Goddard Planetarium

sunrise over the Milky Way galaxy

The Robert H. Goddard Planetarium is home to a state-of-the-art, full-dome digital theater system with Digistar 6 programming. This immersive experience brings the captivating story of our cosmic origins to life like never before!


Each show includes a full-dome film accompanied by a star presentation. Programs last approximately 45 minutes. To schedule a group visit or to learn more about corporate sponsorship opportunities, please call Jeremy Howe at 575-624-6744. Many thanks to the RMAC Foundation and donors for their support of our programming.

September Films and Show Times

Tuesday - Saturday Screenings
1 p.m.: Waiting Far Away / Solar Quest
3 p.m.: Mayan Archaeoastronomy: Observers of the Universe 
5 p.m.: Light / Aurora Storm 

Fridays at 7 p.m.* and Second Saturday at 11 a.m.: Cosmic Castaways 

*Use 11th Street planetarium entrance for Friday evening shows.

Waiting Far Away / Solar Quest

In a fulldome fantasy trek to distant realms, we follow in the footsteps of a cosmic traveler while he shares about his explorations. His wandering has taken him deep among intergalactic space and now he is lost, unable to find his way back home. Find out what grand mysteries he has uncovered among the vast beauty of the sublime universe. 

Solar Quest is a planetarium short feature that demonstrates and provides an overview of the Sun-Earth environment. Various solar phenomena such as fusion, light energy and solar surface features and are presented. The show also discusses the impacts that space weather may have and how the Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field protects all life on Earth.

Solar Quest

Mayan Archaeoastronomy: Observers of the Universe

The night is an eye, both dark and bright! It forces us to look up and ask ourselves questions about our place in the Cosmos, our origins, and what is beyond the horizon. Using spectacular visuals and stunning sound, audiences tour six ancient Mayan temples: San Gervasio, Chichen Itzá, Uxmal, Edzna, Palenque, and Bonampak. Along the way, dive into Mayan knowledge of the sky and explore the movement of the Sun, the Moon and Venus.

MayanArcheoastronomy_16x9

Light / Aurora Storm 

 Take a trip into the varied facets of light. Light affects our lives in many more ways than we are aware of. This short film approaches the phenomenon in a way that is both fascinating and informative. It will appeal to young and old, experts and the lay public, and to people all over the globe.

Aurora Storm is a NASA-funded film about the captivating northern lights. The show teaches about the causes of the aurorae and how humans who live beneath their shimmering light are inspired by what they see. Quotes from the written journals of past Arctic explorers and indigenous people share stories of how they regarded the aurorae. The show’s two narrators are Athabascan Alaskan natives.

aurora storm

Cosmic Castaways

There are places where the night sky has no constellations. No Orion, no Big Dipper, nothing but a few lonely, far away stars and a few faint, ghostly patches of light. Most stars lie within the crowded boundaries of galaxies, travelling with their brothers and sisters in a vast galactic family. Remarkably, there are some that find themselves on their own, deep within voids between the galaxies. These are the cosmic castaways.

cosmic castaways image