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On a recent evening, audience members cheered as the opening notes of Taylor Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” throbbed from the speakers, flashes of color and light appearing in perfect sync with the beat.
No, it wasn’t The Eras Tour, it was a Swift-themed laser show at De Anza College’s Fujitsu Planetarium. As laser operator Pete Holley put it when he addressed the attendees before the show began, “Everything is better with lasers.”
The planetarium offers these laser shows – utilizing a system involving multiple projectors to create a dazzling, hypnotic display choreographed to music – on most Saturday evenings during the school year.
“Laser shows activate parts of your brain that aren’t usually activated when you listen to music,” Holley said, calling them “the world’s best listening party.”
Each show is focused on a particular musician or theme. As the Swiftie audience filed out on that Saturday night a few weeks ago, the crowd for the later “Stranger Things”-themed show was eagerly lining up. Other shows have included the music of Elton John, No Doubt, Michael Jackson, David Bowie and old-school laser favorite Pink Floyd. There are also specials such as a spooky Halloween show and a “Laser Holiday Magic” spectacular.
According to planetarium director Toshi Komatsu, while “Laser Taylor Swift” is a more recent addition (and one of the most popular currently), music has been a part of the venerable venue’s history since pretty early on in its existence. The laser shows in particular began in the 1990s, and in 2017, the planetarium got a brand new laser system.
“We’ve been upping our catalog and getting new shows as they come out,” Komatsu said, adding that the shows give “a real immersive feel to the music.”
And while they’re supplied by a third-party vendor, each show involves a live laser operator like Holley, who can enhance and modify, allowing for individual creativity and expression.
“Every time you come it’s a little bit of a different show,” Komatsu said.
The laser shows celebrate the work of pop and rock stars, but the planetarium’s main purpose is, of course, to get folks immersed in stars of a more literal type.
Open since 1970, it’s one of the largest school planetariums (boasting a 50-foot dome) west of the Rocky Mountains and uses a hybrid projection system to create an accurate simulation of the universe, with the ability to show the night sky as it appears from any point on Earth.
The space (no pun intended) is shared by the college’s astronomy and community education departments, serving local schools during weekday morning field trips and De Anza astronomy students in the afternoon, with public events on the weekend.
Fujitsu planetarium’s public schedule usually boasts a variety of astronomy programs, from shows like “One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure” geared toward preschool-aged star gazers and “Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity” (suitable for ages 8 and up) to cosmic journeys to the outer reaches of the solar system. “The Sky Tonight” is a tour of the current night sky, with tips on how to spot planets, stars and lesser known deep-sky objects, as well as a dive into a different astronomical topic each time.
Komatsu has long had a fascination with astronomy and outer space, sparked by his childhood love of science fiction. At UC Berkeley, he studied astrophysics and found that while lab work wasn’t his cup of tea, science communication – and helping others develop their own appreciation for astronomy – was.
A Sunnyvale resident, he has been at De Anza since 2016, following a long stint at Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. He has an enduring sense of awe when contemplating astronomy, and especially humanity’s abilities to study and understand it.
“With the universe being so vast, it’s just filled with possibilities,” he said. “We’re able to comprehend much more out there, trillions of galaxies, the billions of stars in each galaxy…The universe is so much bigger than just us.”
For those who hope to enhance their astronomical awareness, Komatsu’s advice is, naturally, to come to the planetarium and check it out. After that, there are plentiful other resources available, including websites, apps and software. But to start, all you really need is the night sky.
“There’s a whole lot you can do just with your eyes,” he said. “Take a look at the moon from night to night and notice how it changes. See if you can spot a planet and notice that it doesn’t twinkle. We have a lot of light pollution but they’re out there, if you just kind of take the time to look.” Observe how patterns change cyclically: from day to day, week to week and month to month, with some elements visible only at certain times of the year.
“Constellations,” he said, quoting a former colleague, “become like old friends that you can look forward to meeting again.”
Fujitsu Planetarium at De Anza College, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino. Multiple public shows are offered on many Saturdays from October to May; tickets are $12.
Other local astronomy venues to check out:
College of San Mateo’s planetarium holds programs on the second Friday of every month during the fall, spring and summer semesters, as well as talks from the San Mateo County Astronomical Society on first Fridays. The school’s observatory hosts “Jazz Under the Stars” events on Saturdays nearest the first quarter moons (weather permitting).
Foothill College’s observatory offers weekly public programs on clear Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, along with special viewings of astronomical events, in partnership with the Peninsula Astronomical Society.
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