize space and create new opportunities for eventual human and robotic presence on the Moon. Back to the Moon highlights the human spirit of competition and collaboration as teams take on this audacious challenge.

Planetarium shows begin with brief remarks by staff members who present the Commerce night sky on the planetarium's 40-foot dome and highlight the current constellations, stars, and planets. Audiences experience the shows using the planetarium’s state-of-the-art Digistar 5, all digital projection system. Viewers enjoy immersive theater viewing with tilted seats and 10-speaker surround sound during the shows, which last about an hour.

Admission is $4 for those under 18 and college students with ID, $4.50 for university employees and senior citizens, and $5 for all others. A discount of $1 per person will be offered if tickets are purchased at the same times for two shows viewed on the same day.