New shade of wonder
Delta Planetarium brought us a ‘New Blue’
By Latoya Williams
BAY CITY, Mich. — As the Planetarium lights lowered to black, a silence fell over the 360-degree theater. The room filled with suspense for a moment, caught between darkness and anticipation. The screen began to glow, and the title “A New Blue” appeared, inviting the audience into a journey far beyond Earth.
“A New Blue” invites audiences into the unfolding story of exoplanet discovery, revealing how astronomers have turned faint points of light into entire solar systems—rich with strange worlds, some potentially habitable, others entirely alien.
As the narrator’s voice filled the room, viewers seemed to lift from their seats and were carried into the vast unknown. Traveling hundreds of light-years in minutes, past stars, possible planets and even distant moons that scientists believe could someday support life.
One of those worlds, K2-18b, sits about 124 light-years away from earth in the constellation Leo. It was discovered in 2015 and the giant exoplanet continues to capture scientific attention for its potential as a “New Earth.”
K2-18b orbits its star, K2-18, during an orbital period of 32 days at a distance of roughly 13 million miles away from the star. Astronomers believe it is tidally locked, with one side in constant daylight and the other in perpetual night. What makes it even more intriguing to NASA is its location: the stars “Goldilocks zone,” where temperatures may allow liquid water to flow, where water exists the possibility of life follows close behind.
The show doesn’t shy away from big questions. What kind of spacecraft would we need to travel that far? Who would volunteer for a mission they’d never return from? With NASA’s fastest craft traveling under 30,000 mph, the trip would take more than 2 million years. The numbers alone remind us just how unreachable these worlds are or at least for now. Mike Murray, an Astronomer and the manager of Delta College’s planetarium expressed his feelings about the show.
“This latest release from Afterglow Studios takes audiences on a dynamic journey to some of the wildest planets in the galaxy,” said Murray. “It combines breathtaking space visuals with the wonder of astronomy, highlighting humanity’s quest for life beyond our solar system.”
“A New Blue” is as much about imagination as it is about science. As technology advances, each discovery pushes our curiosity deeper into the cosmos. Showing this world and its inhabitants that universe is endless, full of stories about creation, survival and the possibility of distant life just waiting to be found.
The show leaves audiences with a grounding truth: our world, the one place we know, one that we can call home, is rare and worth protecting. When the closest “new Earth” lies so far away that even our great-grandchildren couldn’t reach it, the choices we make here and now matter more than ever.
Delta’s Planetarium will feature several shows in March, including Total Lunar Eclipse Watch, Dark Universe, Celestial Symphony and others. Tickets are $5 for Delta students, children and seniors and $7 for adults. For showtimes and ticket details, call 989-667-2260 or visit delta.edu and look for the planetarium tab.
