Ohio State Newarks Under the Stars brings storytelling to the SciDome planetarium

By Veronica Henderson, OAA Marketing and Communications Student Assistant

During autumn semester, students at Ohio State Newark put on their first planetarium show, "Under the Stars." Hosted at the SciDome planetarium, the show aimed to teach the audience about the wonders of the night sky through an immersive display of constellations visible during the autumn season.

Dilupama Divaratne, physics faculty member and director of the SciDome planetarium at Ohio State Newark, supervised two undergraduate students to create and develop the planetarium show.

"As the director of the planetarium, my goal was to create a program that inspires a sense of wonder and curiosity about the universe," Divaratne shared. "I wanted viewers, especially those who live closer to the city and never get to see a night sky full of stars, to leave with a better understanding of the stars, constellations and planets visible in our sky, and a renewed appreciation for the vastness and beauty of the cosmos."

Undergraduate astronomy and astrophysics student Bob Taylor and undergraduate physics student Pratap Uppalapati collaborated to bring the show to life, with Uppalapati operating the program the planetarium runs on and Taylor narrating the show.

"Before working with the planetarium, I did numerous talks about astronomy with the public at the Grand Canyon Star Party. Through that experience, I realized that people are interested in astronomy, but do not have the same astronomical knowledge that was more widespread years ago when people could see the night sky wherever they lived," Taylor explained. "With this program, I wanted to fill that void, to guide people through the night sky and bring a new perspective to the audience."

Throughout the show, Uppalapati and Taylor explore the night sky in a unique way, displaying distant stars in the galaxy, comparing those stars to the sun and sharing mythology connected to the constellations.

"We really wanted to help people get into astronomy in general and make the sky more approachable for people who are not as familiar with it," said Uppalapati. "We tried to give the audience a crash course of what is in the night sky, not just the planets, but constellations, deep sky objects and some nebulas or galaxies you might be able to point out in the night sky."

Having the opportunity to share their knowledge and interest in the night sky was an extremely meaningful experience for the students.

"As a presenter, it was rewarding to hear the audience applaud after the show, but the best part about doing the show was getting to share my passion for learning about astronomy and to inform the public," said Taylor. "I hope that we were able to inspire the audience and even get some of the younger audience members to consider going into a scientific field."

As the director of the planetarium, Divaratne also found the outcome of the show to be impactful for the audience, her students and herself.

"It was amazing to see all their effort and creativity come together in a show that both educated and inspired the audience," she said. "It was also deeply meaningful to use the planetarium the way it was always intended: as a space for storytelling and exploration, brought to life by our own Ohio State students. Giving them this opportunity to create and share their passion for the universe with the community has been one of the proudest and most rewarding highlights of my career as the director of the planetarium."

The SciDome was established through a public/private partnership between Ohio State Newark and The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art & Technology.