Michael and Kimthanh Lê Planetarium

Michael and Kimthanh Lê Planetarium ODU's Michael and Kimthanh Lê Planetarium offers school field trips to all grades, public planetarium shows, and much more.

The 48-foot dome of the Michael and Kimthanh Lê Planetarium is the 2nd largest in the Virginia Commonwealth. Foremost, it will serve as a planetarium, a spotlight of community outreach for ODU. It will be used as a lecture hall where it includes Digistar 7 for astronomy courses, is capable of projecting 3-dimensional proteins & molecules, and includes NASA's Science on a Sphere modules. It will op

erate as a symposium auditorium capable of live streaming presentations to and from remote locations all displayed on the dome in 4K resolution. It will be a truly remarkable facility for our students and the community. Immerse yourself in a journey through space and time in our breathtaking 121-seat planetarium. From the comfort of a plush, reclined seat you'll feel like you're flying through Earth's atmosphere to the far reaches of the universe.

The hunt for dark matter is a long and mysterious road. Is it some unknown subatomic particle? Is it our incomplete expl...
05/27/2026

The hunt for dark matter is a long and mysterious road. Is it some unknown subatomic particle? Is it our incomplete explanation of gravity?

https://vimeo.com/941064443?fl=pl&fe=sh

Find out more tonight at the Lê Planetarium.

$5 per person
6:30 doors open, tickets available
7:00-8:15 showtime

– Trailer

05/22/2026

Universe Uncovered - How often does the Sun go around the Milky Way?

With temperatures rising, the days getting, and summer almost here, let's talk about the Sun. Tonight, at The Lê Planeta...
05/20/2026

With temperatures rising, the days getting, and summer almost here, let's talk about the Sun.

Tonight, at The Lê Planetarium, we're focusing on the star of our solar system. (Pun intended.) Playing on the dome is "Sunstruck", which focuses on stellar composition and space weather. We'll follow this with a planetarium show of the night sky and even more facts about the Sun.

$5 per person
6:30 doors open, tickets available
7:00 showtime!

Currently, over 15,000 operational satellites orbit the planet, according to the European Space Agency. That is three ti...
05/18/2026

Currently, over 15,000 operational satellites orbit the planet, according to the European Space Agency. That is three times more than circled Earth in 2020. The increase is mostly down to SpaceX's Starlink megaconstellation, which currently consists of more than 10,000 satellites.

"This black carbon is being released into the higher layers of the atmosphere where it stays for 2.5 to 3 years. Because of that, that black carbon has about 540 times bigger climate effect than black carbon that's released from surface sources like ships, cars and power plants."

"Black carbon from satellite launches has about 540 times bigger climate effect than black carbon released by ships, cars and power plants."

The Ultimate Grad FlexNeil Armstrong really hit “pause” on his Master's degree to go make history. He didn’t officially ...
05/15/2026

The Ultimate Grad Flex

Neil Armstrong really hit “pause” on his Master's degree to go make history. He didn’t officially graduate until 1970 because he used the actual Apollo 11 landing as his final thesis credit. Talk about the ultimate Work/Study program!

If the first person on the moon finished his degree on a delay, you’re doing just fine💫

05/12/2026

Join us Wednesday, May 13 for a show all about the challenges of getting to our neighbor, the red Planet, Mars.

$5 per person
Free with any ODU ID for one more week!
6:30 - doors open, tickets available
7:00 - showtime

Universe Uncovered: Extreme Exoplanets - ‘Super Saturn’ Exoplanet J1047B has massive rings extending tens of millions of...
05/08/2026

Universe Uncovered: Extreme Exoplanets - ‘Super Saturn’ Exoplanet J1047B has massive rings extending tens of millions of miles from the planet.

05/06/2026
Need a break prepping for finals? Join us tonight at the Lê Planetarium to learn more about NASA's Artemis missions and ...
05/06/2026

Need a break prepping for finals? Join us tonight at the Lê Planetarium to learn more about NASA's Artemis missions and mankind's next giant leap into space exploration.

Our Wednesday night shows are still free with any ODU ID for just one more week!

May 6th
$5 per person
6:30 doors open, tickets available
7:00 showtime

"It's a bird. It's a plane. It's the International Space Station!"Check out the Spot the Station app to see the ISS goin...
05/04/2026

"It's a bird. It's a plane. It's the International Space Station!"

Check out the Spot the Station app to see the ISS going overhead in our own skies. It shows the time, where to look, how high it gets above the horizon, and even how long it's visible. (Available on both Android and Apple.)

Address

4501 Elkhorn Avenue
Norfolk, VA
23529

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