Geeked Out at the Cernan Earth and Space Center

It’s been cold and wintery lately, but for my own sanity I realize that I must get out of my cozy apartment once in a while. Luckily, I subscribe to Visit Oak Park‘s mailing list which sends out a weekly list of events. And there it was: Cernan Earth and Space Center Monthly Skywatch. You see, deep down I’m a geek wannabe and I have a real soft spot for all things space-agey.

It turns out that the Cernan Center is at Triton college in River Grove – just a 10-15 minute drive from Oak Park. I had no idea there was a planetarium so close! Even better, they’re open to the public every weekend. Last night just happened to be their “Monthly Skywatch”. This was the perfect excuse to drag myself out on a Saturday night.

As soon as I walked toward the building I saw their Nike Tomahawk missile and Apollo Practice Capsule. Pretty cool lawn decor!

The lobby is like a mini-museum dedicated to space exploration along with a small showing of fossils. It was pretty awesome to see a real space suit up close – right here in River Grove!

Now, be careful when you walk into the planetarium. It’s easy to get a little dizzy with the high domed ceiling. (I nearly fell over, but that’s not too unusual.)

I don’t know how many people typically come for these shows, but man was it packed! I guess I wasn’t the only one that paid attention to this week’s event listings. Glad I came early. While I was waiting for the show to start I overheard some serious space-geeks (and I use the term with utmost reverence) chatting about some current space stuff and it made me swoon.

The show started and I was a little disappointed that it was mostly just a powerpoint show guided by a few expert speakers. I was impressed that one of the speakers has worked on several Mars probes, including one that is still functioning today. I also learned a couple fun facts:

• Did you know that Russia has tried nearly 20 times to get probes on Mars – all unsuccessful. Their most recent probe, Phobos-Grunt, ended up falling back to earth in a big fiery display that fell into the Pacific Ocean on 1/15/12.
• Did you know that the recent solar flare on 1/27/12 was one of the most spectacular in a decade, creating aurora borealis and disrupting some communications.

One of the speakers also made a rather impassioned call for us all to value space exploration. And as it turns out, NASA is looking for astronauts. I gotta fill out that application right after this…But really, it was quite moving.

I was lucky enough to attend a high school in Milwaukee that offered an astronomy class, and we were bused to a nearby school everyday to use their planetarium. Mostly I remember the teacher playing Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” constantly. It was awesome.

Anyway, the presentation went on a bit long for my taste – anything over an hour and I get antsy. For those willing to brave the cold, some local astronomy enthusiasts brought their telescopes so we could catch a closer view of the sky after the show. Definitely something I’ll try in the summer. Or better yet, I’ll go back for one of their mini laser shows! I was happy to be there on my own, but I’m sure this would make a great date night as well. Check it out!