The Dr. Edmond E. Griffin Planetarium hosted an event on Dec. 1 and Dec. 2 called “Dark Matter Mystery.” 

The planetarium is located in the Conway Corp Science building at the University of Central Arkansas. 

The presentation featured information about the solar system and it revolved around one question. The question being, “Where does dark matter come from?” 

Throughout the presentation, students saw the world of space and watched two informational videos regarding the stars, planets, and different constellations. 

There was also information regarding the Great Cosmos and even the Big Bang, when Earth was just one big continent and then the Big Bang separated Earth into what it is today.

Scott Austin, host of the event, discussed his experience with hosting planetarium shows.

“I have been at UCA since the fall of 2000 and when I got here there was a planetarium at Lewis Science Center that had been there since 1985,” he said. “I started hosting shows as soon as I got here. That is at least 23 years here at UCA but I have been doing other shows elsewhere before that. I was at Washington State University and I did shows there for a while. I would say I have been doing Planetarium shows for about 25 years.” 

He also talked about what these shows meant to him and why he loves hosting planetarium shows.

“It means a lot to me because I am fulfilling my role educating the public. Astronomy is kind of the gateway drug to science. Most of what we do here shows Astronomy related but not all of it is,” Austin said. “We have a show coming up called ‘Bears of Alaska’ and we have one next week which will be a combination of astronomy and history and culture. We also have an Egyptian show coming up. I am expecting a lot of shows this spring because of the solar eclipse, which happens in April.”

Austin explained why students should come to these shows and explained some of the things they could learn.

“It is a variety of things. If students are interested in learning about the sky, constellations, the solar system and things of that nature, that is one of the things they can come learn about here,” he said. “There is a whole list of topics that can be covered. Tonight was about dark matter and the evolution of stars, next week will be different. We also have shows that will feature cultural things and biology so there is a little bit for everybody.”

The final show of the fall semester is titled “Mayan and the Aztec Archaeoastronomy” and it will be shown Dec. 8 and Dec. 9.

Rewrite to use if comments are never addressed. 

David Green

Staff writer

The Dr. Edmond E. Griffin Planetarium hosted “Dark Matter Mystery” on Dec. 1-2, which shared captivating visuals about the solar system and its inner workings.

The presentation revolved around one question: “Where does dark matter come from?” 

Attendees saw space and watched two informational videos regarding the stars, planets and different constellations.

Scott Austin, host, said he has decades of experience hosting planetarium shows.

“I have been at UCA since the fall of 2000 and when I got here there was a planetarium at Lewis Science Center that had been there since 1985,” he said.

“I started hosting shows as soon as I got here. That is at least 23 years here at UCA but I have been doing other shows elsewhere before that. I was at Washington State University and I did shows there for a while. I would say I have been doing planetarium shows for about 25 years.” 

Austin said he enjoys educating people as part of his role and seeing the many programs offered in the planetarium.

“It means a lot to me because I am fulfilling my role educating the public. Astronomy is kind of the gateway drug to science,” he said.

Austin said most of the shows are astronomy-related — but not all.

“We have a show coming up called ‘Bears of Alaska’ and we have one next week which will be a combination of astronomy and history and culture.

“We also have an Egyptian show coming up. I am expecting a lot of shows this spring because of the solar eclipse, which happens in April,” he said.

Austin said students should drop by for a show to learn more about space, history and nature.

“It is a variety of things. If students are interested in learning about the sky, constellations, the solar system and things of that nature, that is one of the things they can come learn about here,” he said.

“There is a whole list of topics that can be covered … We also have shows that will feature cultural things and biology so there is a little bit for everybody.”

The final show of the fall semester is titled “Mayan and the Aztec Archaeoastronomy” and it will show 7 p.m. Dec. 8-9.