Dahlonega Science Council

02/12/2026

Wish you could see the stars in the middle of the day? This Saturday, you can! The UNG Coleman Planetarium is having a special Saturday afternoon showing of their current program, "Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Pleiades" at 1:30 pm on February 14. The show is free, but seating is limited.
Reserve your spots here:

01/22/2026

Looking for something magical to do? The UNG Coleman Planetarium is running a Harry Potter Astronomy planetarium show on January 23 and 30, showings at 6 pm and 7:30 pm each night. The show is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, so sign up for a spot on their new reservation page:

01/14/2026

The last chance to see the UNG Coleman Planetarium's show "Decorate the Sky with Lights, Galaxies, and Planets" is this Friday, January 16 at 7:30 pm. See auroras and fly out to the planet Saturn! The show is free, but seating is limited, so reservations are recommended:

06/03/2025

Looking for a free, fun, and educational event for the kids this summer? Check out the show "Planet Hopping: There is gravity in space!" at the UNG Coleman Planetarium on the Dahlonega campus. Catch it on Wednesday, June 18 at 11 am or Thursday, July 10 at 4 pm. Seating is limited, so make (free!) reservations at https://ung.edu/planetarium/events.php

05/08/2025

Neutrinos are called the ghost particle because they can pass right through almost everything. Trillions go through your body every second! Discover more about neutrinos and where they come from in space at the planetarium show "Fast and Inconspicuous: Neutrinos and Dark Energy" presented at the UNG Coleman Planetarium in Dahlonega.
You can catch the neutrino show for free on Friday nights at 7:30 pm on May 9 or 16. Seating is limited, so reserve your spots at https://ung.edu/planetarium/
They will close on May 23 for Memorial Day weekend, but on May 30, the next planetarium free, public planetarium show will begin!

Planetarium Index Page

03/10/2025

There's a total lunar eclipse coming up! You'll have to get up late in the night to see it. Between Thursday, March 13 and Friday, March 14 totality will be from about 2:30 - 3:30 am. We might have clouds here in Georgia as well, but you never know when there will be a hole in the clouds, allowing a peek at the "Blood Moon."
During totality, the moon appears a dark red color. The red comes from sunlight bending through Earth's atmosphere from all of the sunrises and sunsets along the edge of the Earth's shadow. Earth's shadow falling onto the Moon causes the lunar eclipse.

After more than two years of only partial lunar eclipses, the Americas will score a lunar eclipse bullseye on the night of March 13-14.

01/23/2025

Brrr… Feeling the chill, Dahlonega?

The weather’s been on everyone’s mind lately, with extreme cold and shifting patterns keeping us on our toes. If the recent weather has left you with questions about its broader impacts, you’re not alone—check out this FREE talk at UNG to explore how extreme weather and climate affect us all!

The 2025 UNG Hoag Lecture Series is hosting Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd, a world-renowned expert in weather and climate from UGA, to share his insights in a talk titled “The Extreme Weather-Climate Gap: Implications for Georgia and Beyond.”

When: February 12, 2025, at 12:00 PM
Where: Cottrell Center Ballroom, Room 172, Dahlonega Campus
This event is FREE and open to the public! No reservations required.
There is visitor parking in lot 15 on Church St SW or park in downtown Dahlonega.

In this compelling presentation, Dr. Shepherd will dive into the science behind extreme weather events and climate change, their growing impacts on vulnerable communities, and what it all means for our future. Don’t miss this chance to learn, engage, and be inspired by one of the top voices in weather and climate!

01/13/2025

Looking for an indoor activity for cold January nights? Want to be transported to a magical place? Join the UNG Coleman Planetarium for Harry Potter Astronomy!
The show is FREE and open to the public. Located in the planetarium, room 234 of the Health and Natural Science building on the UNG Dahlonega campus. There are showings at 6 and 7:30 pm on January 24 and 31 (Fridays). Seating is limited, so sign up from their website: https://ung.edu/planetarium/

12/13/2024

Do the recent news stories about unidentified (likely drone) sightings in the night sky have you thinking about worlds beyond our own? Want to learn more about space exploration? Do you have family in town for the holidays and want to take them out to do some free and fun stuff? Well, look no further!

Our first event that you should absolutely check out is a special presentation with Dr. Sara Seager, a MacArthur Genius Fellow, from MIT who will talk about how we can look for aliens in a thoughtful and scientific way. To attend, just go to the auditorium in the Hoag Student Center on the UNG Dahlonega campus tomorrow, Saturday December 14, at 7 p.m.

Another event that you and yours should check out is our last Mead Under the Stars event for the year!! Join us at Etowah along with our good friends from the North Georgia Astronomical Observatory for a great night of learning about our night sky!

12/06/2024

There is now a registration page for the FREE public talk about the search for life on other worlds at the University of North Georgia on Saturday, December 14 at 7 p.m. You don't have to have a reservation to attend, but it will help guarantee you a seat and help the organizers know how many people to expect.

How can we really look for aliens in a thoughtful, scientific way?

Find out with Dr. Sara Seager, a MacArthur Genius Fellow. She will be traveling from MIT.
To attend, just go to the auditorium in the Hoag Student Center on the UNG Dahlonega campus.

For thousands of years, inspired by the star-filled dark night sky, people have wondered what lies beyond Earth. Today, the search for signs of life is a key factor in modern-day planetary explorat...

11/22/2024

Feeling thankful for a planet with just the right conditions for life? Earth is amazing, and we're still searching the universe to see if Earth is the only planet with life.
Learn more about the search for life on other worlds during a FREE, public talk at the University of North Georgia on Saturday, December 14 at 7 p.m. Presented by Dr. Sara Seager, a MacArthur Genius Fellow. She will be traveling from MIT.
To attend, just go to the auditorium in the Hoag Student Center on the UNG Dahlonega campus.

10/18/2024

Guys!! Have you *seen* the moon these last few nights?! A moon like this is commonly called a Hunter's moon, though it has several other names too. Just incredible!! And did you know that a rare and super bright comet, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), is passing by really close to Earth? Learn all about these topics and *more* at our next Mead Under The Stars event this Saturday!! The sky will be clear, the drinks will be tasty, and the stargazing will be out of this world! Join us and the North Georgia Astronomical Observatory at Etowah for this fun and informative event!