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The Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will be presenting our exciting, family-friendly public shows on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, Thursday and Friday evenings, and one Saturday afternoon each month. Visit the ‘Now Playing’ page of this website for info about the public shows currently scheduled and the times that they are offered. Watch fascinating previews of these shows on the ‘All Shows’ page of this website.

Come enjoy fascinating public shows not only about astronomy and science, but also on a wide variety of topics like dinosaurs, humpback whales, extreme weather, and many others to expand your mind and fire your imagination. Tickets can be purchased at our ticket booth on the west end of Lamar Bruni Vergara Science building near the glass pyramid.

The planetarium has a state-of-the-art projection system that projects a video image on our whole dome immersing the audience in the scene like virtual reality. We invite you to come and treat yourself to a fun and spectacular surround experience.

Make a reservation for one of our thrilling and engaging shows for all ages for your private or business group. Fun hands-on activity sessions available for school groups extend and apply concepts learned during our shows. Want to plan an amazing, kid-pleasing, out-of-this-world Birthday Party? Simply schedule a Birthday show with snacks and drinks included at special pricing for your large or small party. See our Group Visits webpage for details and click on the Reservation Form link to request a group show. Monitor our website and our Facebook page for the latest information on the public shows offered and the dates and times.

Visit the ‘On-Demand’ page of our website and take a virtual guided tour of constellations, planets, and other magnificent objects in the current sky. You can also request an emailed link to view a currently posted full-length free planetarium show and watch fascinating virtual presentations about astronomy and other topics of interest at your convenience. We look forward to welcoming you to the Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium soon.
- Planetarium Director

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Free Telescope Observing of the Annular “Ring of Fire” Solar Eclipse at TAMIU on Saturday, October 14th from 10:15 a.m. to 1:35 p.m.

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“The exciting annular or “ring of fire” solar eclipse that will be visible in Laredo on Saturday, October 14th is a ‘not-to be-missed’ event,“ Peter Davis, Director of TAMIU’s Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium stated. Free telescope observing of the sun during this eclipse will be open to the public on the Killam West Front Lawn from 10:15 a.m. to 1:35 p.m., weather permitting. Free protective “eclipse glasses” will be given to the first 300 people at this event.

“An eclipse is a rare, awe-inspiring celestial event that drastically changes the appearance of the two biggest objects we see in our sky: our Sun and Moon,” said Davis. This annular eclipse won't darken the sky the way the total solar eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017, did. “On October 14th, the Moon will cover approximately 87% of the Sun’s disk here in Laredo,” Davis explained.

“Safety is the number one priority when viewing a solar eclipse,” Davis stated. It is not safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection like the free eclipse glasses that will be given out at this event. Viewing any part of the bright Sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter in front of the optics, like the one that will be used during this event on the Planetarium’s Celestron 9 1/4-inch telescope, will instantly cause severe eye injury.

The times of the eclipse’s phases are listed below:
10:24 a.m. Partial Eclipse begins
11:53 a.m. Annularity (ring shape) begins
11:55 p.m. Maximum “Ring of Fire” effect
11:56 p.m. Annularity (ring shape) ends
1:34 p.m. Partial Eclipse ends

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is precisely lined up between the Earth and the Sun, casting a moving shadow on Earth. An annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon appears relatively smaller in the sky so it does not fully cover the disk of the Sun, leaving a thin outer ring often called a "ring of fire."

Whether the Moon can completely cover the Sun's disk during an eclipse depends on the Moon's distance from Earth. The moon has a slightly elliptical orbit around Earth, so at one point each month it is farthest from the Earth (apogee) making the Moon appear slightly smaller than average, and at one point it is closest to Earth (perigee), making the Moon appear slightly larger than average in our sky.

On Oct. 14, 2023, the Moon will appear slightly smaller and, therefore, will cover only 91% of the sun's disk as viewed from the narrow path of annularity that stretches through eight U.S. states from Oregon to South Texas.

Free posters with eclipse photos and information about this event are available while supplies last at the Planetarium Office in Room 373A of the LBV Science Center. For more information about this eclipse, visit the Planetarium’s webpage at https://www.tamiu.edu/planetarium/index.shtml or NASA’s website at https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eclipses/home/. You can watch this eclipse live online on the NASA Live YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21X5lGlDOfg. If you have questions about this event, call the TAMIU Planetarium Director, Peter Davis, at 956.326.3128, or email him at peter.davis@tamiu.edu.


Director’s Message

The Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium is a community outreach of Texas A&M International University serving the students and public of south Texas. We live in an extraordinary age of exploration of our universe. Our goal is to fire the imaginations of young people about discovering the wonders of life on our earth, the wonders of our universe, and the fascinating journey of scientific discovery, encouraging them to pursue careers in STEM areas. We also endeavor to inform and entertain the public with shows featuring many of the fascinating places in our universe that are being discovered every day. We do this with our state-of-art projection system that immerses our audience, surrounding them completely with a spectacular audio-visual extravaganza. Come explore the universe with us at the speed of imagination!

TAMIU's Amazing Planetarium: A Virtual Tour

Enjoy an exciting behind-the-scenes virtual tour of TAMIU's Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium. Get a close-up look at the planetarium's state-of-the-art Digistar 5 projection system and the impressive digital technology utilized to project stunning 360-degree immersive video on its large dome, which is housed in an eye-catching glass pyramid with a gold pinnacle. Experience this fascinating video tour!


About Us

The Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium, named after a Laredo philanthropist, opened to public in April 2005. At that time, it was one of only 14 new-generation Digistar 3 digital projectors in the United States. The 40 foot dome of the planetarium is inside a four-sided glass pyramid topped with a gold leaf pinnacle. The glass pyramid planetarium building is a shining beacon at Texas A&M International University, and is one of the foremost attractions of Laredo. The Planetarium was upgraded in 2014 to a state-of-the-art Digistar 5 projection system from one of the leading planetarium manufacturing companies in the world which can show the view from any part of the known universe. One of the most sophisticated planetariums in the State of Texas, this system has two 4K digital projectors that display a 360˚ video image on our 40 foot dome that is 8 times the resolution of 1080i HD television. Eight to ten times brighter than the previous projection system, this system immerses the audience in a truly spectacular visual environment with great depth of field and rich colors which has to be seen to be appreciated! The upgraded 5.1 surround sound system provides an immersive auditory experience, truly making you feel that you are there, whether on an alien planet, deep in space, or somewhere here on earth.

To get an idea what it is like to be immersed in a video show extravaganza at the Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium please click on our planetarium commercial link below.

Contact

Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium and Science Center
5201 University Boulevard, Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center 373A, Laredo, TX 78041-1900
Phone: 956.326.3128 | Fax: 956.326.2459 | E-mail: planetarium@tamiu.edu

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