Thursday, December 3, 2015
Season of Light Holiday Show
WVU Planetarium

The air was crisp; the sky was clear. A perfect night for the planetarium. We started our evening with a holiday reception before the planetarium show. Yummy goodies from Catering Services and from our board members. Faces we recognized and new folks to meet. The reception was joyful and enjoyable.

Next came the planetarium show. We started with a look at our sky – the Big Dipper, Little Dipper and constellations – where we are in the solar system, where we are in the Milky Way galaxy, and a peek at our universe. The new planetarium and the new seating provide an excellent environment for viewing our sky.

The  Season of Light show was next on the program.  After learning how insignificant we are in the universe, it was nice to come down to earth and learn the history and development of many of the world’s holiday customs, all of which center around the winter solstice and the need to light up the winter season – from Yule logs to luminaries. The possible explanation of the Christmas star was fascinating.

And if that wasn’t enough, in the end we all got to go outside to see the telescope and the fantastic view of nighttime in Morgantown. Thanks to the Planetarium staff for making this excellent presentation available exclusively to members of the Retirees Association. And thanks to the Board for an excellent reception.