The logo for WVPB's Almost Heavens video series. The state of West Virginia is shown as if a constellation in the stars. The words, "Almost Heavens" is seen across the state in curvy letters.

Almost Heavens

Shannon Silverman, an astrophysicist at the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences in Charleston, West Virginia, guides us through the cosmos above the Mountain State.

Browse our episodes below and find classroom resources at the bottom of this page.

Find even more resources from WVPB Education here.

Our Host

The Clay Center’s Planetarium and Science Educator, Shannon Silverman, studies high-energy astrophysics, with a particular focus on neutron stars.

She graduated from the University of North Dakota and the University of North Florida.

A bust shot of a woman who is speaking. Behind her are stars as we see them from Earth.
Shannon Silverman is host of WVPB’s Almost Heavens video series.

Episodes

West Virginia is about halfway between the North Pole and the Equator. That means the state is in the perfect spot to view everything the northern skies has to offer and even a little of the southern skies.

Browse our videos below to find out what’s going on in the night sky above West Virginia.

Episode 1: Orion
Episode 2: Planets
Episode 3: Winter Triangle
Episode 4: Deep Sky
Episode 5: Bright Sky
Episode 6: Summer Constellations
Episode 7: Summer Deep Sky
Episode 8: Big Dipper and North Star
Episode 9: Arcturus and Antares
Episode 10: The Milky Way
Episode 11: Andromeda Galaxy
Episode 12: Triangulum Galaxy
Episode 13: Cygnus Albireo, Deneb
Episode 14: Fall Deep Sky
Episode 15: Cassiopeia and Andromeda
Episode 16: Gemini and Leo

Screenshots from Almost Heavens

A line of illustrated planets are seen next to each other.
A lineup of the planets in our solar system. Starting from the sun and Mercury all the way to Neptune.
Two illustrated planets above an illustrated sun.
Venus, Saturn and the Sun as seen from Earth during the winter.
An illustrated constellation in the night sky.
The Winter Triangle and the constellations that make it up.

Classroom Resources

PreK-2

Grades 3-5

Middle/High School

W.Va. Connection