16 September 2026

The first NSF NOIRLab-produced Science On a Sphere (SOS) show, The Sun: Our Living Star, released in 2024, has been turned into a turnkey automated show with the addition of a compelling narration and evocative soundtrack. The show is now playing daily in the SOS theatre at Taṣogida Ki: Center for Astronomy Outreach, the world’s first science center inside of a working telescope, located at U.S. National Science Foundation Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona (KPNO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab. It can also be downloaded for any SOS-compatible system.
The Sun: Our Living Star explores the profound role of our Sun as a dynamic entity that sustains life and energy on Earth. It explores how the Sun influences our planet’s weather, ecosystems, and the changing seasons, while also delving into historical perspectives and key scientific revelations about our Solar System.
Featuring high-resolution images and videos projected on a sphere, the show sheds light on the Sun’s composition, its remarkable energy production through nuclear fusion, and the potential to harness solar energy as a sustainable power source. It concludes by contemplating the distant future when the Sun will expand and eventually engulf inner planets, underscoring the Sun’s enduring importance as a life-giving force for our planet.
Through solar and planetary data visualizations in The Sun: Our Living Star, students and other guests will gain insight into the Sun’s dynamic nature, including its motions, cycles, and influence on space weather and on Earth.
The Sun: Our Living Star was designed for Science On a Sphere and compatible systems. The show script, as well as instructions for installing the show on a Science On a Sphere system, can be found here.
Come see the show for yourself by booking your visit to Taṣogida Ki: today.
More information 
NSF NOIRLab, the U.S. National Science Foundation center for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy, operates the International Gemini Observatory (a facility of NSF, NRC–Canada, ANID–Chile, MCTIC–Brazil, MINCyT–Argentina, and KASI–Republic of Korea), NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), NSF Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC), and NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory (in cooperation with DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory). It is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with NSF and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. 
The scientific community is honored to have the opportunity to conduct astronomical research on I’oligam Du’ag (Kitt Peak) in Arizona, on Maunakea in Hawai‘i, and on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachón in Chile. We recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence of I’oligam Du’ag to the Tohono O’odham Nation, and Maunakea to the Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) community.

Ron Proctor
Motion Graphics Designer
NSF NOIRLab
Email: ronald.proctor@noirlab.edu
Josie Fenske
Public Information Officer
NSF NOIRLab
Email: josie.fenske@noirlab.edu
950 N. Cherry Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
Tel: +1 520 318 8000
info@noirlab.edu

NSF NOIRLab (U.S. National Science Foundation National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory) is the U.S. national center for ground-based, nighttime optical astronomy. The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) operates these facilities and NSF NOIRLab under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).