Planetarium Nights

From the journey of protons racing through the world’s largest particle collider in Europe to up-close views of the Big Bang and emergent cosmos, Phantom of the Universe is a fulldome planetarium show designed to immerse audiences in the search for dark matter. A collaboration of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, University of Texas at Arlington, Michigan State University, IFIC at University of Valencia, as well as other institutions. It is narrated by Oscar-winning actress, Tilda Swinton. 

Plus What’s in the Sky Tonight (WITST), a presenter-led tour through the night sky.

Pink Floyd’s iconic album ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’, originally released in March 1973, turned 50, and what more fitting a place to celebrate it and experience it than in a Planetarium, through the music set to visuals. With the help of modern technology, the idea of a show combining breath-taking views of the solar system and beyond, played out to 42 minutes of The Dark Side of the Moon in surround sound, has been embraced by the band. NSC Creative have led the visual production efforts, working closely with Pink Floyd’s long time creative collaborator Aubrey Powell from Hipgnosis. 

Each song has a different theme; some futuristically looking forward and some a retro acknowledgment to Pink Floyd’s visual history, all relating to a time and space experience, embracing up to the minute technology that only a Planetarium can offer. A truly immersive and all-encompassing surround sound and visual treat that will transcend reality and take you way beyond the realms of 2D experience. 

Ticket to the Universe / Source: Museum Victoria / Photo: Museum Victoria

Under the 16m dome of the Melbourne Planetarium, you will enjoy a guided tour of our vast and incredible Universe in this entirely presenter-led show. Using the Planetarium’s distinctive technology and scientific data from astronomical organisations around the world, you will travel through the most complete and accurate 3D atlas of the Universe ever made. These datasets, which have been compiled by the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium with support from NASA, clearly show the different scales and structures of the Universe. As well as travelling to the outer edge of the universe and back, the presentation also includes a look at the night sky. Discover which planets, stars and constellations are easily seen from a Melbourne backyard and how our view of the sky changes, night by night.

Experience a modern rock fairy tale in which electric guitars, a symphony orchestra and cosmic images unite in an action-packed show. Let the most beautiful symphonic rock songs hypnotize you and take you on surreal journey. To the driving sound of drums, bass and electric guitar, interwoven with symphonic orchestras, we let ourselves be carried to the only place that is even more boundless than space: our own imagination.