SF State students can now spend their lunch breaks in outer space, free of charge.

Michelle Krok, a 24-year-old astronomy graduate student, has made such a journey possible, taking faculty, students and outer space enthusiasts on treks through the galaxy every Friday at noon.

"Grab the person next to you, let's go for a ride," said Krok.

The free "Planetarium Show" held in the Charles Hagar Planetarium on the fourth floor of Thornton Hall, has changed since its inception in 1974. With the help of Krok and others, it has evolved into a visual, informative and interactive journey to bring viewers face-to-face with the current realms of the sky as the seasons change and the earth rotates.

According to Krok, planetarium shows of varying topics were given regularly when former professor of astronomy Charles Hagar opened the planetarium in 1973.

However, after his retirement in 1994, the planetarium education program slowly dwindled, and the planetarium was primarily used for astronomy laboratories.

Last fall, Krok and others in the physics and astronomy department met to reinstate and reinvent the university's planetarium education program.

"I wouldn't call my show a creation, since no two shows are the same," said Krok. "I had to think a lot about how to make the shows less formal and comfortable for a smaller audience, mostly my age."

From planets and shooting stars to the Milky Way and distant galaxies, the 45-minute show is held inside the university's 25-seat planetarium, which features a black star projector, designed to project an accurate image of 1,354 stars and other astronomical objects, vaulted by a 27-foot diameter planetarium dome of white perforated aluminum.

There were about 14 students who attended the show on March 2, which began with a brief history on astronomy, star observation and advancements in space travel.

"I like to make people aware of how far we have come in the past 50 years in our understanding of space science and astronomy. I hope that looking back brings about some appreciation for our advances and inspiration for continued exploration," Krok said.

After the history, audience members were able to guide the show and take ownership over what they wanted to learn, asking questions like "is that little red dot Mars?" and "how can you tell what's a planet and what's a star?"

"It's my desire to know what the audience would like to learn and how to feed it to them in an entertaining and effective way," said Krok.

At one point in the show, Krok even lent her laser pointer to an audience member to help point out Polaris, the North Star.

"Before GPS navigation, we relied on this star to get around at night," said Krok.

Next, she enthusiastically moved on to Orion and his belt, a constellation made up of three consecutive stars.

"There's no other threesome like it," she laughed.

There were a few mishaps during the show, like fumbled slides and an occasional "oh snaps" from the presenter. Nonetheless, audience members were pleased with the show.

"It was just awesome," said junior sociology major Vanessa Davisson, 20, who attended the event on two occasions. "It puts things in perspective, especially at the end of the week, like, how small our problems are compared the great things around us."

"It was really awe-inspiring and kind of poetic," said junior political science major Kerry Richards, 21. "We tend to forget that we aren't necessarily all that's out there."

Some students like senior mathematics major Maria Sanchez stayed after the show to ask Krok follow-up questions.

"I never understood how to see constellations," said Sanchez, 25. "It all used to look like a blob to me."

Prior to her studies at SF State, Krok studied abroad in 2004 and spent four months as a guide at the Stardome Observatory, New Zealand's leading astronomical attraction.

In 2005, she spent almost a year as an intern at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the most visited museum in the world.

"If I can strike wonder and awe; if I can give the audience a bit of laughter or joy for the day, I feel I've done what I've set out to do," said Krok.