Published: Jan. 4, 2004

The mysteries of black holes and the history of the space shuttle program will be discussed in January during Fiske Planetarium presentations at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

"Black Holes and Relativity" will take place Thursday, Jan. 15, and Friday, Jan. 16, while "History of the Space Shuttle" will be held Thursday, Jan. 22.

All presentations begin at 7:30 p.m. and admission is $5 for adults, $4 for students with valid ID and $3 for children and seniors.

CU-Boulder Professor Andrew Hamilton's show on Jan. 15 and Jan. 16 includes recent Hubble Space Telescope observations of possible black holes in distant galaxies and a look at other evidence of black holes in our own Milky Way galaxy. At the end of the show, he will take the audience on a simulated trip into a black hole.

The audience at the Jan. 22 show will learn about the history of manned space flight and the development of the space shuttle. They also will learn about scientific advances including working in a microgravity environment, the deployment of satellites and probes and how astronauts are ferried back and forth from Earth to the International Space Station.

Visitors are invited to stay after each show for free telescope viewing. Thursday night viewing will be on the lawn in front of the planetarium. Friday night viewing will be at the Sommers-Bausch Observatory.

For more information about Fiske Planetarium and other shows and programs it offers call (303) 492-5001 or visit .