Bellevue Community College’s Willard Geer Planetarium will take viewers on a tour of the solar system during three public star shows Friday, Sept. 19.

Beginning at 6, 7 and 8 p.m., the 40-minute presentations will showcase BCC’s new Digistar 3 computerized projector, the most sophisticated among all planetariums in the Northwest and only the fourth with such advanced capabilities to be installed in planetariums of this size worldwide.

Pre-paid reservations are required and are available online at www.ticketwindowonline.com (search their site for “planetarium”) or by phone at 206-325-6500. Reservations are $3.25 per person, including the processing fee.

The star shows also will feature a brief lecture by a BCC instructor about the stars, constellations and planets in the sky that night over King County.

Because the planetarium must be totally dark during the show, no one will be admitted once the presentation begins.

The show is not recommended for children age five and younger.

Bellevue Community College’s Willard Geer Planetarium was the first to be built in the Puget Sound region and, thanks to donors to the Bellevue Community College Foundation, is one of the few worldwide using an advanced, digital system to project and move images.

The dome-ceilinged facility was the brainchild of Willard Geer, BCC’s first physics instructor and one of the inventors of color television.

Today the 60-seat planetarium is in almost constant use as a classroom for 1,400 BCC astronomy students and a popular field-trip destination for 1,600 middle school students each year.

For more information about Geer Planetarium and the upcoming star shows, call the BCC Science Division at 425-564-2321.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in the PNWLocalNews.com community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. So keep your comments:

• Civil
• Smart
• On-topic
• Free of profanity

We ask that all participants own their words by registering for an account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and drive-by commenters.

As a community site, we ask that the community help by using the "Flag" button on each comment if they feel the comment has violated the rules. You can also use the up and down arrows on each comment to voice your opinion about that particular comment.

Want to tell us something but you don't want it to be public? Talk to us privately.