Mesa Community College invites the public to explore our amazing Universe in our state-of-the-art Planetarium located on the Southern and Dobson Campus!
MCC Astronomy Nights are held on the first Friday of the month during February, March, April, May, September, October, November, and December.
MCC Astronomy Nights include planetarium shows and telescope viewing. Planetarium shows occur rain or shine, but telescope viewing of the night sky is only offered when the sky is clear.
Planetarium shows run from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., with shows starting every hour.
Update for Astronomy Night - Friday, September 4
We will be presenting "Ice Worlds" at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m., and 9 p.m. Ice Worlds tells the story of frozen water in the Solar System and on Earth. Journey from Earth's frozen poles to the icy moons of the giant planets.
Due to recent staffing changes, we will not be requiring tickets from PurplePass for the September Astronomy Night. Seats will be offered first-come, first-come. Doors will open shortly after 4:30 p.m. for the first show at 5 p.m.
We expect to have PurplePass ticket sales ready for our October, November, and December nights. Stay tuned to this page for the show schedule and ticketing information for our Astronomy Nights later this Fall.
Other Information
The line for seating forms approximately 15 minutes before show time. There is no late seating for planetarium shows. Please arrive at least 15 minutes ahead of show time.
During Astronomy Nights, we also offer telescope viewing of the Moon, planets, and other celestial sights. Unlike the planetarium shows, telescope viewing will only occur if the skies are clear.
The planetarium is wheelchair accessible.
Astronomy Nights are held at the MCC Planetarium on the south side of the Physical Science Building (PS 15). This building is just east of Dobson Road, on Planetarium Way north of the Dobson Road-US 60 interchange and one light south of Southern Avenue. Please see the map for our location on MCC's Southern and Dobson campus.
The Planetarium is labeled with "PLANETARIUM" in large black letters which are visible from Dobson Road and Planetarium Way.
Free parking is available in the lots south of the Physical Science Building.