Anybody Out There?

In April 2007, astronomers discovered the most Earth-like planet outside of the solar system ever found. Gliese 581c, named after the star it orbits, is about 50 percent larger than Earth and is located about 20 light years away. We don't know much yet about this distant world, but what we do know is extraordinary: the planet is in what astronomers call the "habitable zone" around its star, at the right distance for liquid water to exist on the planet's surface. If there is water on Gliese 581c, it would probably be liquid water, which might be home to extraterrestrial life!

This amazing discovery inspired "Science 360: Anybody Out There?" Led by a Morehead educator, visitors will examine the science behind the search for extraterrestrial life. Throughout the program, with help of wireless response devices, the audience will be part of a science team that attempts to answer questions like how many planets are there in our galaxy, and could any of them support life? How often does life develop, and how often does it become intelligent? Will we ever make contact?

"Science 360: Anybody Out There?" is a great complementary program to our planetarium show, "Life in the Universe."

This interactive program is free and open to the public. Recomended for ages 8 and up. Special thanks to the SETI Institute and NASA's Ames Research Center for their assistance.

Major funding for Science 360 is provided by a National Science Foundation grant to support internships in physical science education.

Morehead offers seasonal schedules of Science 360 shows to the public. Follow this link to see the current schedule of public shows at Morehead.

Please note that seasonal schedules change four times each year (spring, summer, fall and holiday), and some shows are not offered during every schedule.

In addition to its public shows, Morehead offers shows during the week especially for school classes and other field trip groups. These school shows do not appear on the seasonal schedule but do appear on Morehead's daily calendar.

If seats are available, the public may purchase tickets to school shows.

However, school groups with reserved seating have first priority on any remaining seats (for example, if extra chaperons attend), so Morehead cannot guarantee that public seats will be available for school shows.