Planetarium shows to explore black holes

The SUNY Oswego planetarium will peer toward black holes to present "Laying Eyes on the Unseen" at 7 p.m. every Sunday during November.

In April 2019, scientists with the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration released the first images of the regions surrounding two distinct black holes. Their appearances confirmed Albert Einstein’s conjectures concerning how they should look, assuming his theory of general relativity and gravitation were correct.

The shows will discuss what black holes are, how they form and why it takes a telescope the size of Earth to “see” details of black holes. The presentations will place a special emphasis on these newly released images of supermassive black holes, and what they are, how scientists imaged them appearing and why they look like they do.

Sunday shows take place September through June with changing topics each month in the state-of-the-art facility on the second floor of the Richard S. Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation.

The planetarium has limited seating, so guests are encouraged to arrive a bit early. Shows are recommended for children ages 4 and older. An adult must accompany children under 17. No food or drink is permitted in the facility. 

Parking is free in the commuter lot off Washington Boulevard and the employee lot off Centennial Boulevard across from Shineman Center.