Vol. 38, No. 3 September 2009 Journal of the International

Vol. 38, No. 3 September 2009

Journal of the International Planetarium Society

Darkness at Dawn in India Page 18

September 2009 Vol. 38 No. 3

Executive Editor Articles Sharon Shanks Ward Beecher Planetarium 6 Greenwich’s Public Astronomer SteveTidey Youngstown State University 10 Russia’s Only High School Planetarium One University Plaza Dr. Larry Krumenaker Youngstown, Ohio 44555 USA 18 Darkness at Dawn in India Piyush Pandey +1 330-941-3619 20 IPS 2012: Baton Rouge Jon Elvert [email protected] 22 Eugenides Script Contest Revisions Advertising Coordinator Thomas Kraupe Dr. Dale Smith, Interim Coordinator (See Publications Committee on page 3) Columns Membership 63 25 Years Ago...... Thomas Wm. Hamilton Individual: $50 one year; $90 two years 60 Book Reviews...... April S. Whitt Institutional: $200 first year; $100 annual renewal 67 Calendar of Events...... Loris Ramponi Library Subscriptions: $36 one year 28 Educational Horizons ...... Jack L. Northrup Direct membership requests and changes of 30 General Counsel ...... Christopher S. Reed address to the Treasurer/Membership Chairman 32 IMERSA NEWS ...... Judith Rubin 4 In Front of the Console ...... Sharon Shanks Back Issues of the Planetarian 38 International News...... Lars Broman IPS Back Publications Repository 68 Last Light ...... April S. Whitt maintained by the Treasurer/Membership Chair; 48 Mobile News...... Susan Reynolds Button contact information is on next page 51 NASA Space Science News...... Anita Sohus 53 Past President’s Message ...... Susan Reynolds Button Index 56 Planetarium Show Reviews...... Steve Case A cumulative index of major articles that have 24 President’s Message ...... Tom Mason appeared in the Planetarian from the first issue 64 What’s New...... John Schroer through the current issue is available online at www.ips-planetarium.org/planetarian/planetarian_ index.pdf

Final Deadlines March: January 21 June: April 21 September: July 21 Index of Advertisers December: October 21 A Briefer History of Time...... 62 American Museum of Natural History ...... 29 Antares FullDome...... 31 Astro-Tec Mfg., Inc ...... 59 Associate Editors Audio Visual Imagineering ...... 43 Clark Planetarium ...... 27 25 Years Ago General NASA Space Thomas Hamilton Counsel News Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc...... 63 Christopher Reed Anita Sohus Evans & Sutherland ...... outside back cover Book Reviews April S. Whitt Gibbous Planetarium Global Immersion...... 5 Gazette Show Reviews GOTO INC ...... 52 Calendar James Hughes Steve Case Loris Ramponi International Year of Astronomy ...... 65 IMERSANews What’s New Konica Minolta Planetarium Co. Ltd ...... 17 Editor-at-Large Judith Rubin John A. Schroer Steve Tidey R.S.A. Cosmos ...... inside back cover International Rudinec & Associates ...... 58 Education Lars Broman Jack Northrup Sky-Skan, Inc ...... 33, centerfold, 47, 55 Last Light Softmachine...... 9 Forum April S. Whitt Yaroslav Spitz, Inc...... 12, 23, 25, 37,66 Gubchenko Mobile News Susan Button St. Charles Parish Library...... 15 Zeiss, Inc...... inside front cover

International Planetarium Society home page: www.ips-planetarium.org On the Cover: Rashmi Pandey took a break from school to accompany her husband and others from the Planetarian home page: Nehru Planetarium in Mumbai, India on an expedition to see the total solar eclipse on July www.ips-planetarium.org/planetarian 22, 2009. Despite having very little experience in photography, she was the only person Guidelines for Contributors and Advertisers: who caught both the diamond rings. The feature that resembles clouds is a jet trail. For www.ips-planetarium.org/planetarian/ more about the eclipse adventure, see the story on page 18. guidelines.html

September 2009 Planetarian 1 Affiliate Representatives

Association of Brazilian British Great Plains Planetarium Rocky Mountain Planetariums Association of Planetaria Association Planetarium Officers Alexandre Cherman Shaaron Leverment Jack Dunn Association Planetário do Rio de Janeiro Explorer Dome: Ralph Mueller Planetarium Dan Neafus President R. Vice-Governador Hands-on Science Outreach University of Nebraska-Lincoln Manager, Gates Planetarium Dr. Tom Mason, Director Rubens Berardo, 100 Mailbox 42 210 Morrill Hall Denver Museum of Armagh Planetarium Rio de Janeiro RJ 22451-070 179 Whiteladies Road Lincoln, Nebraska Nature & Science College Hill +55 (21) 2274-0046 ext. 264 Clifton, Bristol BS8 2AG 68588-0375 USA 2001 Colorado Boulevard Armagh BT61 9DB +55 (21) 2529-2149 fax England +1 402-472-2641 Denver, Colorado Northern Ireland [email protected] United Kingdom +1 402-475-8899 fax 80205 USA United Kingdom www.rio.rj.gov. +44 117 914 1526 [email protected] +1 303-370-8352 +44 (0)2837 524725 br/planetario +44 793 035 0805 www.spacelaser.com/gppa +1 303-331-6492 fax +44 (0)2837 526187 fax shaaron@explor- Italian Association [email protected] +44 (0)771 0013453 cell erdome.co.uk of Planetaria www.rmpadomes.org [email protected] Association of Dutch- information@explor- Loris Ramponi www.armaghplanet.com Speaking Planetariums erdome.co.uk National Archive of Planetaria Ad Los www.planetarium.org.uk c/o Centro Studi e Ricerche Russian Planetariums Past-President Planetarium Ridderkerk Serafino Zani Association Susan Reynolds Button Museum Johannes Postschool via Bosca 24, C.P. 104 Zinaida P. Sitkova Quarks to Clusters Rijksstraatweg, 101 Canadian Association I 25066 Lumezzane Nizhny Novgorod 8793 Horseshoe Lane 2988 BB Ridderkerk-Rijsoord of Science Centres (Brescia) Italy Planetarium Chittenango, New York The Netherlands Ian C. McLennan +39 30 872 164 Revolutsionnja Street 20 13037 USA + 31 180 434441 or #404 - 1275 Haro Street +39 30 872 545 fax 603002 Nizhny +1 315-687-5371 + 31 180 437716 Vancouver, British Columbia [email protected] Novgorod Russia +1 315-432-4523 fax [email protected] V6E 1G1 Canada [email protected] +7 831 2 30 51 51 [email protected] www.planetariumrotterdam.nl +1 604-681-4790 www.planetaritaliani.it +7 831 2 30 51 66 fax [email protected] phone + fax [email protected] +1 604-240-0938 cell www.planet.nn.ru President-Elect Association of French- [email protected] Japan www.apr-site.nnov.ru Dave Weinrich Speaking Planetariums [email protected] Planetarium Society Planetarium Agnès Acker www.ianmclennan.com Kaoru Kimura Minnesota State Observatoire de Strasbourg Japan Science Foundation Southeastern University-Moorhead 11, rue de l’université Kitanomaru Park, Chiyoda-ku Planetarium 1104 7th Avenue South 67000 Strasbourg France Council of German Tokyo, 102-0091 Japan Association Moorhead +33 3 90 24 24 67 Planetariums [email protected] John Hare Minnesota 56563 USA +33 3 90 24 24 17 fax Thomas W. Kraupe www.shin-pla.info Ash Enterprises +1 218-477-2969 [email protected] IPS contact person 3602 23rd Avenue West +1 218-477-5864 fax [email protected] Planetarium Hamburg Bradenton, Florida [email protected] www.aplf-planetariums.org Hindenburgstraße 1 b Middle Atlantic 34205 USA www.glpaweb.org D-22303 Hamburg Planetarium +1 941-746-3522 Deutschland Society [email protected] Association of Mexican +49 0 (40) 428 86 52-21 Steve Mitch www.sepadomes.org Executive Secretary Planetariums +49 0 (40) 428 86 52-99 fax 258 Springdale Avenue Lee Ann Hennig Ignacio Castro Pinal +49 0 (40) 4279 24-850 e-fax Wheeling, WV 26003 USA Planetarium, Thomas Torres de Mixcoac, A6-702 +49 0 (40) 172-40 86 133 cell +1 304-242-7614 Southwestern Jefferson High School C.P. 01490, México City thomas.kraupe@ [email protected] Association of for Science and Technology D.F. México planetarium-hamburg.de Planetariums 6560 Braddock Road +52 (55) 5500 0562 www.rdp-planetrium.de Linda Krouse, Director Alexandria, Virginia 22312 USA +52 (55) 5500 0583 fax Nordic Planetarium Noble Planetarium +1 703-750-8380 [email protected] Association Fort Worth Museum of +1 703-750-5010 fax cosmos.astro.uson.mx/ European/ Prof. Lars Broman Science and History [email protected] AMPAC/AMPACintro.htm Mediterranean Teknoland 1600 Gendy Street Planetarium Stångtjärnsv 132 Fort Worth, Texas Treasurer and Association SE-791 74 Falun 76107 USA Association of Spanish Manos Kitsonas Sweden +1 817-255-9409 Membership Chair Planetariums Eugenides Planetarium +46 2310177 +1 817-360-0082 cell Shawn Laatsch Javier Armentia 387 Syngrou Avenue [email protected] [email protected] ‘Imiloa Astronomy Planetario de Pamplona 17564 P. Faliro lars.broman@strom- www.swapskies.org Center of Hawai’i Sancho Ramirez, 2 Athens Greece stadakademi.se 600 ‘Imiloa Place E-31008 Pamplona +30 210 946 9674 www.teknoland.se Hilo, Hawaii 96720 USA Navarra Spain +30 210 941 7372 fax www.planetarium.se/npa Ukranian +1 808-969-9735 +34 948 260 004 [email protected] Planetariums +1 808-969-9748 fax +34 948 260 056 Association [email protected] +34 948 261 919 fax Pacific Planetarium Churyumov Klim Ivanovich [email protected] Great Lakes Planetarium Association Scientific and gestion@pamplonetario. Association Gail Chaid Educational Centre infonego-cio.com Dave Weinrich 1320 Glen Dell Drive Kyiv Planetarium Planetarium San Jose, California Str. Velyka Vasylkivska 57/3 Minnesota State 95125 USA Kyiv 04053 Ukraine Australasian Planetarium University-Moorhead +1 408-540-8879 cell +380 44 287 27 81 Society 1104 7th Avenue South +1 408-288-8525 klim.churyumov@ob- Mark Rigby, Curator Moorhead [email protected] serv.univ.kiev.ua Sir Thomas Bris- Minnesota 56563 USA sites.csn.edu/plan- [email protected] bane Planetarium +1 218-477-2969 etarium/PPA www.planet.org.ug Mt. Coot-tha Road, +1 218-477-5864 fax Toowong [email protected] Brisbane, Queensland www.glpaweb.org Planetarium 4066 Australia Society of India +61 7 3403 2578 Position currently vacant +61 7 3403 2575 fax mark.rigby@brisbane.qld.gov.au

2 Planetarian September 2009 Standing Committees IPS Permanent Awards Committee +20 3 482 4988 fax Finance Committee Mailing Address Prof. Lars Broman [email protected] President, Past President, Presi- Teknoland www.biblaex.org dent Elect, Treasurer, Secretary Stångtjärnsv 132 International Planetarium SE-791 74 Falun IPS Conference Host- 2012 Membership Committee Society Sweden Jon Elvert Shawn Laatsch, Chair +46 2310177 Irene W. Pennington Planetarium ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii c/o Shawn Laatsch [email protected] Louisiana Art & Science Museum 600 ‘Imiloa Place Treasurer/Membership www.teknoland.se 100 South River Road Hilo, Hawaii 96720 USA Chair Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 USA +1 808-969-9735 Conference Committee +1 225-344-5272 +1 808-969-9748 fax ‘Imiloa Astronomy Cen- Susan Reynolds Button +1 225-214-4027 fax [email protected] ter of Hawaii Quarks to Clusters [email protected] 600 ‘miloa Place 8793 Horseshoe Lane Publications Committee Chittenango, New York 13037 USA Elections Committee Dr. Dale W. Smith, Chair Hilo, Hawaii 96720 USA +1 315-687-5371 Martin George, Chair BGSU Planetarium +1 315-432-4523 fax Launceston Planetarium 104 Overman Hall [email protected] Queen Victoria Museum Physics &Astronomy Department IPS Web Site: [email protected] Wellington Street Bowling Green State University www.ips-planetarium.org Launceston Tasmania 7250 Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 USA Conference Host-2010 Australia +1 419-372-8666 Dr. Omar Fikry +61 3 6323 3777 +1 419-372-9938 fax Please notify the Editor Head of Shows & Programs Unit +61 3 6323 3776 fax [email protected] of any changes on these Planetarium Science Center [email protected] two pages. The Library of Alexandria PO Box 138 El Shatby, Alexandria 21526 Egypt Contact the Treasurer/ +20 3 483 9999 ext. 1881 Membership Chair for individual member address Ad Hoc Committees changes and general cir- Armand Spitz Rochester, New York 14607 USA Script Contest Committee culation and billing ques- Planetarium Education Fund +1 585-271-4552 ext. 409 Thomas W. Kraupe tions. Finance Committee +1 585-271-7146 fax Planetarium Hamburg [email protected] Hindenburgstr.1b Education Committee D-22303 Hamburg Germany Jack L. Northrup IPS Publicity Coordinator +49(0)40-428 86 52-21 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Planetarium (Publications Committee) +49(0)40-428 86 52-99 fax King Science and Technology Jacques Guarinos +49(0)40-4279 24-850 e-fax Magnet Center Astronef–Planetarium +49(0)172-40 86 133 cell 3720 Florence Blvd. de Saint-Etienne thomas.kraupe@plane- Omaha, NE 68110 USA 28 rue Ponchardier tarium-hamburg.de +1 402-557-4494 F-42100 Saint-Etienne France www.rdp-planetarium.de [email protected] +33 (0)4 77 34 40 85 webmail.ops.org/~jack.northrup [email protected] Strategic Planning Committee The Planetarian (ISN 0090- Tom Mason, Chair 3213) is published quarterly Full-Dome Video Committee Outreach Committee Armagh Planetarium Ryan Wyatt, Chair Jon W. Elvert, Chair College Hill by the International Planetar- Director, Morrison Planetarium Irene W. Pennington Planetarium Armagh BT61 9DB ium Society. ©2009, Interna- California Academy of Sciences Louisiana Art & Science Museum Northern Ireland 55 Music Concourse Drive 100 South River Road United Kingdom tional Planetarium Society, Golden Gate Park Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 USA +44 (0)2837 524725 Inc., all rights reserved. Opin- San Francisco, California 94118 +1 225-344-5272 +44 (0)2837 526187 fax ions expressed by authors +1 415-321-8156 +1 225-214-4027 fax +44 (0)771 0013453 cell [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] are personal opinions and are [email protected] www.armaghplanet.com not necessarily the opinions Planetarium of the International Planetar- History Committee Development Group Technology Committee John Hare, IPS Historian Ken Wilson, Chair Karen Klamczynski , Chair ium Society, its officers, or Ash Enterprises 9346 Drawbridge Road Education & Training Specialist agents. Acceptance of adver- 3602 23rd Avenue West Mechanicsville, Virginia 23220 USA E&S Digital Theater Division Bradenton, Florida 34205 USA [email protected] 770 Komas Drive tisements, announcements, +1 941-746-3522 Salt Lake City, Utah 84108 USA or other material does not [email protected] Portable +1 801-588-7409 imply endorsement by the Planetarium Committee +1 801-588-4520 fax International Susan Reynolds Button, Chair [email protected] International Planetarium So- Relations Committee Quarks to Clusters www.es.com ciety, its officers or agents. Martin George, Chair 8793 Horseshoe Lane The Editor welcomes Letters Launceston Planetarium Chittenango, NY 13037 Queen Victoria Museum +1 315-687-5371 Web Committee to the Editor and items for Wellington Street [email protected] Alan Gould, Chair consideration for publica- Launceston, Tasmania 7250 Australia [email protected] Holt Planetarium +61 3 6323 3777 Lawrence Hall of Science tion. Please consult “Guide- +61 3 6323 3776 fax Professional University of California lines for Contributors” at [email protected] Services Committee Berkeley, California 94720-5200 USA www.ips-planetarium.org/ Mike Murray, Chair +1 510-643-5082 Job Information Service Clark Planetarium +1 510-642-1055 fax planetarian/guidelines.html. Subcommittee 110 South 400 West [email protected] The Editor reserves the right (Professional Services Committee) Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 USA to edit any manuscript to Steve Fentress, Chair +1 801-456-4949 Strasenburgh Planetarium +1 801-456-4928 fax suit this publication’s needs. Rochester Museum & Science Center [email protected] 657 East Avenue

September 2009 Planetarian 3 In Front of the Console “editor-at-large” designation is the result. Basi- being a writer, I am a terrible headline writer, cally, I’ve turned him loose to write on difficult a skill which is a close relative to thinking of topics of interest to planetarians that don’t fit catchy phrases and slogans. The muse struck in any specific category. Be warned, world. in this case, however, and on impulse I sub- IPS Education Committee Chair Jack mitted “simply…super” to describe the new Northrup agreed, after I caught him at a weak Mediaglobe. moment, to add writing the Educational Fron- I was shocked to hear that I had won, and tiers column to his full plate. Thanks so much, then felt very guilty. The prize, after all, was Jack, for doing this, and for including lesson a flight to the IPS 2010 Conference in Alexan- ideas in your first column! dria, pretty substantial. (I would have done it We also have a new Forum editor. It took for a t-shirt.) Would people think I had an “in- a while to replace Steve under the Forum side” change at winning because of my posi- header; Gary Lazich was just getting settled in tion? Should I refuse the prize? there when family concerns led him to leave But then, again, I am a planetarian, too—un- the planetarium field (a loss for us all). It’s tak- der the dome most days, teaching, sharing the en several issues, but I think we’ve found the stars, fighting with aging slide projectors, wor- right person for the job: Yaroslav Gubchenko rying about budgets, the works. I decided that from the Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) Planetar- was the person who entered the contest, not ium. the editor, and Joanne Young and the rest of Here’s a little preview, and the first Forum the Mediaglobe crew assured me it was the Sharon Shanks question to get Yaroslav started: words, not the person, who won the contest. Joanne: Thank you so much, and my hus- Ward Beecher Planetarium band thanks you, too, because now he’ll be Youngstown State University Forum able to come along without bankrupting us. Yaroslav Gubchenko Youngstown, OH 44555 USA Nizhny Novgorod A senior moment [email protected] Planetarium In the last issue I wrote a little bit about Revolutsionnaya str., 20 Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity for the 603002 Nizhny Planetarium Show Reviews column. I said Well, it was a good idea. The one about hav- Novgorod, Russia that my planetarium introduced our new full- ing multiple viewpoints about planetarium [email protected] dome system to the public with that show. shows—you know, the one I said would run in Sigh. I’m getting old. Oasis in Space was the each issue? I didn’t take into account that some The world economy today is mak- program with opened with. What bothers me of the shows being reviewed hadn’t been out ing it hard for everyone. What sugges- is I didn’t catch this mistake until I received long enough for people to have shown them! tions do you have for keeping plane- the print issue in the mail! I This is especially true of traditional shows re- tariums open? Be creative! cast in fulldome, something we will see more of—I hope!—in the future. It’s a serious question and one that is diffi- Now what do we do? Evolve, I guess. cult to answer, so let’s have fun with this one I would love to get planetarian feedback to welcome Yaroslav to the Planetarian’s pag- on the shows being reviewed in this issue: The es and be creative. Come up with an ideal situ- This space could be yours Nature of Science, Nine Planets and Counting, ation, rather than reality. I’m sure he’ll appre- At least I managed two issues of Un- Our Place in Space, Stars, and We Are Astrono- ciate having his inbox filled with answers. der One Dome before being unable mers. Your feedback will appear in later issues. to find a planetarium to feature. Be Remember: this is your publication, and the About the contest watching your inboxes for email from more input we have from you, the planetar- People who know me realize that I despise me: you could be next! ium community, the better the Planetarian being in the limelight. I like being the quiet I’m not looking for anything long, will become. mouse behind the scenes; you have no idea just your thoughts, in your words, Incidentally, there is enthusiastic viewer what having my picture in each issue is doing about your planetarium. Briefly de- feedback on the We Are Astronomers website. to my psyche! scribe your planetarium (dome size, Check it out. But I’m also the editor, and as much as I’m seats, type of projector) and your audience (all public? all school? mixture of Changes, changes tempted to cut references to me in the Plane- tarian’s pages, I can’t do it. both?) Which is your favorite? Check out Steve Tidey’s story about Green- Thanks, Tom and the IPS Council, for the What about your job gives you the wich’s new public astronomer (page 6) and kind words (see President’s Message on page greatest pleasure? see if you agree that we’ve found the right fit 26). Thanks too, to April, for mentioning me What about your job is the greatest for our quirky Brit. Steve wanted a change af- in her Last Light column (page 68). That one challenge? ter editing the Forum column for 10 years, so needs some explanation. If you could make a wish come true he tried his hand at Educational Frontiers. De- The Konica Minolta/Mediaglobe folks ran for your planetarium (anything ex- spite his obvious passion for education, I felt a contest at SEPA this year, looking for a slo- cept more money, because that will be he would be better off writing something gan for its new Super Mediaglobe 2. Despite everyone’s wish), what would it be? more suited to his unique prose style. His new

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EMEA+:September +44 2009 (0) 845 0 global (456225) | USA: +1 303 357Planetarian 4760 | [email protected] | globalimmersion.com5 Dr. Marek Kukula ©National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

6 Planetarian September 2009 For a space educator, what’s the only thing of Greenwich Castle, which dated back to the Tussauds in 2006 into a facility for project- better than being the Public Astronomer at 15th century. ing pop media shows and extravaganzas. the Royal Observatory at Greenwich? I’ll give Some of the materials came from the Tow- In keeping with the site’s traditional focus you a moment to think about that one... er of London. Construction costs were met by on education, it was felt necessary to add to OK, you’ve drummed your fingers on your the government of the day selling 690 barrels the staff roster a new position of Public As- lips and realised, of course, that the answer is: of damp-spoiled gunpowder to a private buy- tronomer. This person would be the main go- being the Public Astronomer at that fine insti- er, who reconditioned the powder and sold it to guy for the media, and would, ideally, bring tution during International Year of Astrono- back to the government at twice the original huge amounts of experience in education and my (IYA). Sounds like heaven to me. price! academic research to bear on keeping the pub- This fortunate distinction is enjoyed by the Part of the National Maritime Museum lic informed about new astronomical discov- job’s incumbent, Dr. Marek Kukula, a very en- (NMM), which is located at the base of the fa- eries. The successful candidate’s links with the gaging Englishman and former academic re- mous hill upon which the Observatory sits, it research community would be taken advan- search astronomer. For many years he special- has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since tage of to bring astronomers and the public ised in the study of galaxies and super massive 1997. This befits its status as one of the world’s closer together in a continuing series of edu- black hole evolution. most important historic places of scientific in- cation initiatives. The post was formed in association with terest. They were clearly looking for a top person, the UK government’s Science and Facilities Over recent years the NMM and the Obser- and they found him in Dr. Kukula, who brings Research Council (STFC), which guides scien- vatory have raised £16 million for the Time all of these qualities, and more, to the job. tific endeavours and education activities con- and Space project, a redevelopment of the site Recently, I grabbed at an opportunity to sit nected with professional astronomers and that has almost doubled the area open to the down with him over a wind-swept cup of cof- particle physics. public to view. fee and chat about his varied and impressive Dr. Kukula was appointed in August, 2008, The money has financed impressive, up- background, his role at Greenwich and how and I tell you, since then he’s been having way to-date new galleries about time and space, a he has been kept busy during IYA. too much fun. horology department for the care of historic He’s instantly likeable, with a ready, easy timepieces, a learning centre and a new 120- smile and he exudes genuine, boyish enthu- Public education since 1675 seat digital planetarium housing a Digistar la- siasm when talking about astronomy at any The Royal Observatory at Greenwich has ser projection system. Collectively, these im- level. He can satisfy the curiosity of people of been synonymous with public astronomy ed- provements bring Greenwich into the 21st all ages, from school kids through to senior ucation since its construction was ordered by century, and keep it at the forefront of world- citizens. I reckon the media must love him King Charles II on June 22, 1675 to improve wide visitor attractions with an astronomical when he’s regularly asked by radio, television navigation at sea and “find the so-much de- theme. and the press for an instant reaction to break- sired longitude of places” by astronomi- By the way, it is now London’s only pub- ing astronomy news. cal means. The original building, Flamsteed lic planetarium, following the re-brand- This aspect of Dr. Kukula’s personality alone House, was built upon the ruined foundations ing of the London Planetarium at Madam makes him ideal for the job, but let’s take a mo-

September 2009 Planetarian 7 And a line runs through it: The Peter Harrison Planetarium sits atop the Prime Meridian. Images ©National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

ment to examine his truly impressive resume key initiative to help to get a feel for how fortunate Greenwich is the Royal Observatory to have him. First of all, he has a PhD in ra- develop its profile and dio astronomy and 15 years experience as a re- its worldwide brand, search astronomer. He has studied galaxies at to become a focus for public engagement in with the public’s response, and of course there the University of Edinburgh’s Institute of As- astronomy activity, nationally and interna- are all sorts of fantastic events around the tronomy as an Advanced Fellow. During that tionally.” country, too. It’s hard to tell how many peo- time he secured observing time on the Hub- ple know about IYA before their visit, but it’s ble Space Telescope (HST). He’s also spent two Being public astronomer important to remember that 2009 is just the years working at the Space Telescope Science In describing his role as Public Astronomer, start; if people enjoyed an event or activity Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Dr. Kukula says, “We are currently in an ex- during IYA, they’re far more likely to come to Reflecting on his achievement of observing tremely exciting period for astronomy, with astronomy events in future. Also, IYA is prov- with HST, he says “It was certainly very excit- spectacular discoveries being made almost ev- ing to be a great way to get astronomers and ing to know that an incredibly complex and ery day. I hope I can convey some of that ex- the science outreach community talking to expensive machine up there in orbit was fol- citement, and help to explain how modern as- each other.” lowing my instructions, and taking images of tronomy continues to change our view of the Generally speaking, IYA is keeping him so galaxies which no one had seen before. I was universe and our place within it.” busy that, for this year at least, he doesn’t have working for the University of Edinburgh and Those words sum up how many planetar- the time to do the small amount of academic we were trying to find out what kind of galax- ians view their job, of course, but in his case research onsite that’s one element of his job. ies powerful quasars lived in. The HST imag- they’re interwoven with the Observatory’s It’s academia’s loss, but the public’s gain for es showed that they were all in large elliptical particularly daunting objectives in his own the time being, then. galaxies, which wasn’t exactly what we were job description: Dr. Kukula is fortunate enough to regular- expecting at the time. Sometimes the most ex- a) ensure the Observatory engages with the ly conduct public observing nights, named citing moments in science are when you don’t astronomical interest of the one million peo- Evenings with the Stars, using Greenwich’s fa- get the answer you thought you were going ple who visit the site annually; mous 28-inch refractor. It’s the largest in the to get.” b) engage with the wider public across the UK and the eighth largest in the world. Built in Dr. Kukula also has a strong background UK, too; 1893, it is 28-feet long and weighs 1.4 tons. The in astronomy education, having published c) and don’t forget both the academic re- public love it, especially when they realise the about 50 papers in scientific journals, writ- search community, and the media; person putting it through its paces for them is ten articles for magazines and web sites and d) and finally, could you do all that before a “real” astronomer. lectured widely at international astronomy lunch, please? Although not a large part of his duties, pre- conferences. He is on the STFCs Small Awards (Come to think of it, I reckon that last bit senting live shows in Greenwich’s Peter Har- funding panel for public engagement in as- isn’t in the job description after all.) rison digital planetarium (named after the tronomy and particle physics, and he has se- Seriously, though, so varied are his duties site’s largest benefactor) does sometimes come cured over £500,000 for his own research proj- there’s no such thing as an ordinary day in up on his schedule. The theatre sits astride ects from a variety of funding organisations in the office. “It’s a great job. Every day is differ- the Prime Meridian line, and is housed with- the UK and USA. ent,” he says. “We cover the whole of astrono- in a striking 45-ton, bronze-clad cone, tilted at Given all this background, one isn’t sur- my here at the Royal Observatory, so there’s Greenwich’s latitude of 51.5 degrees. The an- prised to hear Dr. Kevin Fewster, director of always something happening, whether it’s a gled, disc-shaped exterior is aligned with the the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, say of new exhibition or a planetarium show, a pro- celestial equator, and the north edge marks him, “...his passion and experience of commu- gramme of public talks, evening observing ses- the zenith. Altogether, it’s a dramatic addition nicating science, bringing astronomy events sions or a special astronomical event. And if a to the Observatory’s skyline. to isolated and non-traditional audiences, new discovery is in the news, it can get pretty Coming from the astronomical research and his ability to explain complex astronomy busy with journalists asking questions.” community, Dr. Kukula is particularly awe-in- concepts concisely and vividly, made him the Of the visitors’ reaction to IYA at Green- ideal candidate. His appointment is part of a wich, Dr. Kukula says, “We’re very pleased (Continued on page 16)

8 Planetarian September 2009 September 2009 Planetarian 9 Russia’s Only High School Planetarium: A Visit and Comparison of Astronomies

Dr. Larry Krumenaker • Atlanta, Georgia USA • [email protected]

Dr. Larry Krumenaker at the eclipse

Like some other astronomy educators, I sidebar). Second, Kirov has the only school in went to Novosibirsk, Russia to see the total so- all of Russia with a planetarium. lar eclipse there on August 1, 2008. Unlike most Yes, that’s right. Check the web and you’ll other visiting educators, I had real and extend- see that Russia has about three or four dozen from an email listing cultural events that ed family in the country which enabled me to planetariums (the count depends on whether would take place during our visit. Thus, not visit other places as well. One such place was you tally those that are closed), yet only one only could I try to see if I could enjoy and un- Kirov, a provincial capital 14 hours by train is in a school. The rest are in museums, gov- derstand a Russian star show, but, being still northeast of Moscow. Though it has nearly 30 ernment-operated buildings or parks, or oth- in a research mindset after recently complet- museums listed on the city website, it’s not ex- er similar locales. ed a dissertation on high school astronomy, I actly a tourist hotbed. But there are two sci- This facility wasn’t always in a school, ei- could have a small investigation comparing ence-related options: first, it is the hometown ther. Opened in 1960, it had been in two differ- “national systems”. I might be able to com- of two cosmonauts and Konstantin Tsiolk- ent church buildings before 1993, when it was pare the training and background of the plan- ovsky, the Russian equivalent of Robert God- relocated over a two-year span to the then- etarium teacher with American backgrounds, dard and the Wright brothers. There is a mu- new school. find out if astronomy courses existed, and see seum dedicated to him and cosmonautics (see I found out about the facility’s existence who got to use the planetarium.

10 Planetarian September 2009 Facing page: School 27. Right: Inside the astronomy classroom. Below: the planetarium dome and Zeiss projector. Photos by Nina V. Kudry- avtseva

Alas, since this was summer, school classes were not in session. But the planetarium clearly put on public shows, a single show on summer Thursdays (and one or more shows on Saturdays during the school year, I later learned). So I, my 9-year-old son and his Aunt Nina took in a presentation one dreary, rainy August Thursday.

Visit to a singular universe School 27’s facade, like many in Russia, is plain and blocky and without a school name. The three-story building was constructed About 55-60 people attended the fully boned with wiring and Cyrillic labels pasted nearly two decades ago, the planetarium add- packed show, and almost all of them were over the original Zeiss titling. A pair of single ed about three years later. The school is sur- young children and their mothers. I saw no slide projectors on a manual dissolve provid- rounded by a square of Soviet-era gray con- other adult male in attendance. ed most of the slide images, with the operator crete buildings, not unlike the school in Resembling a partially-dismembered black switching slides in and out of the darkened appearance though much taller. spider, the planetarium projector was a well- one by hand while the other one was lit. The roads surrounding it were almost non- maintained, Zeiss (the school website lists it as The public show was about eclipses, plus existent, even for a city: potholed, rocky, and a Zeiss ZKP). Along the rear and sides were var- a bit of a catchall on the universe. In gener- impassible for our taxi. We had to stumble ious auxiliary projectors attached to the dome al it was a fairly routine, somewhat script- around this moonscape to get to the main and curved walls; there did not appear to be ed live performance. There was some interac- door. Inside, the stark empty walls in the cav- any rear projector room. The operator and tion with the audience, which mostly reacted ernous lobby made us wonder if we even had console were in back, the aged controls rib- to questions from the operator. For example, the correct place. A staff of office workers guarding the door pointed the way for us. The planetarium itself was located on an up- per floor. Even non-Russians could tell when we found it: the hallways were festooned with posters of the solar system, Hubble shots, and bulletin-boards showing Russian space and science highlights. Admission fees had to be paid inside the astronomy classroom, which really was a small lecture hall, with wooden seats set in tiered rows, no desks, and three projectors on a central pedestal—two for slides and an opaque projector. Astronomical photos were neatly arrayed on the walls and a kind of memorial to cosmonauts rode atop shelves for books. Admission was 25 rubles, per person, regardless of age. This was about 1 dollar. The planetarium itself was across the hall, inside another room. The chamber was installed within what clearly was really a large theatre space. In the front was a stage, back dropped with a curtain with an astronomical motif, and folding chairs lined up in rows. In the back was the dome, patterned with col- ored rectangles inside a frame of latitude- and longitude-like metallic lines. The 10-meter dome sat on a flat corrugat- ed overhang that roofed the star theatre and surrounding space. The front of the dome was open to the auditorium, with neither curtains nor moving walls. Front-facing folding chairs, in straight rows on a tiered surface, made up the seating.

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FULLDOME www.spitzinc.com/fulldome_shows 12 Planetarian SHOW DISTRIBUTIONSeptember 2009 Contact: Mike Bruno [email protected] T: 610.459.5200 most of the students raised hands filiate of IPS. For recent RPA ac- when asked if they had watched tivities, see International News the partial eclipse seen in Kirov, starting on page 42. - Ed.) but there was no pointing to School 27 is a complete school, things, or “can you find…?” inter- covering all the Russian grade lev- actions, as far as I could tell, and els from 1 to 11 with about 100 fac- certainly no questions back to ulty. Russian children start first the lecturer. grade at age 7, later than Ameri- The program was not just a re- can kindergartners—kindergar- cap of the total eclipse and how tens are not part of most Russian one occurs. The show also cov- schools but separate facilities— ered the upcoming lunar eclipse and the highest grade level is 11. two weeks after the solar. The sec- In this school, an astronomy ond half of the hour was a bit of course is a “senior” year course. what’s in the universe—planets, This is not the norm; most schools comets and meteors, where stars do not offer such a course at all. come from. School 27 is unique in that in all Much of the public show was of Kirov, it does offer a course, The planetarium staff (from left) Marina Anatolevna Kislitsina, lecturer, and simply a large number of slides since this year, head of the planetarium; Vera Vasilievna Drovosekova, lectur- simply because it has the plane- through the dissolve unit. Dis- er; Tatyana Vladimirovna Zhbannikova, lectuer and former head of the plan- tarium. appointingly, there was almost etarium; and Veronica Vacheslavovna Trapitsina, teacher-organizer. Photo Also, in Russian schools, all no use of the star machine itself. provided by Marina A. Kitslitsina the sciences are taught every Few, and standard, special effects: year, such that all students get a pair of eclipse projectors, a rotating solar sys- versity in St. Petersburg, in its department of some physics, biology, earth sciences, in ev- tem, several panoramas, a moving comet and physics and astronomy. Ms. Kislitsina was ery grade, more or less. All the other grades a meteor shower, a rather nice sunrise. Prosa- the physics and astronomy teacher at anoth- at School 27 get astronomy as part of certain ic and talky, by the time the show ended the er school when she was invited to join the other classes; elementary students have it in children had become rather restless and noisy, School 27 faculty and then to do part-time their “World Around Us” course. Most phys- illuminating the dome with cell phone lights. planetarium work. ics classes cover some astronomy as well. Ad- The more interesting time for me was to This year, she and the retiring, long-time ditionally, the planetarium does receive oc- take place after the show. It would be inter- director switched roles; Ms. Kislitsina is now casional field trips from other Kirov schools, esting because my Russian is barely conver- director and the previous one is now half- and from the two universities in town. sational and, I soon found out, the operator’s time. In addition to her bachelor degree in The schedule for the planetarium seemed English unpracticed for years. I introduced teaching, like all Russian teachers she has a to be very full! Recently, the schedule con- myself as an Atlanta astronomy educator and teaching certificate. The Russian system has a sisted of 60 presentations over the month, science writer and asked if I could talk with tiered certification structure, somewhat akin which explains why a high school plane- her and do a story. to how university professors move upwards tarium has a director, two other lecturers, Overcoming some miscommunications, through attestation and qualifications. Mari- and a teacher-organizer who does schedul- sometimes using pen and paper, a dictionary, na Anatolievna is in the first (highest) level ing and other assisting matters. Elementa- analogies and astronomical phrases, and lat- of certification. ry classes come from one to four times per er, some email exchanges, I learned a bit about Ms. Kitlisina belongs to an association for year, and all grades’ teachers can pick those her, this singular facility and the Russian edu- teachers of physics. It used to be teachers of topics that most fit the class subjects for cational system. physics and astronomy, but as astronomy is that week. Additionally, there is a kind of no longer a required subject, the name was Astronomy Olympiad in which the plan- Astronomy education in Russia shortened. There also is a national planetari- etarium participates. First there is an in- Marina Anatolievna Kislitsina was the um association, the annual meeting of which school competition, then city-based; it is planetarium presenter that day. She had re- she recently attended in Moscow. (The Rus- an idea I haven’t seen done in American ceived her training at a state pedagogical uni- sian Planetariums Association is an active af- schools with astronomy.

Visiting Kirov If you plan to go to Kirov for a visit, be aware that it isn’t Moscow ly marked, in an apartment building some blocks from the Tsiolk- or like much of Europe; English is not commonly spoken here and ovsky Museum. Western level hotels are non-existent. It is, though, much cheaper The school is about four kilometers west-southwest of the central than Moscow—the 8 oz. Cokes don’t cost the equivalent of $4. downtown square in Kirov. Public shows at the planetarium require While there is an airport, flights are expensive and not common; no notice or permissions, unlike observing classes there, but tickets the train is the main form of intercity transportation here. One can- are not sold in advance either, and generally there is but one presen- not visit Russia from the United States without a visa and that re- tation on the date. quires an invitation from an organization or at least a tour group. The Tsiolkovsky Museum’s hours vary; it is a few blocks east of The city has an old but very functional mass transit system, cost- the downtown square. ing only a few rubles per ride, payable directly to a ticket taker on Neither place is near the train station, which is about 3 kilometers the bus. You must also register in person with the local authori- south of the square. Both places have no interpreters for you, or Eng- ties for any stay over three days there. The office for that is poor- lish signage. I

September 2009 Planetarian 13 Comparing astronomies The Benchmarks, on the other hand, have omy course based on the Benchmarks would Having recently completed a survey on more space-related content for grades 9-12 have to include the lower grade level topics as American high school astronomy courses than NSES (Table 2). However, it is essential- well. As it stands, the last two sections of the (Krumenaker, 2008a), which partially cov- ly entirely on the stars and their evolution, Russian course fits the Benchmarks well. If the ered planetariums (Krumenaker, 2008b), and with some mention of stellar characteristics. lower level standards are incorporated, the having worked in school planetariums my- There is a small dose of cosmology and some Russian course would be far more in tune with self, seeing School 27 made a fascinating case heavy emphasis on technology, such as tele- our Benchmarks than with NSES. study. scopes across the electromagnetic spectrum, Being rather disappointed with the U.S. na- Though the statistics of a single data point computers and subatomic accelerators, and tional standards, I’ve looked to my own state isn’t very secure, it was nice to see that the op- mathematical models. Again, I suspect that of Georgia, where a new set of standards for a erator actually had astronomy training, as not the reality of an American high school astron- high school astronomy course have been be- all American teachers do. The fact that the current director is being transitioned for two years by the previous one is a luxury we don’t Table 1 see much in the USA. National Science Education Standards, Table 6.4 Earth and Space Stan- It was also interesting to me to see that all dards. Bolding added for emphasis sciences are taught throughout all the grades, 䰀䔀嘀䔀䰀匀䬀 ⴀ㐀䰀䔀嘀䔀䰀匀㔀ⴀ㠀䰀䔀嘀䔀䰀匀㤀ⴀ㄀㈀ rather than the haphazard, somewhat alter- nating pattern of the state of Georgia schools, and that astronomy is a frequent subject in 倀爀漀瀀攀爀琀椀攀猀漀昀攀愀爀琀栀匀琀爀甀挀琀甀爀攀漀昀琀栀攀攀愀爀琀栀䔀渀攀爀最礀椀渀琀栀攀攀愀爀琀栀猀礀猀琀攀洀 most, if not all, grades. Teachers “subscribe” in advance the shows they want, not too 洀愀琀攀爀椀愀氀猀猀礀猀琀攀洀 much different from the way many American school district planetariums work. But based 伀戀樀攀挀琀猀椀渀琀栀攀猀欀礀䔀愀爀琀栀✀猀栀椀猀琀漀爀礀䜀攀漀挀栀攀洀椀挀愀氀挀礀挀氀攀猀 upon the public show, inquiry-based learning and public interaction within a presentation haven’t made any inroads in Russia. 䌀栀愀渀最攀猀椀渀攀愀爀琀栀愀渀搀䔀愀爀琀栀椀渀琀栀攀猀漀氀愀爀伀爀椀最椀渀愀渀搀攀瘀漀氀甀琀椀漀渀漀昀 I learned about Russian astronomy educa- 猀欀礀猀礀猀琀攀洀琀栀攀攀愀爀琀栀猀礀猀琀攀洀 tion more deeply when I received a course outline for the year-long Grade 11 astronomy 伀爀椀最椀渀愀渀搀攀瘀漀氀甀琀椀漀渀漀昀 course. (Appendix 1). In this outline the four 琀栀攀甀渀椀瘀攀爀猀攀 main divisions of the science are present: astronomy’s observational roots; inventory of the solar system and the history of our know- ing its arrangement; the sun, stars, and their basic physical characteristics; and galaxies Table 2 and basic cosmology. Benchmarks for Science Standards for Physical Setting, Grades 9-12. How does this compare to American stan- Bolding added for emphasis. dards? One really can’t compare to American courses, as they are generally as varied as their By the end of the 12th grade, students should know that instructors. What passes for nationwide standards in the United States are the National Sci- • The stars differ from each other in size, temperature, and age, but they appear to be made up of the same elements found on earth and behave according to the same physi- ence Education Standards (NSES, National Re- cal principles. 4A/H1a search Council, 1996) and the Benchmarks for Science—Project 2061 (AAAS, 1993). • Unlike the sun, most stars are in systems of two or more stars orbiting around one an- Astronomy is found in the former in the other. 4A/H1b Earth and Space Science area. For grades 9-12, • On the basis of scientific evidence, the universe is estimated to be over ten billion years only two of the four NSES broad concepts old. The current theory is that its entire contents expanded explosively from a hot, dense, match up to the Russian course outline (Ta- chaotic mass. 4A/H2ab ble1): these are the origin and evolution of the Earth system and origin and evolution of the • Stars condensed by gravity out of clouds of molecules of the lightest elements until nuclear fusion of the light elements into heavier ones began to occur. Fusion released great universe. In the NSES at this stage, most of the amounts of energy over millions of years. 4A/H2cd science is not on the universe, and much of the emphasis is more on scientific thinking • Eventually, some stars exploded, producing clouds containing heavy elements from and inquiry. which other stars and planets orbiting them could later condense. The process of star formation and destruction continues. 4A/H2ef Some other astronomical materials are in the lower grade level standards and I suspect • Increasingly sophisticated technology is used to learn about the universe. Visual, radio, that any course designed on NSES would, of and X-ray telescopes collect information from across the entire spectrum of electromag- necessity, have to incorporate the lower grade netic waves; computers handle data and complicated computations to interpret them; topics, such as the unifying theme given in space probes send back data and materials from remote parts of the solar system; and accelerators give subatomic particles energies that simulate conditions in the stars and in the middle grades of Earth, sky and observa- the early history of the universe before stars formed. 4A/H3 tions. Clearly, though, the Russian course is, content-wise, much higher than NSES stan- • Mathematical models and computer simulations are used in studying evidence from many dards. sources in order to form a scientific account of the universe. 4A/H4

14 Planetarian September 2009 ing developed. There are six very broad standards. The first one discusses electromagnetic APPENDIX 1 radiation and astronomer’s tools, and includes Paraphrased Translation of the Grade 11 Astronomy Course Outline Newton’s equations with gravity for predicting motion and masses. At least some of this is Lesson plan of Astronomy in 11th Class (34 hours, once a week) in the Russian course. Teacher: Kislitsina, M. A The second standard discusses both the cos- mological model and stellar evolution, and an Quantity of tests: 4. inventory of the solar system (talk about your broad standards!). By itself, the Georgia stan- Astronomical observations: 1. General acquaintance to the starry sky. dard covers much of the Russian course. 2. Moon observation in a telescope. Standard three covers basic observations 3. Observation of planets in a telescope. over changes of time and geography. Bingo—a 4. Sun observation in a telescope. match to the Russian course. The fourth, fifth 5. Observations of constellations during a year. and sixth standards cover mostly history of Introduction (1 hr) astronomy with experimentation and tech- 1 Subject of astronomy: connection with other sciences, value of astronomy in everyday life. nology as the agents of change, nuclear energy creation and transference in stars, and ex- Bases of practical astronomy (6 hours) trasolar planets and life in space. Pieces of all 1 The night sky: lecture under the star dome. these are in the Russian course. All in all, it is a 2 Celestial sphere. Equatorial system of co-ordinates. 3 Changes of the sky over days and within a year. surprisingly good match. 4 Visible annual movement of the sun: ecliptic, zodiac constellations. Why go through this analysis? For one 5 Determining geographical latitude and longitude using astronomical observation. thing, there is general concern throughout 6 Test 1 the American system concerning how we compare with other nations’ educational sys- Structure and the physical nature of bodies of solar system (11 hrs) 1 Apparent motion of planets. tems, particularly in regard to Trends in In- 2 Development of representations about solar system: representations ancient, geocentric system of ternational Mathematics and Science Study co-ordinates, heliocentric system of co-ordinates, modern representations. and Program for International Student Assess- 3 Kepler's Laws. ment tests. America usually comes out some- 4. Generalization and specification of Kepler's laws by Newton. where in the middle of the rankings. 5 Earth-moon system. 6 Nature of the moon. In the last available TIMSS rankings involv- 7 Terrestrial planets. ing grade 12—in 1999—the Russian Federation 8 Giant planets. edged out the USA by one point, and in Ad- 9 Small bodies of solar vanced Science, was ranked 12 slots higher system. and nearly 60 points more than the U.S. In the 10 Reviewing-generaliz- ing the unit. 2006 PISA, both were below the overall aver- 11 Test 2 age, with the USA ranked 29th and Russia, 35th. Someday I expect to return to Kirov, per- The sun and stars (10 hrs) haps during a school year when I can see how 1 General information on astronomy classes actually work and perhaps the sun. 2 Structure of the sun. teach a lesson or two, with hopefully much 3 Energy sources of the better Russian than I have now. One would sun. hope that both of us, Russian and American 4 Sun and life on the teachers, may have something to teach each Earth. other. I 5 Distances to stars. 6 Physical nature of stars. 7 How we learn about References physical characteristics AAAS (American Association for the Advance- of stars. ment of Science). (1993). Benchmarks for Sci- 8 Double, variable, novae ence Literacy. New York: Oxford University and supernovae stars. 9 Determination of the Press. Also, downloaded November 1, 2008 distance to a star, com- from www.project2061.org/publications/ parison of brightness and bsl/online/index.php?chapter=4#A4 luminosity of stars. Krumenaker, L. (2008a). The status and make- 10 Test 3 up of the U.S. high school astronomy course Structure and Universe in the era of No Child Left Behind. Unpub- evolution (6 hrs) lished doctoral dissertation. University of 1 Our galaxy. Georgia, Athens, GA. 2 Other galaxies. Krumenaker, L. (2008b). High school plane- 3 Metagalaxy. 4 Origin and evolution of tariums–results of a survey. Planetarian, De- the universe. cember, 2008. 5 Test 4 National Research Council (1996). National Sci- 6 Life and intelligence in ence Education Standards. Downloaded No- the universe (the final review). vember 1, 2008 from www.nap.edu/open- book.php?record_id=4962&page=107.

September 2009 Planetarian 15 Tsiolkovsky Museum of Aviation and Cosmonautics

The Tsiolkovsky House and Museum of Aviation and Cosmo- Petrovich Sav- nautics in Kirov is named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky. The school teach- inykh and Al- er-cum-scientist spent much of his youth in Kirov, and his family exander Sere- moved between several houses during that time. At least two still ex- brow. The ist and the museum is in one of them. latter was only Do not confuse this Kirov with another one much further south in Kirov for of Moscow, on the way to Kiev, in Kaluga Oblast (a kind of prov- a short time, ince). Kaluga city is where Tsiolkovsky spent a lot of his adult life but Savinykh and there also is a state Tsiolkovsky Cosmonautics museum there. spent his entire Tsiolkovsky was possibly the first man to seriously propose the youth in the re- reaction rocket as a way to go into space, with multiple stages and gion and town. other aspects we now take for granted. His greatest treatise, The Ex- Outside the ploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices, was pub- museum is a lished in 1903 and republished after the German rocket efforts of the monument to 1920s put rocketry into scientific and military eyes. The Tsiolkovsky him and some Equation is still used in calculating change in velocity association of his space suits and many items from his three flights are in the with the initial and changing mass of the rocket. exhibits. A key exhibit is a Soyuz capsule with parachute (I could He also was a major influence in aviation. Tsiolkovsky theorized not ascertain if this was real or a trainer). These capsules are tiny! the same physics to create heavier-than-air planes, a la the Wright Three men crammed in tightly, hands and feet well tucked in. brothers, but never carried through on the project. He designed the Admission about 20 rubles, or less than a dollar, but per- construction of zeppelins. Have you heard about the space elevator mission to photograph is extra and more than doubles the ad- recently proposed for sending astronauts into space recently? Tsi- mission fee. In a pale shadow of the old Soviet Union, we olkovsky proposed one in 1895. were followed by various elderly women ushers who turned The museum has little that actually belonged to the scientist or on and off the room lights as we traversed the museum’s two his family, though there are many copies of papers, photographs floors of rooms and therefore were not pleased if we decid- and period artifacts, among them a neat model orrery. ed to go back and re-view or re-photograph any exhibits. The other main aspect of the museum is modern cosmonau- Upon retracing our steps once too often, we found the second tics and it has many realia from Kirov’s two cosmonauts, Viktor floor entrance door locked! I

(Educator, Continued from page 8) spired by the wide range of difficult concepts from the co-sponsoring bodies, which include the UK’s Researchers in Residence, a nation- that a modern digital planetarium allows the the BBC Sky at Night magazine. wide scheme that matches young researchers presenter to discuss with ease. He feels right at with local schools. They are trained on meth- home in there for other reasons, too, because Bringing academia, public closer ods for bringing their knowledge and enthusi- a few of the full-time planetarium presenters A key objective of the Public Astronomer’s asm into the classroom. also have academic astronomy research back- role is bringing academia and the public closer Dr. Kukula encourages researchers to “Just grounds. This highlights the degree to which together, breaking down the barriers that still have a go. It doesn’t have to be a huge audi- Greenwich feels the need to put professional exist between them. ence. If you can inform just one person you’ve astronomers out there in front of their public. A recent example of how Dr. Kukula has achieved something useful. People are genu- A current long-term project of Dr. Kukula’s gone about this task was the completion of inely interested in space and astronomy, and is exploring new and innovative ways to pres- a major new exhibit next to the planetarium will appreciate the opportunity to meet some- ent information in planetarium shows. One which covers the Cassini-Huygens mission. He body knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Having possible method he’s exploring, embryonic called upon many of his contacts and former said that, it’s important to realise that most at the moment, is finding ways to engage the colleagues in the profession to provide Green- people haven’t studied science since they audience’s interest with the use of science fic- wich with all the latest facts and news about were at school, which in some cases could be tion themes. He’s very much aware of a key the probe’s findings about the Saturnian sys- decades ago. Depending on the audience, you drawback of this approach, which is that tem. may need to start with the basics. It’s worth without careful attention the audience can be Many of his other former colleagues can thinking in advance about the ideas and con- confused about where the science fiction ends also expect a call from him at some point, be- cepts that you want to get across, and how and the science begins. cause he’s required to be a key mover in the you intend to explain them. But most of all, In September 2009 a new exhibit will development from scratch of three new, tem- public outreach should be fun, so enjoy it.” open in the Observatory’s galleries for three porary exhibits each year. He is also explor- Summing up his thoughts on the role of months, titled Astronomy Photographer of ing ways to catch research astronomers when Public Astronomer, Dr. Kukula told me that the Year. It will feature the winners and run- they’re young, and get them accustomed to he thinks he’s only scratching the surface of ners up of what has become an annual compe- doing public outreach events before nerves what’s possible for a dedicated space educa- tition to find the best amateur photographers and myths about this aspect of their duties tor like himself at Greenwich, with its grand of the night sky in the UK. Dr Kukula is on overwhelm them. In this regard he can fall history and the cutting-edge resources at the judging panel, alongside other luminaries back on his prior experience working with his disposal. I

16 Planetarian September 2009 September 2009 Planetarian 17 Darkness at Dawn in India: “Jai Ho” for Mother Nature!

Piyush Pandey

Totality through Zeiss telescope (700 mm) and Nikon FM2 Director, Nehru Planetarium Mumbai 400018 India [email protected]

Months before July 22, 2009, the longest day in Mumbai and the same happened on this quixotic idea of Piyush?” With just a day total solar eclipse of the century, Indian sci- our way from Varanasi to Robertsganj by cars. left before the event, I made an important de- entists, amateurs and planetarians had start- We were greeted by unending lines of trucks cision. “We are not moving our equipment to ed their preparations. The easier part was to carrying coal and sand in that area and it took the selected site, rather we would observe from check and re-check and keep the equipment us 9 hours to negotiate the unusual traffic jam the open terrace of our Hotel Savera (mean- and exposure charts ready, but choosing a suit- and cover the 120 km distance between Vara- ing dawn).” A very cooperative District Infor- able observation point along the totality path nasi Airport and Robertsganj. Famished and mation Officer of Robertsganj, Mr. Anil Gup- that cut across densely populated parts of In- emaciated, we reached there by 11 p.m., but ta, lent his 2 KVA UPS that we parked on the dia—from the Arabian Sea coast on the west to somehow managed to find some meal. hotel’s open terrace. Robertsganj was suffer- the Himalayan ranges on the other end where The next morning we went around scout- ing from acute power shortage and the electri- India meets China—was a task as important as ing for a suitable observation spot. It had start- cal supply was not available from 3 a.m. to 10 the celestial event itself. ed raining again. My colleagues would ex- a.m. The hotel did look after its guests by pro- July is a month of monsoon and it rains change meaningful glances and would talk in viding supply from a diesel generator, yet the heavily all over the country. The NASA whispering tones about the “void” that Piy- UPS was still required. We did not want any eclipse page weather section had forecast the ush had seen in the cloud map. We decided to interruptions and the possibility of electrical least cloud cover and rain for the area around settle on the roof of the District Collector’s of- spikes. This was quite in contrast to Mumbai, the city of Patna around the eclipse date. That fice, located on a small hillock that provided where power rostering is unheard of. made it the destination for most of the folks, an unobstructed view of the eastern horizon. We spent our night till 2 a. m. setting up including some foreign scientists. We checked the weath- We looked hard at the monsoon wind flow er on the internet and the pattern for past several years and noticed a prospects looked bleak. By “void” situation over Robertsganj, a place 1500 the evening the sky cleared km from Mumbai as the crow flies. My team for a while, giving enough said “yes” in unison. Robertsganj—that’s it! time for some practice Latitude 24.6°N, longitude: 83.1°E. Incidental- shots on stars. That was the ly, this place was also on the central line of the evening of the 20th. 24 October 1995 eclipse! The next morning and the rest of the day strong Members of the team monsoon winds swept the My team had three other members: Assis- town of Robertsganj with tant Planetarium Manager Kiran Hedukar, rain in the toe. Everyone photographer Chandu Karambelkar and Pro- looked like an embodiment gram Coordinator Suhas Naik-Satam. Many of disappointment. We did other people, such as two representatives from not talk much to each oth- Infovision (a partner of Evans & Sutherland), a er. Thoughts of wasted ef- mother-daughter duo turned amateur astron- fort, time and money must omers, and most importantly, my wife Rash- have crossed every mind mi, decided to give us company. thousands of times. Some- Seven of us took a flight to Varanasi on 19 one remarked, “While ev- NP Team ready to depart: (from left) Suhas, Chandu, Piyush & Kiran July and the others who travelled by railways eryone was heading to Pat- posing before the planetarium. All illustrations provided by Piyush joined us there later. It rained very hard that na, why did we succumb to Pandey

18 Planetarian September 2009 and testing the equipment and my telling the operate it for me provided I do all the settings Top: The July 22, 2009 eclipse path through In- umpteenth time to my team mates what to and make her task simple. She, too, did a mar- dia. Below, top: A very happy Piyush! Below, bottom: diamond Ring and prominence through do and not rely on their gut sense while tak- vellous job, as she was the only one who could Zeiss telescope (700 mm) & Nikon FM2. ing exposures and rather they should stick capture both the diamond rings! Her cam- to what I had told them. This was particular- era’s FOV was large so she could also capture a ly aimed at Chandu, who was a professional cloud trail left by a passing jet plane. photographer. Weather machinery smiled on us through- The E-Day: All of us woke up after two hours out that morning. The partial eclipse at the site of sleep at 4 a.m. and quickly rushed to the ho- began at 5:30 a.m. when the sun was just 1 de- tel terrace and fixed up our equipment. The gree above the horizon. The sky started dark- generous hotel staff also got up early to serve ening rapidly; suddenly the sky turned pitch us tea at that hour (their normal services start- black (Suhas-operated Coolpix fisheye cap- ed at 7 a. m.). The event began at the predicted tured it very well). The totality began at 6:23 time, but the initial phase of totality was ob- a.m. at our location and ended 3 minutes 41 scured by low clouds which soon dissolved. seconds later (the sun was 12.5 degrees high). We had a Nikon D70S camera with 300 mm The eclipse ended at 7:27 a.m. focal length lens that we had configured to As already said, both the diamond rings operate from a laptop computer using Nikon were observed this time, but there were hard- Capture 4 software. I decided to operate it my- ly any Bailey’s Beads, no shadow bands (which self. were expected as the altitude of sun was low), We carried with us a Zeiss 700 mm fo- and no prominent coronal streamers. Chan- cal length refractor and at its eyepiece end du’s Diamond Ring snap shows a prominence we had fit our film camera Nikon FM2 load- arching up behind the lunar limb. ed with a 200 ASA film. There were two such There were loud cheers of “Jai Ho” for Moth- cameras; one was meant for use while the er Nature and Piyush Pandey as if the latter, eclipse was partial and the objective was cov- not the former, had ordained the grand spec- ered with a Mylar filter and the second one for tacle. We quickly packed our bags, snatched totality and events on its either side. Since it some breakfast and returned to Mumbai us- required quick switching of cameras, the ob- ing the same route backwards, but this time vious choice for its operator was our staff pho- there were no traffic hassles. The local press tographer Chandu, who did a marvellous job and other people who had joined us on the (not a single frame out of 72 that he took was terrace were provided solar goggles by us to blank). watch the partial phase. The press and locals We had our Nikon Coolpix 5000 fitted were gaga with us that we chose their town with a fisheye lens and the task of its opera- for our observations. nations except ours and the nearby Varanasi tion was entrusted to Suhas. A Sony Handyc- We had no time to check what we had cap- were totally washed out. What a pity. A team am was also there to capture live moments tured and particularly Chandu’s film camer- from Mumbai had travelled all the way to Wu- and eclipse and was handled by Kiran. as had a longer wait ahead before the lab re- han in China, but had to return empty hand- I was carrying my personal Panasonic (Lu- turned the film late evening in Mumbai. ed. The 19, 20 & 21 July rain notwithstanding, mix) FZ7, but was left with no hands or time When we saw all that, we were awestruck. my colleagues now say I should have been to operate it. My wife Rashmi, who took leave Reports from other sites started coming in working at the meteorological department, from her school teacher’s job to join us to when we switched our mobile phones on. The for I was the one who put all his money on watch the celestial treat, gingerly offered to much-hyped Patna and all the Indian desti- the “void” that I saw. I

September 2009 Planetarian 19 Louisiana! IPS 2012: Baton Rouge 22–26 July

Jon W. Elvert, Director Irene Pennington Planetarium Louisiana Art & Science Museum Baton Rouge, Louisiana USA

The Pennington Planetarium at the Lou- isiana Art & Science Museum warmly invites you to participate in the International Planetarium Society’s 2012 conference in Ba- ton Rouge. Although this event is three years away, preparations are well underway to welcome you 22-26 July, 2012. Baton Rouge, the capital city of Louisiana, is located along the banks of the Mississippi Riv- er in the southern United States with an area population of nearly 500,000. The city lies some 100 km (60 miles) north of New Orleans and is the center of the state’s government and university system. It is re- nowned for its distinct French and Spanish architecture. The downtown center of Baton Rouge offers the convenience of having hotels, a convention center, the planetarium, museums, and entertainment all within easy walking distance from each other.

Host facilities The Irene Pennington Planetarium opened in 2003 at the Louisiana Art & Science Muse- The Irene Pennington Planetarium. All photos provided by Jon Elvert. um after moving from a previous location that housed a Zeiss IV instrument under an 18-m dome. The current theater seats 150 under an Our primary conference hotel is the Baton looking the Mississippi River and downtown, 18-m, 14° tilted dome and is equipped with a Rouge Hilton, a four-diamond hotel located may provide the setting for our opening re- definiti 4K fulldome video system powered a very short walking distance from the plan- ception. Although the Hilton will not be the by SRX-S110 video projectors, a Minolta Infin- etarium. The hotel rate is set at US $149 plus primary site for vendor exhibits, the hotel ium projector, AVI OmniScan fulldome laser taxes. Within the hotel there are eight multi- can conveniently accommodate the council and LED cove lighting. The museum also has function conference and meeting rooms, all meeting, business meetings, lectures, oppor- a 198-seat auditorium fully equipped with au- with internet access and audio-visual equip- tunities for special interest groups, workshops, dio-visual and internet connections, and an ment. A spacious first floor ballroom can easi- panel discussions, and some meals. open atrium that can comfortably host 500+ ly accommodate 600+ people. The Sheraton Hotel is our secondary hotel people for a reception. The top floor ballroom of the Hilton, over- and lies within a few minute walk of the Hil-

20 Planetarian September 2009 ton Hotel and planetarium. Both hotels offer of one of these tours will free shuttle service from the Baton Rouge air- take place on Tuesday, 24 port. July and will include a box The International Louis Armstrong airport lunch. in New Orleans is approximately an hour •• The Laser Interferome- from Baton Rouge by car. We have arranged ter Gravitational-Wave a special conference discount with Continen- Observatory (LIGO), one tal Airlines on flights into Baton Rouge, which of two such observato- will be announced later. ries in the United States measuring cosmic gravi- The convention center tational waves for scien- The River Center convention facility, across tific research, is within the street from the planetarium, has 19 class- an hour’s drive of Ba- room size meeting rooms and exhibit space ton Rouge. LIGO’s Sci- totaling 6,500 square meters (nearly 60,000 ence Education Center square feet), all equipped with a hi-speed fi- has an exhibit hall with ber data network. Adjacent to the convention light and gravity related center is the Shaw Center for the Performing exhibits designed by the Arts with a 325-seat auditorium, also equipped Exploratorium in San with audio-visual needs and Internet connec- Francisco, California. tion. •• The Louisiana Immer- Because the conference hotels, conference sive Technologies En- and performing arts centers, and the plane- terprise (LITE), the tarium all lie within a close proximity of each world’s largest 3-D visu- other (.6 km or two city blocks), vendor exhib- alization facility, is also its, paper/workshop/panel sessions, and plan- within an hour’s drive etarium demonstrations are essentially across and features one of the the street from one another. only six-sided immersive CAVEs in the world Conference fees in addition to a 175 seat The proposed conference registration fee is stereoscopic theater. U.S. $375, which will include the opening cer- •• Early twentieth century emony, all demonstrations and sessions, con- Southern plantations are a The River Center (top) and conference hotel/alternate ference bag, and all breaks and meals exclud- popular tourist attraction ing the banquet. A minimal fee for the tours and there are several nearby fine examples tarium sites around Louisiana is another op- and banquet will be assessed. The banquet will that reflect the culture and life and times of tion. Zeiss, E&S-Spitz and Minolta systems are either be held aboard a stern-wheel river boat that era. installed in Shreveport, Lafayette, and two fa- on the Mississippi River leaving from New Or- •• New Orleans, of course, would be an oppor- cilities near New Orleans. leans, or at one of Louisiana’s finest antebel- tunity for you to explore the notoriety of The IPS2012 conference hotels, planetari- lum plantations. The IPS Council will meet the French Quarter. um, and conference center are all integrated prior to the conference, and hotel rooms will with other city attractions, including fine art offer the conference rate for those wishing to Post-conference tours and history museums, restaurants, cafes, bars, stay for the possibility of an Imersa or DomeF- Possibilities for post-conference tours are and jazz club nightlife entertainment. Local est Summit or post-conference tours. trips to the NASA Stennis rocket testing facili- cuisine is known for its fresh seafood and Ca- ty, where the Aries I and V rockets will be test- jun flair. Check out our current web site at Optional tours ed, and the NASA Michaud Center that will be www.lasm.org/IPS2012 as we continue to up- IPS2012 will offer four optional tours to en- building the command module for the Orion- date conference information. We look forward hance your trip to Baton Rouge. Your choice Constellation program. Visiting other plane- to seeing you at IPS2012 in Baton Rouge! I

September 2009 Planetarian 21 IPS Script Contest Committee Chair Thomas Kraupe, Direktor, Wanted: creative planetarians! Planetarium Hamburg Eugenides Script Contest Revisions Hindenburgstr.1b D-22303 Hamburg Tel. +49 (40) 428 86 52-21 All you creative writers and planetarium Eugenides Foundation Script Contest. Since Fax. +49 (40) 428 86 show producers around the world: your input then it has changed over the years following 52-99 is welcome for the new and revised IPS Eu- the latest developments in the planetarium EFax. +49 (40)4279 24-850 genides Script contest! business, but the main goals of the contest re- Cell +49 (172)4086133 You might wonder why we launch this main the same: [email protected] contest rather late this time—well, we spent •• Support the role of content development in Website: www.planetarium-hamburg.de quite some time analyzing what we should planetarium presentations and improve in order to make the right revisions •• Promote good script writing practices to the contest rules and get them approved by among IPS members. get groups, and embrace the diversity of IPS the IPS council in Toulouse. The contest is international and English is and its membership in terms of facility instru- The Eugenides Foundation was established chosen as the official language. mentation, size, staff, mission, and location. in 1956 by Eugene Eugenides as an indepen- With newly adopted rules that follow the It is this diversity which brings strength and dent, non-profit public benefit organiza- digital revolution in the field of planetariums creativity to our community of professionals tion, with the mission to enhance the scien- while keeping the focus on the script, the core and our audiences. tific, technological and technical education of each good show, we expect to make this In order to avoid limitations in the script in Greece. For more, go to www. eugenfound. contest much more attractive to a larger num- which may occur due to specific equipment edu.gr. ber of our members. installations, we encourage authors to explore In the early 1980s, the Eugenides Founda- We felt that it was time to get rid of some their vision of a script without those restric- tion launched the long tradition of the IPS- of the earlier limitations, i.e. topics and tar- tions. (Continued on page 50)

Eugenides Script Contest: General Guidelines To encourage excellence in planetarium show Each script will be evaluated according to the Script Format production, the IPS announces a script compe- criteria set out below by three judges chosen Scripts should be written in English, conform- tition sponsored by the Eugenides Foundation by the contest’s Committee Chair from IPS Fel- ing to the specific template and the sample in Athens, Greece. lows. page which can be downloaded from the IPS The purpose of the competition shall be the Author names will not be divulged to the judg- Webpage, with the scene descriptions for the creation of a script that could be used for the es. fulldome visuals, the duration of the scenes development of a digital fulldome show for a The contest’s Committee Chair will quantify and the narration entered in the relevant col- target audience of your choice (for example: the totals from the judges’ evaluations to de- umns, double-spaced with pages numbered. children, general public or school groups of a termine the winners. A short abstract detailing the script’s main certain age) on any science related topic. Entries may be submitted between July 1 and theme must be submitted on a separate page. First and Second place winners will be selected December 31 of the odd numbered years (non- The length of the script should conform to ei- according to the terms described below. conference years). Please send scripts to the ther of the two main timeframes that are gen- Any currently enrolled IPS member may enter contest’s Committee Chair: erally used by planetariums worldwide, i.e. ei- one or more scripts. ther 20 to 25 minutes, or 35 to 45 minutes. Eugenides Foundation employees are not per- Thomas Kraupe If the above requirements are not met, a script mitted to participate in the contest. Planetarium Hamburg may be disqualified. All scripts remain the author’s property, but IPS/Eugenides Foundation Script Contest the IPS retains the right to publish them in the Hindenburgstr. 1b (Stadtpark) D-22303 Evaluative Criteria Planetarian and/or upload them on its Web- Hamburg, Germany In the assumption that the above format for page for IPS members viewing only. [email protected] submission has been met, the judges will evalu- ate each script according to: Contest Rules and Procedures The contest’s Committee Chair will inform IPS •• factual accuracy Previously submitted scripts, any material pub- officers and all Council members of the out- •• originality in presentation and content lished elsewhere and all scripts that have been come of the contest in time before any an- •• creativity in storytelling integrated into planetarium productions al- nouncements. •• educational value ready released or which are scheduled for re- The two winners will be notified after Coun- •• scene description lease before the IPS Conference of the year in cil verifies the results and in advance of the IPS •• flow of scenes which the awards will be presented, are not el- conference during which the Awards Ceremo- •• entertainment value igible. ny will be held. This procedure will be followed and allocate points to each of the above on a 1 Authors should submit to the contest’s Com- so that the winning authors have enough time to 10 scale (10 corresponding to the maximum mittee Chair: to make all necessary travel arrangements if number of points). •• one hard copy of the release form they wish to be present. •• one printed copy of the script signed on each The two winning authors will be recognized Awards Categories and Values page for the files of the Committee’s Chair with certificates and prize money during the First $1500 (U.S.) •• an unsigned electronic version (Word format) awards ceremony at the IPS Conference of the Second $500 (U.S.) of the script, using the appropriate template following year. provided on the IPS website www.ips-planetarium.org/events/eug

22 Planetarian September 2009 September 2009 Planetarian 23 President’s Message and the opportunity to continue networking I am struck at the sheer volume of activi- over splendid lunches at Cite de L’Espace. On ty which has been generated by the IYA09. If behalf of our society I would like to formally this translates into the same type of scientif- thank Marc Moutin, Guadalupe Ramirez and ic advances and greater interest in the earth Marie Pierre Martin for all of their hard work sciences that followed in the wake of the In- in helping to organise the smooth running of ternational Geophysical Year which ran from the IPS Council meeting. mid-1957 to December 1958, astronomy is in I also would like to thank the Cité de for a major boost. Huge public interest has L’Espace technical and security staff and our been generated by the IYA events, the anni- bus driver for their patience when we ran a versary of the Apollo 11 mission and the mid- little over time on our final day. I also must year solar eclipse. thank the Mairie of the city of Toulouse, who I am fond of telling our funding agencies entertained us and welcomed us to their city and all of our visitors that planetariums are in the historic Capitole building. uniquely placed. In my Irish homeland we Toulouse is not only home to the head- are blessed with many inspiring sites, starting quarters of Airbus, but also is the heartland with the ancient 350 million-year-old lime- of the European aerospace industry. The EU’s stone bedrock that underlies most of the is- Galileo global positioning system, the French land which shows that Ireland used to be a government space agency (known as CNES or subtropical paradise, rather like the Bahamas Dr. Tom Mason the Centre Nationale d’Etudes Spatiale) runs today. The downside is that, like the modern Armagh Planetarium the Toulouse Space Centre and the SPOT Im- Bahamas, much of Carboniferous Ireland was age satellite system company is based in the under 30 metres of subtropical water, makes College Hill area. Other space based industries in the Tou- sunbathing a little tricky. Armagh BT61 9DB louse area include the Thales and EADS Astri- Our Irish heritage sites are a great resource, um companies, who build satellites. but when all is said and done, they are frozen Northern Ireland The Cite de L’Espace is well supported by in time. Battle sites, a saint’s life commemorat- United Kingdom these industries and provides a superb site for ed in a church and visitor centre, and a Bronze +44 (0)2837 524725 exploring the history of the space race from a Age ring fort—all tell wonderful stories, but +44 (0)2837 526187 fax different perspective. In the parkland around they are not continuously being renewed or +44 (0)771 0013453 cell the buildings there are updated. Their story is full scale models of told, there are no new [email protected] Soyuz spacecraft, an twists, unless the his- www.armaghplanet.com Ariane 5 launcher and torians dig up some During this northern hemisphere summer ESA satellites, plus a full new minor facts. But the 2009 Council meeting was convened in size Mir space station. in astronomy, there is the French city of Toulouse, home to Airbus It is a paradise for space something new every Industrie and the famous Cité de L’Espace. The buffs. day, and the discover- city nestles in the valley of the River Garonne ies keep coming. and has been a settlement since pre-Roman A busy season Even more impor- times, with a long and rich history. It has been a busy tantly, since we hu- The whole region is an exciting and quirky period for me and the mans are such visual place to visit; the Canal du Midi connects other IPS officers. Since animals, the enormous Toulouse with the Mediterranean coast and I last wrote I have at- advances in imaging presents a chance to experience the world at tended the British As- techniques have pro- the sedate pace of a canal boat. The amazing- sociation of Planetar- vided wonderful im- ly well-preserved medieval fortress of Carcas- ia (BAP) meeting in ages from the Cassi- sonne is worth the climb. Montségur is less Greenwich and the As- ni space craft orbiting well preserved but occupies a spectacular site. sociation des Planétar- Saturn and from the Toulouse has many fine buildings, including iums de Langue Fran- exploration robots on the seat of local government in the Capitole, çaise (APLF) in Paris. At the surface of Mars. both meetings I greet- These generate an in- adjacent to the hotel in which we stayed for Soyuz spacecraft in the grounds of Cite de ed the planetarians at- stant “wow!” factor: I the council meeting. We were bused up to the L’Espace. Photo by Tom Mason Cité de L’Espace each morning and brought tending with a message am entranced by the back in time for a quick refresh and change from the IPS and en- amazing details com- before we attended to the important evening couraged all to join up. I parable to the aeri- networking. also encouraged the French planetarians to at- al photos I used to work with when I was intend the upcoming conference in Alexandria, volved in mapping and researching Earth’s Thanks for the hospitality as there will be a simultaneous translation fa- surface geology. The IPS Council is grateful to our French col- cility for them. I am also happy to report that Modern school children can look at the leagues who hosted the council meeting, and we have inspired an interest in a new French spectacular images of Mars on the internet; I provided us with an excellent meeting space bid to host an IPS conference. compare today’s images with the blurry black

24 Planetarian September 2009 September 2009 Planetarian 25 and white photographs of Mars in my boy- all have a vote. Affiliates who cannot attend comments about Steve and his stewardship hood library books. This is an advance as dra- give their proxy votes to others so that ev- of the Elections Committee, I would remind matic as any in our history. Of course there is eryone in the society has a say. The only per- all affiliate representatives that they need to a downside, and I perceive this as a sad loss of son not voting is the president, and I would be aware that it is their job to represent the imaginative input. As I did not have enough have had a casting vote in the event of a tie be- opinions of their associations, and to have images from my library books, I generated tween the two bids. The vote went in favour canvassed that opinion for any important my own in my mind’s eye or went on to draw of Baton Rouge, so I can officially confirm votes that will be dealt with in the business them and make my own reality. that the venue for the 2012 IPS conference meeting. This is a key element of how we The reminder this year of the huge techno- will be the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium function. logical adventure that was the Cold War space at Baton Rouge. I also report here that Planetarian edi- race to the moon is a dash of reality. Any ex- tor Sharon Shanks received praise from the ploration will be costly, space especially so, Importance of affiliate reports council for the very professional appearance and while I fully understand the reasoning be- The affiliate reports are an important part of our flagship magazine. I have already writ- hind the advocates of robot exploration like of the council meeting, as this provides an op- ten to her thanking her for all of her hard UK Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, I think portunity for the representatives to raise is- work on our behalf. Sharon has completed that to ignore human space flight is to deny sues of importance to local IPS members. The her tasks with great professionalism and ef- our human nature. I would echo the under- newest affiliate group from Brazil was repre- ficiency under particularly trying personal lying philosophy of U.S. President John Ken- sented by Alex Cherman, and I can also report circumstances. So Sharon, as I know that you nedy’s 1962 speech at Rice University empha- that there is interest from a number of plac- must be reading this, please accept our heart- sizing the challenge of landing on the moon. es to host the 2014 conference. So far Rio de felt thanks to you for your good work. We do not choose to explore space because it Janeiro has formally written to me indicating It would be remiss of me not to mention is easy, it is and always will be very hard, dan- their intention to bid for the 2014 conference another stalwart of the IPS, Dale Smith. Dale gerous, and technically challenging. and Toulouse and Vancouver have expressed has rescued us from a tricky situation when I look forward to the new NASA Adminis- their interest in making a bid. our advertising person for the magazine had trator declaring the new goals for the future: I should also point out that potential hosts to relinquish the position. Dale stepped into I am impressed with Charlie Bolden (I heard should realise that if they do not succeed in the breach and has imposed a very clear cut him speak in London a few years ago), chal- their bid to host an IPS conference the first and rational method of dealing with adver- lenging youngsters to do the hard stuff and time, it is worth considering a second bid for tising matters in the Planetarian, including to learn from their mistakes. It is excellent to another year. We are very pleased to entertain a review of how pages are allocated to ad- have someone in charge of America’s space bids from all across the world, as it is enor- vertisers. Dale will also be reading this so, on programme who has direct experience of the mously important that the International part your behalf, I extend to him our gratitude big challenges, so from all of us non-U.S. plane- of our title is upheld by having our conferenc- for rescuing our chestnuts from the fire. Any tarians, well done NASA and the USA! es held at sites outside North America. This rec- matters relating to the magazine should be My view is that if we study history, it is best ognises the reality that as our society grows, copied to Dale and Sharon. not to repeat the big mistakes; the 20th centu- much of the potential growth is in countries At the council meeting we discussed the ry’s were two disastrous wars. It is surely better like China, India and in South America. possibility of making changes in how the to advance our technology in a peaceful way I know that IPS planetarians are keen to Planetarian could be disseminated as an e- by conquering the challenges of space, than travel and see other facilities around the version. It was decided that further informa- by choosing humanity’s other sure fire way of world as well as having a first-hand oppor- tion was needed to assess members’ views, as technological advance: war. tunity to see new skies in other hemispheres, well as research and collaboration with the whether east, west, north or south. Publications Committee. You should expect Report on Council meeting I also must inform you that Steve Mitch, some query to reach you in due course. Please The IPS Council meeting dealt with many who has acted as our Elections Committee let us have your views and the outcome will pressing issues. The most important news chair for many years, wrote to inform me that be communicated to you as soon as the data from the meeting was the selection of the he would be stepping down from his post as a has been collected and collated. conference site for IPS 2012. Some of you may result of his retirement. I will be looking at the roles and perfor- find the process which the council uses to se- Steve announced this decision and I must mance of committee chairs very soon as it lect conference sites to be of interest, so let me respect his wishes, while regretting the loss of is vital that these are driven by cajoling and give you a quick “fly-on-the-wall” summary. a conscientious and effective committee chair. frequent communication. To aid me I have To start the process, we were presented with Steve, if you are reading this, please be aware accepted the assistance of Past President Su- audio visual presentations and financial pro- that while it may have been a small affair for san Button, and she and I and the other offi- jections from Ryan Wyatt of the Morrison you to discharge your duties, it actually is one cers will be meeting on a Skype call as soon Planetarium in San Francisco, California and of the most important jobs in our society. Our as possible to discuss and review committee Jon Elvert of the Irene W. Pennington Plan- process must be open and accountable, and chairs. etarium from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Both Steve made it so. Many thanks Steve, and good Finally, it was decided that the IPS would made their case for the IPS Council to consider luck for the future. The officers have discussed provide some support for officers to travel to their respective facilities as host for the 2012 who could fill this vacancy, and I am happy to annual officers meetings on IPS business, as it IPS conference. This process takes place over report that another recent past president, Mar- was becoming increasingly obvious that this two days: the presentation is made on the first tin George, has accepted my invitation to fill could become a problem for the future. The day, and then on the second day the council this important post. officers will continue to treat the Society‘s members quiz the representatives of the pro- At the council meeting it was a pleasure to funds with great care, and we hope that this spective host organisations about the details welcome all of the affiliate representatives, decision may help us to ensure that there is a of their bids. many of whom had travelled half way around flow of good candidates offering themselves This is then followed by a secret ballot, and the world to attend. Following on from my for election as IPS officers. I

26 Planetarian September 2009 NOW INCLUDES FOOTAGE OF THE KEPLER MISSION AND PHOTOS OF EXTRASOLAR PLANETS!

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Take your dome experience to the extreme with Extreme Planets. Available in full-length and 23-minute versions. Weird worlds are waiting, contact Mike Murray

September 2009 at [email protected] today.Planetarian 801-456-4949 • clarkplanetarium.org/distribution 27

1100_ExtremePlanets_PlanetariumMag_8.5x11.indd 1 4/22/09 1:25:17 PM Educational Horizons So forgive me for the shameless plug for the Education Com- Read it on the mittee: if you are interested in shirt education or a have material Slogan t-shirts that you would like to have are popular reviewed, please contact me. with the school- One of the projects that age group. Just the committee will be work- seeing students ing on toward the end of this walk into the IYA2009 is the preparation of planetarium, you some information cards on as- are aware of their fa- tronomers. These will include short vorite band, that their biographies and what area of astrono- parents are under the im- my they worked with. pression that they are royalty, Here is an experiment for you to try with a and their 10 favorite ways to annoy their lit- group. Hand out small sheets of scratch paper tle sister. So I modified a classic post-planetari- and have participants draw a picture of an as- um presentation activity to make a travel bro- tronomer. From my experience, you will get chure for a planet to convince astronauts to three groups of astronomers: the first group de- visit it. Jack L. Northrup picts astronomers as people who look through The activity has the students, normally Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. telescopes in togas. grades 2 to 4, make a t-shirt logo for that plan- Planetarium There are many inaccuracies in this image, et that has to include a picture of the plan- most likely originated in a cartoon seen on et, 3-8 facts about the planet (depending on King Science and television. Another group of drawings is as- the age of the student) and a slogan. The stu- Technology Magnet Center tronauts in space suits. I think this goes along dents use a paper plate to draw on, and on the with the people who confuse astronomy and reverse side they write their facts and slogan. 3720 Florence Blvd. cosmology with astrology and cosmetology. Here are some examples of slogans that I have Omaha, Nebraska 68110 USA Finally, in the last group you will see the old had sent back to the planetarium after a visit. +1 402-557-4494 man in a lab coat. This is the image that all the •• “Venus: When you visit us we won’t knock branches of science are working to break in fa- your socks off, we’ll dissolve them.” - 3rd [email protected] vor of a more realistic view. grader •• “Jupiter: A storm chasers dream with huge I ran into a problem writing my first col- storms, lightning, and high winds” - 3rd umn for the Planetarian. It was not a case of We are the models Most of the time within our communi- grader difficulty finding a topic; no, it was limiting ties, we are the image of astronomers. Recent- •• “When visiting Pluto pack your warmest myself. Do we discuss educational reform? De- ly I was out to dinner with Jack Dunn and Liz clothes and leave the sunscreen at home” - velopment of planetarian apprentice/intern Klimek when a museum and planetarium pa- 2nd grader programs, or opportunities for members of tron came up to the table to say that they rec- Above 4th grade (10 years old +), you will the society to advance their own educations? ognized Jack’s voice and wanted to tell him have students experimenting with humor With dozens of other topics roaming around they enjoyed his presentation. This started a that is oriented to gross out the teacher. my desk on little slips of paper, I thought I great conversation and discussion that I am The reason for the facts requirement is to should limit myself to a couple of topics for sure that many of us have had with members have the students draw on their short-term this article. of the public. These conversations can range memories from the presentations and apply To begin with is a little about myself: I was from “What was that bright star this morn- what they saw and heard to transition it into raised on a farm in Waverly, Iowa (the home ing in the East?” while on the golf course to longer term memory. I suggest that the teach- of the comic book character Hawkeye). I grad- explaining the orbit of the ISS in the grocery er check out 2-3 copies of an astronomy book uated from the University of Northern Iowa store using a cantaloupe and a grape. So re- from the planetarium or school library and with a degree in Earth Science Education with member, when you draw a picture of an as- let the student use the book if they are having a focus on astronomy. While there I was the tronomer make it a nice self-portrait. problems getting enough facts. presenter for the public nights at the observa- One of the items that I would like to include More information on the original travel tory and planetarium. in my articles for the Planetarian is a lesson or brochure activity can be found at www.grc. After graduation I worked with the Grout activity that you can do in conjunction with nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/DLN/descriptions/ex- Museum of Science and History in Waterloo, your presentations. Some of them will be edu- plorsolarpostactb.htm. Check out the rubric Iowa as planetarium assistant and astronomy cational best practices that you can introduce at the end of the activity for some ideas on as- educator. This was followed by my move to to your visiting teachers or portions of lessons sessing the t-shirts. my current position as planetarium director that can be quickly added to lesson plans. at King Science and Technology Magnet Cen- The lessons will be written in a generalized ter, Omaha, Nebraska. I have been at King for Survey for the next edition: format independent of specific shows and sys- What are the three most important astrono- seven years, working with students in ranging tems. This edition’s activity is one that can be my terms for a person to know in third grade? from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. done after the planetarium visit and generally Sixth? Ninth? Twelfth? Please email your re- Another hat I wear in the planetarium com- takes about 25-30 minutes. sponses to [email protected]. I munity is the IPS Education Committee chair. Illustration by Jessie Shanks

28 Planetarian September 2009 From the Hayden Planetarium in New York JOURNEY TO THESTARS Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg

“‘Journey’ is easily the most beautiful planetarium show I have ever seen” – New York Times “Entertainer Whoopi Goldberg’s narration makes the complex topics seem like a thrilling tale told around a campfire.” – Scientific American

Licensing information available at amnh.org/traveling

Also Available from AMNH: Passport to the Universe Cosmic Collisions The Search for Life Sonic Vision

Journey to the Stars was developed by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (www.amnh.org) in collaboration with the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco; GOTO INC, Tokyo, Japan; Papalote • Museo del Niño, Mexico City, Mexico; and Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C. SeptemberJourney 2009 to the Stars was created by the American Museum of NaturalPlanetarian History, with the major support and partnership of the Heliophysics Division of 29 NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

ad art v1.indd 1 7/16/09 9:44:27 AM General Counsel first, New York Times Co. v. Tasini dealt with copyrights before bringing an infringement the rights of freelance writers and ultimate- suit. The Reed Elsevier case was brought as a ly changed the way newspapers license their class action, which means a handful of free- publications for inclusions in database servic- lance writers brought suit on behalf of all free- es (e.g., Lexis, ProQuest, EBSCO). lance writers who had been similarly wronged The issue in Tasini was whether the news- by having their copyrights allegedly infringed paper publishers had the right to license the upon. The case was settled in 2005. freelancers’ content to database services even The Court of Appeals for the Second Cir- though the freelance writers owned the copy- cuit subsequently concluded, however, that right to their articles. Newspapers believed the settlement was invalid because the court that because they were licensing their news- lacked jurisdiction over the unregistered papers as collective works—that is, collections copyrights. Several publishers sought Su- of articles—they had a right to license database preme Court review, noting that the ruling in services independent of the freelance writer’s Reed Elsevier appears inconsistent with Tasini, copyright in the individual articles. which was also structured as a class action. Christopher S. Reed Judge Sotomayor ruled in favor of the The case will likely be argued in October or newspapers, but the Court of Appeals reversed November, and a ruling probably won’t come CSR Media, LLC her decision, and the Su- 1600 South Eads Street preme Court affirmed the appellate court. As a #830N Cartoon Network: …the ruling has potentially result of the case, news- significant implications for content distribution Arlington, Virginia 22202 paper publishers have the right to license da- through new technologies, which may well USA tabases of their newspa- become important in the context of outreach +1 720-236-3007 pers’ pages, in image for- activities that seek to leverage innovative dis- [email protected] mat, but not individual articles in a text-only or tribution technologies. By the time you read this, the U.S. Supreme searchable format, un- Court will be busy preparing to open its Octo- less they get a license from the writer to do so. until early 2010. Regardless of how the court ber term, most likely joined by its newest jus- The other notable copyright case was titled rules, the case serves as a useful reminder of tice, Sonia Sotomayor, who, as I write, is being Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publish- the importance of registering your copyrights peppered with questions by the Congress in ing Group. In brief, Carol had published a book to ensure that you preserve your rights in the the course of her confirmation hearings. that was largely based on characters, plot lines, event an infringement suit becomes neces- Although judicial nominees are typically and other creative aspects of the popular Sein- sary. scrutinized with respect to their positions on feld television program. Castle Rock, which high profile, controversial issues like gun con- produced Seinfeld, sued alleging, among other Cartoon Network Case trol, abortion, and religious freedom, I thought things, copyright infringement; Carol argued The Supreme Court had an opportunity to it might be interesting to take a quick look at its use of the Seinfeld characters should be de- hear another copyright case, but declined to her intellectual property track record. clared a fair use. Judge Sotomayor ruled in fa- do so. Cartoon Network v. CSC Holdings would Judge Sotomayor has served as a trial court vor of Castle Rock, finding that Carol’s use of have required the Court to consider the pa- judge in the Southern District of New York, copyrighted material exceeded that of what rameters of “public performance,” one of the and as an appellate judge on the Second Cir- could reasonably be considered fair use. Car- rights granted exclusively to a copyright own- cuit Court of Appeals, which is comprised of, ol appealed, but the Second Circuit affirmed er under the Copyright Act. The case involved among other districts, the Southern District Judge Sotomayor’s ruling. a cable company’s remote video recording ser- of New York. These two courts are considered vice which allowed its viewers to record cer- fairly influential in the intellectual property Copyright’s Coming Attraction tain programs for future viewing, just like a field because so many cases involving IP arise Judge Sotomayor will be hearing echoes of VCR or, more commonly these days, a digital out of New York, which is, of course, home to Tasini when she takes the bench this October, video recorder (DVR). many content-creating organizations. (The when the Court hears Reed Elsevier v. Much- It is settled law that an individual’s use of other influential jurisdiction in the IP field is nick. Like Tasini, Reed Elsevier involves the a VCR or DVR does not infringe upon pro- the Ninth Circuit, which encompasses, among rights of publishers with respect to freelance gram suppliers’ copyrights. Here, though, the other areas, California, also home to many me- work, but unlike Tasini, the issue here in- cable company was hosting the DVR; viewers dia industry players). volves whether the courts can even hear the selected which programs it wanted to record Judge Sotomayor presided over two well- case in the first place. and the cable company made copies on their known copyright cases while serving as a tri- You may recall from previous columns that own servers, and fed them back to viewers on al judge, both of which took place in 1997. The in the United States, one must register their demand. A number of major broadcasters brought suit, claiming that the service infringed their General Counsel is intended to serve as a source of general information on legal issues copyright by making copies of programs and of interest to the planetarium community. Planetarians seeking information on how storing them on a central server without their the principles discussed in a General Counsel column apply to their own circumstances should seek the advice of their own attorneys. permission, and publicly performing those

30 Planetarian September 2009 programs when a viewer sought to play back made the recording in the first place—the Copyrights told Intellectual Property Watch their recorded programs. playback was not “to the public” as defined in (www.ip-watch.org) that a bill would likely be The cable company took the position that the Copyright Act. Accordingly, the conduct introduced within days. It’s now mid-July as their system was no different than existing couldn’t violate the programmers’ public per- I write, and we have yet to see a new orphan DVR technology; programmers argued the formance right. works proposal. service is more akin to video-on-demand of- Scholars are divided on the impact of the Although Congress is busy with healthcare ferings which require a separate license. ruling, and there is some question as to how and the economy (and, of course, preparing The trial court held that the cable compa- this construction of U.S. law may or may not for the August recess), those in the know sug- ny’s service violated both the copyright own- comport with the country’s international gest that we may still see legislation, and that er’s right of reproduction and of public perfor- copyright treaty obligations. part of the delay may be attributed to spon- mance, finding that the copies on the cable While I don’t see any immediate impact on sors trying to line up support in advance of a company’s servers constituted unlicensed re- the planetarium and museum community, bill’s introduction. Stay tuned. productions of copyrighted programming the ruling has potentially significant impli- and that the playback of such programming cations for content distribution through new Your Thoughts… was an unlicensed public performance. The technologies, which may well become impor- This column started a few years ago out court ordered the cable company to stop of- tant in the context of outreach activities that of an article I wrote on music licensing. Af- fering its remote DVR service. seek to leverage innovative distribution tech- ter talking to several planetarians, it became The cable company appealed. The Second nologies. clear that there was a need for a clear, practi- Circuit reversed the trial court on both points. cal resource for basic legal background, news, It held that because the end user was actual- Orphan Works Update and information tailored specifically for the ly the user, and not the cable company, that In the last installment of General Coun- unique needs and interests of planetarians. made the copy, the cable company couldn’t sel, I offered some background on the orphan Much of my writing has focused on intel- be held liable for infringement (the court ex- works “problem” and discussed the prospect lectual property because that appears to be the pressly noted it was considering only direct of legislation to help remedy, or at least mit- legal area that impacts planetarians the most, infringement; there remains a small possibil- igate, the issue. There have been a couple at- and one that causes a tremendous amount of ity that the cable company could be liable for tempts at passing legislation, but neither made confusion. I would love to hear your thoughts contributory infringement). it to the President’s desk. and ideas for future topics. If you have any On the performance point, the appellate Proponents of such legislation promised comments or suggestions, please let me know, court held that since the performance was di- to try again this session, but so far we haven’t and I’ll do my best to address them in a future rected to a particular user—the same user that seen anything. In early June the Register of installment. I

September 2009 Planetarian 31 IMERSA News young people to study astronomy and related sciences. On the vendor side there remains much proprietary disagreement, and on the operator side there has been quite a bit of debate and discussion. But “A problem is an opportunity in drag,” as Paul Hawken wrote in his influential book, Growing a Business, and numer- ous planetarium system vendors have jumped in to address the issue with combination optical/digital projection systems Central placement of the 2 JVC video projectors on either side for those institutions that desire of the GOTO CHIRON allow for 100% fulldome coverage with the versatility of a digital dome no starball shadow on the dome at Fujisawa, Japan the most recent HYBRID dome. Image courtesy GOTO. and the excellence of an optom- Judith Rubin echanical sky. IMERSA.org Combining digital and optical systems is Children’s Museum of Science in Morioka, Ja- not without challenges. Most digital projec- pan. “We put together our Super Uranus plan- [email protected] tors do not produce true blacks, but instead etarium projector with Virtuarium II, which fade to a uniform gray sky. Attempting to is our fulldome system powered by Digistar overlay digital effects onto the velvet black 3—soon to be Digistar 4—with a control sys- night sky simulation from a starball can wash tem featuring both manual and automated Museums of the Night Sky: out the optical sky, obscuring dimmer stars controls using hybrid software that seamless- Combining fulldome systems and the Milky Way. Attaining accurate regis- ly links the optical and digital skies.” tration between digital and optical starfields is Miller points to the manual sliders and with optomechanical star- a geometric challenge, and synchronizing the knobs as a key el- balls for the best of both motion of both skies is an especially difficult ement of the sys- technical challenge. tem that facilitates Fading to gray is not an option real-time storytell- Fulldome systems provide new versatility Combinations ing and education under the planetarium dome, offering a uni- Vendors offering combination optical/dig- in the dome. “If you verse of immersive, full-color visitor experi- ital systems include GOTO, Zeiss, Spitz Inc., want to have the ences through a growing library of playback Global Immersion, RSA Cosmos, Sky-Skan, sun set at the end of content and the ability to navigate 3D data- Konica Minolta and others. We spoke with your sentence, you bases in real time. some of them about what they have current- need the real-time But ironically, as the technology stands ly installed and on the market. ergonomics of man- today, fulldome can’t quite replicate the el- “These systems are bought to teach with,” ual controls.” In a re- ement that it tends to replace: the optome- says Hawaii-based Ken Miller, USA liaison for cent presentation at Ken Miller chanical star projector. Content-wise, digi- Tokyo-based GOTO Inc. Miller’s 23 years in SEPA, GOTO dem- tal displays can soar far beyond the starball’s the planetarium business include 13 years at onstrated how the Earthbound limitations. Presentation-wise, the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. GOTO has system employs a motorized iris in the video however, digital has difficulty matching the done pioneering work in the fulldome field, projectors and a slider on the control console pristine starfield that a high-end optomechan- notably with its Virtuarium system intro- to adjust and coordinate the visuals depend- ical projector can achieve with simultaneous duced in the mid 1990s. ing on the desired effect. high brightness, high contrast and high reso- “Since the beginning of the planetarium “You can pinch off most of the gray of the lution. and the ‘magic lantern,’ slide projector oper- video projector,” says Miller. “You can ride the Fulldome plus optomechanical? Or full- ators have positioned things coincident with throttle up and down, using your judgment dome vs. optomechanical? Both are tough each other,” notes Miller, “such as laying a as you go along, or you can pre-program the subjects to write about. Honoring the legacy of slide on top of a constellation. Manual place- show by recording an operator’s selections or night sky storytelling is a core issue for those ment was either done in real time or by using traditionally with a keyboard a mouse.” venues with dedicated star theaters that for subtle cues and marks around the sky.” To date, GOTO has installed 15 of its hy- years have relied on the beauty and magnif- GOTO’s modern vision of that is the GOTO brid systems, packaged variously as the Super icence of the simulated night sky to achieve Hybrid PlanetariumTM, of which the compa- Helios, the Super Uranus, the Chiron and the affective educational goals, such as inspiring ny’s first iteration was unveiled in 2004 at the Chronos. Venues include the College of San Mateo (California), China Science & Technol- ogy Museum (Beijing), Sudekum Planetarium Judith Rubin, based in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, is an editor, writer and publicist for the (Nashville, Tennessee), and Sendai Observato- visitor attractions industry. She is director of communications for IMERSA. (Continued on page 36)

32 Planetarian September 2009 September 2009 Planetarian 33 34 Planetarian September 2009 September 2009 Planetarian 35 dle of Sky-Skan reports they have developed “a new breed of opto-mechanical starballs has emerged that are designed specifically for fulldome. They are less expensive, respond faster because they are smaller, and use photograph- ic plates to show millions of stars.” Included in this category are Sky-Skan’s new Megastar- II or Megastar-zero starballs, packaged with its Definiti Optical system that was first announced at IPS 2008 and including an inter- face for the company’s DigitalSky 2 software. Sky-Skan’s first installation with Megastar is scheduled for later this year.

In favor of digital (Left) Zeiss’ powerdome® workstation. Global Immersion’s Director for Americas, Shown here is the demo unit; customers can purchase the computer system plus Alan Caskey, sees an all-digital solution on the the projector and mini dome to preview near horizon. “Gray is the enemy when striv- content in a remote location. It’s coming for faultless night skies. But we think the pact and requires little space. (Top) The question is evolving from ‘should I have full- Velvet project. Photos courtesy Zeiss dome with my starball?’ to ‘do I really need a

starball with my fulldome?’ True-black digital projectors are clearly the leading contenders in the digital planetarium game, and 2010 will ry (Japan). The company has a preferred ven- with a fiberoptic starball. According to Mis- become the year when these projectors are set- dor arrangement with Evans & Sutherland ajet, the Velvet contrast ratio was measured ting the new benchmark.” and is the exclusive distributor of Digistar sys- at 2.5 million to one, a leap forward in video Continues Caskey, “Is the fulldome system tems in Japan and parts of Asia. The Chronos is blackness. “You can use both together seam- there to enhance the astronomy presentation, also available through Spitz in the US. lessly,” she says. “A live manual control pan- (Continued on page 54) “Even the older starballs can fill the sky el lets you switch back and forth. The stars with tens of thousands of stars which are won’t compete, nor will they get drowned much smaller and have a wider dynamic out or washed out by the video.” The Velvet’s range of brightness than video,” says Miller. higher price is balanced by lower long-range “The current working high end of video pales operating costs, according to Misajet. when compared to modern opto-mechanical Zeiss’s powerdome software for its com- systems. The resolution is much greater and bo systems features the Configurator tool for I believe it will be for at least another decade.” digital blending. The starball works on a separate control system linked to the digital sys- A defining feature tem which monitors it, according to Misajet. “Someday, we admit it will probably all be “If you are talking about constellations and done in video,” says Laura Misajet, sales man- the night sky, you can have the optical stars ager of the planetarium division of Seiler In- up, and then you can add digital constellation strument & Mfg. Co. Inc. which distributes outlines and grids and move them together Zeiss products in the U.S. Misajet, who entered perfectly in sync. When you want to fly a se- the field as an educator in the 1980s, suggest- quence or go to a scene where stars are less im- ed it is time to turn attention back to the clas- portant, it seamlessly switches over.” sic starfield. Misajet reported that Zeiss combination “People are asking ‘what defines us as a planetarium installations to date total 20- planetarium?’—and maybe what defines us plus, including Bochum Germany, with the is that quality starfield. Just as there are mu- Universarium and powerdome®Velvet; San- seums for art and nature and science and ev- to Ambre Brazil, with the Starmaster SB and erything else, maybe now we ought to look powerdome®4Dome (Sony SXRD projectors); at the planetarium as the museum for the and Judenburg Austria, with the ZKP4 and night sky. With fulldome, the technology is Spacegate Quinto. A brand new install featur- now there to do all the fancy things—to take ing the five-projector Spacegate Quinto digital people to the Himalayas and the desert—but system with the ZKP4 star projector is in prog- when we do present the night sky and stars, ress at the Fort Worth (Texas) Museum of Sci- we shouldn’t have to compromise.” ence and History. Powerdome® is the name given to Zeiss’s line of combination systems that bring to- Sky-Skan’s combination (Top) One of Sky-Skan’s Megastar starballs; gether one of the company’s various star pro- Sky-Skan recently combined its Definiti 4K this one is about the size of a basketball! Im- jectors with one of its various fulldome video with a Konica-Minolta Infinium S for the Fujit- age courtesy Ohira Tech Ltd. (Bottom) A JVC arrays. Its top-of-the line pairs the new, propri- su Planetarium at DeAnza College in Cuperti- RS2 6-projector mount with custom mask that etary powerdome®Velvet fulldome system no, California. Building on that, Marcus Wed- goes into Definiti D-ILA High-Contrast. Courte- sy Sky-Skan

36 Planetarian September 2009 Stars_FullPageAdd_Printer.pdf.pdPage 1 2/12/2009 3:18:50 PM

CMY

September 2009 Planetarian 37 International News Association of French-Speaking Planetariums The 25th AFP Conference was held 21-22 May in La Villette, Paris-Cité des Sciences, with 110 participants and the highly-appreciated presence of IPS President Tom Mason. A second part, held 23-24 May, was devoted to mobile planetariums in Marly-le-Roy. During the conference, the second RSA contest winner, Vincent Coutellier from Nice, received a Cosmodyssee 4 with inflatable dome. This year also is marked by collaborative productions of fulldome video shows for IYA and the 40th anniversary of the first walk on the moon. Toulouse and Montpellier constructed together the Rendezvous show. AFP is performing the French version of the ESA show (30 minutes) and of the Two Small Pieces of Glass Lars Broman show. A show based on celestial imagery as Teknoland and Strömstad the springboard of astronomical knowledge was prepared with Roland Laffitte in many Academy AFP: Planetariums 2009. Courtesy of AFP languages. Stångtjärnsv 132 The APLF/ESO show In Search of our Cos- with the modern reconstruction of Galileo’s SE 791 74 Falun, Sweden mic Origins was selected as one of the three telescope, but the cloudy sky did not permit! +46 2310 177 best IYA-projects in France, and was present- This experience will be repeated in August ed during the IAU-GA in Rio de Janeiro. As of and in November, the months in which Galil- [email protected] 1 July it had been distributed to 35 planetari- ei observed and drew the surface of the moon [email protected] ums around the world. for the first time in 1609. www.teknoland.se The official opening of the Planetarium of www.stromstadakademi.se Association of Italian Planetaria Padova took place on 21 April. At long last, the The Starlab Group at Perugia Planetarium city where Galileo Galilei arrived 400 years has built Galilei’s V.2 telescope to recall his ago, armed with the telescope he had just con- The International News column for Plane- observations of the moon and Medicean sat- structed, opened the doors to a new science, tarian’s third issue for 2009 is edited—as it is ellites. In the evening of 31 May, students pre- has been endowed with a cutting-edge digi- every year—when astronomy goes to sleep sented Galilei’s figure and the construction tal planetarium. The dome and the projection above latitude 60° north. We have just one star techniques of the telescope. Then they pro- system were commissioned to Sky-Skan. It is to enjoy, but Swedes do enjoy it a lot in the jected Jupiter’s path at that time on the dome the first Definiti Theater in Italy that features summer: our sun. Astronomy is, nevertheless, of the planetarium. At the end of the evening unique cove-mounted, high-contrast projec- important also here and now. the audience was to have observed the moon tors that show a seamless picture. Within the framework of Strömstad Acade- my, a new project is in the planning with the acronym PUA, which stands for Public Under- standing of Astronomy. Please contact me if you are interested and might want to participate! The International News column is depen- dent on contributions from IPS Affiliate As- sociations all over the world. Many thanks to Agnès Acker, Vadim Belov, Bart Benjamin, Ignacio Castro, Kevin Conod, Alex Delivo- rias, Martin George, John Hare, Shaaron Lev- erment, Dan Neafus, Loris Ramponi, and Scott Young for your contributions. Upcoming deadlines are 1 October for Planetarian 4/2009 and 1 January for 1/2010. Planetarians who wants to contribute news from parts of the world where IPS has no As- sociation (see page 3) are welcome to contact Martin George, [email protected].

AFP: Year 2009 AFP Conference in La Villette-Paris. Courtesy of CSI-La

38 Planetarian September 2009 vided by Sky-Skan, which will allow expert net-transmitted Basic Astronomy Course and technicians to develop and produce appli- corresponding lectures on archeoastronomy, cations and performances for educating the equinoxes and solstices. An exhibition has public and promoting the study of astrono- been planned for August under the theme 400 my in digital planetariums. Years of the Invention of the Telescope. La Torre del Sole Planetarium is presenting two fulldome shows: Black Holes: the Oth- British Association of er Side of Infinity, narrated by Academy-Award Planetaria nominated actor Liam Neeson, and Two Small The British Association of Planetaria’s AGM Pieces of Glass. See also www.latorredelsole.it. (14-15 May 2009) was jam-packed full of sessions, workshops, domes, shows and post- Association of Mexican conference entertainments, all which left Planetariums attendees all star-struck. Ray Worthy, innova- News has come from the Mexico-U.S. bor- tor and manufacturer of mobile domes, hon- der city of Nogales, from its cultural center ored guest and recipient of the BAP Lifetime Los Nogales, of plans to build a Planetarium- Achievement award, happily said “I have nev- Observatory-Ludoteca (toy library), partial- er experienced a BAP like it.” ly sponsored by the Municipality of Nogales Generously hosted by the Royal Observato- and CONACyT, the National Council of Sci- ry Greenwich, the program for 2009 was de- ence and Technology. The design, supervi- signed specifically to help members share ex- sion, training, technical and academic advi- periences, keep up-to-date with new advances sory will be provided by the University of and technologies, and provide new inspira- Sonora, DIF-US astronomy area. The planetar- tion and support to those of us who may need ium will feature a digital projector. The obser- it more than ever in harder times. vatory will have two telescopes and the toy li- With a capacity of 40, and attended by 80 brary will provide, through game techniques, individuals on the first day alone, BAP 2009 the learning in these areas, probably to be op- was able to spread across a two-day confer- erating in September 2009. ence, supported by Discovery Dome, E&S, Also reported is strong interest in develop- Global Immersion, and Sky-Skan. ing a planetarium for Chihuahua’s Museo Se- The theme for the event was Life, the Uni- milla Children Museum through its Director verse and Everything and included sessions on Fernando Melendez and the local astronomy a myriad of IYA projects, a fascinating debate association, Chihuahua in Orbit, still in plan- chaired by Prof John Brown (honorary chair ning stages. of BAP) on “what is science and what is not,” Ten AMPAC member planetariums have planetarium shows on Chinese mythology been organizing together a contest to develop and Darwin’s epic journey, use of British Sign scale models related to the 40 anniversary of Language in shows for hearing-impaired, and man descent on the Moon. much more. Juan Jose Duran, AMPAC president and di- Attendees were very pleased to have Jacob rector of the Merida Planetarium, reported AIP: (Top) The modern reconstruction of Gali- a very low attendance leo’s V.2 telescope inside Ignazio Danti’s Plan- etarium. Courtesy of StarLab Group, ITIS “A. to the planetarium Volta” Perugia. (Bottomo) A stunning view of shows, due mainly to the Padova Planetarium. Photo by Matteo and the April-May influen- Francesco Danesin. za outbreak, no school visits and no tourism. Featuring DigitalSky 2 software, six hi-def However, to compen- video projectors and specialized masking by sate for this, the plan- Sky-Skan completes the projection system. etarium has been very For the first time in a Definiti theater config- active during Saturday uration, the projectors are mounted inside an evenings providing innovative and specially constructed column visitors with comput- structure supporting the dome screen and hid- er-generated current ing the projectors from the audience. This fa- month sky highlights cilitates Padova’s need to fit the new theater and telescope observa- into the tight quarters of a former 19th centu- tions. ry slaughterhouse. Children’s lectures The 8.5-m (28-ft) domed projection screen on astronomy are giv- and a cinema-quality 5.1 digital surround- en on Sundays with sound system compliments the graphics. The the authorization of theater’s seating is unidirectional, with capac- the University of So- ity for 60 guests. Moreover, the planetarium nora. At the Universi- has its own production unit, using an offline ty, 67 alumni were able BAP: The Peter Harrison Planetarium in Greenwich. Courtesy of NSC Cre- Definiti Creator production system, also pro- to register for the inter- ative.

September 2009 Planetarian 39 and Jane Ashong as visit- for IYA09, Telescope: Pass- ing guests, who postponed port to the Stars, opened in their flight back to Ghana May and is receiving great in order to visit us at BAP. reviews by visitors 9 years They were hugely welcome old and over. They are cur- and inspired everyone with rently working on the ad- the Ghana Science Project, aptation of Galileo Live!, a and BAP hopes to maintain show written and direct- these first links and friend- ed by Alan Dyer in Calgary, ships made with ongoing and produced by the Con- news and support between sortium of Canadian Plane- our two continents. tariums. Galileo Live! and the Of particular interest was French version Moi, Galilée Dr. John Griffiths’ brief, but will open in Montréal on 9 educational, planetarium October and will run Friday show on the Gould’s Belt, to Sunday until 10 January a partial ring of stars of un- 2010. For more information, known origin which may contact Pierre Chastenay, represent the local spiral arm [email protected] of which the sun is a mem- al.ca. ber. John adeptly showed us Recent production activ- how to view this and proved ity at the H.R. MacMillan there are still naked eye sur- Planetarium in Vancouver prises up there, a thrill for has been focused on creat- any amateur astronomer. ing a video version of the The participants were successful live show Gali- lucky to see the premiere leo Live!. As popular as this of We Are Astronomers show is, it has one down- BAP: We Are Astronomers, the stunning full dome show for IYA from NSC Creative. Photo from NSC Creative, which by/Courtesy of NSC Creative. side: the cost of presenting was a true visual feast. this show live includes the They found it a fantastic cost of an actor portraying show to watch with top quality graphics and Julia Riley (previous BAP treasurer, previous Galileo. This places the program beyond the fantastic astronomical content; see weareast- planetarium manager at MOSI in Manchester reach of most school group bookings, as they ronomers.com. and current new mobile dome provider) sent are stretched to the maximum just to meet Discovery Dome sponsored a session which this message following the event which sums busing and regular admission fees. The solu- directly benefited those members who run up the importance of our yearly meeting: “I tion is to video record the Galileo actor for in- mobile planetarium domes or who present never appreciated the invaluable support that clusion into the panoramic scenes of the show. many shows in a single day. Dr Kevin Hollis, a BAP provides to people who are working so The cost of doing this is minimal compared to professional science communicator and voice much on their own as I am now. It makes a the cost of producing the original show, and coach, came to BAP for a workshop titled real difference to be able to meet up with like- the end result is a version of the show that can “How to work towards more varied shows and minded individuals all tackling the same sort be presented to special groups at regular show healthier, happier presenters.” Here he cov- of issues and I’ve returned home feeling reju- prices, as well as permitting an extended run ered many helpful warm-up techniques and venated!” beyond the budgeted live actor performances. expressed his amazement that more plane- Personal thanks must once again go out For more information contact Erik Koelemey- tarium presenters don’t use such vocal warm to Rob Edwards and Claire Bretherton from er, [email protected]. ups, as any professional theatrical perform- Greenwich. The work that goes into putting er would do so without hesitation. Fascinat- on a professional conference is all-encompass- European/Mediterranean ing work explored the different vocal tones ing. Planetarium Association to suit different environments, including us- The Planetarium at the Thessaloniki Science ing the dome to a presenters’ best advantage, Canadian Association of Science Center and Technology Museum has recently and awakened awareness of the voice as a very Centres completed the installation of a new advanced versatile tool. In Montréal, winners of the international server solution and a range of fulldome con- One final useful session worth noting here, architecture contest for the new Planétarium tent by Global Immersion. The new FidelityTM and one to recommend holding, was an open Rio Tinto Alcan de Montréal were announced server system will allow the facility to man- and honest debate about what BAP can do for last June. They are Cardin + Ramirez & Asso- age, edit and playback ultra-high resolution, its members in the coming year: Can we be ciés, a Montréal firm with whom we are eager uncompressed content in either pre-recorded more than just a sum of our parts? to start designing the new building in more or real-time formats through the theater’s six- BAP is certainly a growing organization details. In the mean time, IYA09 activities in channel DLP fulldome projection system. In with more members than ever and hopes to and around Montréal keep apace with lec- addition to the Uniview real-time visualiza- continue to serve these members by promot- tures, observing nights in parks in every part tion and astronomy platform from Swedish ing planetarium domes with increased adver- of the city (with the collaboration of numer- software company SCISS, the Fidelity server tising and public awareness as well as a profes- ous amateur astronomers), special evening system will enhance Thessaloniki’s planetar- sional website overhaul, in order to keep the concerts under the stars with l’Orchestre sym- ium capabilities in managing advanced con- work flowing in this current economic down- phonique de Montréal, and more. tent production and editing, leading to the turn. The first of their new planetarium shows production of professional-grade full dome

40 Planetarian September 2009 shows. To that effect Global Immersion has the SpaceQuest Plane- agreed to provide system and content produc- tarium within the Chil- tion training workshops, as well as supplying dren’s Museum of Indi- a preventative remote diagnostics facility. anapolis was fitted with The Eugenides Planetarium in Athens is new Digistar full-theater currently working on its latest production, equipment upgrades, The Great Adventure, scheduled for premier- bringing them fulldome ing next November. This show is part 2 of a video technology. trilogy on space exploration that kicked off The Metropolitan in October 2007 with the show From Earth to School District of Pike the Moon. The third part, The Future of Man in Township Planetarium Space, will be ready in about two years. in Indianapolis was one of 40 schools and 76 mu- Great Lakes Planetarium seums chosen to partici- Association pate in the Great Obser- Illinois. The Lakeview Museum of Arts & vatories Image Unveiling Sciences in Peoria is pleased to report that Peo- of a large print of the spi- ria voters passed a tax referendum that will ral galaxy Messier 101. support the Peoria Riverfront Museum proj- The Koch Science Cen- ect, assuring that it will move forward toward ter and Planetarium of an opening in late 2012 or early 2013. The Peo- the Evansville Museum ria Riverfront Museum will include a new of Arts History and Sci- planetarium, and the Zeiss Powerdome Plan- ence scheduled 25 hours etarium System will be moved there from the of programming during current planetarium. the worldwide 100 Hours The William Staerkel Planetarium at Park- of Astronomy event, in- land College in Champaign premiered an cluding live web casts, a original production called Secrets of Suburban Global Star Party, and an Skies. The local astronomy club continued observatory open house. their IYA park tour of telescopes, in addition Michigan. The Rog- GLPA: Top: The Anderson-Hancock Planetarium. Courtesy of Marietta to their monthly observatory open houses. er B. Chaffee Planetari- College. Bottom: Handbell concert at the Bowling Green State Universi- The Cernan Earth and Space Center at Tri- um in Grand Rapids had ty Planetarium. Photo by Dale Smith. ton College in River Grove presented a spe- remarkable success with cial trio of shows in July to commemorate the their 100 Hours of As- 40th anniversary of Apollo 11. In late August, tronomy. With help from the Grand Rap- mer to install a new dome and seating. the Cernan Center hosted An Evening with ids Amateur Astronomical Association, tele- Ohio welcomes Scott Oldfield (Smith Mid- Galileo, which featured nationally-known scopes were set up at a dozen locations in the dle School Planetarium in Dayton) and Dr. musician and astronomer Mark A. Thompson Grand Rapids area and nearly 1,000 people at- Thomas Oberst (Westminster College Plan- portraying Galileo. tended. etarium, western Pennsylvania) to the plan- Indiana. Gregg Williams reports that the At the Dassault Systèmes Planetarium, plans etarium community. Jim Gavio reports that Merrillville Community Planetarium has are underway for two telescope making work- students and families at the Erie (Pennsylva- been working on their own original produc- shops featuring the IYA’s Galileoscope Project nia) Planetarium were able to talk with astro- tion titled Apollo 11: First Landing on the Moon and participation in Michigan’s largest public naut Mike Fincke aboard the ISS. The planetar- to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the astronomy event, “Astronomy at the Beach,” ium’s Dinner Under the Stars events continue first manned landing on the moon. The Chal- which draws over 5,000 people. to be very popular, as was their celebration of lenger Center of Northwest Indiana in Ham- The Delta College Planetarium and Learn- National Astronomy Day. mond installed a new MediaGlobe 2 this sum- ing Center in Bay City hosted their annual Cheri Adams reports that Dayton’s Boon- mer. The Jefferson High School Planetarium Fireworks Fundraiser on 4 July. Bay City will shoft Museum of Discovery designed an in- in Lafayette had new LED cove lighting in- host GLPA’s annual conference 21-24 October. house astronomy exhibit titled “Denizens of stalled, along with a new computer and oth- Kingman Museum in Battle Creek’s 100 Hours the Milky Way: How Humans Came to Under- er upgrades. of Astronomy event, featuring a star party and stand the Universe.” Items from collections on The P-H-M Planetarium in Mishawaka pre- telescope workshop, was a huge success! King- display include Native American items with sented the final analysis of its community- man Museum partnered with the Battle Creek celestial designs, meteorites, and a replica of wide, scientific experiment titled Let There Public Schools to host seven free teacher in- one of Galileo’s telescopes. Be Night at a May school board meeting. This service planetarium shows. The Bowling Green State University Plan- project involved 7,000 students from grades The Exhibit Museum Planetarium in Ann etarium wrapped up its program year with K-8, with grades 3-8 participating in the Globe Arbor has had three record-breaking months short encore runs of four past in-house pro- at Night project. The results of Let There Be of public attendance and donations. In July, ductions. In early April, the planetarium pro- Night can be found at their website www. the American Association of Physics Teachers duced its ninth biennial handbell concert fea- lettherebenight.com. used the dome for 3-D physics demonstrations. turing bell choirs from two area churches. The Edwin Clark Schouweiler Memorial In June, the Peter F. Hurst Planetarium hosted The new Anderson-Hancock Planetarium at Planetarium at the University of Saint Francis a free star talk titled Summer Jewels of the Milky Marietta College was dedicated on 8 May. This in Fort Wayne has undergone expansion, with Way as part of Jackson County’s Rose Festival 12- m (40-ft), 102-seat dome features a Goto the creation of a new foyer that will include a Party in the Park Celebration. The Abrams Chronos Hybrid opto-mechanical star projec- 52-inch ViewSpace video display. In late April, Planetarium Theater was closed for the sum- tor and an Evans & Sutherland Digistar 3-SP2-

September 2009 Planetarian 41 Nordic Planetarium Association NPA President Lars Broman participated in the IPS Council meeting in Toulouse, France 4-5 July. The Council chose Baton Rouge, Lou- isiana with host Jon Elvert, Irene Pennington Planetarium, as the site of the IPS’12 Confer- ence. The Nordic Planetarium Association Con- ference NPA’09 was held at Vitenfabrikkent in Sandnes, Norway 4-6 September with Ivar Nakken as host. More from this meeting will be given in Planetarian 4/2009. The latest Nordic planetarium, a Starlab Fi- berarc with mobile dome, was delivered by Broman Planetarium this summer to a school in the Copenhagen region, Denmark. MAPS: Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society 2009 Conference at Howard B. Owens Science Center, Mary- land, 13-16 May 2009. Photo by Richard Thimijan. Rocky Mountain Planetarium Association HD full dome projection system. The keynote fice as president-elect. This will also be her sec- Kris McCall and her team at the Sudekum speaker was astronaut Dr. Story Musgrave. ond term in the executive office. Sam Storch Planetarium in Nashville, Tennessee hosted Ward Beecher Planetarium at Youngstown and Keith Johnson are continuing in their po- the Southeast Planetarium Association meet- State University presented two full days of sitions as secretary and treasurer, respectively. ing 16-20 June and kindly invited the WAC well-attended programs in conjunction with This fall the society will introduce the MAPS (Western Area Conference, RMPA, GPPA, PPA, Summer Festival of the Arts, a collaboration Fellow Award. The purpose of the award is to SWAP) members to join. RMPA held an annu- between the university and the city. The local recognize those members of the organization al meeting and recognized Rick Greenawald, amateur astronomy organization offered safe who maintain an active membership status (manager, Faulkner Planetarium, College of solar viewing. and have held an elective office, served as a Southern Idaho) as next president. RMPA Wisconsin/Minnesota. The Gary E. conference host or otherwise provided signif- members making the trip to Nashville includ- Sampson Planetarium in Wauwatosa, Wis- icant service or contribution to the society or ed Dan Neafus (president), Mike Murray (web- consin closed for the summer so that Director the planetarium field. A nomination form is master), Michelle Wistisen, Aaron McEuen Todd DeZeeuw could replace one of the Sony forthcoming and will be included in the next (treasurer), Michael Magee, Mark Prusten, Kev- CRT projectors with a Barco 808, install a slew- issue of society’s newsletter as well as on the in Scott, and David Binnewies (secretary). zoom projector, and update shows for the up- MAPS website. Of interest to IPS members is the realization coming school year. Last summer NASA called for proposals for that RMPA participation has declined since At the MSU Moorhead Planetarium in projects that would provide NASA-inspired the regional quarterly newsletter went digi- Moorhead, Minnesota, Dave Weinrich reports space, science, technology, engineering or tal several years ago. The officers presume that that several school and public shows were mathematics educational opportunities, in- a hard copy mailing of the newsletter repre- canceled due to the spring’s Red River flood- cluding planetarium shows and exhibits. sented a tangible benefit to membership and ing, but everything soon returned to normal. Called the Competitive Program for Science encourages renewal and greater participation. The planetarium has been working with the Museums and Planetariums (CP4SMP), 13 or- In the future RMPA will plan to make at least North Dakota Council for the Arts and two lo- ganizations were selected to receive a total of one mailing per year to all members and re- cal school districts to produce a two-day event $6.9 million in grants. cent members. This will include hard copies where Native American artists/storytellers Of the 13, two are located in the MAPS re- of the newsletter as well as additional audio- presented stories under the dome. gion. The American Museum of Natural Histo- visual materials made available by IPS, NASA, This summer at the Charles Horwitz Plane- ry received funds for a NASA Science Research ESA and others. tarium in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Dave DeRe- Mentoring Program, a three-year pilot pro- Micky Schmidt of the U.S. Air Force Acade- mer and staff will be testing and installing a gram that will create a high school mentoring my (Colorado) reports that initial planning is new DLP projector and new theater comput- model for Earth and Planetary Science. The underway to renovate and reopen the Acade- ers. At the Daniel Soref Planetarium in Mil- program will provide mentoring, college prep my Planetarium to the public. The new digital waukee, the planetarium presented Night of and other supportive tools essential in prepar- theater will offer public shows for the numer- the Titanic in cooperation with Titanic muse- ing students for careers in the sciences. ous tourists that visit the landmark facility. um activities. The Montshire Museum of Science in Ver- On 22 July 2009, Dr. Doug Duncan (director mont will use its five-year grant to produce of Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium) and best-sell- Middle Atlantic Planetarium a comprehensive and high-quality Earth Sci- ing author Dava Sobel led a tour to China to Society ence program that supports state-wide goals witness the total solar eclipse. Dr. Ka Chun Yu Steve Mitch has taken office as president of for learning in science. from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science the Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society. This A key focus involves the use of satellite im- also headed to China guiding a different tour. is Steve’s second term as MAPS president. He agery to engage people in exploring such is- recently retired after 32 years at the Benedum sues as weather systems, long-term climate Russian Planetarium Association Planetarium in Wheeling, West Virginia. change, and human impacts on the Earth’s Current activities of planetariums in Russia Along with Mitch, Patty Seaton, director of systems. The program also includes a series are focused on the International Year of As- the planetarium at the Owens Science Center of exhibits designed to illuminate the Earth’s tronomy (IYA2009). (Prince George’s County, Maryland) took of- systems and phenomena. The following items in the IYA2009 sched-

42 Planetarian September 2009 September 2009 Planetarian 43 ule of Tomsk Planetarium seem to be most in- nus 61 in 1838. The second nomination was re- teresting: a show dedicated to the 400th anni- lated to the telescope by Galileo, and the third versary of telescopic astronomy was offered to one was titled Earth and Universe: Free Flight by the public 13-15 February, when an exhibition Creative Mind. of telescopes produced at the Novosibirsk In- Kirov Planetarium, located at a school, or- strumentation Plant and also belonging to pri- ganized a special evening show followed by vate owners, a contest for the best self-made public telescopic observations of the moon. and oldest telescope, and seminars Galileo and The first city contest of children’s cosmic his Epoch and History of Telescope in Space art, called Journey Over the Universe, was ini- and Time were held at the same time. The tiated by Lytkarino Planetarium in the Mos- Conference Astronomy in Tomsk was held on cow region. In total, 146 works were submitted 20 February. The program included such top- by children’s art studios, schools, and gymna- ics as 60th Anniversary of Tomsk Planetarium siums. Each work reflects the inner world of a and Problems of Tomsk Astronomers. child, the world of his/her fantasies. The par- Public telescopic observations of Saturn ticipants created their own tiny corners of the and the moon were organized in Barnaul on universe upon reading astronomical litera- the occasion of Astronomy Day, 2 May. Long ture, talking with parents about the cosmos, queues arose near three telescopes offered to or listening to teachers and/or planetarians. the public. The sky became clean and the con- The exhibition, opened in advance of Cos- ditions were good for amateur observations monautics Day, presented 97 of the best works of the sun on the International Solar Day of and 9 out-of-competition works by 5-year old 3 May. authors included to encourage the youngest One of the nominations of the tradition- attendees of the contest. RPA: Director of the Russian Federal Nuclear Research Center Academy Radii I. Il’kaev reads al annual regional astronomy contest Amber Nizhny Novgorod Planetarium offered an the Honored-Guest Book at the office of Z. Stars of the 2008/9 academic year at Kalinin- extended program of events dedicated to the P.Sitkova against a background of the portrait grad was dedicated to the 170th anniversary of IYA2009. The following events of the second of Andrei D. Sakharov. Photo by Vadim Belov. the first determination of the parallax of Cyg- quarter are especially worthy of mentioning: •• The planetarium partici- space Education organized an All-Russia pated in the international proj- Readings and Contest in honor of S.A.Kaplan ect 100 Hours of Astronomy on (1921-1978), a famous Soviet astrophysicist, 2-5 April. Three sites for free pub- professor of Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod) lic telescopic observations were State University, on 17-22 April. organized in the city within the •• The Annual Nizhny Novgorod Scientific framework of the field action and Practical Conference in honor of Ac- Sidewalk Astronomy. ademician Andrei D. Sakharov (1921-1989) •• The international confer- was held at the Nizhny Novgorod Plane- ence Plasma-Wave Processes in tarium 2 May within the framework of the Magnetospheres, Ionospheres, VIII Sakharov Readings. and Atmospheres of the Earth •• A number of formal events have been held and Planets was held at the Insti- at the Nizhny Novgorod Planetarium, in- tute of Applied Physics of the Rus- cluding an extended meeting of the colle- sian Academy of Sciences on 13- giums of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional 18 April. The conference honored Ministry of Culture, receptions dedicated Prof. Victor Yu.Trakhtengerts to veterans of the World War II, as well as (1939-2007), a famous Nizhny presentations and anniversary parties of Novgorod scientist, professor of famous Russian companies. The Honored Nizhny Novgorod State Universi- Guest Book recorded testimonials by one ty, member of the American Geo- of the authors of the Su-27 aircraft, head physical Union. of division of the Russian Spacecraft Cor- •• Within the framework of poration “Energy,” Russian lunokhod driv- the international IT Forum 2020/ er, director of Pulkovo Observatory, head Anti-crisis Solutions Fair, the big of a chair of Saratov State University, vice- dome of the Nizhny Novgorod commander of the 7th Division of Atomic Planetarium on 15-17 April wel- Submarines, mayors of Ulyanovsk (Russia) comed the section IT in the Sphere and Essen (Germany), school and universi- of Culture under the direction of ty teachers from the Great Britain, Germa- T.M.Gudima, counselor of the ny, and France, visitors from South Korea, Minister of Culture of the Russian and many more. Federation, and L.A.Kuibyshev, Electronic voting on the election of the chief executive officer of the Cen- president of the Russian Planetarium Associ- RPA: Top: Kaliningrad children are preparing for the quest. ter on IT Problems in the Sphere ation finished on 16 June. Acad. Anatoly M. Photo by Marina Kazantseva. Bottom: Yaroslav Gubchenko, of Culture of the Ministry of Cul- Cherepashchuk, director of the Sternberg As- dead of Digital-Show Production Department of the Nizhny ture of the Russian Federation. tronomical Institute of the Moscow State Uni- Novgorod Planetarium, near the facility ready for the Internet •• The Volga Center of Aero- versity, was elected without a single dissent- lesson. Photo by Vera Smirnova.

44 Planetarian September 2009 ing vote. Academician Cherepashchuk won and indeed Sky-Skan, including, of course, have no more information at this stage, but I the State Prize of the Russian Federation in Steve Savage, were there at the conference. shall investigate the situation further in com- 2009 for the development of a new branch of Sky-Skan generously sponsored the confer- ing months and hope to report on develop- astrophysics, evolution of stars and galaxies ence dinner and was instrumental in coor- ments in the December issue. at the stage of black-hole formation. Georgy dinating the demonstrations by both them- M. Grechko will hold the position of emeritus selves and others from within the APS. Keeping in touch in South Korea president of the RPA. APS President Mark Rigby and I travelled As I continue to monitor the planetarium to New Zealand and back together, and were situation in China, in the hope of soon seeing Southeastern Planetarium even able to squeeze in a side trip to the near- an application for affiliate status from China— Association by Tasman Glacier before needing to leave. specifically, from the Planetarium Committee SEPA, in conjunction with the four West- It was a fine site for the conference, and of the Chinese Association of Natural Science ern planetarium regions known as WAC, met only the second time since the establishment Museums—I am keeping in touch with our at the new Sudekum Planetarium in Nashville of the APS in 1998 that an APS conference had planetarium friends in nearby South Korea. in June for their 2009 conference. Conference been held in New Zealand. Many months ago, I visited South Korea organizer Kris McCall and staff went above Moving on more to International Relations with the aim of visiting at least one of their and beyond anything that could be remem- issues. I learned recently that the new plane- planetariums and promoting the IPS. I was bered in recent years to stage a tremendously tarium in Macau is proceeding well, and that delighted to be able to make a trip to the Na- large and successful event. there is an opening expected in either late tional Science Museum in Daejeon, about two Nearly 150 attendees experienced four days 2009 or early 2010. As I have mentioned be- hours by rail south of Seoul, the capital. There, of papers, vendor demos, invited speakers, the fore, I am looking forward to seeing this, I met up with Min-Jung Kim, assistant direc- Constellation Shootout, and more fulldome Macau’s first planetarium, being brought into tor of International Linkages with the Minis- shows than you could count, which, inciden- operation. try of Education; Seo-gu Lee, who is manager tally, ran until after 1 a.m. on two nights. In advance of the recent IPS Council meet- of the Office of Public Outreach for the Ko- SEPA’s annual conference for 2010 is sched- ing in Toulouse, France, the committee com- rean Astronomy and Space Science Institute uled 8-12 June for Bays Mountain Planetari- pleted a draft set of guidelines for scholarships (KASI); Bong Ryeol Lee, from the National Sci- um in Kingsport, Tennessee. Director Adam to attend IPS conferences, and I am pleased to ence Museum, and planetarium staff mem- Thanz promises a more laid-back conference report that it has been viewed quite positively ber Gun-pil Ryu. We discussed many aspects with the emphasis being on storytelling. The by the IPS Council. At the time of writing, the of the operation of the Museum and its plan- next issue of Planetarian will contain compre- council was still discussing the finer details, etarium, and of astronomy education in Ko- hensive details. but thanks to all committee members who rea in general. The conference site for 2011 was decided at contributed to this document. In the past, science centres in South Korea, the Nashville conference. The Rollins Plane- Fortunately, I was able to participate brief- which number around 16 in total, came un- tarium at Young Harris College in Young Har- ly in the council meeting, even though I der one of two ministries, but they now gen- ris, Georgia will host a June conference. The could not be present! On the Saturday morn- erally all fall under the one Ministry of Edu- conference center and hotel will be the ele- ing, French time, I was able to connect using cation, Science and Technology. About 80 per gant and nearby Brasstown Resort. Young Har- Skype and speak to the meeting about Inter- cent of planetariums in South Korea are in ris is nestled in the picturesque high-moun- national Relations issues. science centres, or are associated with them. tain region of extreme north Georgia. I One of the questions raised was that of the There also exists a Korean Science Centre and situation regarding the possible development Museum Association, KSCMA, which has a International Relations of a planetarium in Gaza. Unfortunately, we membership of about 80, encompasses about Committee Martin George [email protected]

In this issue, while not strictly an Interna- tional Relations Committee subject, I shall start with an event which occurred quite close to home—for me, anyway. The Australasian Planetarium Society held its annual meeting this year in New Zealand, in the delightful environment of Mount Cook, on New Zealand’s South Island. On the weekend 16-17 May 2009, around 20 people gathered at the Hermitage Hotel at Mount Cook for the conference, the venue being chosen because it is the site of the newest planetarium in the Australasian region. Rather than a tilted dome, it has a tilting dome, which moves into place above the audience before the start of each show. When in its “stowed” position, the room is able to be used as a more traditional theatre for lectures or other presentations on a flat screen. It’s one of the latest Sky-Skan installations, IRC: APS members gather under the dome in The Hermitage Hotel, Mount Cook, New Zealand. Photo by Martin George.

September 2009 Planetarian 45 30 planetariums and publishes an electronic newsletter twice per month. There is a general meeting of the Association twice each year, and, in addition, there are two workshops per year. A separate group called KASSMA, the Korean Astronomy and Space Sci- ence Museum Association, is due to commence operations soon, with at least 26 institutes. South Korea attracted government funding for the IYA, and indeed 2009 is one of the country’s “Years of Science.” Each year the South Kore- an Government provides funds to promote a particular subject for a year, and astronomy was the obvious choice for this year, with funding above the normal level being provided. Daejeon’s National Science Centre, including its planetarium, was established in 1990. The planetarium has a Goto GSII projector, and recently a digital system has been installed (the original Goto has been kept). Its annual attendance is about 100,000 people, and the attendance for the whole science museum is a whopping 800,000. About 80% of planetarium attendees are school children, and all of the shows in the planetarium are live. After my visit to the planetarium, I was fortunate to be able to visit, with Seo-gu Lee, the headquarters of KASI. KASI was established about 30 years ago, and amongst its many activities is teacher training in astronomy, which is performed during the summer and winter vacations. No- table there, outside the building on public display, were reproductions of several ancient astronomical instruments, including some fascinating sundials. Finally, I was shown the City Observatory, where I met up with Dr Kim Ki Hwan. This is another excellent facility! It was established in 2001 and funded by local government, with several telescopes for public and educational use. In addition, it has a planetarium with a 9-m dome and a Zeiss ZKP3 projector. There is no doubt that astronomy education is very much alive and well in South Korea. Min-Jung Kim pointed out that, in addition to the KSCMA, there is a planetarium and public observatory group. Although there is a degree of overlap between the groups, I feel that there already exists a network there that has the potential to see more participation in IPS activities. My sincere thanks go to Min-Jung Kim, Seo-gu Lee and all others who made my visit so enjoyable, including treating me to a delightful Kore- an lunch! Special thanks go to Min-Jung Kim for her assistance in providing so much information. I look forward to meeting one day with the National Science Museum’s President Dr. Young-Shik Kim, and I certainly intend to keep in touch with our planetarium friends there and monitor their activities. Finally, I was pleased and honoured to learn that, at the Toulouse meeting, I have been appointed as new Chair of the IPS Elections Committee. As was mentioned by the Council, this blends in nicely with the Interna- tional Relations role. Steve Mitch’s shoes, however, will be very hard to fill. Steve has done a wonderful job for many years, and the IPS has been IRC: (Top) Min-Jung Kim and Martin George in the astronomy exhibit area of the National Science Museum in Daejeon, South Korea. Photo by Seo- very fortunate to have had him performing this important task. I wish gu Lee. (Center) Left to right: Bong-ryeol Lee, Min-Jung Kim, Seo-gu Lee, him all the best for the future! I and Gun-pil Ryu in the planetarium at the National Science Museum. Pho- to by Martin George (Bottom) Martin surrounded by school children just before their planetarium visit in Daejeon. Photo by Seo-gu Lee

46 Planetarian September 2009 September 2009 Planetarian 47 Mobile News some acquaintances with colleagues, spread the good news of IPS and the benefits of membership and to teach a lesson to students from a high school in Naples. I was pleased to greet friends I have known for almost two decades and to meet some new wonderful colleagues. The class was fun and fantastic. With the help of Dr. Ales- sandra Zanazzi, the City of Sci- ence planetarium director, the enthusiastic students and I explored the sky under a 10-m dome using a Zeiss projector. Tom Button and Fabio Peri sit in the antique seats of the Ulrico The lesson was called “Seasons Hoepli Planetarium. These seats cannot be replaced because they and Stories of the World,” in are protected as historic treasures. Photo by Susan Button honor of the 2009 Internation- Susan Reynolds Button al Year of Astronomy. The lesson objectives were: Tuesday we traveled to Brescia, where Quarks to Clusters •• To use English language skills while learn- our host was Loris Ramponi, director of the 8793 Horseshoe Lane ing some new scientific and cultural infor- Lumezzane Planetarium. For the next three Chittenango, New York mation; mornings I worked with Loris at the Calini •• To have fun viewing the changing sky in secondary school. 13037 USA an unusual environment, the planetarium One morning I was privileged to meet and +1 315-687-5371 as a laboratory; talk with Brescia’s premier astronomer, Massi- •• To observe how the rising and setting points mo Delle Valle, who came to visit his old high [email protected] of the sun, as well as its daily path through school, the one we were in, and to observe the [email protected] the sky, change throughout the year. These students learning in the planetarium! observations can explain seasons from the Another afternoon I participated in a press Earth point of view; conference with Lumezzani Mayor Corli Sil- Adventures of an American •• To observe the sun in the real sky and re- vano and a representative of the generous in Italy cord observations by drawings and written Zani family, Tarcisio Zani. Also participating On April 16 my husband and I departed notes; and were Ivan Prandelli, a Lumezzani amateur as- from Syracuse and arrived in Italy on the next •• To explore mythologies from other cul- tronomer, and Massimo Delle Valle, European day to start a two-week trip. We took a train tures. Southern Observatory astronomer. from Rome to Naples in the afternoon in or- If you would like a copy of this lesson and The press conference was held to announce der to attend the Italian Association of Plan- the stories, please email me and I will be hap- new activities of the Lumezzane Planetarium etaria (PLANIT), XXIV National Conference py to share. and the grand opening of a “Room of Won- in the City of Science. My goals were to renew On Sunday evening we boarded a train for ders,” houses a new Starlab fiberarc projec- Milan, where Dr. Fabio tor. This Room of Wonders opened May 17 as Peri was our gracious a permanent exhibition designed to involve host. We visited the mainly children and to improve their inter- historic Ulrico Hoe- est in science. pli Planetarium the On Thursday evening I presented a session next day and also en- for the public where we explored the night joyed meeting a group sky and the reasons for the seasons together. of talented students On Friday we traveled to the grand opening who had traveled to of the first digital planetarium in Padova and Milan as winners of a a special astronomical exhibition in honor of national science con- the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of test. We were able to the telescope. We met Mr. Zanonato, the may- view some of the stu- or of Padova and a great supporter of science dent’s projects and education and the planetarium. Luca Talam- then provide them oni was our host for this part of our journey with a unique plane- and later took us to his planetarium in Mira, tarium show. The pre- where he and Mr. Gambato, the manufactur- sentation was given in er of his projector, regaled us with stories and Italian and augmented beautiful sky projections. Members of the Italian Planetarium Association observed the lesson pre- with stories in English Luca and his sister, Michela, translated when sented by me to these students and their teachers. Photo by Tom Button by me! needed and then invited us back to their fami-

48 Planetarian September 2009 Above: Calini Secondary School Students with Massimo Delle Valle and me. Photo by Lor- is Ramponi. At right, top: The Lumezzani Planetarium has a large collection of Starlab cyl- inders as well as the largest collection of planetarium projectors in Italy. At right, bottom: Gracious hosts Mr. and Mrs. Talamoni (seated) with Tom Button, Michela Talamoni, and Mr. Gambato. Photo by Susan Button

ly home for another delicious homemade din- the text of a lesson plan with activities and students before the experience. Be prepared ner that was prepared by their mother. I say stories. to teach the lesson at either a basic or an ad- “another” because I have visited the Talamoni 2. Be asked to prepare the lesson for an ana- vanced level. family three times over the years and was al- log projector, but it may be augmented with Some classes are extremely interested but ways warmly welcomed and filled with excel- digital visuals on a flash drive. Each lesson do not know a lot of astronomy and others lent food, prepared by Mrs. Talamoni; I con- will be at least 60 minutes in length and can have studied astronomy in depth. Most of the sider this family as dear friends. be about traditional topics for planetariums, students have had two to four years of English As a happy consequence of this trip, a new such as daily motion, orienteering, latitude and will understand the spoken word if you contest for American planetarians was born motion, solstice and equinox, constellations, speak clearly and deliberately. They have a and is described below. Start planning now mythology and so on. good sense of humor and certainly display the and apply before September 15, 2010. Remem- 3. Be asked to make a public presentation. usual excitement about the planetarium. ber that you can apply again if you are not The presenter will provide an introduction There will be time when there are no oth- chosen the first time. You can also ask for feed- with slides about U.S. experiences in the diffu- er engagements, thus providing an opportu- back on what could make your application sion of astronomy and then a lesson. nity for touring the locale and nearby cities. stronger for your subsequent tries. 4. Receive a maximum of $1000 for trans- For instance, Lumezzane is very rich in public portation from the United States. Bed and astronomy with the Serafino Zani Astronom- A Week in Italy for an American meals will be provided during this profession- ical Observatory, four small planetariums, the Planetarium Operator, Revised al visit. (Additional expenses for tourist trav- Eureka Astronomical Center and the National Each year, in the spring, the Serafino Zani el, hotel and meals must be paid by the appli- Archive of Planetaria. Astronomical Observatory (Lumezzane/Bres- cant.) The province of Brescia is very interesting cia) will host an American Planetarium Oper- 5. Need to be available for a maximum of with its natural landscapes and parks, three ator, whose native tongue is English, to work 10 days in Italy in conjunction with the Ital- lakes and a most important valley for prehis- with high school students of English. In the ian Association of Planetaria (PLANIT) yearly toric stone engravings. Exciting artistic cities, past this contest was only available for STAR- conference. In 2010 this conference will take such as Verona and Venice, are nearby and LAB educators. This newly revised contest place April 17-18. can be reached by taking a one or two-hour will accept applications from educators or as- 6. Be asked to make presentations in a mini- train ride. tronomers who work with any of the various mum of 3 cities (maximum 5 cities). A final report must be written by the Amer- models of planetariums. Example: 2 days in Perugia for the confer- ican teacher, which will include the text of The International Planetarium Society en- ence, 4 days in Brescia (3 morning classes each the high school lesson, comments from the dorses this initiative as an excellent opportu- day), 2 days in Milan. students and impressions of the experience. nity for professional development and cultur- All lessons and presentations will be con- September 15 is the yearly deadline for the al exchange. ducted in the English language. A preliminary applicants of “A Week in Italy for an Ameri- The winner will: text of the lesson is required so that teach- can Planetarium Operator.” 1. Be asked to provide a curriculum vita and ers will have ample time to work with their

September 2009 Planetarian 49 While attending the SEPA Conference in June this year, I learned from Jeri Panek that (Script, Continued from page 22) E&S has a new portable system. The “Digistar Outreach” is a fisheye projector that combines To support the main goals of the contest a color star projection and astronomy package with the fewest constraints on imagination with fulldome video playback and digital ste- and creativity, consider a broad scientific sub- reo sound. It is designed for portable domes ject with the goal of a fulldome environment 8-m or less in diameter and offers real time capability. The objective is to expand our vi- rendered and textured models and can utilize sion of a script which might otherwise be de- shows produced for Digistar II and 3. For more fined by instrumentation instead of by the au- information go to www.es.com or email Out- thor’s originality and inspiration. [email protected]. Please carefully read the new guidelines in our new Appendix D from our standing rules How to pick the appropriate (as approved by IPS Council in Toulouse). portable system Please note: Recently, several inquiries have been re- The complete document of the new Con- ceived about which portable planetarium sys- test Rules along with the necessary forms can tem is best. Your decision about which projec- be downloaded from the IPS website at www. tor you need should be based mainly on how ips-planetarium.org/or/comms/scriptcom. it will be used and who will use it. Do you html. have multiple users or one expert? Are your Since this year’s announcement happens audiences unsatisfied with the old program- late, we extend the deadline for submitting The Instituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza ming or satisfied? Do you want to be able to scripts in this first round of the contest until has been located in a castle, one of the old- February 28, 2010. est buildings of the city of Florence, since 1930. show full dome movies to increase revenue? This “meridiana-sundial” was built in 2007 as Is your mission education, entertainment, or We expect many entries from all around a marker for this Institute and Museum of the a combination of both? Are you are teaching the world, and we hope to see you in Alex- History of Science. Photo by Susan Button basic astronomy or higher level astronomy? andria for IPS 2010 as winner, participant or These are some questions you should thor- cheerleader of the IPS Eugenides Script con- Application Procedure oughly explore. test! Thank you! Participants must send an application that Some systems are more fragile than oth- includes your full name, complete address, ers and some are more complex to set up or Acknowledgements On a personal note: all the work involved year of birth and your curriculum vitae. Send use. Think about whether you prefer or need was more than balanced by the joy and priv- this information along with a cover letter ex- to position the projector in the center of the ilege I had spending many hours with some plaining why you wish to be considered for dome or would be happy to off set it to one of the best planetarians on this island Earth— this experience. You must also include the side. Then you also need to consider the cost Dennis Simopoulos and Manos Kitsonas—at text of a lesson plan, with activities and sto- you are willing to pay for the capabilities and the magnificent Eugenides Foundation/Plan- ries that you would like to present for the stu- image quality you would like. Remember, etarium in Athens. dents. your audience is sometimes more able than On an official note, then, on behalf of IPS, I Send your application to: you are to suspend the need for perfect image wish to thank the Eugenides Foundation, Po- Loris Ramponi clarity if the “story” is compelling. thios Pappous, Dennis Simopoulos and Ma- Osservatorio Serafino Zani These are just a few of my thoughts about nos Kitsonas in particular, for their vision, Via Bosca 24 the issues that need to be addressed. I would be guidance and support. I 25066 Lumezzane, Italy happy to hear more ideas from you! I He can be reached by email at info@serafi- nozani.it or [email protected]. Web Chatting The 2009 Spitz Digi- New Portable Systems tal Institute in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Recently I received a note from Jairo Gómez held from July 20-24, from Colombia. He works in a company in featured moon land- Bogotá, Colombia called Multimedia Service ing anniversary activ- LTDA, which is part of a Holding Group called ities, a web chat with A Man On The Moon au- Medios&Soluciones. He told me that his com- thor Andy Chaikin, pany developed a fulldome theater system sessions on fund rais- that is portable, inflatable, seamless, and from ing for planetariums, 6- to 10-m in diameter. He explained that Mul- and Starry Night desk- timedia Service represents E&S and 3d Per- top and Dome instruc- tion for the 25 edu- ception in Colombia and they’ve had success cators in attendance. with their new system presenting shows from It is an annual pro- E&S and other companies. Jairo tells me they fessional develop- have sold a few systems already in Colombia ment event designed for planetarians with and one is going to Italy next week. For fur- focus on space sci- ther information you can contact him at Jag- Author Andrew Chaikin (at NASA Ames in California) chats with attend- ence, lesson prepara- [email protected] or go to www. ees of the Spitz Digital Institute (in Chadds Ford, Pensylvania). Photo by tion, and using digital mediosysoluciones.com Scott Huggins tools more effectively.

50 Planetarian September 2009 NASA Space Science News grams fulfilling these directives has grown ucational product that features a detailed vi- since then, especially recently in the area of sualization, in either DVD or dome version, informal education. There are so many, in of the Ares I being launched from Earth, into fact, that finding the program that best suits Earth’s orbit, and ultimately to the Moon. the needs of your facility and your teachers This media is supported by a wealth of inqui- may appear to be a daunting task. ry-based, team centered activities that have The redesigned NASA web site has pulled been adapted into two distinct guides: a For- together the multitude of threads dealing mal Educator’s Guide and an Informal Edu- with education from all of its centers and pro- cator’s Guide. Accompanying the DVD is the grams and woven them into NASA Education, project’s Companion Guide that expounds a convenient starting point regardless of the upon the visualization experience and is de- Anita M. Sohus type or level of education being sought. Point signed to spark wonderful student/educator discussions and stimulate STEM inquiry and NASA/Jet Propulsion your browser to www.nasa.gov/education, and you’ll get there. (The actual address is lon- curiosity. Laboratory ger, but this one is easy to remember and redi- Paula Rodney, (256) 961-0224, paula.rod- [email protected], www.nasa.gov/audience/fored- California Institute of rects you to the correct page.) There is an excellent compilation of capsule ucators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Field_ Technology summaries of the education programs, found Trip_to_the_Moon_Educator_Guide.html 4800 Oak Grove Drive by clicking first on “About NASA Education” and then “Education Programs.” For example, Sports and Exploration Sports and Exploration is managed by JSC. Pasadena, California 91109 several of the programs funded by NASA’s Ex- NASA Sports and Exploration (SE) is a bilin- ploration Systems Mission Directorate specifi- USA gual, hands-on inquiry educational program cally for informal education are: +1 818-354-6613 designed in collaboration with the Major Girl Scouts Go NASA League Soccer (MLS) franchise and selected [email protected] Houston, Texas area Independent School Dis- To inspire girls to explore the STEM disci- tricts. This developing project targets STEM, plines, the Marshall Space Flight Center Aca- Health, and Physical Education (PE) content NASA has been asked more than once in demic Affairs Office staff partners with Girl in grades 3-5. The NASA Sports and Explora- the past, why does NASA do education, when Scout troops expanding to Tennessee, Lou- tion project will highlight Newton’s three there is a U.S. Department of Education? The isiana, and Iowa. Girls, ages 9-14, will be en- laws of physical sciences by comparing ele- justification is preparing our future work- gaged in hands-on, STEM-based workshops in ments of both soccer and space exploration. force. NASA’s Education website is a bit more the fields of rocketry and robotics. The activ- Topics compare the athlete to the astronaut; eloquent on this topic: ities will incorporate information on NASA’s ball technology to rocket technology; and “NASA’s journeys into air and space have future rocket and robotic missions. Girls at- soccer game objectives to objectives of a space deepened humankind’s understanding of tending these events will develop their skills flight mission. the universe, advanced technology break- in STEM disciplines and be encouraged to pur- Charles Lloyd, (281) 483-5361, charles.w.lloyd@ throughs, enhanced air travel safety and se- sue careers in STEM fields. nasa.gov, humanresearch.jsc.nasa.gov/educa- curity, and expanded the frontiers of scien- Julie Clift, (256) 961-1334, Julie.D.Clift-1@ tion/SportExp_main.asp tific research. These accomplishments share nasa.gov a common genesis: education. As the United Explore! Life Sciences–Health States begins the second century of flight, the Lunar Nautics in Space Nation must maintain its commitment to ex- Lunarnautics is an exciting academic pro- Health in Space is managed by JSC. It in- cellence in science, technology, engineering gram jam-packed with design challenges, cludes: Development of three modules for and mathematics education to ensure that the team-building exercises, and an engaging children ages 8 through 13 that stimulate chil- next generation of Americans can accept the 508-compliant CD component. The complete dren to think about life in space, the extreme full measure of their roles and responsibilities package includes an informative Educator’s conditions of the space environment (i.e. radi- in shaping the future. NASA will continue the guide and a corresponding Student handbook. ation and microgravity), how these extreme Agency’s tradition of investing in the Nation’s This program provides an opportunity to ex- conditions affect the human body and what education programs and supporting the coun- plore and experience activities that are literal- NASA researchers are learning to counteract try’s educators who play a key role in prepar- ly “out of this world”! Learn how to turn your these effects. Information is presented via a ing, inspiring, exciting, encouraging, and nur- entire class, after-school group, or summer variety of methods, including presentation turing the young minds of today who will be camp into skilled lunar explorers. Students of the modules on an existing Web site for the workforce of tomorrow. will be challenged to build bridges in micro- broader access; training of sixty after-school “In 2006 and beyond, NASA will continue gravity, design a lunar habitat, assemble edi- providers at workshops in Mississippi and Al- to pursue three major education goals: ble spacecrafts, compete to be crowned cham- abama; involvement of the existing Explore! “- Strengthening NASA and the Nation’s fu- pion of “Survivor.” community of trained librarians and after- ture workforce Paula Rodney, (256) 961-0224, paula.rod- school providers in the use of the new mod- “- Attracting and retaining students in sci- [email protected]; www.nasa.gov/education/lu- ules; and involvement and support of newly ence, technology, engineering and mathemat- narnautics trained after-school providers in the existing ics, or STEM, disciplines online community. “- Engaging Americans in NASA’s mission” Field Trip to the Moon Stephanie Shipp, [email protected], www.lpi. The number and diversity of NASA pro- Field Trip to the Moon is a multi-faceted ed- usra.edu/education/explore/space_health I

September 2009 Planetarian 51 52 Planetarian September 2009 Past President’s Message

in the last months of 2009. In 2008 I was a delegate at the following conferences: •• The Canadian Association of Science Cen- tres Annual Conference, held 12-14 June at the London Regional Children’s Museum, Ontario (Canada). •• The 19th International Planetarium Soci- ety Conference, 27 June-2 July at the Adler Planetarium, Chicago (USA). Of course, this was the most awesome conference I experienced in 2008, all because of the excellent variety of sessions and presenters and the record number of delegates that were graciously and skillfully accommodat- ed by Paul Knappenberger, Larry Ciupik, What a privilege to stand between these two! Mark Webb and all the rest of the Adler On the left is NASA Astronaut Scott E. Paraz- staff. There were some specific new initia- ynski (M.D.), and on the right, Paul Knappen- tives associated with this conference that berger, president of the Adler Planetarium & Susan Reynolds Button may bear repeating in future conferences: Astronomy Museum in Chicago. Photo by Tom Button Quarks to Clusters the program for scholarships, the Vendor Award and the remembrance tributes for June at the Sudekum Planetarium, Adven- 8793 Horseshoe Lane colleagues who have passed on. ture Science Center, Nashville, Tennessee Chittenango, NY 13037 USA •• The 5th European Meeting of Small and (USA). Portable Planetaria located in the Centro The next two conferences I will attend in (1) 315-687-5371 Multimeios Espinho, Navegar Foundation 2009 are: (1) 315-263-1985 (cell) and the Center for Astrophysics of Oporto •• 1-4 September. 6th European Meeting of (Portugal), 9-11 October. Small and Portable Planetaria at the M. Co- [email protected] •• The Great Lakes Planetarium Association pernicus Planetarium and Observatory in Conference, 29 October-November 1 at the Chorzow (Poland). Milwaukee Public Museum Planetarium, •• 21-24 October. Great Lakes Planetarium As- Dear Colleagues, the Gary Sampson Planetarium and the sociation 45th Annual Conference at the It has been a busy year, as always! Aside Charles Horwitz Planetarium in Milwau- Delta College Planetarium, Bay City Mich- from the usual officer’s duties and housekeep- kee, Wisconsin (USA). igan (USA). ing (making sure we keep the bylaws, standing As I travel to these various venues, it has rules, standard operating procedures and con- In 2009 I attended: been quite a surprising revelation to learn ference guidelines updated), a few other items •• The Italian Association of Planetaria Na- that many IPS members and other colleagues crossed my desk this year. Many communica- tional Confer- tions I received were from members who en- ence, 18-19 April joyed and learned from their attendance at in Naples at the the International Planetarium Society’s 2008 City of Science Conference. (Italy). In October, I responded to members’ con- •• The Middle At- cerns about the U.S. presidential campaign lantic Planetari- rhetoric of Senator John McCain by organiz- um Society Con- ing the Official Statement on the Role of Plan- ference, 13-16 etariums in Education May at the How- Throughout the year I wrote several letters ard B. Owens Sci- in response to planetarium closures and po- ence Center in tential closures and some letters to support L a n h a m - S e a - grant applications for initiatives that were im- brook, Maryland portant to the planetarium community as a (USA). whole. •• The Southeast- All of these correspondences were accom- ern Planetarium plished with the guidance and assistance of Association con- my fellow officers and sometimes also with ference, joined help from the IPS Publicity Coordinator, by the Western Jacques Guarinos. Alliance Con- In an effort to make IPS visible to members ference (GPPA, Delegates—including one dreaming about becoming a future planetarian–to and potential members, I attended seven con- SWAP, RMPA, the 2009 Italian Association of Planetaria National Conference. Photo by Tom ferences this year and plan to attend two more and PPA), 16-20 Button

September 2009 Planetarian 53 (IMERSA, Continued from page 36) to support it, or, in certain presentations, to re- 2009 (October 31-November 3) of the full- place it? Finding a balance between maximiz- length version of the new fulldome show ing theater capability and flexibility, prevent- Touching the Edge of the Universe, for which ing the technology from intruding into the Zeiss is the U.S. distributor. show experience and predicting how the fa- The show boasts live-action footage cap- cilities programming needs will adjust over a tured with a special new fisheye camera de- five-year period are all crucial.” veloped specifically for this purpose. The full Global Immersion recently introduced the show will also screen for attendees of the GLPA Zorro® projector in the “true-black” category, meeting in Bay City, Michigan, October 21. and, in June, demonstrated at SEPA the com- Touching the Edge was produced at the Uni- pany’s Fidelity GO™ system, which uses new versity of Applied Sciences in Kiel, Germany high-contrast projectors with LED-based light for ESA (European Space Agency) in cooper- engines having lamp lifetimes said to exceed ation with a number of planetariums in Ger- 100,000 hours. Currently this technology is many, Austria and Switzerland. limited to domes up to 13 m, but Caskey indi- After its premiere in the German speak- cates that LED-based projectors are something ing planetariums in May and June, the show for the planetarium community to watch as is now available for distribution in fulldome After delivering the prestigious Margaret No- their available brightness levels increase. format and as a digital kit for classical plane- ble Address at the 2009 MAPS banquet, Lee Also claiming a place in the true-black vid- tariums. Ann Hennig (IPS Secretary) receives congratu- eo category is Sky-Skan, reporting a 30,000:1 The show, made for the 2009 Internation- lations from friends, Jan and Steve Russo. Pho- to by Susan Button native contrast ratio for its Definiti D-ILA al Year of Astronomy, tells an exciting sto- high-contrast system, which is installed at the ry comparable to a motion picture with live Adler Planetarium in Chicago and was dem- actors and stunning visual effects, convey- have the impression that IPS pays for all offi- onstrated at IPS 2008. ing concise information about the Herschel- cer travel! The comments that people make at Planck space missions to the general public. regional conferences and even the IPS Confer- The trailer for Touching the Edge will be ence, when I discuss my travels, inform me of Keeping the best seats Ryan Wyatt, director of digital visualiza- shown during the annual Fulldome Showcase this widely-held misconception. tion and director of the Morrison Planetari- at ASTC on the morning of Monday, Novem- Just to clarify, I am privileged to represent um for the new California Academy of Sci- ber 2. The Fulldome Showcase, organized ev- IPS at as many conferences as I can through ences in San Francisco, says, “Modern science ery year by Spitz, is a sampling of what’s avail- the generous monetary support of my hus- is digital, so the modern planetarium needs to able in the fulldome content library and a band and our own family budget that probe digital, too. We chose to keep the best seats must-see for anyone having or considering a vides almost all of the funding for travel, reg- in the house—in the center of the dome—and fulldome system. istrations and room and board. eschew a starball. That said, we have also re- Shuttle buses will run from the conven- It is true of all IPS officers that our person- interpreted the traditional optomechanical tion center to the nearby University of Texas al finances and/or work facilities support us console to give analog control over our fully (Arlington) planetarium. (Note: it will be im- in most of our work for IPS. We enjoy doing digital sky.” portant to pre-register if you want to attend what we do and we are richer for the experi- “Chabot Observatory & the American Mu- the Fulldome Showcase, because they tend to ence, both professionally and personally. For seum of Natural History Rose Center have book the number of shuttle buses based on ad- me it is a perfect opportunity to repay IPS for all but retired their starballs, and Denver and vance signups.) all that I have gained from this organization. the California Academy skipped them alto- Under the president’s directive, there has gether,” observes Dan Neafus, director of the been a recent addition to my duties as past DomeFest is coming! Gates Planetarium at the Denver Museum of DomeFest 2009 is nearly here. This annu- president. At my own suggestion, I well serve Nature and Science. “From over 1,000,000 vis- al celebration of the digital dome, with ses- as overseer for committee chairs. I am tasked itors to the digital Gates, I have received only sions, screenings and socializing, organized to remind committee chairs to get their re- three written complaint letters from the pub- by ARTS Lab in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ports in to Council on time, to post informa- lic about the lack of pristine stars—and none takes place September 25-27. The festival will tion on their web pages, to update their post- since we updated the system in 2007.” include the world premiere of J. Walt Adam- ings and to keep working; in other words, I will That said, Neafus added, “there remains a cyzk’s real-time performance The Omnicen- be a basic pain in their neck! I feel that this is a wide range of opinions on the topic of digital tric Universe, as well as the 2009 DomeFest Ju- vital task for the past president because she/he vs. analog—a hearty debate that has its roots ried Show with the presentation of this year’s is familiar with the objectives of the commit- in the early 1970s when the first Digistar re- Domie Awards. tees and has more time to devote to recogniz- placed a starball—and one that will likely con- Other highlights include the U.S. premiere ing and encouraging the important contribu- tinue for decades more.” of Touching the Edge of the Universe and a tions that are made by committee members In future columns we will continue to ex- “making of’’ screening of Fragile Planet, and and their initiatives. plore this issue with additional input from us- special sessions by IMERSA. Details at www. I would be remiss if I did not reiterate that ers, vendors and audiences. domefest.org all that I accomplish for IPS is supported by Looking further ahead, mark your calendars the efforts of many dedicated individuals. Of- now for the German Fulldome festival to be ficers, council members, committee chairs Upcoming events If all goes according to schedule, the new held May 7-8, 2010, and of course, IPS 2010 in and members work as a strong team to serve Zeiss planetarium theater in Fort Worth will Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria Egypt. all of us in our mission to help planetariums be the setting for a screening during ASTC Details to come. I be the best they can be! I

54 Planetarian September 2009 September 2009 Planetarian 55 Planetarium Show Reviews

integrated studies capstone project. The Nature of Science offers a succinct, engaging, and open-ended introduction to science by exploring the topic through the words of scientists at Weber State Universi- ty, the college where Ott Planetarium is located. Roughly divided into three topics (“What is Science?” “What Do Scientists Do” and “Sci- ence is Accessible”), the show provides insight- ful commentary augmented by clear, simple, and effective graphics. Some of the specific topics addressed include the definition of scientific laws and the relationship between theory, hypothesis, ob- to a star talk if so desired). The show is avail- servation, and experiment. able in both traditional and fulldome formats, The show is an effective introduction to sci- and the fulldome version that I viewed did an ence and would be an ideal avenue for open- excellent job of making use of this format’s ca- ing the planetarium to non-astronomy sci- pabilities. Steve Case ence classes. I could see this being useful for The show is a good blend of still, video, and Assistant Professor and middle school, high school, and introductory fulldome images (the fulldome fusion visual- college science courses. ization was especially effective) that begins by Planetarium Director Besides this, though, the primary reason exploring the unclear definition of “planet.” Department of I’m excited about this show is because it illus- It then transitions to a standard solar sys- trates what I mentioned above: effective show tem tour format, beginning with the sun and Physical Sciences production in a university setting and an ex- addressing in turn Mercury, Venus, Earth, the Olivet Nazarene University cellent example of the ways that students, Moon, Mars, asteroids, Jupiter along with Io faculty, and the planetarium can integrate One University Avenue and Europe, Saturn and Titan, Uranus, Nep- uniquely and effectively. tune and Triton, and Pluto. Bourbonnais, Illinois The show is approximately 19 minutes long The solar system tour, though it included 60914 USA with an additional minute of credits. The cred- up-to-date information such as the Mars rov- its are rather interesting in their own right, as ers, seemed to drag at certain points (as solar +1 815-939-5681 they give a glimpse of what goes into produc- system tours often do) and could have been [email protected] ing this type of show. The show was produced more effective by returning more often to the using Blender, an open source 3D imaging and initial question. animation software, and according to Proctor For example, the discussion of asteroids was The Nature of Science took three months to produce. very effective because, by explaining that the •• Ott Planetarium first asteroids to be discovered were original- •• Fulldome Nine Planets and Counting ly classified as planets, it showed that in the •• Running time: 20 minutes •• Sudekum Planetarium past the number of “planets” in the solar sys- •• Audience: Middle school, high school, in- •• Fulldome and slide-based tem has indeed fluctuated. The question was troductory college science classes •• Running time: 36 minutes not taken up again though until after the tour •• Contact: [email protected] •• Audience: General public, middle school reached Pluto. At that point classification •• www.thenatureofscience.org and up schemes for the planets were introduced (in- •• Contact: +1 615-401-5077, planetarium@ad- ner and outer, etc.), and then information was In my mind, one of the strengths of having venturesci.com given related to the discovery of Quaoar, Sed- a planetarium on a university campus is the •• www.sudekumplanetarium.com/shows na, and Eris. possibility of bringing together the expertise The show concluded by leaving the ques- from different departments to create engag- With questions about the number of plan- tion of a planet’s definition open-ended, em- ing, cross-curricular planetarium productions ets in the solar system still very much alive, phasizing that it was simply a question of clas- that benefit both the planetarium and the Nine Planets and Counting presents a discus- sification, and mentioning the discovery of university. At my own planetarium, my goal sion on a topic with which the public will cer- planets orbiting other stars. The closing line is to get students working with media, graph- tainly be able to engage. provided a succinct and thoughtful answer to ic design, education, music, and physical sci- Nine Planets and Counting uses this question the question of how many planets: “We’re still ence departments to create their own original as a springboard for an introduction to the so- counting …” productions. lar system and newly-discovered transNep- If you’re in the market for a basic solar sys- An example of what an ideal end-product tunian objects. It has an approximate length tem show that makes use of fulldome visual- of this sort of collaboration could be, in my of 36 minutes with an additional 3 minutes izations and has the extra appeal of address- mind, is embodied in Ott Planetarium’s new of walk-out music (though the credits were, ing a contemporary issue, I can recommend show The Nature of Science, created and nar- helpfully, at the beginning of the show and Nine Planets and Counting without many res- rated by Ron Proctor as part of his bachelor in not the end, making for a smooth transition ervations.

56 Planetarian September 2009 then they are not of the highest quality. The constellation scene, for example, could have been done to a much better effect, such as by actually illus- trating how the stars can be used to “connect-the-dots,” as one of the characters explains, instead of simply showing static images. Leaving aside the traditional vs. fulldome debate, the fact is that planetariums with digital systems want shows that take full advantage of these capac- ities—not simply for the My major complaint with the graphics is tary students. “wow” effect, but because shows can be clear- that whenever orbits were shown (such as the The crossword puzzle provides a sense of er, more engaging, and offer a wider range of moons of Jupiter or the orbits of TNOs at the continuity as Scarlett travels from the African effective visualizations. A show that doesn’t edge of the solar system), these images seemed savannahs to the polar ice cap and the Florida take advantage of this seems, quite honestly, highly pixilated. I’m not sure if that’s some- everglades before taking off through the solar like it’s wasting projector bulb time. Our Place thing that can be fixed in future edits, but it system on an imaginary space voyage. (Plus, in Space, while an excellent show in many re- was very noticeable. Regarding the questions the crossword puzzle motif provides an excel- spects, simply isn’t worth it for fulldome. that the show sets out to answer, the very na- lent starting point for possible classroom ac- ture of the debate means that the show is al- tivities outside the planetarium.) Along the STARS ready slightly out-dated. No mention was way she learns about night and day, the na- •• Sudekum Planetarium, National Space Cen- made of the IAU’s official decision, and the ture of the sun and stars, apparent motion tre term “dwarf planet” was never used. Perhaps of the sun, the rotation of the Earth, gravity, •• Fulldome the producers wanted to purposefully keep constellations, the solar system, nebulae, the •• Running time: 25 minutes their conclusions vague (which was perhaps Milky Way, and galaxies. •• Audience: General public, middle school wise), but at least mentioning these develop- Our Place in Space features good music and and up ments would have been appropriate. excellent voice talents that bring Scarlett and •• Contact: At Spitz, Mike Bruno (mbruno@ the other characters to life. I especially appre- spitzinc.com); at Sky-Skan, Annette Sother- Our Place in Space ciated the way that concepts are explored by an-Barnett ([email protected]) •• Sudekum Planetarium first discussing and disregarding possible mis- •• www.spitzinc.com/fulldome_shows/in- •• Fulldome and slide based perceptions, such as when Scarlett tries to fig- dex.html; www.skyskan.com/Products/in- •• Running time: 33 minutes ure out whether the sun is carried across the dex.html •• Audience: Elementary school sky by clouds or moved by the wind. •• Contact: +1 615-401-5077, planetarium@ad- The characters use analogies, such as what Judging by the focus of images in my plan- venturesci.com students would experience on a merry-go- etarium’s foyer, stars often seem to get short •• www.sudekumplanetarium.com/shows round, to help to explain difficult concepts shrift. There are pictures of galaxies (formed like gravity and the motion of the Earth. On of stars, yes, but not star images per se), neb- How does one translate classic traditional- the whole, the content of this show is sound. ulous clouds, and planets; but unless they’re format show to fulldome? This seems like an It dates itself by including Pluto as a planet clustered together in a particularly striking ar- especially relevant question now when many and it propagates the common misperception rangement, the stars themselves seem a bit ne- planetariums have changed format, are con- that the asteroids in the main belt are “build- glected. sidering switching, or have embraced a hy- ing blocks of a planet that never formed,” but Perhaps it was to speak to this—bringing brid system. For institutions and companies other than that it does a good job of introduc- stars to the public’s attention as the powerful, that have a history of producing excellent tra- ing a wide variety of introductory astronomy unique celestial objects that they are—that the ditional shows, is there a way to repackage topics. UK’s National Space Center and Nashville’s these old favorites for digital format? I’m sure As much as that might make it an excellent Sudekum Planetarium have produced the there’s a lengthy dialogue to be held here, but traditional show, I can’t recommend this for new full-dome planetarium show STARS. these questions came to the fore for me when fulldome systems. The entire first half of the If the goal of STARS is to make those scat- viewing Sudekum Planetarium’s show Our show might as well be slides alone, as it con- tered points of light come alive to audienc- Place in Space. sists in little more than static figures and land- es, it succeeds admirably in more ways than The show itself follows the adventures of scapes. In addition, the topics that are discussed one. From the very first scene—an extended Scarlett the Macaw as she interacts with her could as easily be explained by a live presenter fly-throughout of a star’s outer atmosphere friends looking for the answers to a cross- instead of having students sit through what is followed by a supernova explosion—the stars word puzzle with astronomy-related clues. in effect a radio-show with illustrations. are portrayed as active, energetic, and chang- The show has a total running time of approx- When fulldome effects finally do come into ing objects. imately 33 minutes with about 3 minutes of play, the only scene were they seem effective The stars also come alive again in a differ- walk-out music and is geared toward elemen- is the final imaginary rocket trip—and even ent way when an animated Orion and Canis

September 2009 Planetarian 57 Major take a whirlwind tour through the his- was a recurring theme throughout the show: tory of astronomy. After touching on Native that astronomy is a discipline in which hun- American, Egyptian, Chinese, and Persian as- dreds of scientists collaborate together on in- tronomy as well as Copernicus, Galileo, New- ternational projects. ton, and Einstein, the stage is set for exploring Moving from instruments for gathering in- the life cycle of the stars. formation, the show spends some time dis- Don’t be fooled: STARS is a general astron- cussing the amount of raw data being generat- omy show, providing a survey-view of varied by probes, telescopes, etc. and the necessity ous astronomy topics including the solar sys- for processing this data to make discoveries. tem, the Milky Way, globular clusters, and This was an excellent aspect of how astrono- the nature of light. The theme of stars seems my works that is often misunderstood by the to function more as a thread tying everything public: discovery as a result of processing and together. Highlights of stellar evolution—star analyzing data and not necessarily a single ob- birth, red giants, pulsars, and black holes—are servation (as often depicted in movies or on touched on, but function more as scenic stops television). on a tour that encompasses everything else junior high up to adult that has a large dose Finally, the show turns to the limits of ob- you would expect from a general astronomy of the “wow” factor, this might be the one for servational astronomy and ties in high-ener- show. you. gy physics by a discussion of the Large Had- I sometimes felt like I was being hustled ron Collider and the ways in which scientists through a breathtaking exhibit, pausing mo- We Are Astronomers will use this device to probe conditions in the mentarily before various gorgeous visualiza- •• NSC Creative early universe. Though a purist might argue tions being hurried to the next. •• Fulldome that particle physics has left the realm of pure That’s certainly not to say that STARS is not •• Running time: 25 minutes astronomy, this segue illustrates well that the an excellent show. It provides awe-inspiring •• Audience: General audiences, middle school boundaries between the disciplines are any- visualizations of a wide variety of celestial ob- and up thing but firm and actually rather arbitrary jects, and though the science is cursory, it has •• www.weareastronomers.com against the unity of science. This theme is not been neglected. If nothing else, the intro- echoed in the closing scene that talks about ductions provided stepping-off points for dis- The public perception of who scientists are the way scientists and astronomers around cussion or audience questions. Though all of and what they do is, as any science educator the world work together and—predictably the visualizations were excellent, I especially quickly realizes, often quite far afield from though effectively—relates this to the unity enjoyed the Hubble Space Telescope sequence what might be hoped. This is particularly true of humanity. and the final moving view of our own star il- of astronomers. It is often difficult to move A great strength of this fulldome digital luminating the Earth. The opening sequence beyond the image of a lone stargazer peering show was the quality and clarity of its visual- of the supernova even nicely handled the ev- through an old-fashioned telescope to an ac- izations. The images of the James Webb tele- er-present dilemma of sound in space by tim- curate perception of today’s astronomers. scope and the LHC simulations were stunning, ing the explosion with the climax of the back- This difficulty is what NSC Creative’s new and the method of labeling images with icons ground symphony music, to good effect. show, We Are Astronomers, aims to address. that referred to county of origin (if an instru- Another strength of the show was that, as This show is a survey—not of the universe or ment) or portion of the EM spectrum imaged mentioned above, it gave an engaging (though solar system or the history of astronomy— (if an object) was a nice touch. understandably very summarized and gener- but of how astronomers today work and in- At one portion several students and as- alized) history of astronomy. Though a few teract. There is, in fact, very little discussion of tronomers were interviewed, and I was disap- of the cartoonish stereotypes were embarrass- the things astronomers are studying; instead, pointed with the quality of the images until I ing, it was overall a romping and effective pre- the show focuses on the methods and tools as- realized that all the interviews had been con- sentation. The show’s fulldome presentation tronomers today use. ducted using Skype, which, along with the throughout is immersive and effective. After a brief overview of the history of as- “Google-esque” feel of many of the visualiza- In all, STARS is a strong show. If you’re look- tronomy starting with Galileo, the show tions, lent the visualizations an air of accessi- ing for in-depth scientific exposition on the moves to a discussion of the Very Large Tele- bility and familiarity. life cycle of stars, keep looking, but if you’re scope array in Chile, the electromagnetic spec- Someone might have a bone to pick with looking for a good general introduction for trum, and the merits of having telescopes in the geocentric visualizations that open the space. This leads show. As the introductory survey of astrono- to a detailed dis- my progresses from a geocentric to heliocen- cussion of the tric cosmos, the images don’t reflect this. Even James Webb as the discussion reaches modern astronomy, telescope, em- galaxies, black holes, etc. are all portrayed as phasizing both clockwork artifacts orbiting the Earth. the technical Another potential complaint might be dif- proficiency re- ficulty in understanding the narration. To my quired for cre- American ears, the British narrator’s accent is ating such an thick and—at least on the first viewing—made instrument and it difficult to understand at a few places dur- the interna- ing the show. This was intensified during a tional collabo- scene where several people off the street were rations making interviewed. On the first viewing it was very it possible. This difficult to understand them. I

58 Planetarian September 2009 September 2009 Planetarian 59 Book Reviews

A new star atlas by James Mullaney and Wil grams like Kepler, astrobiology and SOFIA. For Tirion might be just the incentive and guid- me, it all started with the space race. ance I need. The Cambridge Double Star Atlas is Early on, every space launch made the the first star atlas in several years to offer list- front page of the newspaper and the evening ings and locations of double star systems. For news. We watched Russia and the US launch someone not well-versed in the ins and outs dogs, monkeys, insects, chimps and, ultimate- of imaging or photographing deep sky objects ly, men up into space. The Russians were not such as nebulae and galaxies, double stars of- only the first to space, but the first to send a fer rewarding targets that range from easy to woman into space. This was tremendously ex- challenging finds. citing. Mullaney is a former editor of Sky & Tele- Today, I regret that people have become ac- scope magazine and Tirion is well-known ura- customed to humans going into space, and nographer. The two are excellently paired for that the launches are relegated to the inside this accessible and yet comprehensive atlas. pages of the newspaper. The repair of “the peo- The bulk of the book contains 30 full-page ple’s telescope,” which restored and improved maps covering the entire sky and including Hubble, did make the news, and excited many double stars, variable stars, clusters, nebulae, folks around the world. But, like many peo- and galaxies. ple, I don’t remember each and every piece of Though the focus is double stars, the au- space history and lore. And, I’m delighted to thors clearly intend the book to function have a new book in my personal library that well as a general atlas. Double stars are clear- brings together a brief history of space explo- April S. Whitt ly marked with their designations (explained ration under one cover. in the introduction) and magnitude of the pri- Space Exploration for Dummies is the latest Fernbank Science Center mary indicated. An appendix lists all the dou- addition to the yellow-covered “Dummies” 156 Heaton Park Drive NE ble stars used in compiling the atlas as well as series. Researched and penned by Dr. Cynthia their coordinates, individual magnitudes, and Phillips, planetary geologist at the SETI Insti- Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA angular separation. The atlas is spiral bound, tute, and her partner, Shana Priwer, profes- [email protected] and the maps have green and yellow labels for sional writer, this book captures the essential easy viewing under a red light. facts and accomplishments of the real space This month’s column features useful re- An informative introduction includes cadets. sources for you and your audiences: a double what I found to be the most useful feature of The book invites browsing. While orga- star atlas, space exploration information, and the atlas: a listing of 133 of the “finest” dou- nized into logical chapters, readers are urged an account of one planetarian’s adventures ble and multiple star systems ideal for view- to jump straight to the topic of greatest inter- with a tornado. ing through telescopes with apertures of 2- to est. In case you’re a novice astronomer, there’s Many thanks to our reviewers: Steve Case, 14-inches. This listing includes a brief descrip- a quick light-hearted primer on basic astron- Edna DeVore, and Francine Jackson. tion of each target as well as the map number omy. Then, it’s on to rocket science. Phillips You can join their ranks! Send me an email where they’re found. and Priwer have a light touch, and write for message, and I’ll send you a list of what’s avail- For someone not quite sure where to dive the non-rocket scientist. This is rocketry that able for review. We’re always looking for a in, this book provides a wealth of starting tar- your grandparents could understand. Rockets few good writers. gets for any time of year. carry up payloads, and often astronauts. But, all you would-be astronauts, go on to The Cambridge Double Star Atlas Space Exploration for Dummies read chapter 5 about space tragedies before consulting your life insurance agent. Like 15th James Mullaney and Wil Tirion, Cambridge Cynthia Phillips and Shana Priwer, dummies. century exploration of the Earth, space explo- University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2009, ISBN com, 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-44573-0, US $19.99. ration is dangerous. People do die trying, and 978-0-521-49343-7, US $35.00 Reviewed by Edna DeVore, Director of Edu- the history of the tragedies is both thoughtful Reviewed by Steve Case, Strickler Planetari- cation & Outreach, SETI Institute, Mountain um, Bourbonnais, Illinois, USA View, California, USA

I may be the only planetarian guilty of this, You’ve always been a but I know that I spend far more time under space cadet at heart? So a simulated night sky than I do the real one. have I. My Dad took me It’s certainly not for lack of interest; after all, out to see Sputnik glint it was a fascination with the sky that got me in the night sky, and the into this business in the first place. But after a rest is history. I still have day on campus teaching inside the planetar- my 5th grade report that ium and out, by the time the non-simulated stated I planned to work night arrives I’m usually too bushed to grab a for NASA when I grew telescope and venture out-of-doors. I’ll be the up. Well, that child- first to admit I need to brush up on my actu- hood dream has been al-sky observing skills, but it always seems a largely fulfilled through daunting task. the work on NASA pro-

60 Planetarian September 2009 and sobering. It honors the people who made the ultimate sacrifice in our jour- Ten Seconds Inside a Tornado ney to the stars. Ed Frederick, published by Am World Back to 1957: Sputnik was the first hu- Editions, The Villages, Florida, 2009, ISBN man-made satellite to orbit Earth. It was #978-0-615-27266-5, US $19.95 amazing to me, and still is. Over sever- Reviewed by Francine Jackson, Uni- al chapters, “space exploration” breez- versity of Rhode Island Planetarium, es through the early days of the space Providence, Rhode Island, USA race and on to Apollo, Soyuz, Mir and What does a planetarian who decides the space station. It’s useful to have all of to leave the field do to change his life? this brought together succinctly: many For Ed Frederick, formally of the Worces- missions and many astronauts at my fin- ter, Massachusetts Alden Omnisphere, it gertips. I especially appreciated the in- was to leave New England for the quiet, clusion of the 13 women who worked to peaceful life in the Villages, one of Flor- become astronauts in 1960, but were ex- ida’s newer communities, advertised as cluded by NASA for lack of Air Force pi- “Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.” Little lot training (something they, as women, could the Earth? What was the mechanism that al- did he realize he would discover how friendly not obtain at the time, p. 99). Sally Ride was lowed the astronauts to ultimately be sent a his new community really was. the first U.S. female astronaut in space 23 years quarter of a million miles from home? The Ed and his wife Barbara had just moved into later. Times do change. answer, of course, is the Saturn V, the largest their new home a few days before Thanks- Robots and remotely-operated space tele- piece of equipment ever to leave the surface giving, 2006. Two months later, at 3:13 a.m. scopes are essential human tools for space ex- of the Earth. on Feb. 2, they were both awakened by the ploration. The authors devote chapters to ro- The Saturn V was conceived in the very sounds of things slamming onto their house. botic exploration of the moon, the first grand early 1960s, when it was decided a three-stage Then came the roar, like Niagara Falls, or a tours of the solar system in the 70’s and 80’s, rocket would best serve the needs of both the high-speed train. Tornado! They both jumped and the newer explorers of our universe, in- Apollo program and future exploration mis- out of bed, and hit the floor. Ten seconds lat- cluding space telescopes like Hubble. We’re in sions. The resultant machine was enormous: er, it was over—and the Fredericks were now the midst of this exciting journey, and Phil- 364 feet high, taller than the Statue of Liber- homeless. lips and Priwer scan forward to the missions ty; first and second stage diameters of 33 feet; Unknown to them, so was a large num- in planning and missions in dream stages. overall weight at liftoff, 6.1 million pounds. To ber of their neighbors. Dozens of houses in Finally, for all the SETI fans, there a chapter leave the ground required five F-1 engines gen- the Villages had been struck by a group of at on looking for life beyond Earth in our solar erating 7.5 million pounds of thrust. least three tornados that created a lane of dev- system and around distant stars. I learned all this information through an- astation across what had been mostly very “Dummies” are known for humor, and this other of the Apogee selections, Saturn. This new homes. Yet, unbelievably, not one per- book closes with “tens,” a nice homage to Da- book contains every aspect of the Saturn V son died in the devastation. For this book, Ed vid Letterman: 10 places to look for life, 10 anyone could ever want. Virtually every part called on dozens of his neighbors to relate the ways that space travel isn’t like the movies, of this massive rocket is both described to the horror they felt on realizing what was hap- and 10 everyday things brought to you by last detail and has a corresponding picture. pening around them. No one in the Villages NASA (not Tang!). So, space cadets, teachers, The authors were so thorough in describ- was aware of a tornado watch; the path had kids and interested people, you’ll find Space ing the Saturn V that, as they state in the ear- been forecast for north of the Villages. Every- Exploration for Dummies a fun read and ly part of this book, their first thought was to one went to bed as their norm, woke up to in- handy reference. write on the entire Saturn program; however, credible sounds, or being covered with shards The authors also are looking for feedback. they became so engrossed in the design and of glass, or looking out of their walls direct- Drop them a line at [email protected] workmanship of the V version, that they soon ly to the outside. Others, like the Fredericks, realized they would have to write other books were able to get out of bed and find some sem- on the other Saturn models and concentrate blance of cover, such as the closet, the floor, or Saturn this time only on the V. And, they did. Want the bathroom. Some were saved by the cries of Alan Lawrie with Robert Godwin, published to know what the oxidizer turbopump is and their pets. All the stories relate the shock, dis- by Apogee Books, Burlington, Ontario, Cana- where it fits in the total design? Turn to page belief, and courage of the residents, almost all da, 2005, ISBN #1-894959-19-4, US 27.95 CND 80. What were the six major engine configu- of whom rebuilt and returned to their homes. $35.95. ration changes? Page 144 gives you the entire Ten Seconds Inside a Tornado is more than Reviewed by Francine Jackson, Universi- history. just a narrative of people undergoing a once- ty of Rhode Island Planetarium, Providence, Included with Saturn is rare footage of all in-a-lifetime event; it is also the story of a com- Rhode Island, USA aspects of the life of the Saturn V. This DVD, munity coming together, growing into one of which includes film from the rocket’s con- the strongest neighborhoods in the country. As we look back on the fortieth anniversa- struction and testing phases, is, for a space Every story is one of split-second decisions ry of the first lunar landing, we’ve got to mar- history buff, worth the cost of the book. But, made against one of the most devastating vel at the unbelievable engineering feat of the unbelievably meticulous work in bring- forces of nature. And, every story has a happy being able to travel up toward our nearest ce- ing this craft alive is worth the time to read, ending—no lives, people or animals were lost. lestial neighbor. The beauty of the images re- as well as view. If you love learning about Have you never experienced a tornado? By turned from both the lunar landers and or- the early times in the space program, and the the time you finish this book and relive the biters were reminders of the extraordinary rocket that pretty much made the space pro- horrors of the residents, you will feel as if you, work performed by these craft. But, does any- gram possible, this book and accompanying also, like Ed and Barbara Frederick, underwent one stop to ask how those machines got above DVD are a must. those terrifying seconds, and survived. I

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62 Funded through a NASA-Ideas GrantPlanetarian Big Mac is a registered trademark of the McDonald’s CorporationSeptember 2009 lated facilities, are described and compared. dria is usually misquoted as to when Jesus was Locations he visited included Bochum (which born, setting the event not in 4 B.C. but in 1 What’s25 Years New Ago had only an observatory when I was there in B.C. (She did not explain the conflict with the 1968), Budapest, Vienna (only the Zeiss, not known death of Herod in 4 B.C.) Following up Thomas Wm. Hamilton the privately-owned E-5 atop an apartment on this, the Script Section offered one by John HOSS Planetarium building), Nuremberg, Lucerne, and London. Mosley (Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles) on Jon Bell (then at Peninsula Planetarium in the Christmas Star. This show ranged far and 153 Arlo Road Newport News, Virginia) reported a panel dis- wide to include such issues as the origins of Staten Island, New York cussion at a joint MAPS-GLPA conference on the use of mistletoe, the legend of Santa Claus, the obligations of planetariums to run observ- and the Saturnalia. 10301 ing programs, use of telescopes, and relations Kathleen Hedges (Alamagordo Planetar- [email protected] with amateur astronomers. ium, New Mexico) reviewed events at a PPA At the conference, George Reed (West Ches- conference, claiming that papers were of sec- ter State College, Pennsylvania) introduced ondary interest compared to outside speakers Vol. 13, No. 3 the concept of visual literacy, and Dick Peery from the Jet Propulsion Lab and side trips to Third Quarter 1984 (Trenton Planetarium, New Jersey) extend- Mount Wilson and TRW (which had been reed this by suggesting showing a typical view cently merged into Northrup Grumman). The third issue of the Planetarian in 1984 through a small telescope of objects such as A Spitz Model A in Parkville High School, opened with a President’s Report on the IPS M31 before using fancy shots with major pro- Maryland, was claimed as the oldest function- Conference in Monterey de Mexico. The re- fessional instruments. Roxanne Peery stressed ing Spitz Planetarium. port omitted mentioning that all participants that planetarians need to know the sky! John Wharton’s Gibbous Gazette column got a free sample of tequila to take home. Elissa Malcohn (formerly of the Wagner argues for some restraint in promoting celes- Charles SmithJohn described Schroer the installation of College Planetarium, Staten Island, New York) tial events such as penumbral lunar eclips- the first Dassault Digistar in Richmond, Systèmes Virginia, and had a poem, “The Last Planetarium Confer- es and meteor showers during full moon. In why it was designed to function with Omni- ence,” set in a time when space travel is com- news, the Fisk Planetarium (Boulder, Colora- max capabilityPlanetarium in a tilted dome. monplace and planetariums are quaint anti- do) was closed and used as an atmospheric sat- DavidThe TaylorNew (SlipperyDetroit Rock Science University, quarian artifacts. ellite operations control center. Wharton re- Pennsylvania) visited many major European Phyllis Pitluga (Adler Planetarium, Chica- ported on shuffling shuttle schedules (say that planetariums. They,Center their shows, staffs, and re- go) demonstrated that Clement of Alexan- three times fast!) following delay of STS-41-D 5020 John R Street Detroit, Michigan 48202 USA [email protected] +1 313-577-8400, Ext. 435

September 2009 Planetarian 63 What’s New (25 Years Ago, continued from previous page) (the first mission, when it launched finally in August, that included a commercially-sponsored payload specialist, specifically Charles D. Walker, an employee of the McDonnell Douglas Corp), and on six planetariums in Scandinavia. The Griffith Planetarium was being renovated again. Carolyn Petersen participated in a “Case for Mars” symposium. Ownership of the A3P on Prince Edward Is- land (Canada) was in a three-way dispute in court. (Interestingly, this projector was origi- nally in Iowa, where it was involved in a sex scandal. I was involved as a consultant when the University of PEI bought it). The projector later ended as a museum installation. A cruise to view Comet Halley was planned, organized by Ted Pedas (Farrell, Pennsylvania John Schroer school district planetarium). Wharton noted personnel changes at NASA and in the plane- Dessault Systemes Planetarium tarium field. He wrapped up with mention of The New Detroit Science Center various available goodies: a film and slide set 5020 John R Street on the Galileo mission, a slide set from the As- tronomical Society of the Pacific on noted as- Detroit, Michigan 48202 USA tronomers, and an interactive program for the [email protected] hearing impaired. +1 313-577-8400, Ext. 435 Top pair: The SciDome HD projecting a grid be- John Mosley’s long-running Computer Cor- fore the auto warp calibration and after; (be- ner described the new simulator for control of low) HD on the dome. Images courtesy Spitz spacecraft, one for orbital rendezvous and one for flight to Saturn. Auto Warp to the Rescue James Brown’s What’s New had books on The SciDome HD with “auto warp” edge blend- viewing, pocket computer programs, ancient ing is Spitz’ newest, most powerful fulldome Chinese astronomy, and an ASP slide set com- planetarium system. At 1920 by 1920-pixels, the HD achieves greater resolution of the stan- paring the planets. dard 1200 x 1200 SciDome. The system uses William Lowry (Logan, Utah) did an aca- two projectors, located at the center of the demic study of visual pattern perception read- dome, and edge-blended to create a seamless iness as it relates to constellation recognition. fulldome image. The HD features a digital SLR camera, fitted with a fisheye lens, resting be- Problems in age readiness, complexity and in- tween the SciDome’s two projection lenses. completeness of the figure, changing orienta- At any time, the SciDome operator can run an tion, size and shape distortion resulting from “auto-warp calibration,” where patterns and planetarium seating, and failure of a constella- grids are displayed on the dome. The camera tion to be above the horizon all impact learn- shoots the patterns in series, capturing the dome’s overall size/projection area, and the ing. exact geometry of the projection at all points Jack Dunn’s Sky Notes warns about use of across the screen. For more information: Spitz, familiar background music: “Do you want Inc., 700 Brandywine Drive, Chadds Ford, Penn- your audience to sing along with your sound- sylvania, 19317 USA; phone +1 610-459-5200; www.spitzinc.com track—or listen to it?” Jane’s Corner reprinted a hilarious spoof of The Famous Artists School called, of course, “The Famous Planetarians School” she attributed to Bob Hillenbrand of Daytona Beach Planetarium (Florida). •• How to Answer Stupid Questions: (With stupid answers, of course! We give you over 53 stupid answers supplied by our stupid in- Astronomy: 3000 Years of Stargazing structors.) Antares FullDome has launched its latest 360º animation, called Astronomy: 3000 Years of Stargazing. The program features Albert Einstein as a cartoon figure, guiding the spectators to various aspects of the •• Grabbing the Audience’s Attention: Strobes! history of astronomy. “With an eye on the International Year of Astronomy with this production, we Sprinklers! & Cherry Bombs!!! An explana- particularly want the younger visitors to get to know more about the history of this science. It could tion of 120 dB—the threshold of pain! Making serve as a foundation for a better understanding of the latest developments in stargazing,” says produc- people sick through star motions!!! I er Pep Masias, “The Einstein cartoon communicates the complex knowledge in an entertaining way.” For more information: Marei Bauer, Antares FullDome, Antares Producción y Distribución S.L., Trajà 2, 1º 1ª 08004 Barcelona, Spain; +34 933 32 30 00; www.antares-fulldome.com

64 Planetarian September 2009 September 2009 Planetarian 65 Zula_FullPageAd.pdf 4/28/2008 1:24:23 PM

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FULLDOME www.spitzinc.com/fulldome_shows 66 Planetarian SHOW DISTRIBUTIONSeptember 2009 Contact: Mike Bruno [email protected] T: 610.459.5200 Planetarians’ Calendar of Events

2009 International Year of Astronomy 5-7 May. Canadian Association of Science Centres Annual 1-4 September. 6th European Meeting of Small and Porta- Conference, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, www.canadianscience- ble Planetaria at the M. Copernicus Planetarium and Obser- centres.ca/main.htm vatory in Chorzow, Poland. For information and registra- 7-8 May. Annual Conference of the British Association of Plan- tion go to: http://www.chorzow2009.ajd.czest.pl or contact etaria (BAP), Intech Planetarium, Winchester, Great Britain. Tomasz Kisiel ([email protected]) or ([email protected]). 13-16, May. Association of French Speaking Planetariums, Year- 4-5 September. Nordic Planetarium Association Conference, ly Meeting, Dijon, France. Jærmuseet, Vitenfabrikken, Sandnes, Norway. Chair and 29-31 May. German Planetarium Association Annual Confer- contact: Ivar Reed Nakken, [email protected]. ence, Bochum, Germany. 7 September. Japan Planetarium Society, Planetary Science June. Japan Planetarium Society, JPA Conference 2010. http:// workshop. Visiting the Institute of Space and Astronomi- www.shin-pla.info/index.html cal Science and lecture for Venus Climate Orbiter that will 8-12 June. Southeastern Planetarium Association (SEPA), Annu- be launched in 2010. Contact: Takayo Hasegawa (general@ al Conference, Kingsport, Tennessee, USA. shin-pla.info) 24-25 June. International Planetarium Society Council Meet- 12-16 September. Astronomical Society of the Pacific Annual ing, Alexandria, Egypt. Conference, Westin SFO, Millbrae, California, USA. www.as- June 26-30: 20th International Planetarium Society Confer- trosociety.org ence, Alexandria, Egypt. Contact: Omar Fikry, Head of Shows 16-18 September. Annual Digistar Users Group meeting, Salt & Programs Unit, Planetarium Science Center, Library of Al- Lake City, Utah, USA. http://www.digistardomes.org exandria, El Shatby, Alexandria 21526, Egypt, + 203-4839999 25-27 September. DomeFest 2009, ARTS Lab, University of New (Ext.1881), [email protected], www.bibalex.org/ Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. www.domefest. ips2010. org 2-7 July. EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF), Turin, Italy, www. 5 October. Association of Dutch-Speaking Planetariums, Planed euroscience.org Meeting, Halley Planetarium, Heesch, The Netherlands. 9-12 October. Association of Brazilian Planetariums, Annual 11 July, total solar eclipse Conference, Museum park of knowledge, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil. 2-5 October. Association of Science-Technology Centers 21-24 October. Great Lakes Planetarium Association 45th An- (ASTC) Annual Conference, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Ha- nual Conference, Delta College Planetarium, Bay City, Mich- waii, USA. www.astc.org igan, USA. Contact Garry Beckstrom at [email protected] Phone: +1 989 667-2270; planetarium website: www3.delta. 2011 edu/planet; conference website www.glpaweb.org/confer- May. Association of French Speaking Planetariums, Yearly ence.htm Meeting, Saint-Etienne, France. 31 October – 3 November. Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) Annual Conference, Fort Worth Museum of 2012 Science and History, Fort Worth, Texas, USA. www.astc.org. 22-26 July. 21st International Planetarium Society Conference, 9-11 November. Japan Planetarium Society Workshop, Shi- Irene W. Pennington Planetarium, Louisiana Art & Science mane Nature Museum, Mt. Sanbe. Contact: Takayo Hasega- Museum, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA, [email protected] wa ([email protected])

2010 Deadlines for “A Week in Italy” January. 5th Conference and workshop on Planetariums, Parque de las Ciencias, Granada, Spain. 15 September 2009. “A week in Italy for an American Planetar- 28 February. Deadline for IPS Eugenides Foundation Script ium Operator”. contest. 15-19, March. Conference “Communicating Astronomy with For more information on the “Week in Italy,” go to: www.as- the Public 2010,” Cape Town, South Africa, www.commu- trofilibresciani.it/Planetari/Week_in_Italy/-Week_Italy.htm nicatingastronomy.org/cap2010/index.html121, informa- [email protected], [email protected] For corrections and new information for the Calendar of 21 March. International Day of Planetaria, www.dayofplane- Events, please send a message to Loris Ramponi at osservato- taria.org [email protected]. 31 March. Deadline for application for scholarship funds (IPS More details about several of these upcoming events is in- support Alexandria Conference attendance by individuals). cluded in the International News column. 17-18 April. Italian Association of Planetaria (PLANIT), XXV The most up-to-date information also is available online at National Conference, Perugia, Italy, www.planetaritaliani.it. the International Planetarian’s Calendar of Events at www. Contact: [email protected] ips-planetarium.org/events/conferences.html I

September 2009 Planetarian 67 Last Light SEPA surprises tire before you replace them. Even if you’re The Southeastern Planetarium Associa- young.” He had paper models of the projection’s annual conference was in Nashville, tor to distribute, and one lovely little work- Tennessee this past June, and a good time was ing model that had been assembled by some had by all. Pat McQuillan gave several papers experts. The model can be downloaded from about the International Research in Seismol- the internet. ogy (IRIS) group with which he works. His “That’s dangerous,” someone remarked. “All screen saver is an image of his two young sons, you’d have to do is use a photocopier to en- photographed washing a large window so large that model 70 times, and you’d have a that it appears they are cleaning the inside of Chronos for free!” his computer screen. When we oohed and ahhed over the cute kids, Pat mentioned that they had broken his large plasma screen TV. One child wanted to watch a television program, the other wanted to play a video game, and in the ensuing battle a thrown object missed the target brother and hit the screen. Pat referred to it now as a April S. Whitt “very large radio receiver” because that part Fernbank Science Center still works. He also joked that he was going to kill those two for breaking the expensive tele- 156 Heaton Park Drive NE vision. Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA During the door prize session at the end of [email protected] the conference, Pat won a prize packet with two children’s “Fly Me to the Moon” t-shirts, just the right sizes for his two sons. Mickey Jo Sorrell asked if he was now happy that he’d let The International Year of Astronomy his children live. swings into the equinox, with the World Pat’s papers were terrific. He was the first Wide Star Gaze scheduled for late in October, speaker at one of the sessions, and when time and more people looking up. came to begin the session, about four of us Last May, National Astronomy Day coin- were in the audience. As a reward for being cided with the local Science Olympiad here. on time, he distributed “earthquake motion Ken Miller and Kris McCall with Woodchuck We had put together images of constella- models” (also known as a Slinky, the coiled Ale, the sometimes puzzling official beverage of all things SEPA. Photo by Jack Dunn tions for the students to identify in the “Star- spring toy, printed with continents and the ry Skies” portion of the event, and I was curi- IRIS logo) to the faithful few. ous if the students had been able to pick out Pat was in the Kinesthetic Astronomy work- During the door prize distribution, Kris Mc- the constellation in each image. Afterward, I shop led by Duke Johnson. There were many Call thanked the vendors for their support. asked the Olympiad coordinator if the event questions and answers in that session, and sev- “Vendors in the all the categories,” she be- had been a success. eral people asked why they didn’t get a slinky gan, “from the Plutoids…” and then she start- He said, “You know, I started with an easy for the right answer! ed laughing. Laughing until she could hard- one, Orion. I brought up the picture, and there Phil Groce, modeling student behavior, an- ly breathe. When she calmed down, she told were no sticks connecting the stars! And there swered one question incorrectly and Duke, us that someone at the front table had just re- were way more stars! That picture must have modeling incorrect teacher behavior, yelled, marked quietly that “there’s a cream for that.” come from the Hubble or something. When I “No! You’re wrong and you’re stupid!” Every- Karl von Ahnen won the Homestar Pro think of Orion, I think of ORION,” gesturing one burst out laughing, Phil included, and home planetarium projector. “Great!” Theo stars with connecting lines between them. Duke said he’d always wanted to say that out Wellington told him, “now you’ll never leave He went on, “I vividly remember being in loud. the dome!” first grade, and seeing astronauts on televi- In one of the kinesthetic activities, long Charles Ferguson took home an auto- sion, in orbit, with these long poles. I knew ropes were laid out at right angles, crossing graphed copy of Traveler’s Guide to Mars and they were taking those into space to put be- in the center of the floor at the “sun” with a “Fly Me to the Moon” t-shirt. He referred to it tween the stars to show the constellations.” (I labels for the inner planets placed along the as the “NASA’s Next Exploration” pack. think he was referring to component assem- ropes to denote points along those planets’ Jason Dorfman also won a copy of the book, bly practice in the shuttle bay, in preparation orbits. Someone asked what the scale was— plus a set of golf balls. I figured he would use for assembling the International Space Sta- how much distance in one AU? Duke said he the golf balls in moon phase demonstrations tion.) By second or third grade, he said, when couldn’t remember. It was a long, long time (they glow nicely in dim light and already he learned that there are no lines between the since he’d made the ropes. It must have been have craters), but Betty Wasiluk suggested he stars in the real sky, it was a real surprise. a really long time ago. Jack Northrup eyed the could be the first to hit a golf ball on Mars. If a PhD physicist has that misconception, distance and said brightly, “Look! Three cu- And finally, congratulations to our “sim- I wonder what members of the general pub- bits!” ply…super” editor Sharon Shanks for her lic expect when they come to a constellation Ken Miller described the LED lamps in the prize-winning slogan in the Super Media- show? Chronos projector as so long-lived, “You’ll re- globe 2 contest! I

68 Planetarian September 2009

Open to Possibilities

The graphics engine in Digistar has been completely redesigned from the ground up to make it more flexible than ever. Digistar 4 is built upon open architecture. Custom plug-ins allow Digistar 4 to speak the native language of virtually any scientific data set and visualize this data on the dome in real time. Now the stars are no longer the limit to what you can explore. How about other sciences like medicine, chemistry, geology, meteorology... But that’s just scratching the surface. With Digistar 4 the possibilities are wide open.