Henderson State University has announced the 2026 spring schedule for its popular planetarium shows.

The planetarium will offer seven unique programs on its state-of-the-art panoramic projection screen located in the Reynolds Science Center.

All shows are free and open to the public. But once the door closes, late entries will not be permitted.

The schedule includes:

Saturn, Jewel of the Heavens

Feb. 22, 4 p.m. (36 minutes)

The Cassini spacecraft has lifted the veil on this once mysterious giant of the solar system. Data has been collected, not only on Saturn itself, but also on the many moons orbiting the planet and the countless particles encircling it known as the rings of Saturn.

Expanded View

Feb. 26, 12:30 p.m. (23 minutes)

This is a journey through the heavens with emphasis on the electromagnetic spectrum and a view through Hubble Space Telescope's use of visible light and the beauty shown to the world. The Spitzer Space Telescope and its use of the infrared view, and the Chandra X-ray observatory are also featured.

Super Volcanoes

Feb. 26, 7 p.m. (24 minutes)

Super Volcanoes explores rare types of volcanic eruptions that marshal the energy that lurks, like a sleeping dragon, beneath the surface of Earth. The story of these big blow-outs is a tale of havoc and mayhem: mass extinctions, climate collapses, and violence beyond anything humans have ever witnessed.

The Great Space Race

March 12, 12:30 p.m. (40 minutes)

This film takes viewers through the early years of trial and error trying to be the first nation in space. Early footage features both the successes and failures of both the USSR and U.S., and attempts to get a man into space.

Black Holes

March 15, 4 p.m. (24 minutes)

Black Holes demonstrates the formation of the early universe, star birth and death, the collision of giant galaxies, and a simulated flight to a super-massive black hole lurking at the center of the Milky Way.

Cosmic Castaways

April 16, 12:30 p.m. (20 minutes)

Most stars lie within the crowded boundaries of galaxies, but some find themselves on their own, deep within voids between the galaxies. These are the cosmic castaways.

Exoplanets

April 16, 7 p.m. (26 minutes)

Exoplanets follows mankind's first space probe as it journeys outside the solar system to the many new worlds beyond. Audiences will visit gas giants, frozen rogue planets, molten rocky worlds, and new planets drifting within the Goldilocks Zone.

For more information about the shows and the planetarium, go to hsu.edu/planetarium.