What

Online SHOW

When

Wednesday evenings
5, 12, 19 & 26 May
7.00pm–8.00pm

General information

Suitable for families with primary school-aged children (best for 7+). Tickets are available as a season pass (all four sessions), or to individual sessions.

Tickets

Household/Zoom connection
Season pass MV Member $29
Season pass Adult  $39
Single session MV Member $10
Single session Adult  $15

Get tickets

This online experience takes you on a journey through the Solar System. Over four sessions, delivered weekly, we will explore our place in space and our solar neighbours. We'll investigate the eloquent serendipity of the Earth, Moon, Sun system, visit each of the planets, and learn about the human exploration of our Solar System and beyond. The program will also give you a glimpse into the workings of the Great Melbourne Telescope - a historical treasure which is being painstakingly and lovingly restored at Scienceworks.

This series will coincide with the total lunar eclipse on Wednesday 26 May – make sure you join to hear from Scienceworks' expert astronomer Dr Tanya Hill who will explain how a total lunar eclipse occurs and give you tips for viewing it later in the evening.

These presenter-led sessions use stunning images, videos, visualisations, and specialised software which accurately models the night sky. Participants can continue their solar system exploration after the series by downloading some of the free software.

Each session will include interactive elements and a Q&A.

Tickets are available as a season pass (all four sessions), or to individual sessions.

This series is for family audiences. There is also a Solar System Tour series available for adult audiences scheduled for June 2021. Tickets available soon.

Session 1: Our place in space

Wednesday 5 May

In this first session, we’ll explore the Earth/Moon/Sun system and how incredible our home planet truly is. We’ll also look at the Great Melbourne Telescope (GMT) and view some of the stunningly detailed images it was able to capture in the 19th century.

Session 2: The inner rocky planets

Wednesday 12 May

Things would look very strange if you were standing on Mercury, Venus, or Mars instead of Earth. You might see a blue sunset on Mars, or the sun moving very weirdly if you were standing on Mercury.  If you could survive the heat and acid rain on Venus (spoiler: you couldn’t!), the thick atmosphere would mean you could ‘swim’ through it like swimming through water. During this session we’ll visit our three closest planetary neighbours and talk about the exciting present and future of Mars exploration.

Session 3: The outer gas giants

Wednesday 19 May

The outer gas giants – Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune – provide some of the most picturesque images in our solar system. We’ll take a journey through Saturn’s rings, explore Jupiter’s moons, and fly around Neptune – a beautiful giant blue ball travelling through space.

Session 4: Space exploration and beyond

Wednesday 26 May

Nothing quite captures the imagination like the exploration of space. Humans have stretched ourselves out into the solar system and beyond through spacecrafts that have sent back beautiful images and intriguing data about the universe beyond Earth.

PLUS Scienceworks’ expert astronomer Dr Tanya Hill will join us to provide insight on the total lunar eclipse that will be visible later that night.

More question about this series? Check the FAQ