When the lights go down, the ceiling goes too.
The house lights fade over ninety seconds, the seats lean back thirty degrees, and then there is only sky: nine thousand stars, each one placed where it really stands above the city tonight.
Outward
Our flagship show runs fifty-two minutes and makes five stops, each one further from home than the last. The astronomer at the console decides how long we stay.
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01
Tonight’s sky
Straight above the roof
The sky over the city at ten tonight with every streetlight switched off: which planets are up and where to find them on the walk home.
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02
The Moon
1.3 light-seconds away
We drop low over the craters at the edge of the dark side, where shadows run for miles and the ground is older than any rock on Earth.
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03
The Sun
8 light-minutes away
Close enough to watch a flare lift off the surface, in the colours a space telescope sees and with a sound you will feel in the seat.
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04
The Milky Way
100,000 light-years across
We leave the Sun behind and turn to look back at our galaxy from the outside, a slow spiral with us somewhere in an outer arm.
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05
First galaxies
13 billion years back
The last stop is as far as light allows: galaxies caught colliding, and behind them the first ones that ever shone.
A ceiling that isn’t there
The dome is twenty-three metres across and tilted fifteen degrees toward the horizon, so the sky sits in front of you as well as overhead.
Two hundred and twelve seats lean back thirty degrees. Two laser projectors stitch the picture edge to edge, and the star projector in the middle of the room draws nine thousand stars as sharp points of light, never pixels.
This season’s shows
Five shows, all narrated live. Doors open twenty minutes before the start, and once the lights are down we keep them down.
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Outward
From tonight’s sky to the first galaxies in five stops.
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Lights Out
Tonight’s sky over the city with every streetlight off, and how to find it again on the way home.
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Small Sky
A gentle first visit for the very young: the Moon, a few bright stars and a sunrise.
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The Long Night
Six weeks of polar night in the high Arctic, with the aurora waiting at the end.
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Totality 2027
The eclipse of 2 August 2027, rehearsed second by second ten months early.
Adults £14, under-16s £9, a family of four £40. Members watch every show free.
“Nothing here is recorded. Ask the sky anything.”
Dr Ines Okafor, head of the dome
Every show is steered by hand by one of our six astronomers, who reads the room, slows down when the Moon gets a gasp and takes questions in the dark at the end.
At the console this month: Ines Okafor, Tomás Reyes, Hana Mori, Callum Reid, Priya Nair and Sofia Lindqvist. Each of them has a favourite stop, and you will hear which.
When it’s clear, the roof opens
On clear Friday and Saturday nights the roof of the east tower slides back and a 40-centimetre telescope points wherever the astronomer on duty decides.
- Fridays and Saturdays, 21:00 to 23:30
- Free with any evening ticket
- We decide at 18:00 and post it at the box office
School trips to the edge
Weekday mornings belong to schools. Every visit is matched to the age in the room, and teachers come free.
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Ages 5 to 7
Small Sky, then an hour with torches and balls working out why the Moon changes shape.
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Ages 8 to 11
The planets at true scale, ending with the class steering the dome to a world of its choosing.
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Ages 12 to 16
How we measure what we cannot reach: parallax, spectra and the rooftop telescope when the sky allows.
After dark
Once a week the dome stays open late for something that is not a show at all.
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Orionids from the roof
Meteor watching on the observatory deck, with the warm dome to come back to.
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Four cellos, one sky
A cello quartet plays under a sky that turns at the speed of the music.
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Sleep under the dome
Bring a sleeping bag. The sky runs all night in real time, and breakfast is at sunrise.
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Deep listening
An ambient set for lying flat, with the whole room in near darkness.
Before you lie back
Is it suitable for young children?
Small Sky is made for ages three to six and keeps the lights a little up. Every other show suits seven and over; babies in arms are welcome at Small Sky only.
What if I get motion sick?
Our flights are slow, but rows A to C at the back feel the least movement. Ask at the door for an aisle seat there, and look at the horizon line if you need a rest.
Can I come in after the start?
The doors close when the lights go down. If you are late, we move your ticket to the next show at no cost.
Is the dome accessible?
Step-free from the street to the seats, six wheelchair spaces, a hearing loop and a relaxed show with the lights half up on the first Sunday of every month.
What happens if the roof is clouded out?
The telescope evening moves indoors to a live tour of the same sky under the dome, and your roof pass stays valid for the next clear night.
Come and lie down
- Address
- Zenith Planetarium
1 Example Street, Glasgow G3 0ZZ - Opening hours
- Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 22:00. Fridays and Saturdays until 23:30. Closed on Mondays.
- Getting here
- Five minutes on foot from Partick station. Buses 6, 7 and 17 stop at the door, and bicycle racks sit under the east tower.
- Box office
- +44 141 000 0000
hello@zenith.example