Because nothing says “family fun” quite like contemplating the cosmic insignificance of human existence, the American Museum of Natural History is debuting a brand-new Space Show in the Hayden Planetarium, Encounters in the Milky Way. Kicking off on June 9, 2025, just in time for your summer vacation itinerary of “places with air conditioning,” this show celebrates 25 years of the Rose Center for Earth and Space with a dazzling, star-studded production. Quite literally. Billions of them.
Yes, it’s an interstellar celebration—a planetary birthday party, minus the cake, but with Pedro Pascal narrating. You’re welcome.
Cosmic Commutes: Our Sun’s Epic Road Trip
If you thought your commute was long, consider the Sun’s situation. It’s been orbiting the center of the Milky Way at roughly 500,000 miles per hour, making a full galactic lap every 230 million years. That means our solar system is about 20 “galactic years” old—old enough to roll its eyes and start a podcast.
This galactic journey, mind you, isn’t just scenic. It’s chaotic, violent, and riddled with chance encounters—like the middle school cafeteria but on a cosmic scale. Encounters in the Milky Way is the first Hayden Planetarium Space Show to dig into this motion concept: stars migrating, galaxies colliding, and solar systems taking joyrides through interstellar suburbs.
A Billion Stars, and Pedro Pascal
What better way to narrate the endearing chaos of our galaxy’s motion than with Pedro Pascal’s voice leading the way? Fresh off playing hardened space dads and morally ambiguous adventurers, Pascal turns his attention to your Sunday afternoon.
He guides viewers through a time-traveling romp made possible by the Gaia mission—a European Space Agency endeavor that, for those not tracking star-mapping satellites in their free time, spent the last decade charting nearly two billion stars. That’s right: Encounters in the Milky Way is built on a map so vast and precise that it makes your GPS look like a crayon drawing on a paper plate.
Discoveries Made Mid-Show, Because Why Not?
In a twist no one saw coming (except, apparently, the scientists), a brand-new structure in the Oort Cloud—a frosty, comet-filled region at the edge of our solar system—was discovered during production. While animating icy leftovers from the Sun’s unruly youth, the team noticed something shaped suspiciously like a spiral-armed galaxy. Because sometimes, when you’re just trying to finish your cosmic documentary, the universe decides to hand you a surprise quiz.
This previously unknown comet configuration is now making headlines in The Astrophysical Journal, giving you yet another reason to say, “I saw it before it was cool.”
Because What’s a Planetarium Without Drama?
Of course, what would any respectable planetarium show be without a brush with interstellar doom? Encounters in the Milky Way doesn’t disappoint.
Gliese 710 is a well-meaning star set to crash our Oort Cloud’s party in about 1.3 million years. No RSVP. No cheese platter. Just a star barreling through a billion icy bodies like a celestial bowling ball. Don’t worry—it’s visualized beautifully, so you can experience the quiet dread in surround sound and laser-precise visuals.
The show also gives a gentle shout-out to Voyager 2, humanity’s most determined spacecraft. It is still doggedly plowing out of our solar system like your toddler heading toward the toy aisle after you said “no.” It’s featured alongside interstellar visitors like ‘Oumuamua and Comet Borisov—two mysterious cosmic objects that popped into our neighborhood uninvited, looked around, and kept going. Relatable.
Art, Science, and Giant Silver Doors
If you were worried Encounters in the Milky Way might be all science and no sparkle, rest assured. This immersive experience was brought to life by a cross-disciplinary army of astronomers, artists, educators, and sound designers—all agreed that space looks best when viewed through laser projectors and accompanied by a dramatic score. Music, visuals, and science come together in what might best be described as the universe’s Broadway show, minus the intermission and overpriced snacks.
The entrance? Through Hayden’s iconic Big Silver Doors™. Trivia awaits in the lobby, just in case you need to mentally prepare for contemplating a bubble of gas 1,000 light-years wide or a star that might blow through your front yard—cosmically speaking.
Local Bubbles, Galactic Mergers, and Other Backyard Oddities
As it turns out, our solar system has been floating inside something called the “local bubble,” which sounds like a trendy café but is actually a clearing in the galactic gas-and-dust jungle formed by multiple ancient supernovae. We drifted in about 5 million years ago, just as our bipedal ancestors decided legs were pretty useful. Coincidence? Who’s to say?
And let’s not forget the continuing cosmic ballet of the Milky Way and the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy, which have been colliding and merging for billions of years. Their first “meet-cute” likely led to a star-forming spree, one of which eventually birthed our very own Sun. Who says astronomy can’t be romantic?
Why It Matters (Besides Being Really, Really Cool)
While Encounters in the Milky Way is undeniably a feast for the eyes and ears, it aims to inspire a new generation of scientists—or at least kids who won’t yawn through science class. Its dazzling use of Gaia’s galactic map, cutting-edge simulation technology, and just the right amount of Pedro Pascal makes astronomy feel immediate, thrilling, and, dare we say, relatable.
After all, our galactic neighborhood isn’t static. It’s moving, shifting, encountering. Just like us. Except, you know, with less traffic and more comets.
So if you’re looking for a way to beat the heat, feel humbled, and maybe walk out slightly more existential than when you arrived, Encounters in the Milky Way might just be your perfect summer outing. No sunscreen required.