The University of North Georgia’s George E. Coleman, Sr. Planetarium is hosting a special showing called “Harry Potter Astronomy” where the public can learn astronomy through the lens of the Harry Potter universe.

The final showing will be Friday, Mar. 10 at 7:30 p.m.UNG Senior Lecturer and Planetarium Director Dr. Lesley Simanton-Coogan says during the show, attendees “look for characters from the books in the sky as a fun way to connect people already familiar with the books to the sky” because the origins of many character names in the series are derived from astronomical objects.

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has a background in Greek and Latin, from which the names of many objects in the sky are sourced.

Simanton-Coogan, who hosts the show, explains the show’s purpose is to connect ideas from the books to real fixtures of the sky. Additionally, she says, “The astronomy class from the Harry Potter books also includes references to real sky observing…” UNG students have the opportunity to take courses in astronomy. Simanton-Coogan says, “Astronomy connects us to the natural world and gives a sense of perspective to appreciate the incredibly valuable resources that we have on Earth.” 

The show is open to UNG students and the public as well. Simanton-Cooganfinds that “Encouraging young people to pursue astronomy in their studies or as a career also improves our ability as a society to explore and develop new technologies.”

For those who may not be able to attend the planetarium showing Friday, there are other changes to view the night sky from Dahlonega at the North Georgia Astronomical Observatory on Dawsonville Highway, which has public viewings Fridays at 8 p.m.

Simanton-Coogan explains while the planetarium “re-creates the sky in an indoor setting with the ability to map object locations on any night” using an advanced software’s projections of models of the sky, the astronomical observatory is where our telescopes are located, allowing us to take real photos of the present night sky.