Bays Mountain Park debuts new planetarium program on dark matter

Bays Mountain Park is pleased to announce a new program is now being shown in the planetarium throughout the remainder of the year.

“Phantom of the Universe – The Hunt for Dark Matter” is now showing as the main planetarium program through December 31. The show will take place Tuesday through Friday at 4 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Narrated by Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton, the program is a collaboration of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, University of Texas at Arlington, Michigan State University, IFIC at University of Valencia, as well as other institutions.

About Phantom of the Universe

From the journey of protons racing through the world’s largest particle collider in Europe to up-close views of the Big Bang and emergent cosmos, Phantom of the Universe is designed to immerse audiences in the search for dark matter.

“Dark matter is essentially that. It is dark. We can’t see it visually and it is matter,” said Planetarium Director Adam Thanz. “Matter has mass and thus gravity. We have been seeing the effect of gravity on objects that we can see, but we can’t see what is causing the gravity.”

Dark matter affects large-scale objects and structures, such as galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Why do we see galaxies have a flat rotation where their outer stars orbit just as fast as the inner stars? Why do we see clusters of galaxies cling against an invisible filamentary structure, like giant spider webs? These are the questions scientists are attempting to answer, Thanz said.

The 35-minute show is followed by a live tour of the night sky using the planetarium’s optical star projector.

The alternate planetarium feature showing Saturdays and Sunday at 2 p.m. through December 31 will be “Appalachian Skies.”

“Appalachian Skies” takes visitors on a majestic tour of the current evening sky using the Zeiss optical star projector instrument. This live presentation is enhanced with additional content from our VELVET LED projectors for a wonderful, immersive experience.

Due to the live nature of the program, and the natural progression of the changing night sky throughout the seasons, each presentation will be unique. Learn what fascinating mythological constellations, from Ancient Greece and other cultures, will be easily visible. Find out what planets are easily seen as well. Visitors will take this knowledge home and be able to locate these celestial sights for themselves.