The lights slowly dim and the dome fills with stars. The Big Dipper and Orion’s Belt become visible. A guided tour of the universe begins.

The UW-Eau Claire L.E. Phillips Planetarium reopened for its bi-weekly shows on Tuesday night. This was the first public show since the fall semester, according to the
planetarium website.

The current show, which has run before, is called “Wonders of Deep Space,” according to a press release for the
planetarium. Director of the planetarium, Dr. Lauren Likkel, said the audience will see several interesting things at this show.

“You learn about how when you look into space, you’re actually looking back in time, because of the light-travel time,” she said.
Recent UW-Eau Claire graduate Ben John, who was at Tuesday’s show, said this was the most interesting part of the show
for him.

“It blows my mind that you can see into the past,” John said, “and experience things that were so
long ago.”

His wife Johanna, who is also an Eau Claire graduate, attended the show as well. She was amazed with the scope of space and how hard it can be to comprehend.
The show also talks about how a star dies and about galaxy discovery among other things.

There is another show on Saturdays for kids 4-12, according to the Planetarium website (www.uwec.edu/planetarium).

Besides the weekly shows, the planetarium serves two other purposes, said Likkel, who has been director since 2001. It is used for university purposes, such as astronomy courses, and it can be reserved for group showings for school field trips and other events with large amounts
of people.

Group showings will cost $35 per group and can accommodate up to 50 people, according to the press release.

She said that the planetarium was closed to group showings for the previous 18 months, but that it was still open for astronomy courses and the weekly showings.
It was closed because of spending cuts so thousands of people lost out on enjoying the planetarium because of it, Likkel said.

The equipment used is still in good condition even though the planetarium has been around since about 1965 and the same star projector that was used then, is still in use now, Likkel said.

She said the Planetarium’s equipment is kept in good condition because it has regular maintenance, which is paid for by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Physics and
Astronomy Department.

“We’re looking into ways to refurbish the planetarium,” Likkel said, “but really, it’s hundreds of thousands of dollars we’re talking about.”

The planetarium equipment could use some upgrades, but in the meantime, it gets the job done, Likkel said.

And that job is to entertain and educate. Likkel said that this is exactly what the planetarium does and is why it is important.

“People enjoy learning about astronomy,” she said, “but they often just like to know how to identify constellations and that’s a big part of a planetarium.”

The Johns said they plan on coming back to learn more about the universe.

The shows are at 7 p.m. Tuesday evenings and 11 a.m. on Saturday mornings and cost $2.