Cernan Earth and Space Center
Grade Level: 3rd grade and up Length: 45 minutes Unlike many planetarium shows that focus on new discoveries in astronomical research, More Than Meets the Eye celebrates the beauty of the night sky as seen through a pair of binoculars or a small telescope. Instead of planetary images taken by unmanned spacecraft or through the world's largest telescopes, More Than Meets the Eye uses original paintings by renowned space artist Tim Kuzniar to depict how celestial objects actually appear through amateur observing equipment. One of the first objects described in the program is the moon. Lunar surface features are described, including the large maria or "seas," craters and mountains. The Apollo missions to the moon also are briefly described. More Than Meets the Eye then describes the best planets to observe with a small telescope -- Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Venus' phases, Mars' polar cap and markings, Jupiter's cloud belts and Great Red Spot, and Saturn's glorious rings are described and shown as they appear in small telescopes. The program next turns its attention to the stars, constellations and celestial wonders that can be found throughout the sky, as follows:
| The Big Dipper (Ursa Major) |
The double star Alcor and Mizar |
| Orion the Hunter |
Sirius, the brightest star in the sky |
| The Hyades star cluster |
The Pleiades star cluster |
| The Great Nebula in Orion |
Cassiopeia |
| The Andromeda Galaxy |
The Crab Nebula |
| The Beehive cluster |
The summer triangle (Vega, Deneb, Altair) |
| The double star Albireo |
The "double-double" star in Lyra |
| The Ring Nebula |
The Hercules Star Cluster |
| The Milky Way |
Star clusters M6 and M7 in Scorpius |
| The Lagoon and Trifid Nebulas |
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After the prerecorded portion of More Than Meets the Eye has concluded, the Cernan Center show operator will use the star projector to show audiences the current night sky and the major stars, constellations and planets that can be seen on the next clear night. A brief question-and-answer period follows the live portion of the presentation.