WVU Planetarium

04/29/2026

Join us on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at 6:00 PM in White Hall G09 for the 2026 Cooper Lecture. This year's lecture will feature Professor Feryal Özel of Georgia Tech. Her talk is titled "In Search of the Small and the Big." A reception will precede the lecture at 5:30 PM in White Hall 105.

Read Dr. Özel's abstract and biography on our website:
🔗 https://physics.wvu.edu/news-and-events/colloquia/cooper-lecture-series/cooper-lecture

ℹ️ | The Cooper Lecture Series honors the legacy of Professor Bernard R. Cooper. Lectures are held annually during the spring semester. Professor Bernard R. Cooper received his B.S. in Physics from MIT in 1957 and his Ph. D. in Physics from the University of California – Berkeley in 1961 working with Charles Kittel. He joined the WVU Department of Physics and Astronomy in 1974 as the Benedum Professor of Physics after working at Harvard and General Electric. He was an expert in the theory of magnetism, especially the magnetic properties of rare earth and actinide metals. He was a fellow of the American Physical Society. The Cooper Lecture series was dedicated in his honor at the time of his retirement in 2003. Professor Cooper passed away in 2013.



WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology
Georgia Tech

04/27/2026

What goes into the process of capturing an image of a black hole?
Our next WVUniverse speaker was the pioneer scientist who led the Event Horizon Telescope project that imaged the first black hole. Join us on April 28th for a special finale talk. Free and all ages welcome. Bring the whole family and your questions!

WVU Department of Physics and Astronomy
WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
West Virginia University
WVU Planetarium
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at WVU

04/18/2026

Join us in the WVU Planetarium for an Earth Day showing of the fulldome film "Dynamic Earth" on April 22 at 4 PM! Register online at planetarium.wvu.edu/showtimes 🌍

04/08/2026

Last but not least!
Our final WVUniverse talk for the spring promises to be a proper finale.
Taking pictures of black holes was once thought impossible. The Event Horizon Telescope has made it a reality and now lets us place the strongest tests yet on Einstein's theories in the most extreme environments in the Universe.

Join us as we explore black holes and the future of visual observation and exploration.

All are welcome to join us in the WVU Planetarium dome for "Touching Infinity: Imaging Black Holes and Testing Gravity" with our special guest, Prof. Dimitrios Psaltis.
April 28, 2026
6:30 PM EST
135 Willey Street, Morgantown WV
Talk elevators to floor PL
Free and no reservations required. We hope to see you there!
Details: https://gwac.wvu.edu/blog/2026/04/03/final-wvuniverse-talk-of-the-spring-explores-imaging-black-holes-with-dimitrios-psaltis

04/07/2026

04/02/2026

Thank you again to eveyone that came out to watch the launch with us!

WVU students and people around the Morgantown area made their way to the WVU Planetarium Wednesday evening to watch the Artemis II mission unfold.

04/02/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our Artemis II launch watch party — what a night to remember! The room was packed with excitement, and there's nothing quite like sharing a historic moment like this with your community. We hope you had as much fun as we did! 🚀🌕

04/01/2026

Today is the scheduled launch day for the NASA Artemis II mission, a lunar flyby that will carry astronauts farther from Earth than any humans have traveled since Apollo 17 in 1972, over 50 years ago.

Assuming the weather holds up, the two-hour launch window opens this evening at 6:24 PM EDT. The WVU Planetarium is holding a launch watch event beginning at 6 PM, open to anyone in the West Virginia University community who wants to drop by (as long as there is space in the room)

WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

10/24/2025

TONIGHT! 🎃🦇🧡 ✨ There are still some tickets available for The Magic of Physics Children's Science Show at 7 PM in White Hall, Room B51!

Join the Physics and Astronomy Graduate Student Organization (PAGSO) for a magical night of science featuring physics and astronomy demonstrations from the department's collection. The first 50 children in attendance will receive a Halloween-themed goodie bag! Physics and astronomy graduate students will illustrate a variety of physics and astronomy phenomena at an age-appropriate level. Topics include simple mechanics, projectile motion, electricity and magnetism, angular momentum, inertia, and waves and diffraction.

🎟️ Get your tickets today!
🔗 https://www.ticketsource.com/whats-on/wv/white-hall-room-b51-not-in-the-planetarium/magic-of-physics-children-s-show/2025-10-24/18:00/t-lnygqkr?direct-booking

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⚠️ IMPORTANT NOTES ⚠️
🌟 This performance will be very similar to the Spring 2025 Magic of Physics Children's Show. We encourage families who have seen the show before to allow others to enjoy the magic! Recordings of the show are available on the Department's YouTube channel (link in bio).
🌟 The WVU Homecoming Parade will be happening in Downtown Morgantown on Friday, October 24. There will be increased traffic congestion as a result, so be sure to plan accordingly. Swing by the parade, then head over to our show!
🌟 More information on our website: https://physics.wvu.edu/news-and-events/the-magic-of-physics-childrens-show

10/17/2025

Are you a middle or high school student or teacher or a STEM educator? ⚙️

Then the Plant the Moon Challenge is for you!🌑

Don't miss out on this awesome opportunity to help NASA scientists with their future missions to the moon!

Apply using the QR Code or this link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/W3SR6TJ