PLANETARIAN Journal of the International Planetarium Society Vol. 31, No.2, June 2002

Articles 4 Gender and American Planetarium Community ..... Jordan Marche II 9 Goodbye to Griffith ...... Ivan Dryer

Features 18 Reviews ...... ~ ...... April S. Whitt 23 International News ...... Lars Broman 29 NASA Space Science News ...... Anita Sohus 31 Focus on Education ...... Kathy Michaels & Francine Jackson 32 President's Message ...... Martin Ratcliffe 33 Mobile News Network ...... Susan Button 41 What's New ...... Jim Manning 45 Gibbous Gazette ...... James Hughes 48 Last Light ...... April Whitt This is lNhat counts:

ZKP 3 5 51 Decatur, USA Fle xi bility

ZMP -TO 552 Glasgow, UK Brilliance

ZKf" 3 5 5 3 Muscat , OM Quality

MIX 554 St . loui s, USA Pre c i si on

MIX 555 los Angeles, USA Re liabi l ity

ZKP 3 556 Schwaz, A K now - Ho w

M IX 5 5 7 Vima, A Ergonomics

MIX 558 Stuttga,t, D Service

ZKP 3 5 5 9 Cleveland. USA T r u s t

ZKP 3 560 "'"gos, " Seeing is Believing! ZMP-TO Kenner, USA In the U.S. & Canada 561 contact Pearl Reilly ,r,' ; ( • " ,"A, N, Phone: 800-726- 8805 ZKP 3 Ta oj oo, SK fax 985-76j-~396 562 {-Mdll: plle,fi, ",am.com

ZKP 3 563 Kreuzllngen. CH Carl Zeiss Planetarium Division 564 07745 lend, Germany Phone: -t-49· 3641·642406 Fax +49-3641-643023 £ Mall: piane!dllum(:: zel~~.de W\VI'V zel~s.delplan('taf1ums The Planetarian (ISN 0090-3213) is published ©2002, International Planetarium Society, Inc., e personal opinions and are not necessarily the Opllllic)ns officers, or agents. Acceptance of advertisements, announcements, or other material does 1. 31, o. 2 endorsement by the International Planetarium its officers or The Editor WeJlCOlneS items for consideration for publication. Please consult June 2002 http://www.GriffithObs.org/IPSGuidelines.html. The Editor reserves the to suit this publication's needs.

IN DE X Griffith nh""""'[7~+,n."'<7 A v 2800E. Adler Los Angeles, California USA (1) 323-664-1181 daytime phone allsky.de ...... ,., ... ,.. "" .... ,.. ,. (1) 323-663-4323 Griffith fax (1) 603-506-8255 personal efax [email protected]

Conceptron Director, Minneapolis Planetarium 300 Nicollet Mall Cubex ... " ... " ..... ,..... "., .. ,"', ...... ,., ..... ,., .. ,', ...... ,., .... ,., ...... ". Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 USA 612-630-6151 612-630-6180 fax cover [email protected] Learning Individual: $50 one year; two years Minneapolis Institutional: $200 first year; $100 annual renewal Minolta ...... ,.... ,...... Library Subscriptions: $36 one year Direct membership requests and changes ofaddress to the Treasurer Membership Chairman; see next cover page for address and contact information. Seiler Sky-Skan, I. Job A.A.Jl.J!.''U'Jl.Jl.JLAU.\..L'U'AA The IPS Job Information Service has moved to the World Wide Web. Please check the 'Jobs" page on the IPS web site: http://www.ips-planetarium.org.

Available from: Charlene Oukes IPS Back Publications Repository Focus on Education Strasenburgh Planetarium Kathy Michaels Rochester Museum & Science Center Francine Jackson 657 East Avenue .." .....JlUJUJ, .... News N ""'f.n"""' ...·b- Rochester, New York 14607 USA Forum Susan Button Steve Gibbous Gazette A cumulative index of major articles that have James appeared in the Planetarian from the first issue Reviews through the current issue is available on paper International News Whitt ($15 ppd) or CD ($6 ppd) from the Exec. Editor. Lars Broman A shortened copy is at the Planetarian web site. What's New Jim I\/ir...... \;-no

March: January 21 June: 21 Sepitember: 21 December: October 21 ers President Past President (1) 703-750-5010 fax Martin Ratcliffe Dr. Dale W. Smith [email protected] Director, Theaters & Media Services BGSU Planetarium, 104 Overman Hall [email protected] Exploration Place Physics &Astronomy Dept. 300 N McLean Blvd Bowling Green State University Wichita, Kansas 67203 USA Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 USA Shawn Laatsch, Director (1) 316-263-3373 (1) 419-372-8666 Gheens Science Hall & Rauch Planetarium (1) 316-263-4545 fax (1) 419-372-9938 fax University of Louisville [email protected] [email protected] 108 West Brandeis Avenue Louisville, Kentucky 40292 USA President Elect Executive Secretary (1) 502-852-5855 Jon Elvert Lee Ann Hennig (1) 502-852-0831 fax Lane ESD Planetarium Planetarium 102424.1032.compuserve.com 2300 Leo Harris Pkwy Thomas Jefferson High School Eugene, Oregon 97401 USA for Science and Technology (1) 541-461-8227 6560 Braddock Road (1) 541-687-6459 fax Alexandria, Virginia 22312 USA [email protected] (1) 703-750-8380 en yes

Association of French-Speaking V6J 3J9 Canada Japan Planetarium Society Russian Planetariums Association Planetariums (1) 604-738-7817 ext.234 Shoichi Itoh Zinaida P. Sitkova Agnes Acker (1) 604-736-5665 fax Planetarium Ur Nizhny Novgorod Planetarium Observatoire de Strasbourg jdickens@hrmacmillanspacecentre Suginami Science Education Center Pokhvalinskii S'Yezd 5-A 11, rue de l'universite .com 3-3-13 Shimizu, Suginami-ku Nizhny Novgorod, 603 600 Russia 67000 Strasbourg France Tokyo 167-0033 Japan (7) 8312 30 51 51 0390242467 Council of German Planetariums (81) 3 3396 4391 (7) 831 2 30 51 66 fax 03 90 24 24 17 fax Dr. Wolfgang Wacker (81) 3 3396 4393 fax [email protected] [email protected] Planetarium Mannheim gGmbH [email protected] [email protected] Wilhelm-Varnholt-Allee 1 [email protected] (Europaplatz) Association of Mexican Planetari- 68165 Mannheim Germany Middle Atlantic Planetarium John Hare ums 49 621 41 94 20 Society Ash Enterprises Ignacio Castro Pinal 49 621 4124 11 fax Peter Connors 3602 23rd Avenue West Museo Tecnol6gico CF.E [email protected] orion@lLnet Bradenton, Florida 34205 USA Apdo. Postal 18-816 (1) 941-746-3522 CP. 11870, Mexico City, Mexico. European/Mediterranean Nordic Planetarium Association (1) 941-750-9497 fax (52)5516 13 57 Planetarium Association Lars Broman [email protected] (52)55165520 Fax Dennis Simopoulos Broman Planetarium [email protected] Eugenides Planetarium Ostra Hamngatan 1 Southwestern Association Syngrou Avenue-Amfithea S-79171 Falun tariums Association of Spanish Planetariums Athens Greece (46) 2310 177 Mark S. Sonntag Antonio Camarasa (30) 1 9411181 (46) 2310 137 fax Professor & Planetarium L'Hemisferic (30) 1 941 7372 fax [email protected] Department of Physics Avenida Institutio Obrero de [email protected] http://www.nrm.se/om/xtra/tc- State University Valencia wnpa.html Texas 76909 USA Esquina Autovia de El Saler Great Lakes Planetarium 46013 Valencia Spain Association Pacific Planetarium Association 34 96 33 55 330 Susan Reynolds Button Jon Elvert 34 96 33 55 331 fax Onondaga-Cortland-Madison Lane ESD Planetarium [email protected] B.O.CE.s. Planetarium 2300 Leo Harris P.O. Box 4754 Eugene, Oregon USA Ukranian Planetariums As~;ociiation Australasian Planetarium Society Syracuse, New York 13221 USA (1) 541-461-8227 Ivan Kriachkow GlenMoore (1) 315-433-2671 (1) 541-687-6459 fax Kiev Republican Planetarium Planetarium, Science Centre (1) 315-433-1530 fax [email protected] 57/3 Krasnoarmeiskaia Street University of W ollongong [email protected] http://www.efn.orgresd_plt 252005 Kiev, Ukraine Northfields Ave, 7442272781 Wollongong, NSW 2522 Australia Great Plains Planetarium Planetarium Society of India 7442275166 61 2 42865000 Association Prof. S Gopinath 7 44 227 51 43 fax 61 2 42 836665 fax Jack Dunn Director, Astronomer [email protected] gkm+AEA-uow.edu.au Ralph Mueller Planetarium Innovative Learning Technologies http://home.vicnet.net.au@apsweb University of Nebraska- Lincoln and Open Skies 210 Morrill Hall No.3, 9th Lane, IncHralna.ger British Association of Planetaria Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0375 USA Adyar, Chennai 600 Teresa Grafton (1) 402-472-2641 91 44 4418487 London Planetarium (1) 402-475-8899 fax [email protected] Marylebone Road [email protected] London NWI 5LR England United Kingdom Italian Planetaria's Friends Association 44 171 487 0310 Association Aaron McEuen 44 171 487 0286 Loris Ramponi Hansen Planetarium 44 171 465 0862 fax National Archive of Planetaria 15 South State St. Teresa.Grafton@madame- c/o Centro Studi e Ricerche Serafino Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 tussauds.com Zani 801-531-4934 via Bosca 24, CP. 104 [email protected] Canadian Council of Science 25066 Lumezzane (Brescia) Italy Centres (39) 30 87 21 64 John Dickenson, Managing Director (39) 30 87 25 45 fax H. R. MacMillan Space Centre http://www.cityline.it H. R. MacMillan Planetarium info@serafinozanLit 1100 Chestnut Street Vancouver, British Columbia

Vol. s

IPS Membership Committee IPS Publications Committee Shawn Laatsch, Treasurer Dr. Dale W. Smith Rauch Planetarium - University of Louisville BGSU Planetarium, 104 Overman Hall 108 W. Brandeis Avenue Physics &Astronomy Dept. Louisville, Kentucky 40292 USA Bowling Green State University (1) 502-852-5855 Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 USA (1) 502-852-0831 fax (1) 419-372-8666 Director, [email protected] (1) 419-372-9938 fax Exploration [email protected] 300 N McLean IPS l'Je<:nOltlS O)mrniUee Wichita, Kansas Steve IPS Web Committee (1) 316-263-3373 Planetarium Tom Callen, Chair (1) 316-263-4545 fax Benedum Natural Science Center Cosmonova Omnitheater [email protected] Oglebay Park Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet Wheeling, West Virginia 26003 USA Frescativagen 40, Box 50007 IPS Ethics Committee - vacant (1) 304-243-4034 SE 104 05 Sweden (1) 304-243-4110 fax (46) 8 519 551 04 Committee -President, Drc,,,;ri"""'T_ [email protected] (46) 8 519 551 OOfax Treasurer, "prrpt:

es IPS Consumer Affairs/Astrology Committee IPS Language Committee Committee Dr. Jeanne Bishop, Chair Martin Ricfiard George, Curator Westlake Schools Planetarium Launceston Planetarium Parkside Middle School Queen Victoria Museum 33317 -4411 USA 24525 Hilliard Road Launceston Tasmania, Australia Westlake, Ohio 44145 USA www.vision.net.aurpeter/AST/launplan/ (1) 440-835-6399 launplan.htm IPS Script Contest Committee (1) 440-835-6325 +61 3 6331 6777 Steve TIdey J [email protected] [email protected] Astronomy Educator Alexander Brest Planetarium Armand Spitz Planetarium Education Fund - IPS Media Distribution Committee 1025 Museum Circle Finance Committee Thomas Kraupe, Chair Jacksonville, Florida 32207 USA Planetarium Hamburg [email protected] IPS Education Committee Hindenburgdamm 01 Gary Sampson (retired) D-22303 Hamburg Germany Gary E. Sampson Planetarium [email protected] c/o 880 Hi-Ridge Avenue [email protected] Waukesha, Wisconsin 63186 USA (49) 040 514985 15 (Phone) (1) 262-784-0341 (49) 040 514985 10 fax [email protected] enrlessee 37056 USA IPS Outreach Committee IPS History Committee Christine Shupla John Hare, Chair, IPS Historian Arizona Science Center Ash Enterprises 600 East Washington Street 3602 23rd Avenue West Phoenix, Arizona 85004 USA Bradenton, Florida 34205 USA (1) 602-716-2078 (1) 941-746-3522 (1) 602-716-2099 fax (1) 941-750-9497 fax [email protected] [email protected] IPS Planetarium Development IPS Job Information Service Subcommittee Ken Wilson, Chair (Professional Services Committee) Ethyl Universe Planetarium Steve Fentress, Chair of Virginia Strasenburgh Planetarium 2500 West Broad Street Rochester Museum & Science Center Richmond, Virginia 23220 USA 657 East Avenue (1) 804-367-0457 Rochester, New York 14607 USA (1) 804-367-9348 fax IPS Pennanlent (1) 716-271-4552 ext. 409 [email protected] (1) 716-271-7146 fax International Planetarium steve_ [email protected] IPS Portable Planetarium Committee c/o Taylor Planetarium Sue Reynolds Button, Chair Museum of the Rockies IPS Lasers in Planetariums Committee Starlab Planetarium Montana State Jack A Dunn, Chair Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES Ralph Mueller Planetarium P.O. Box 4754 600 W. Kagy Blvd. 210 Morrill Hall Syracuse, New York 13221 USA Bozeman, Montana 59717 USA University of Nebraska-Lincoln (1) 315-433-2671 Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0375 USA (1) 315-432-4523 fax IPS Web Site (1) 402-472-2641 [email protected] (1) 402-475-8899 fax [email protected]

Produced at the Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, ; • • I I I minor, Northwestern to pursue gr2lou.ate 1924. Dearborn Bennot COlmtJle1ted mI'enle]lts for a master's a thesis on the proper stars. Her results were Dubli:shE~d

After Fox was chosen to direct '-'H.H.. ULP'.V Adler Planetarium 1929, he secured

women to achieve parity with men. "Chief that cOlnprisE~d Gender-specific divisions of labor within among these additional factors was the the pre-1940 American astronomical com­ enthusiastic backing of powerful and politi­ munity have been profiled by historian John cally astute male colleagues, without whose Lankford.1 Women who aspired to work in support even the most meritorious work astronomy often performed routine labors would go unrewarded."4 Yet, reliance upon in factory-style observatories. Women male allies constituted a precarious arrange­ astronomers were victims of a "dual labor ment for women. If or when market," characterized by "limited mobility, that support system collapsed, low pay and limited room for intellectual guarantees of sustained em­ independence."2 Historian Margaret W. ployment were lost as well. Rossiter has argued that an institutional Historians have paid little "logic of containment" long enforced "segre­ attention to women's roles as gated employment and underrecognition" astronomy educators in Amer­ for women scholars. Behind this scenario lay ica's planetaria. Before 1940, the "basic social desire to restrict women to five major installations were the lower levels of the academic hierarchy."3 opened in Chicago, Philadel­ Such actions contradicted supposed merito­ phia, Los Angeles, New York, cratic practices of hiring and advancement and Pittsburgh. All were eqUip­ that in reality applied only to men. ped with Zeiss projectors and had domes at least fifty feet in This paper argues that, diameter. Smaller, non-Zeiss planetaria only began to pro­ before equal-rights legisla­ liferate after 1947. This paper tion was passed, gender­ argues that, before equal-rights specific differences often legislation was passed, gender­ specific differences often char­ characterized employment acterized employment pat­ patterns found among terns found among America's America's major and smaller major and smaller planetaria. Within the former category, planetaria. Within the former the careers of Maude Bennot category, the careers of and Marian Lockwood demon­ Maude Bennot and Marian strate the persistence of gender Lockwood demonstrate the biases and warrant an exten­ sion of Rossiter's concepts to persistence of gender biases the popularization of science. and warrant an extension of Rossiter's concepts to the popularization of science. Maude V. Bennot (b. 1892) graduated valedictorian of her Rossiter's analysis of gender biases present class at age 16 from Thornton Maude V. Bennot. Source: in the scientific reward system describes how Township High School in Har­ Biography, new series, vol. 13, ed. "extrascientific assets" were needed for vey, Illinois. She was accepted New York: American Historical ~AllfliIlATI v When Fox left the planetarium in 1937 to tification men who possessed inferior cre­ In this respect, Bennot suffered from Fox's direct Chicago's Museum of Science and dentials and experiences. Like other women conception of as institutions Industry, Bennot was chosen its acting direc­ who had risen to high-ranking positions dur­ teaching and research. But Dunham tor. She thus became the first woman to ing the war, Bennot was slated for replace­ that the "has not ~Uj"J.HJlC:U head a planetarium facility in the U.S. (and ment by masculine authorities even before its function to astronomy."11 probably the world). Bennot's nearly eight­ that conflict had ended. These words a second rrlTl"lClrYl year appointment as acting director indi­ The decision to have Bennot replaced namely that Bennot had failed to V~Li"H'ULL cates a temporary concession which became with a man was engineered Robert]. Dun­ any new programs her tenure as 'permanent' by default. That arrangement, ham, Chicago Park District board preSident, director. Both however, however, allowed the Chicago Park District and undertaken with full approval of plane­ success with which she slflglehandelC111 board to release Bennot without recourse tarium donor Max Adler. Announcement of ministered the plcmt~tariulm thl'OUl2"h when such a move was deemed politically this change came at a board meeting held 26 longed national emergency. SC11ie:sin;g;er"s expedient. Her responsibilities were in fact December 1944, after Fels Planetarium direc­ ing was predicated on the fact that doubled to include both the director's and tor F. Wagner Schlesinger had been secretly man. his first actions as director was assistant director's duties, although her appointed Bennot's successor. In Dunham's to institute a number of new programs; a salary remained fixed at the latter's $4,800 plan, Bennot would receive only three move that found support. Embittered per year, considerably less than Fox's initial month's salary in 1945. Afterwards, the assis­ by her sudden dismissal, Bennot left the salary of $7,500. Bennot's appointment was tant director's position would be eliminated, astrorlornv education forever. adopted as a cost-cutting measure and con­ preventing Bennot from reacquiring even stituted an obvious form of gender discrimi­ her original means of employment. Bennot nation. charged that "this action constitutes a sub­ Before and after she became the Adler terfuge, an evasion of the civil service laws."8 When New York's Planetarium Planetarium's director, Bennot was subjected Dunham refuted this claim by arguing that opened in 1935, its staff was the to the powerful effects of cultural stereo­ the civil service rating on Bennot's position American and the greatest types, which threatened to deny her recogni­ had been abolished several years earlier. number of women. Marian Lockwood (b. tion for those administrative duties. Dunham's argument was challenged 1899), a former student at Daily News columnist Sydney]. Harris re­ Marvin]. Bas, an attorney for the civil service and secretary of the Amateur Astronomers counted these facts after conducting an employee's association, who termed the Association of New York, was one of three interview with Bennot in 1944. "Park District board's failure to offer Bennot a full assistant curators by director G. officials," he noted, "were skeptical of this salary "a willful circumvention of the merit Clyde Fisher, Arthur L. slim, fragile woman. Masculine astronomers system.,,9 Bas, however, was unable to reverse Dorothy A. Bennett, a shook their heads dolefully, said she was the board's predetermined objective. sota graduate and member of the American more in place in a tearoom than in an obser­ Dunham reported that Adler and the Museum of Natural education vatory." "The only limitations to a woman's board felt that the planetarium "has not ful­ department. William H. Barton, Jr., ability," Bennot retorted, "exist in the minds filled all its possibilities; has not attained the appointed associate curator. Each of ofmen!"6 position in the scientific world it deserves.,1}0 assistant curators received identical salaries, Bennot operated the planetarium much as In their judgment, public education justified regardless of gender or level of educational Fox had done, with monthly rotations of only a portion of the planetarium's purpose. attainment. Barton and Lockwood were suc- show topiCS almost unchanged from their original formats. Yet her policy of retaining lectures devised years before led to negative repercussions. Continued economic depres­ sion and the of war brought cuts in budget, personnel, and attendance, leaving Bennot as the one-woman planetarium staff. She encouraged the teaching of celestial nav­ igation to U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen. But in spite of thrifty management policies, popularity with the public, and fifteen years of devoted service, Bennot was suddenly removed from her position in 1945, follow­ ing the death of her mentor, Philip Fox, from a cerebral thrombosis the previous year. In her sequel volume on the career hurdles faced by women scientists, Margaret Rossiter has chronicled the "detrimental impact" brought upon women's lives and careers by the postwar period. "[W]omen's wartime accomplishments, rather than justifying an increased role for women in the postwar world, were quickly forgotten" or deliberate­ ly obscured? Many were displaced and de­ The Hayden Planetarium Staff in 1935. Left to right: Miss Lockwood, Mr. Draper, Dr. Fisher, Mr. moted without adequate explanation or Barton and Miss Bennett. Courtesy, Perkin Collection Department of Astrophysics, American Museum ofNatural History. cessively appointed to the Hayden director­ tice-style training and advancement that ship, while Draper left in 1940 to direct were open to men remained virtually closed before the space age; some rernaiined Pittsburgh's Buhl Planetarium. Only Bennett, to women. In modern parlance, a 'glass ceil­ in the decade, when who resigned her position in 1939, did not ing' existed, which was not breached of women astronomers (and pl<:mt~tarilLm follow the above career pattern. women's hands for another generation. Lockwood's interest in astronomical mat­ ters had developed at Wellesley College. At Women the Hayden Planetarium, she distinguished herself as a lecturer and writer, publishing Women gained access to the post-war two books, The Earth Among the Stars (1935) American planetarium community after national on p12mE~tarillm and The Story ofAstronomy (1939), in collabo­ Philadelphia entrepreneur Armand N. Spitz tion hosted at Bloomfield Hills, iVH'-iLL~al1 ration with Draper and a third, Astronomy (1904-1971) introduced his Model A projector (1958) and Cleveland, Ohio (1960). She (1940), with Fisher. Lockwood also served as in October 1947. Those institutions which AVlr"'Y'<;:""",lu in the fields of natural associate editor of The Sky from November most readily acquired Spitz planetaria were and children's literature and was 'CITA7"' .... rion 1936 to February 1938. Despite these accomp­ smaller, regional museums and univer­ honorary doctorate Rhode Island lishments, she was not promoted to associate sity/college physics departments. Few public in 1966. Miss Charlie M. Noble, nrr,h'cc"r curator until May 1943. After Bennett's de­ schools could boast of a planetarium before parture, Lockwood remained the sole female federal legislation was enacted in the wake of presence on the planetarium staff. Sputnik's launch. Barton succeeded Fisher as the Hayden's Regional museums were seldom devoted director in 1937. With the outbreak of Euro­ to scientific research. Instead, they interpret­ pean hostilities, he devoted extensive efforts ed the area's local history or natural re­ to teaching celestial navigation and report­ sources; young children and families became edly trained some 30,000 midshipmen. their primary audiences. These lower-pres­ Barton's "consuming desire" to give all tige positions, offering a modest were towards the war effort contributed to the largely filled by women educators. Men, Astronomical breakdown of his health and premature contrast, did not find this type of museum recognition for her extensive death from heart failure in July 1944.12 His work to be sufficiently rewarding, well-pay­ ing program.13 Noble's name was subse­ place was filled by the last original member ing, or necessarily 'masculine'. Within such quently affixed to the Fort Worth plametari- of Fisher's staff when Lockwood was institutions, women's careers became self­ urn, making her the first woman appOinted the planetarium's acting curator. empowering. A number of women museum be so honored. Genevieve B. R. Little evidence remains of Lockwood's directors thus procured and managed Spitz who had earned a bachelor's in activities during her single year in charge of planetaria; a combination not possible at the tion from the of Minnesota, the Hayden Planetarium. What is apparent is nation's Zeiss facilities. These opportunities directed the Grout Museum of that she suffered a fate almost identical to seemingl y offered women all of the profes­ Science in Waterloo, Iowa after that which deprived Maude Bennot of the sional responsibilities and rewards that they opened its the Adler Planetarium's directorship. On 1 sought. and retained both dil'ectm:ships September 1945, Lt. Commander Gordon A. Atwater, a naval officer who had taught nav­ igation with Barton, replaced Lockwood as the planetarium's chairman and curator. Before being commissioned in the Navy, Atwater was a lumberman and avocational sailor who had earned an engineering degree at Purdue University. More concerned with matters of protocol and authority than past loyalty or competence, Atwater eliminated both associate and assistant curatorial posi­ tions, reducing Lockwood to nothing more than a lecturer by 1946. She resigned several months later and obtained a more lucrative position with the Grolier Society, a New York publishing house. Like her counterpart Bennot, Lockwood never returned to plane­ taria or astronomical teaching. Within America's Zeiss planetaria, women were to be denied the authority and autono­ my they had exercised during years of eco­ nomic depression and war. Attainment of gender equity was a temporary measure, later erased by the ideology of male superior­ ity. Gender biases continued to operate among major planetaria after 1945. Appren- Maribelle Cormack. Courtesy, Cormack Planetarium, Museum

6 1980 and was elected tus remained far short of the marks attained the first woman presi­ by male colleagues, a few stereotype-break­ dent of the Internation­ ing women attained both planetarium and al Planetarium Society museum directorships. While not all-inclu­ (1983-84). These careers sive, this pattern reveals the largest gender­ are among the most specific differences in post-war planetarium successful of the com­ management. Whether by constraint or munity's women plan­ desire, these women evidently looked no fur­ etarium directors. ther toward possible careers in the nation's major planetaria. Conclusions In steadily growing fashion, women began During prime years to act as a positive force for change within of the 'feminine mys­ the American planetarium community. tique', women planetar­ Their presence under the dome served as an ium directors were few important role model and demonstrated in number, largely dis­ that girls as well as boys could learn about couraged from pursu­ the heavens. For those few women who em­ ing scientific or techni­ braced this challenge, neither size of dome cal careers believed to nor type of planetarium instrument mat­ be reserved for men. tered. Regarding the supposed distinctions The typical career path­ between large and small planetaria, Haar­ way open to men, stick replied that the dome's diameter "tells which led to the direc­ us nothing except how to figure its circum­ torship of a major plan­ ference."14 What counted most was being etarium, remained vir­ allowed to present astronomy lessons to chil­ tually closed to wo­ Maxine B. Haarstick. Courtesy, Minneapolis Planetarium, dren and adults in enthusiastic and enter­ men. Only wi thin the Minneapolis Public Library. taining fashion. But the fewer and lesser nation's smaller muse- rewards these women received, along with urns, universities, and the motivations which guided them, Louise L. Morlang directed the Townsend school districts were the barriers to women's remained primarily intrinsic. Planetarium at Charleston, West Virginia's participation as planetarium directors gradu­ public library, while Claudia Robinson ally removed. While their numbers and sta- (Please see Gender on page 36) supervised the Dallas, Texas Health and Science Museum's planetarium. Before the launch of Sputnik, the woman who achieved the highest recognition from planetarium colleagues was Maxine (Begin) Haarstick (1922-1985), curator of education at the Minneapolis Public Library's Science Museum. Haarstick earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Minnesota. When the American Association of Museums (AAM) held its 1952 conference in the Twin Cities, Haarstick's institution hosted the first official meeting of the AAM planetariums section. Its five-member panel offered discussion on the topiC, "Planetari­ ums, Their Use as a Community Service." Haarstick's active role in the planetariums section, gauged by almost yearly presenta­ tions, led to her selection as chairperson of its 1957 meeting. She became the first woman to attain such recognition from male-dominated colleagues. Haarstick was re­ elected chair of the AAM section in 1964. Her most notable paper, "How to Succeed in the Planetarium," was published in Museum News. Haarstick's career was capped by assuming planetarium and museum direc­ tor's posts concurrently after 1959. More recently, Jeanne (Emmons) Bishop (b. 1943), director of the Westlake, Ohio schools plane­ Charlie Mary Noble with Armand Spitz at the dedication of the Noble Planetarium at its new tarium, earned a doctorate in astronomy location at the new Fort Worth Children's Museum. Courtesy, Noble Planetarium, Museum of education from the University of Akron in Science and History.

Vol. 31, No.2, June 2002 Planetarian 7 laser", LASERIUM®. Thus it was that Dr. Garmire and I hr{'Ill(rht Go d ye to Griffith a small helium-neon red laser and a lumia diffraction wheel to generate those gyrating by a Departing "House Guest" interference patterns among the stars on the dome. It was transfixing; a lO-minute plan­ ned demonstration stretched to 45. And then Ivan Dryer, President the record was turned over for more. But the answer was "no." So we went away and did laser Images, Inc. some laser work in films, tours (rock and clas­ 6911 Hayvenhurst sical), and openings all firsts. Then in June Van Nuys, California 91406 of '73 my new partner, Charles McDanald, and I set up a demonstration at a Caltech lab kindly loaned by Dr. Garmire, and we invit­ In November of 1973 a 28-year association interrupted periodically by sojourns at San ed about 120 people to witness our borrowed with Griffith Observatory, and with plane­ Diego State, Northern Arizona and Lowell full-color Krypton gas laser and a battery of tarium's worldwide, began with the premiere Observatory, and a full-time day job while new effects. Only two people showed up, but of LASERIUM®. That association ended with attending USC Cinema at night. they were Ron Oriti, who had stepped up to the closing of LASERIUM® at the Observa­ My on-and-off guide work ended in 1968, Associate Director, and William Kaufman III, tory this January 5th. But it actually wasn't but I was back at the Observatory in Decem­ the new Director of the Observatory (and at ber of 1970 with a new application, for a kind of "laser Fantasia" we hoped to present after-hours in the planetarium theater. The idea for this re­ sulted from an en­ counter with the laser artwork of a Cal tech Laser PhYSicist, Dr. Elsa Garmire, at a con­ ference called Experi­ men ts in Art and Technology at USC in November, 1970. A fel­ low filmmaker and I got an invitation to her lab to film the laser effects she was creating with two small lasers - a bl ue­ green argon and a red heli um -neon - and projecting on her Scene from "Blue Danube" selection in the original walls. While filming Griftlth patron and trademark "Blue Danube" circles, LASERIUM® show at Griftlth in Los Angeles. the marvelous, seem- mid-1970s. All photographs courtesy Laser Images. ingly organiC, undulat­ ing laser "clouds" (in­ the first. (Indeed, my first, and formative, terference patterns, later dubbed "lumia" 28 the youngest of any major planetarium). experience of the Observatory was a trip to after the term coined by light artist Thomas Dr. Kaufman was willing to give us a try and the moon courtesy of original Director, Dins­ Wilfred in the 1920s) I found it difficult to offered four otherwise "dark" Monday nights more Alter, circa 1948.) Later, as a junior in cut because they were so continually novel in November and December as a test to see if high school and an amateur astronomer and stimulating. It also occurred to me then anybody would show up. since middle school, I applied to Griffith that the film would not fully render the Again we went away, this time to build a Observatory for a guide staff position. I was intensity, the scope, the purity of the color­ projector and create a show. We finished the turned down because I didn't meet the age ful forms morphing on the lab walls and former at 5:00 a.m. on opening day, Novem­ reqUirement. DisappOinted, I tried again next back-scattering laser "speckle" all over the ber 19, 1973 (the latter was a work in progress year, and on graduation in June, 1956 began room like some science fiction set. But what with several mutations to follow). I went my first stint as a guide. Among my first col­ about doing a "live" laser projection amid home to shower and change, then returned leagues was Ronald A. Oriti, with whom I the starry "sky" of the planetarium? And so, downtown to appear at 7:00 am on Ralph began a lifetime friendship - especially dur­ the "house of the planets" dome was to even­ Story's "A.M. Los Angeles" show on ABC. As a ing the next 12 years at the Observatory, tually do double-duty as the "house of the result of that single five-minute spot - again

8 featuring lumia from a small red laser - we had two halHll1i houses at the scheduled 7:30 and 9:00 shows that night. II have always bel ieved that only in LA would this h,lve be(>n possible.) And at the end of the test run on December 10lh we turned away an estimated 500 people from our 9:00 ~how. All of this was the resUlt of word of mouth: we did IIQadver" tising. (Again. what can I say? It was tAl) Dr. Kaufman called nl{' to S,1y that L,\SE R1UM- s<'ellll--d to be a viable addition to tht' planetarium scht'dule and proposed a continuation of the Monda}' t irne slots. resuming in January 1974, along with afternoon matiTlC't"S. WIll'Tl ! climtx'(] into the (now recently demolished) 1'.'00<]. en stockade around the planetarium projt't:tor over 28 }'ea~ ago to p<'rform those early LASERIUM ~ shows, I had predict· ed we might run for 10 yea~:11 maybe.1 thOUs.1nd guests pN week. Fortunatel y, I was wrong. I was aho too conservative in Illy expectations for the respome of the crowds, and I relish the memories of thost' fiT5t unsure step~ into the technical and aesthetic unknowns - much of the original shows being made up as we went along! It seemed whatever we l a~er i sb did wa~ OK with Ihe audience as long as it was on the music beaLlf the laser shut off during the show bc('ause the watt'r·pres~lIrt' drOPI)('d, it nll'vl(gill"lla'\"'i'l~ (/ml /X',(orlllfllice col/wi" IllIIkr tile LI'iJS ill IYN. had 10 do ~o on a ctle; and if it came hack on at the right time, who knew'! rhh was rdated to Ihe new principle of physics we discovered and termed the "john Efft'Ct." It turned out that the water pressure drOppt'd when a critical thresh­ old of johns was flushN] Simultaneously. So 1\'1: loeketJ Iht' rest rooms during the shows - only to fin d there W('Tl' W(lr~ consequences than the intermittent blackouts! (,\ separatt' walt'r line wa~ tht' curt'.J Then there wa~ the time my co·per­ former, Charlie McD,lnald, accidentally touched the high­ voltage pa\s hank in the laser power supply and leI Otlt a mortal cry a~ Ill' was in the pr()(:e~s of being continuously shockt'(I, until I rl;'ach{'{1 the ~\\"ilch - all on nil', so of COUfS(' the audience applau(Jt-d. Another aftefll()(ln in 1974, the word wa~ out th;1\ Patty !-IeaNt was on the lam in (,riffith Park, and "wouldn't it be fun if ~he ,howl'(l up at the OhSeTValOry!" Now, hack when our shows were compleldy live and OUT electronics were, to put it charitably. imprecise, we used Charlie's old Navy {)SCi l· loscop(' to wt up the ··Blue IJarmhe" sc.lIl pattern~. ,\nd dur­ ing that ~how IlwTe was a loud l>ang - ·'Palty I kar::.t r1lU~t be in ;1 )hootout with the FBI," and we hit the (led! Instead, it turned out to be the old scol)(' giving up the ghost when Wl' noticed the bad smdl and the plllll1 e of smoke rbing from it. But. hey. it was again 011 CUf'. a nd again the audience responded. Yt't anotht'r unschedult'd interactive moment was when il fly la nded on one of thc lumia p.l!tern Whl't'ls and started to explore it. while upon the dome was the shad· ow of this ellOrlllOUS insect strOlling through the projected dhplay...... ("t.'(lIt'Ss to s.1y,the audience \\"cnt wild! f\Vl' comit!· crt'(] hiring lIlt' fly.> And all that was just from the first ~i ... or l'lghl months in LA. - befor(' Denvef. Nt'w York. Sim FranCiSco. . Scaui{', Toronto,;"1. Loui" London, Parh. Pitbburgh, Kyoto. Tol..yo. CIe\'{'lantL("... lraCa~ - it wt'nt on anti on .. ~ It beg;m that ~ummer of 1974 when we first reached lx-yond LA. to hit another mark - or rather two Marks­ Peterson of (iates I'lanetarium, Denver. and Chartrand of Hilytten Plaln-Iarium in New York. OUf first forily into Ihe beyond was in August at Gales wheT\' it took ()ver ~ix wl~ks Of/SJlla/IASI RIUld ' IJOlla art. 1973. and eH'ntually our cntire home staff to 0)('11 (a week latl.'l.

Vol. 3' , No.2, June 2002 Planetarian 9 Ful/·dOIllI'I'{fi.'C1 lI'i I II stellar illig 11/1'11 1111 iOIl.

and galaxies bur~ting arl-ana that o ft en yicldl'(l ~lx'C t ac lLlar res ults from t he cen te r of t il e by singula rl y 10w'lech means (coke bottles. dome amid a gigan ti c l'offee cans and color gels. et all. Indeed, I am 1.lllIIio-ill ler{i.'rI'IICI'·P unique. While tile chairs at the ne\\' that it w.1S a planetarium I"!tron, not some ~ trip to the full dome - like the earth shad· Sunshine Planetarium in Tokyo were very LASEIUUM ~ ju nkie, who ripped the urinal ow fI:tre,Hing at dawn - to the thund ('rou~ applause of the e'''lx'Ctant audience! comfortable, the)' were quite narrow, and off the restroom wall to heaven knows what The ot l1<.' r open ings went a little better, 'though I could fit in 1978, I might find them end!) And of course we counterl'd that our dl-'Spi te their unique challengl'S (no two plan­ ;1 bit cramped no w. And the seats at the devil·spawned rock shows actually drug in London 1'lanetarium a nd the Pa lais de urban ki ds who had never s('(' n a starry sky­ e tarium ~ Wl're very much alike. eslX'Cii!lIy if DeCouvert in PariS we re even more uncom­ not to mention the financial windfall that they were JMAX ~ or space theaters!. An fortable thell the la te, unlamented instru· was the shotgun in what was sometimes an unexpected perquisite of the i nt e re ~ t in menU of the Inquisition at Griffith! uneasy marriage. balancing on the event LASERI UM~. as an adjunct to regular plane' tarium programming was the oppo rtunit y 10 And of course there were the people - as horizon of the institutional Mission State­ diwrse and often colorful as might be found ment. visi t ~o many of them in such disparat", anywhere. As far as I know. none of them But it was a marriage that lasted longer placl'~. And in the process ! l',"perienced a great many planetarium }hows and cultivat­ had a dcgrC<' in Pla netarium Education, and than most these days, and it even birthed ('{I many memories and friendship!>. Among t hey apparently came from an array of back­ some latter-day evangelisb like Ja~' k Dunn in the memoril'S 1'1.1\ aver}' effectivl' stagmg of groumb. hut they all st'Cmed uni ted in thei r Uncoln and old friend John Hare, formerly "The Last Qtll'S ti oll" at the Ilan'>C'n Plandari· paS!oion for astronomy and its disse mination of Bradenton, who, with his wife Linda, actu· um. hosthi by another Mark, Littmann this to the public. They were ilnd are p/rllletClficllls ally truncated a viSit to the Grand canyon of whom independence and a hea lthy ego on Friday and flew b..1Ck to Florida, onlv to time (wa~ that part icul;u given name ~ome \"l' re pfl'vailing characteristics; and I'm sure turn around o n Saturday January Sih be sort of unwitting advantage for applicant~?). t~ At the end of the show, whcn AC till' Com· thb had todo with the diss imila rities of their present at o ur closing event that night at approach es and often jealouslY'guarded Griffit h Ob~ervatury (a nd he wrote a nice puter prod ai!1l~ "Let there he light" ilnd a tt'Chniqul-<;. \uch a\ the wonderful and qUi tl' piece about it for TI!I' 1.lIS(T;SI fJil/lxxnd of the truly awe~ome Ili~ Ilan/\ ensues, with \tars proprietary homl"grown spelia leffect~ hlll'rnational LMer Dhp!ay Associati on, from

10 Planetor ion Vol. 31, No.2, June 2002 RG/f,~f{/JI"i( olJ(l/I/O/i(1 ('(feCI {rom "[.(151" lfi5iolls· (filial silow).

ned in 1973, about the relevance of our covered and then 50 rdined the use of ~how in the planetarium. I bt'g the tools to help with the difficult busi­ reader's indulg('nn' to shaft' ,I portion ne'iS of living. \'Ill' have often misu..ro which Linda just retired as Executive because I think it is perllaps e\'en more apro­ our technOlogy and in llIany ways ])irector). postoday: become subservient to it, evell threat­ And what a night and what a week it was! ened by it. Nothing should be more Amid the fury of that final wt't'k, before The plan('tarium has for many years evident in the last half of the 20ll, the frantic onslaught by tht' public-comt'" vividly communicated objective sci­ Century than that we must re~lore lately on the last Saturday (I was reminded of entific facts. Rut progra ms such as technology 10 our service - to the the Roman assault on Masada), I was think­ those at the Griffith Observatory also human uses of helping us live mort' ing a 101 alxlUt how we got starh."t1 and whal have provided a subjt..><: ti ve experience comfortilbly (/11(1 more me,lningfully it has me,mt to Illl' ,mel to our fans. I \earched of things and pl aces that cannot yet as well. And nothing now could be back into our archiv~ and found a couple of be experiel1c('(1 ill peoon. Hundreds of more important than its us(' in art to things that were particularly germane to me. I houS<.1ncls of IX'Ople rod(' to the moon rekindle wonder and delight in th(' In a 1986 interview 1 was asked of what J from here on their imagina tions long midst of our darkest anxieties. Many was most proud. And I said it was that we before Neil Armstrong even con­ creat ures know fear. Few have the showed against all odds and advice that ceivt'd he would do it. This mental capaCity for wonder and delight. IhN(, wa~ a ma~s ;wdi('ncl' for a larg('ly lelt'portation to other worlds has to They are among the most human ,1bstract entertainment - that a business be called an art. It is nothing more nor experiences. and we must Te·learn could be built around thinking way outside less than involving people with ideas th(,lll to survive. tht' [)ox. (A nd now w("rt' so far oUhide we and feelings that are bigger than and havt' to build a whole new bo.\ - th(' revolu­ far heyond their dily-to-day ("OIKerns. Certainly OUf anxieties have darkened tionary new iteration of J.ASEIUUM., th(' And that is the S<.1!lle kind of thing we even morc this past year. and I think more CYBEltDOME"', soon to appear in a ne;lrby propoS(' to do - \0 not only entertain, than ('vcr we can benefit from uplifting, cre­ venu(' with a hugc new dome and incredible but to stimulate and perhaps evell ative and gt'nuint'ly fun experiences that in t('ractiv(' multimedia. Wc ha\·c pf{xluced a inspire the viewers 10 states of mind allow us to l1l('aningfully tran scend our vi(l('O to glv(' a hint of what it will be like, that are beyond their normal rou· workaday routines and even the torture and which can be acc('ssed on our LASEItIUM® tines, and thus. hopefully, to make torpor of much of what Ih1Sses for entertain­ CYBERDOME'" Web page - broadband is tht'm richer for the e.~perience. ment these days. Thllf is what w(' have been helpful - where we hopt' to soon announct' Other than appearanct', the thing trying to do these past 28 years, ;tnd it is tilt' exact location and exp('ct('d opening that outward ly most disl inguisht's what we expe<:t to do more completely in date.) humans frolll other crea turt's is our the future. I also found an unpublished essay, pen- technology. No other slX'cies has dis·

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ular science books for at least the last decade. course, true for the passage And there has been a recent surge of interest neutrinos and following the famous observations of distant used <'",--no.ri,>u supernovae that claim to show that the uni­ described verse is accelerating in its expansion. The last five or so years have seen the publication of a number of well-written popular books that seek to describe (in entertaining the recent developments in our understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe. A mers and the primary question about any new book on yet much about the the topic of cosmology might well be, what ry"-,,n.rru For more advanced arrlatl2U!'s, sets it apart? should someone read Cos- level of this book will be too Revealed as opposed to The Runaway reveal little It's books this time, readers. Tomes. Universe by Donald Goldsmith, or Stephen or read about. However, all Volumes. Texts. From eggshells to nutshells­ A Brief History of Time? It is a fair a text, a biography, a delving into question. and a little something for the children. Several software packages will grace the Sep­ ... all readers will appreciate tember column, and your contributions in the portable star maps, and either category are welcome. Contact me at the address above, and see you in a number of colorful analo­ Wichita! gies useful in explaining cos­ Thanks to our reviewers: Christopher G. mology to the uninitiated. De Pree, Robert D. Hicks, Ann Hornscheme­ ier, Nathalie Martimbeau, Richard Monda, and John Mosley. Fairall's casual, brief and often entertain­ ing book has a number of advantages over the competition. It contains an int-or"ct-irHT set of three-dimensional images of stars and galaxies on scales ranging from the solar system to the inner shell of the "Cosmic Egg" as Fairall describes it the cosmic micro­ wave background that presents us with the earliest picture from the universe. These images provide a lot of information, especially to novice astronomers who do not often appreciate the wide range in distances to visible stars. 3D goggles provided in the book decode the view of stars out to 1000 light years and the view of the Galaxy from our perspective. Fairall's descriptions of familiar the expansion of the universe and the recent discoveries about the accelerating eXoaJ:1S10n are approachable. The book is written very A in casually, as if it were not subject to a strin­ Osterbrock, Princeton gent editorial review. While the recent dis­ 41 William Street, Princeton, New coveries of an accelerating are 08540,2001, ISBN 0-691-04936-X, mentioned, for example, there is no actual US$29.9S. description of the research, its importance, or its limitations. Most of the author's attention Reviewed Ann Hornschemeier, seems to have been invested in the last two State Cosmology Revealed: Living Inside the Cosmic somewhat speculative chapters entitled liThe USA. Egg, by Anthony Fairall, Springer Verlag; 175 Limitations of Science" and "The Anthropic Fifth Avenue, New York, New York, 10010, Principle". While well-written and entertain­ Donald Osterbrock's account USA, 2001, ISBN: 1852333227, US$29.95 ing, they are diversions from the main topic Baade's life (paperback). of the book. of characters, both in I find one major error in the book, related tions and more incidental m1:ercKtlonlS. to its title, which is the concept that one can­ At times Baade's not "see" beyond the Cosmic Egg, that there "who's who" of observational astrOllOIn th is a limit to the time to which we can look the first half of the 20 rOlnhu'u Cosmology has been the hot topic in pop- back in the universe. This proposition is, of career, for he palrti<:lp;ated number of solar eclipse voyages, and on one The Composition of Kepler's Astronomia Nova, recounted each strand of his -I-h-iriLrin,rr of these occasions he traveled with Bernhard by James R. Voelkel, Princeton University wrong turns, insights, false assuIlllpjtions, Schmidt. His discussions with this telescope Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jer­ errors. The historical builder about the problems of telescope mir­ sey, 20m, ISBN 0-691-00738-1, US$49.50. is that of an eccentric, even a rors and aberrations likely resulted in performed laborious calculations to Schmidt's work to develop the perfect mir­ Reviewed by Robert D. Hicks, Loxodrome mathematical pn~diction. ror. Schmidt developed a spherical mirror History Consultants, Richmond, Virginia, Now comes James R. Voelkel, ~UfJUUH~H'_" with a corrector plate and the Schmidt tele­ USA. Manager of the of Recent uL''-L''-L scope was born. and Technology web project, Dibner In the popular mind, Nicholas Copernicus te for the History of Science and Techllloj[OI.!V At times Baade's life history redefined the cosmos from a geocentric to in Cambridge, Massachusetts, reads like a "who's who" of heliocentric framework. He did not, howev­ enlarged his doctoral dissertation on er, project his heliocentric model as a physi­ into a book. Voelkel examines Astronomia observational astronomy in cal reality but offered a geometric model nova, its antecedents, and the first half of the 20th cen­ more palatable than the Ptolemaic alterna­ dence over many years, to argue that tury. tive. Copernicus retained the concept of uni­ method of discourse was not eccentriC, form circular motion, requiring the elabora­ rhetorically calculated. tion of circles within circles, epicycles and Planetarians will appreciate Baade's long deferents, to account for observations. Even to a casual reader history of lecturing, both to professional After Copernicus came the other early astronomers and the general public. He dif­ greats of the history of astronomy: Tycho, astronomical history, fered from his research contemporaries in Galileo, and Johannes Kepler. Kepler has kef's arguments bring the re­ that he used lectures and symposia to prolif­ attracted interest because of his achieve­ ward of peering into Kepler's erate his ideas and results, rather than pub­ ments in placing planets in elliptical orbits, a lishing in scientific journals. Baade was very conceptual shift from uniform circularity as compelling but unfam r influential and undoubtedly helped to popu­ significant as that engineered by Copernicus, and unusual mind. larize astronomy and to educate the general and for describing the physical properties of public about science. these orbits. Kepler has also attracted interest The book begins with the 1920s, when the because he was loquacious in print: volumes Voelkel argues "that the conceptu- first quantitative measurements of the mys­ of his correspondence survive, sources ripe al and features of the Astronomia terious "nebulae" were occurring. It takes us for analysis. nova are intimately related: Kepler IJ""IJ~'~'-' through a real revolution in understanding. Some historians have found Kepler's early chose this form of exposi tion By the 1950s we see that these nebulae are scientific discourse difficult and idiosyncrat­ because of the response he knew to galaxies and that we can learn about the evo­ ic to follow. Kepler's early publication, Mys­ from the astronomical £'n.rn;1'Yl11""iTTT lution of galaxies and of the universe terium cosmographicum, included a much­ revolutionary changes in astronomical through their observation. reproduced illustration of his conception of methodology he was proposing" 2). If one is interested in the detailed history planetary orbits as Platonic solids, a geomet­ Beginning with the Mv<;tp;ri1J]m C()srnt()'ll'atJ,fi­ of observational astronomy in Germany and rical model of elaborate and arcane construc­ icum, Voelkel painstakingly looks at the U.S. from 1920-1960, Osterbrock's book is tion. It is very difficult for a modern reader, works and the responses elicited from for you. It probably does not have a large even a physicist or an astronomer, to digest other astronomers. amount of direct applicability to the devel­ this image as having any accessible reality. opment of planetarium programming. This And today, with every college astronomy cu­ book represents a monumental amount of rriculum anchored in physics, modern read­ work; a wealth of information will surely be ers must be reminded that in Kepler's day, as an a great resource to historians. physics and geometrical astronomy were assistant. Tycho, and virtually everyone else, perceived as separate scholarly endeavors. tried to discourage Kepler from seeking

Kepler's Astronomia nova of 1609 suggested ical causes in astronomy. Tycho U,hHf-oU'-'-" a new physical reality, uniting physics and Kepler Martian orbital calculations, the astronomy in laying the foundation for the result of which fitted Kepler's new scheme astronomy of Isaac Newton decades later. and framed the arguments of Astronomia Pursuing the physical truth of heliocentrism nova. Says Voelkel: as a religious goal, Kepler suggested a motive force in the sun as responsible for all plane­ What Kepler did in the Astronomia nova tary movement (meaning that revolution­ was to make a table that acted as a ary periods are a function of solar distance), bridge between his theories, and that and he also defined what have since been would retain its usefulness after ... a per­ dubbed his first two laws of planetary fectly circular orbit, had been dis­ motion, that orbits exist in ellipses and that proved. This is an excellent illustration planets move along elliptical orbits at vary­ that the Astronomia nova was not writ­ ing speeds, traversing equal areas of the ten as a faithful account of the research, ellipse in equal times (now called the "area but was crafted to instruct and lead the law"). reader through Kepler's various at­ For modern historians, Kepler's discourse tempts. (p. 134) in this great work appears odd in that Kepler Voelkel's thorough examination of Kep­ The Search for Life in the Universe, 3rd Edition, ler's correspondence permits a compelling Donald Goldsmith and Tobias Owen, Uni­ argument about the rhetorical structure of verSity Science Books, Sausalito, California Astronomia nova. The author prefaces his (www.uscibooks.com). 2002, ISBN 1-891389- analysis of Kepler's correspondence with a 16-5, US$62.50 hardcover. brief description of Kepler's intellectual milieu and the status of Copernicanism in it. Reviewed by John Mosley, Griffith Obser­ The book, however, demands that the reader vatory, Los Angeles, California, USA. understand the mechanism of epicycles, def­ erents, troublesome equants, eccentricities, Way back when Carl Sagan was starting to and the implications of using the mean ver­ popularize the idea, I taught a college class I have plenty of sus true sun as a datum - concepts that may on the quest for extraterrestrial life. I used daunt casual readers of the history of astron­ photocopies of recent journal articles be­ subject and a omy. cause I could find no suitable textbook. I file - but I don't I found the protracted quotations from would have loved to have used The Search much exceflent in the correspondence of Kepler and David Fab­ for Life in the Universe. But if I were to teach ricius most engaging. Fabricius, amateur that course again and use this text, I'd still one place as is found astronomer and pastor, provided Kepler a need photocopies to fill in important gaps. form of "peer review" through his letters. The book is useful beyond the college/uni­ The reader can sympathize with Fabricius in verSity audience for which it is intended. A his eagerness to see things Kepler's way, and staple topiC for those of us who write plane­ in his inability to dissolve all of the founda­ tarium shows is the question of extraterres­ The final third of the book tions of his understanding of the cosmos for trial life. In all polls of what planetarium search for extraterrestrial in1:elligE~nce. the implications of Kepler's physical reality. audiences want to know about, ET comes rh'~nf-.,,.,, in this section seem out Because Kepler had redefined the cosmos out at or very near the top. And rightly so - (shouldn't the story of the in terms of physical properties, he knew that we want to know if there are others like us in and a discussion his rhetoric had to be clear to contempo­ the vast cosmos. Or even others who are not raries so that they could not only follow his like us. planets in thinking, but could also see that his conclu­ Researching the topiC is not hard. I have here. What does Drake's sions were inevitable. Voelkel makes a com­ plenty of books on the subject and a thick What is the of pelling case, and future studies of Kepler will clipping file - but I don't have so much have to reckon with this study. excellent material in one place as is found in from others? How we This is a speCialist work, intricate and the 573 pages between the covers of this par­ to the stars? What do UFOs and Von demanding, with few formulae or diagrams, ticular book. Whereas many other books ken tell us? And - in a nice COlt1clusion and reqUires close attention to the discourse explore an aspect of the question and go in do we have to wonder over exis- of geometrical astronomy of the seven­ odd directions the author has a special inter­ tence (Fermi's ~v>;r'>r1Ir.v teenth century. Even to a casual reader of est in, The Search for Life in the Universe is I over some astronomical history, Voelkel's arguments encyclopedic, and that makes for a good ref­ omissions and other sections that bring the reward of peering into Kepler's erence book. There is a lot of material here extraneous, the book a lot compelling but unfamiliar and unusual on most (but not all) aspects of the subject. material into one volume that should mind. The book's first section discusses the uni­ home on many bookshelves. verse as a place where life might find a home. How are stars born, how do they shine, how long do they live, and how do they die? How common are planets? What do we know about pulsar planets? Where were the ele­ ments that make up our bodies SYI1trleSllZelJt It's a good introduction, but in my humble opinion, much of this section is off-topic. The next section treats the of life and intelligence. Under what conditions did life form on earth? Must life be carbon-based? Is intelligence inevitable? An interesting short section explores the prob­ lems of Fred Hoyle's living i1Black Cloud." Now, half-way through the thick book, we look at the other planets in our solar sys­ tem. What do amino acids in meteorites tell us? Why is Venus so different from the earth? What did Viking really tell us, and is there fossil life in some Martian meteorites? Could life exist in Jupiter's clouds? At Tri­ ton's low temperature? Incredibly, the authors barely mention the question of The Universe in a Nutshell, tions it makes. If observations confirm the Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, predictiOns, then the theory is accepted career know that he is a fan of the -i-c.Louicin.r. New York, New York, 10036, 20m, ISBN 0- the scientific community. I the observations series Star Trek. the n ... {'rh1r"'... " 553-80202-X, US$35.00. show otherwise, then, assuming the observa­ the show knew as well. When he was tions are correct, the theory has to be modi­ Pasadena, California, to deliver a Reviewed by Richard Monda, :,cllertectadly fied or discarded. was asked if he would like to be in a New York, USA. Notice that this approach does not tell us the holodeck what the phenomenon actually is. A descrip­ Next Generation's Enterprise. No Stephen Hawking has done it again. The tion with predicative abilities that can be would turn down such an rVYVn,,;~h1r.i1-n author of A Brief History of Time and holder tested is enough to perform science whether there are two video stills in the book of the same academic "chair" as Sir Isaac it be Newton's account of a falling ball or playing poker with Commander Data, Newton has brought us an update on his Hawking's description of the region around a Einstein, and Isaac Newton. research about black holes, time travel and black hole. ligh ts up with a wide smile as the future of the universe. "Wrong again, Albert," to Eirlsb~inls The Universe in a Nutshell begins with a Hawking also introduces us well-known remark, "God does not discussion of Einstein, his Theory of Rela­ to his personal way of think­ with the universe." (Einstein did not believe tivity, and the events leading up to Edwin in the probabilistic nature of the new Hubble's discovery of the expansion of the ing about science and his re­ tum theory that revolutionized universe. None of these are technical descrip­ search philosophy: the pOSi­ early in the twentieth tions because this publication was written tivist approach. Several times in the book he also for a general audience. Nevertheless, a pro­ fun at his physical condition, ~~~UH"U~f> science attitude goes a long way with the his "chair" was not motorized in Newton's topics Hawking covers. And black holes are Hawking's specialty. time. has La teral Hawking labels Einstein's relativity as The master who discovered how black holes Sclerosis (Lou disease), a criDDlinlj! "classical," a term usually used in physics to can "evaporate" now endeavors to show that condition in which the muscles of the describe Newton's almost four-hundred-year information in such an object is lost forever, atrophy but the brain stays intact. His has old portrait of physical phenomena. A "mod­ not even released as the black hole dissipates. reached the advanced stage; he can no ern" Theory of Relativity, Hawking tells us, Hawking says that this has serious implica­ speak and has use of this right arm. He incorporates the Heisenburgh Uncertainty tions for determinism unless space stores the is now confined to his V,-"LJVHUH Principle of quantum physics that says we information as waveforms and radiates it as wheelchair, complete with voice sY11ttleslze'r. can ever exactly determine a particle's posi­ the black hole disappears. Finally, the title. a nutshell? Accord- tion or its energy. This is the kind of mind-boggling concept ing to Hawking, the behavior of the universe Hawking also introduces us to his personal that Hawking introduces to the reader. Other can be understood in terms of its and way of thinking about science and his such topiCS include eleven-dimensional when mapped out malth(~matl<:all research philosophy: the positivist approach. supergravity, superstring theory, M-theory, as a slightly flattened sphere with Accord to this view, "A scientific theory is a p-branes (multidimensional membranes), the nutshell in :,naKesl)e;:ne' mathematical model that describes and codi­ imaginary time and holographic encoding of paraphrase, "We could be bounded fies the observations we make." a region on its boundary. shell and count ourselves of ir.ifi.-.i-i-c. In this approach, a good theory has a few Keep in mind that Hawking treats all these space." basic postulates that can describe a wide concepts descriptively, carefully mt:roIClw:::mg This book '-H'lH~'-Hi"'-J the limits of range of circumstances. Further, the theory us to his research field of theoretical thinking. can be tested based on the physical predic- Hawking's personal humor also shows

An international team of astronomers and educators is starting an on-line and on space science education. Called \strorlOIllV Education Review" (AER), the new publication showcases educational research, innovation, resources, and ion. Its web address is: http://aer.noao.edu, where more information is available about the There are also for submit- ting contributions, and some articles that will be part of the first official issue. Articles are and then assembled into "issues" at regular intervals. Astronomy is taught from elementary school through college, and is one of the most popular topiCS in museums and the media. NASA also has an extensive program for education and outreach. Yet astronomy has remained the only major science field with no vehicle to educators communicate. AER is initially published with support from the National Optical Astronomy Observatories, and has been endorsed both the American Astronomical Society and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (the two main professional involved with astron- omy education.) Its Board of Editors and Council of Advisors has been drawn from a wide cross-section of astronomy educators at all levels. Articles, news announcements, or avid readers for the journal are most welcome. CUBEX Portable Planetarium

A fixed planetarium can - constelations outlines can be use it for: individually projected. - 2 sizes dome: 5 and 6 meters. ... school outreach - dome color chosen by customer . - vertical door that allows a fast, .. workshops easy and comfortable access . - lightweight dome fabric. - 12 V DC powered . ... special events - appropriate for schools, clubs, or an entrepreneurial business . ... community outreach - can be handled by one person! fits easily into any car, sets in ... hands-on education 10 min .

ASTRONOMIA EDUCATIVA S,R.L. Casilla de Correo 4184 - C1000WBP - Buenos Aires - ARGENTINA Tel: +54-11-4697-2815 Fax: +54-11-4697-9067 I E-mail: [email protected] I www.zps.com.ar ship on the seas. Built at the Chantiers de Alberta. The I l'Atlantique, with a dome of 13 meters, the I t dome will be original with a circular portion moving up, so the planetarium is included into a more great and polyvalent show room. We'll come back on this event of a new kind from the Cunard Company in the sions focused on VL'JI-"J"U.l~

next International News column. munications with members, and llu.uaUU'H For the eighth year, the annual French of an awards program. A full report planetarium magazine is edited with a lot of conference will appear in the next papers on activities of planetariums and national News. astronomy. Among them are a long paper on Representatives of the Canadian the Big Bang, the planetariums in Italy (with Agency attended one session of the a detailed map), and a gallery of planetarium ence and presented their press, with covers of various magazines: Plan­ Educators' Conference to etarian (IPS), Twilight (Japan Planetarium CSA 26-28 June 2002. SOciety), GLPA News, PPA (Pacific Planetar­ The Educators' ium Association) and others. With the help ed at science center education staff of advertisers and of the French Ministry of room teachers. The conference is part a Research, the magazine opens this year with new strategy CSA

Hej Planetarian readers all over the world a new design: it is in full color. It seems it is by CSA scientists and Cl1;,,-Ul'-'-L' and welcome to a new issue of International the first planetarium publication like that, tified and trained to undertake News! The column is edited in mid-April, a and thus has a kind of leadership. Finally, the ness and education programs and time when the evening sky changes quickly annual meeting of APLF is prepared by the Ten will be on differ- at Nordic latitudes and soon won't be seen at Planetariums of Bruxelles, Genk, and Ville­ ent space related all linked to the all. This column depends entirely on reports neuve d' Ascq and programmed for 8-12 relevant school curriculum. The conference from IPS Affiliate Associations all over the will also an excellent to world. Many thanks to Bart Benjamin, Ig­ Mexican Plane tar- network with other educators and science nacio Castro, John Dickenson, Jon Elvert, iums center staff from across the country interest­ Jean-Michel Faidit, Aaron McEuen, Loris It has recently been learned that the head ed in astronomy, space and science Ramponi, and Mark Sonntag for your contri­ of the Astronomy Area of the University of tion. For further information contact butions this time. You are welcome back Sonora, Antonio Sanchez Ibarra, has been Jason Clement at the CSA. Phone 1-450-926- with new reports, and I look forward to actively involved in setting up a new astro­ 4345. reports from other Associations as well. Up­ nomical facility at Magdalena de Kino, a A new round of coming deadlines are 1 July for Planetarian town in the northern state of Sonora. He is announced 3/2 and 1 October for 4/2. You may note that also involved in the concluding stages of the I have disconnected myoid fax machine for Carl Sagan Observatory which includes a good - but my email is as alive as ever! See planetarium. Its projector was homemade by and their US partner Center Houston you soon in Wichita, Kansas - and hejdel, as a local planetarian. It will be finished late have been selected to receive one of we say in Sweden! spring, with a 7-meter dome and surrounded awards. The citation states that liThe by a 3-meter wide circular gallery for tempo­ Selection Committee found the rary exhibits. Its all-around low cost will from the H R MacMillan and probably allow more planetariums to be Houston to be After the CNES/ APLF production last year built in the State of Sonora. that it had the (La plam!te aux mille regards), and a point of Further south, in the State of Colima, a results and generate the study of Earth by the French Centre group of entrepreneurs has been to two institutions". Under the terms National d'Etudes Spatiales, a new show is acquire a second-hand planetarium projector award, Pauline school programs offi­ now being prepared. It is a co-production of to be used on a 15- to 18-meter dome. Last cer for the H R MacMillan Centre, will ESO/ APLF and the title will be: Les secrets du time they lost a bid by a mere $500 US to del austral, with wonderful images of the buy the old Spitz AP3 1966 model used European Southern Observatory. The story is the Cleveland Natural History Museum - it Houston a '-'-J '-'.LV''-'.U visit to Van- written by Dirk Lorenzen, a German science sold for $18,000. If you know of someone couver in late 2002. journalist. The show will be prepared during selling a used projector please contact Three Canadian science centers were the spring and summer and will be presented Esteban Meneses at . awarded grants under the Gov­ simultaneously by many planetariums in The Papalote Museo del Nino in Mexico ernment of Canada Climate Action October. City is on schedule to inaugurate its digital Fund The Science Centre A new planetarium opened in France in planetarium facility after trying out several will adapt the Science World Our World March. It is the first in Lorraine, and it is models of digital projectors in Germany. exhibit to include Alberta content on cli­ located at Epinal. With a diameter of 10 mate change issues. The exhibit will meters, it is equipped with a French projector five years in March 2003, from RS Automation. Another planetarium co-ordinate with Alberta's school "" .. ,..,,0,,- is also in preparation, but with a very origi­ The Canadian Association of Science lum. nallocation: on the ship Queen Mary II! At Centres (please note our new name) held its The H R MacMillan Centre will the end of 2003, it will be the greatest tourist annual conference 30 April and 1 in adapt the Montreal Planetarium's Climate ing at the Museum in conjunction with local Change show into a new planetarium show amateur astronomers, offered free fJ~"'H'-'CU.U called Spaceship Earth: Who's at the Climate um shows, and presented 3-D Mars programs Controls? They will also produce a new inter­ and Paper Plate Astronomy activities. The active science presentation on the use of Museum's scale solar system was out remote sensing to monitor the earth's envi­ along the Ohio River walkway where visitors ronment and develop a week long Enviro­ strolled as far as Mars (0.25 miles as offered in Fair featuring displays and programs devel­ they walked past Mercury, Venus and Earth. to learn the stars oped by other organizations. The outer planets were kept at the Museum. Cranbrook Institute of Science The Fort Whyte Centre in Winnipeg is Evening activities included neighborhood in Bloomfield Hills debuted developing a pilot outreach program which star parties and an open house at a local Orbit: The Inl-enlafitOnaJ will see students from the northern and observatory. southern parts of Manitoba learn about cli­ Peggy Motes from the Muncie Commu­ mate change and its impacts on their respec­ nity Schools Planetarium and Amera Platt tive regions. The program is appropriately from the Wayne High School Planetarium called North meets South. presented two sessions at the Hoosier Asso­ ciation of State Science Teachers Inc. (HAST!) Great Associa- in Indianapolis in February. The presenta­ tions about the Cassini and Mars illinois. The Strickler Planetarium recently missions were sponsored by the NASA JPL presented five shows to the public, which is Solar System Educator Program and the the most they've ever offered at one time. Indiana Space Grant Consortium. These programs included The Explorers, The Michigan. Abrams Planetarium in Explorers of Mauna Kea, Rusty Rocket, Amaz­ recently welcomed John French to their ing Stargazing, and Introduction to the Plane­ staff. French is now their production coordi­ tarium. Their equipment updates have con­ nator and Digistar "guru". On the program­ tinued with Ash Enterprises and the installa­ ming side of things, ran shows tion of an automation system. and observing sessions around the weekends The Cernan Earth and Space Center on the of the naked-eye planet spectacle in late campus of Triton College in River Grove April and early May. The Exhibit Museum recently brought back its popular show on Planetarium in Ann Arbor has severe weather entitled Nature's Fury, along working the kinks out of their new program, with Minneapolis' Journey to the Stars. As Women In Astronomy: A History, and will be always, three different laser shows and a making it available soon. It has received Monthly Skywatch program were also fea­ great reviews in the Ann Arbor News and the tured. On Saturday 13 April, Soviet and Rus­ Detroit Free Press, and it was featured region­ sian space expert James Oberg made a special ally on Michigan Radio and its affiliates. The presentation to the Cernan Center members. show should be available by the fall at cost, This spring, the Lakeview Museum Plane­ which is about $550. This tarium presented, among several other pro­ through the H~'.""'H'AU'H grams, its Saturday morning Family Show and Cultural Affairs. Series. John Dobson spoke at the planetarium Longway Planetarium in Flint on 3 April at the regular monthly meeting of presented Dancing with the Dinosaurs the Peoria Astronomical Society. The The Great Dinosaur also hosted Interplanetary 5K Race/Walk was held on the Dinostories hands-on exhibit in their Saturday 6 April. Runners navigated a course lobby. The Amusement Park Science exhibit that took them from Mercury to Mars and opened on 1 June with a special feature, the back through Peoria's Community Solar Digital Amusement Park Digistar show. The while, a System model. The race is an official 5K Shiras Planetarium in Marquette ran Cosmic my Grand Prix event of the Illinois Valley Perspective in April and May. The Kalamazoo grams in March

Striders. Valley Museum Planetarium is U'--,..,UHUHh Bob Martino continued his The William M. Staerkel Planetarium at work on a new show, scheduled for a Janu­ Parkland College in Champaign staged in ary 2004 opening. The show will be cultural­ April its first big-screen science fiction film ly focused on Hispanic traditions and cele­ festival in conjunction with the Orpheum brations, with the changing seasons as an Children's Science Museum. The staff recent­ underlying theme. Also, three summer ly applied for a grant for a digital sound sys­ Junior Astronaut Camps are being prepared tem. Early summer will bring a welcome using the planetarium and Challenger reupholstering of the planetarium's 144 seats. Learning Center facilities. The Digital Dome Indiana. The Koch Planetarium of the Planetarium in Detroit offered their l'or'ont-h7 hosted a "ramp- in-house production Views of the Universe. ed up" observance. Science Their school shows now include their own Educator Mike Smith and Planetarium Solar System Adventure. a Director Mitch Luman hosted solar observ- new name: The Dimon R. McFerson Plane­ committee will select the winner. The prize production tarium and Theater. The name honors the is a small school planetarium offered by the on some of the more recent board of trustees chairman who led the Italian firm Auriga. make this both educational efforts in the building of the new COSI. The A national workshop for itinerant plane­ en tertaining. featured winter program at Youngstown's tarium operators will be organized on 25-26 The next Omnimax film to open Cos­ Ward Beecher Planetarium was Astro 101, a October in Lumezzane (near the city of monova will be the released series of live lessons about things astronomi­ Brescia). The initiative, promoted with the Station. It includes a lot of SP(~ct;lCll1aI cal. For a series of eight weekends, Rick Pirko support of the Italian representative of Carl age both onboard and outside of the and Sharon Shanks presented basic astrono­ Zeiss, will be devoted in particular to the national Space Station. Set to my topics, from the earliest understanding of Starlab planetarium. The workshop also ESA astronaut Christer L""T~I,c~~"T the sky above us to today's modern space includes an English school lesson and a be present for the event as well as exploration. Beyond the state border in Erie, projection about Native American sky leg­ conference and a screening for Pennsylvania, the Erie Planetarium reports ends managed by the American teacher Fugelsang is scheduled to on STS-116 that their twenty-year old controls have selected for the yearly Week in Italy, orga­ spring where he will several been replaced with a new control system nized in collaboration with IPS Portable space walks installing hardware on the from East Coast. Planetarium Committee and Learning rior of the ISS, and he will be the first Wisconsin/Minnesota. The Minneapolis Technologies, Inc. The program includes also in space. Planetarium is holding its breath waiting for a guided visit of the astronomical sites and Tom Callen, Cosmonova's Astronomer/ news from the Minnesota state legislature old instruments of Brescia. The participation Program Producer, had his 30111 and Governor Ventura on whether or not it is free. Ask for the detailed program at in the planetarium profession in late will receive funds to build a new planetari­ . ruary. He originally started at the um scheduled to open in late 2005. Regard­ burgh Planetarium in Rochester, New York less, the current facility will close its doors in 1972 and was most at on 1 November 2002. The Barlow Planetar­ This time, there is news from some Danish Smithsonian's Einstein Planetarium ium premiered a new show entitled Women and Swedish planetariums. First, Bj0rn Frank National Air and Space Museum (1978 Hold Up Half the Sky. Minneapolis' Aurora j0fgensen reports that Tycho Brahe Planetar­ before to Stockholm to build show played in Stevens Point, La Crosse, and ium in , , has just fin­ and open Cosmonova (1991 - Waukesha. ished the reconstruction of their main exhi­ Ann-Gerd Eriksson has good news bition. A donation from Velux Foundation Teknikens Hus, Lulea, Sweden. One Italian Friends ...... L' of 5.4 million Danish kroner made it possible just happened that got three million to totally rebuild the whole ground floor. SEK! So closed the place for two months The City of Science in Naples is the biggest The new exhibition is divided into zones for renovation and building of exhibits. science center in Italy. It contains 10,000 containing historical astronomy, distances reopening was on 6 March 2001. is square meters of exhibitions including sec­ in space, the solar system, impacts and mete­ most important new exhibition area. tions for kids. The space for children is orites, the sun, the moon, the stars, cosmolo­ have chosen to focus on space activities equipped also with a small planetarium. A gy, astrobiology, humans in space, instru­ their part of Sweden. Kiruna, in the new planetarium has been opened under a ments, and a news zone. Like many other Norrbotten, is one of the space dome of 9.8 meters (75 seats). At the moment Imax-theaters, they will premiere Space ters in Europe. Esrange in Kiruna gave in Italy there are only three planetaria of 10 Station in late May and hope for a good sum­ Nike Orion rocket. That In"·. set up a Danish version of the Adler show In lites, like how we use them for communica­ Don't throw the light to the sky is a national Search of New Worlds (first planetarium in tion or how us the latest weather contest promoted by Serafino Zani Astro­ Europe?). It is now playing with the local reports. There are also exhibits about our nomical Observatory with the support of title Jagten pa Nye Verdener and at Orion you own natural satellite, the moon. The the main associations involved in the cam­ can have the somewhat strange experience tarium has gone through an paign about light pollution - IDA's Italian of hearing Geoff Marcy dubbed in Danish. with new and a aurora Section, Italian Amateurs Astronomers Tom Callen reports that to date over borealis. From now on, there will emerge Union, Cielo Buio, and others. The students 51,000 people have seen the latest public comets, meteors, and satellites in the starry are invited to create a leaflet, with original planetarium prodUction, UFO - Sanningen ar night. One connecting exhibit a real draWings, devoted to the problem of light har (UFO - The Truth is Here) at Cosmonova meteorite and a (faked) comet but made pollution. The leaflet, also handmade, must Space Theater in Stockholm, Sweden. The real snow. be diffused at least among the families of a show originally opened in March 2001 and With the changes in the p12metariurn, classroom during the yearly National Day features an original soundtrack score by nikens Hus got for new school Against Light Pollution (next issue 5 Octo­ Mark Snow, who also is known for his music programs. Until now have had ber), the National Week ofAstronomy -Let the for the X-Files TV series. Production is cur­ less just one program that the educators student see the stars and in every period of rently underway for a new children's plane­ to the age of the audience, the year. A selection of the works received tarium show for primary age students. It will wishes and Now will be published on Internet. A national use some of the same sorts of sophisticated seven different programs, each with a main theme. One of the new programs will be about the stars and the mythology of the Sami people (the Laps). They continue to keep to something that can be called every­ day-astronomy, what everyone actually can go out and watch in the night sky. Finally, they got the chance to buy another mobile planetarium. The first Starlab can still be bor­ rowed by teachers when they want to give a show in their school. But Teknikens Hus keeps the new one for themselves, for tour­ ing the region. Eva Mezey reports that Lund's planetari­ um now has moved closer to the Astronomy Department at the University of Lund and was placed at the bottom of an old water tower. And Per Broman reports that Broman Planetarium has delivered another Starlab Planetarium, this time to Kristianstad Uni­ versity in southernmost Sweden, making the number of university owned mobile plane­ tariums in Sweden four. The Karl von Ahnen Minolta Planetarium at De Anza College in Cupertino, California.

Pacific Planetarium Association Young. with real-time operations and HH·'--LU'~U The Astronomical Society of the Pacific Karl von Ahnen Minolta Planetarium, De On 7-8 March, Mueller Planetarium the has a revised and updated web site, where its Anza College in Cupertino, reports on a De University of Nebraska -Lincoln, was the site slide sets and other non-profit educational Anza visit to Japan. Plans are progressing for of two concerts classical materials now can be purchased through a a major renovation of Minolta Planetarium astronomers. A chamber significantly upgraded e-commerce site. The at De Anza College. Although the amount of estra under the direction of UNL aOlctclral URL is . funding that they have available is still student (in For planetarians, the education section of uncertain, things are looking very promising. played in the front of the the site may be of special interest, with a Once they know what they have to work ater. One complete row of seats was rAnnA"c>r! variety of resource guides to topics in astron­ with, things will probably happen pretty and the next row blocked off to get omy, such as: fast. With this in mind a contingent from De teen string musicians and one harps,ictlOI'di~;t * Good hands-on activities on the Web. Anza College visited Japan in February to into the area. were students * Environmental issues and astronomy. make contacts and see what's new. They UNL school of music, while UNL * Women in astronomy (including infor­ spent 10 days visiting science centers and Astronomy Martin Gaskell mation on the lives and work of 36 manufacturing facilities, with time thrown the Two of Dr. Gaskell's women astronomers of the past and pre­ in for playing tourist. They visited some very sitions were part of the concert. There sent). impressive science centers; many funded by also two of William Herschel's <,u1'Y'1r1,hr.-ni,Qc * Debunking astronomical pseudo-science. lismall" municipalities. Planetaria abound in on the program. One other astronomer The Reuben H. in San Japan, with many beautiful new facilities. sented was Russian astronomer Valentina Diego, California, has been installing a show Visits to the Minolta and Goto factories were Doreschenko. In the end, both concerts were called Behind the Dome, a sort of "how we do very informative. They came back with lots sold out five in advance. it" look at the nuts & bolts of a planetarium. to think about, and many options that they Arizona Science Center finished a They are also updating a show called The hadn't considered. series of successful informal adult astronomy Flying Blue Marble, a fast-paced look at the classes, giving lectures loaded with many motions we are experiencing here on Rocky Mountain and Digistar simulations on black Earth. Narrated by Tom Kane, it features a Association stellations, cosmic Monty Python song called The Galaxy Song The Air Force Academy Planetarium, usu­ search for new planets. are from their film The Meaning ofUfe. Narrator ally referred to as the Center for Educational a modified version of an older Mars Kane has a style of delivery that closely Multimedia, may be in for yet another name the summer, matches Eric Idle of the Monty Python change as they realign their mission for Sizing Up the are also UH.1JU1Hr:, group. The story, written by astronomer Cadet instruction to become a Space Opera­ artwork for three short children's stories Dennis Mammana, begins with a traffic jam. tions Laboratory. They will still offer school hope to make the stories and .HF" moving into a brand-spanking-new facility. now, the staff hope to be able to answer the Last October, after many months of careful question, "So, how do you go about moving a Planetarium has ,."r-o..-.1-I" planning and analysis, Salt Lake County, whole planetarium without going broke, ing done at his Steve Hansen Planetarium's parent organization, insane, or both?" Marks School Planetarium took approved a bond for the construction of a President of the Astronomical new planetarium in the recently completed of Texas. Gateway district of downtown Salt Lake The Pomeroy Planetarium in "1.,-"..-...-,'<'0' The structural steel and concrete is Donna Pierce at Highland Park Plane­ Arkansas and its director, Joe Guenter, already completed and most exterior walls tarium in Dallas retired last year and then the quarter century are in place. Interior construction begins in came back to run the planetarium at 40%, that time of operano,n late April and plans are to open the new but she is not coaching the Highland Park viced well over 50,000 patrons in facility in late November of this year. Girls Golf or teaching the junior/senior The Minneapolis-based architectural firm astronomy courses. Barbara Baber "Qr'Antl" of Hammel, Green & Abrahamson has de­ Signed a beautiful 4,650 square meter facility. In it will be featured some impressive tech­ nology and attractions, including a 3-D flat­ screen Imax theater, 1,000 square meters of astronomy and space-science exhibits, 900 square meters of staff office and production space, and a state-of-the-art star theater fea­ turing the latest Evans & Sutherland real­ time computer graphics projection system. The new star theater is the first Evans & Sutherland 3 projection system. The D3 is a major advance in star theater tion technology. The new 17-meter dome (12 tilt) will feature a unidirec- tional seating An additional ten seats are in the middle of the theater and eliminate the noise and visual distractions of equipment in the center of the room. the D3 projects, from its real-time com­ pUteI'-g]'apilll'CS to its color star field, nates from six high-resolution video tors that are barely visible on the cove. will be able to present both linear playback star shows and the audiences live star lectures featuring audience interactivity and on-the-fly high-resolution computer im­ agery and color 3-D star fields. The staff has already begun the process of converting The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket into a full-dome video format, and they look forward to producing and distributing a vari­ ety of new full-dome video programs. This past January, a gift of one million dollars was received from the Clark Foundation, a Utah­ based philanthropic organization. In ack­ nowledgement of the Clark Foundation's gift, the new facility will open as the Sheila PleiadeJ Aquila Orion HerculeJ with a Star GEMS Guides from the Great Explorations in Math and Science and NASA; of the Cassini mission, and the Mars Student Imaging NASA Science folks will also be pre- sent in the exhibit area, and we urge you to stop meet the broker/facilitators for your area of the country, and talk about ways to collaborate. Speakers during the conference will include Dr. Jeff Rosendhal, assistant asso­ ciate administrator for education and public outreach in NASA's Office of Space Science, and Dr. Carolyn Porco, leader of the Cassini

~'",CUt'l,'Ht'l team. Astrophysicist Dr. Alan Science Center for .LJ,--,u.,-u u Dressler, from the Carnegie Institute in Outreach at DePaul D.c., will be the banquet speak­ one of NASA's Office of

er. Dr. Dressler maps the distribution of dark Broker/Facilitator ,-",,,,CUHLcU matter tracing the velocities of galaxies that are affected by its presence. finding the velocities (motions that are in addition to the expansion of the universe) of thousands of galaXies, Dressler and col­ text nriint·t:>n On April 12, NASA Administrator Sean leagues discovered a concentration of Students at O'Keefe unveiled the future direction of the the material, which they named the Great and Blind tested prototypes under agency. Attractor. ance of Wentworth, a science If you haven't yet discovered PlanetQuest, er at the school. When AAS press The NASA Vision is: give it a look. The website created Steve Maran saw the abstract for To improve life here, buzz when unveiled in at the Noreen, To extend life to there, American Astronomical winter To find life beyond. meeting. The URL is http://planetquest A local Southern California resident, .jpl.nasa.gov. The site is devoted to the search The NASA Mission is for extrasolar planets, and is interac­ To understand and protect our horne planet tive. Over the next 15 years, NASA is embark­ To explore the universe and search for life ing on a bold series of missions to find and To inspire the next of eXDiC)relrS characterize new worlds. These will be the ... as only NASA can. most sensitive instruments ever built, capa­ ble of reaching the bounds of our As you can imagine, those of who do edu­ own solar system. They include the Keck cation and outreach for NASA are excited Interferometer, Starlight, Interferome­ about the emphasis on education. All of you try Mission (SIM) and Terrestrial Planet are very important in inspiring the next gen­ Finder (TPF). in the southeast U.S.), and to the Mt. Wilson eration of explorers, and our IPS partnerships In honor of their 25th the Institute. And are an important link. website for Voyagers 1 and 2 has also been We are looking forward to meeting many given a new look. Check it out at of you at the IPS 2002 conference in Wichi­ voyager.jpl.nasa.gov and let us know what ta. On Sunday, April 27, several NASA work­ you think. shops will be provided for both planetarians The countdown for the scheduled 1 and local teachers. For planetarians, Dr. Cheri launch of the Cornet Nucleus Tour (CON­

Morrow, Space Science Institute, Boulder, TOUR) mission is underway. The mission the solar system and a meteorite .... "'""'-,_ U'JU. Colorado, will present an interactive three­ website is at http://www.contour2002.org. Dr. David Hurd, director and hour workshop on "Searching for Signs of The spacecraft will encounter Cornet Encke astronomy at Edinboro Life in the Solar System and Beyond." Also in November 2003. Three Earth-swingby Edinboro, D"n"..n,nriu,>,,.,i., for planetarians, one-hour workshops will be maneuvers will then retarget the spacecraft tile maps and materials presented by the Sun-Earth Connection folks for an encounter with Cornet Schwassmann touch and learn from. Cass including their "Best of Eclipse" Video and Wachmann-3 in June 2006. from South Carolina to support the Northern Lights Planetarium Show and by We seem to be a lot about near- Ms. Fleischman also obtained support representatives from the Mars program. For misses by asteroids and cornets. Keep abreast several local firms and Vlf';U.ULl,-"()LU'-'UJ. teachers, the include "Hubble of the latest at NASA's Near Earth Object I believe this what in the Classroom;/I Sun-Earth Connection website at http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov. about: classroom resources, including CD-ROMs,les­ A good place to track of all NASA make son plans, The Reasons for Seasons and Living space science missions is at http://space- • convenient and safer than other telescopes for solar observation • ideal for small groups • useful for viewing the sun, eclipses, tracking the position of sunspots, and for daily record keeping

STARLAB Portable Planetarium Use STARLAB in conjunction with your fixed planetarium for: • school & community outreach • training programs • hands-on education • multicultural education • workshops • public relations • special events • fundraising

lookihg for a popular; those years, hundreds of thousands of children ferent outreach program in action as well as I have had the opportunity to make friends with was fortunate to exchange ideas with lots my child. The first years I traveled all over people from different organisations. Sweden myself, but after that I have also lic talks and the last days I was also honored to taught others how to use it, and I have more be invited to the SAASTEC, South Asso­ and more become an organizer of these activi­ ciation of Science and Technology Centres, con­ ties myself ference as a keynote speaker. trip ended with I still remember when my planetarium a safari for two days when I was to see arrived in Sweden and will never forget my own four of The Big Five, all except a lion. thrill the first time I saw it in action, a similar When leaving for Sweden again I con- thrill which I have noticed the children also feel vinced that the people in South Africa will take when they enter the dome. I have also found, good care of my baby, and of course I will be like probably everybody else in the world work­ happy to support the new parents as much as ing in this field, that this is an experience the possible. At the same time I felt very children will never forget. Indeed it has been that my child always will be part most awarding working with this planetarium. my heart I will always be a planetarian. But now it was time for a change. I had been invited by FEST, the Foundation for Education In this column we have been into Science and Technology in South Africa, and of the educational services of the individual course I felt very honored to go there to share planetarium organizations. This time, Dave my experiences. I had decided to bring my plan­ Maness, President of the Southeast Plane­ etarium and to leave it with them. Although tarium Association, informs us that SEPA the Swedish children still want to see it, I had doesn't have a structured education commit­ made up my mind. It would be healthy for my tee, because so many members are 20 year old planetarium to move away - like all much in the line of education that children need to do when they get old enough. don't feel the need for an actual subset with­ Of course a lot ofpreparations had to be done in the organization. As persons who went to before leaving. South Africa for example has the combined SEPA-GLPA meeting last sum­ another starry sky, and as an astronomer I did mer in Kentucky, we can vouch for the edu­ know, but still I got into problems which I had cational programs coming out of that not thought of in the first place. To start with I needed a new cylinder, and that was an easy Sri One of the great things about being a plan­ task. But then I became aware of that I could In our ongoing report from those mem­ etarian is the feeling that we are really a part not change the direction of the rotation on the bers who traveled to Sri Lanka in 2001, of the international community. Through projector. Thanks to Learning Technologies this Kathy Michaels gives these memories: the magic of this wonderful machine that detail also could be solved. They promised to Sri Lanka remains on my mind as we are able to play with, we can travel any­ send a Southern Hemisphere motor, which was memory and an unforgettable ovlro where around the world and share our edu­ supposed to leave for Sweden September 11. For have shared memories and photos with friends cational expertise with others doing the natural reasons it was delayed, but still I got it and relatives the past year and made many of same profession. The people we meet have to in time to install it on the projector. The only them want to go to Sri Lanka, too. Over the past be the best in the world. This has been rein­ thing that now remained was to learn the year I have made an effort to collect my dupli­ forced by a report by international educa­ southern sky, and therefore I spent several hours cate astronomy lesson materials and several tion editor Marie Radbo, who sends in this in the darkness of our bedroom practicing these new books to send to the planetarium in Co­ report: stars. Of course my husband wondered what lombo. But, one package won't be enough: We was going on. all need to reach out and share our expertise child has been adopted Next morning at the airport I got into new and materials, not only with Sri Lanka, but by Marie Radbo, Gothenburg Mobile Plan­ problems, and this time with the custom pro­ with other countries in need. My hope is that etarium ceedings. However, at last I managed to get all the summer of 2003 will bring another confer­ Department of Physics and Engineering my luggage through without any extra cost! ence and adventure of sharing and learning in Physics Next day we landed in Cape Town and once astronomy education and world friendship and Chalmers University again I was reminded how convenient it is to peace. SE - 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden travel south-north instead ofeast-west. As an adjunct to Kathy's note, the MAPS [email protected] During my two weeks in South Africa every­ Education Committee is asking all who For 20 years this planetarium had been part body made me feel very happy and comfortable, attend this year's conference in Worcester, of my life, but now the end had come. The plan­ and all the time I met both learners and teach­ Massachusetts to bring a book with them to etarium, which almost has become like an ers. In Cape Town I stayed a couple ofdays with send to Colombo. We will report in the next extra child to me, now had been adopted. Now Dr. Mike Bruton at the newly opened issue on the results. U the time had come for the long journey, and MTNsciencentre, and I also visited professor hopefully both of us were well prepared. Tomor­ Tony Fairall at the S.A. Museum Planetarium. row we were leaving for its new home - South The reward of writing is not the transfer of He and his family also kindly invited me to Africa. information but the personal discoveries and their new weekend house in Simon's Town, a When my Starlab-child arrived in Sweden it insights that occur during the process. charming place along the cost, which I enjoyed was all alone in Scandinavia, but today there very much. I also got the opportunity to see dif are several planetariums like mine. During - E.M. Forester ~ IPS 2006 I t In 2004 we will meet again in Valencia, Spain. Invitations to host the 2006 conference are still being accepted. Bids will be reviewed at the 2002 conference in Wichita, following which details of each bid will be discussed at the regional level. The final vote occurs at the 2003 IPS Council meeting. Hosting a conference is a tremendous challenge and a wonderful opportunity. Planning requires three years (gosh, I had a whole 8 months for this year's conference!), and while the work is hard, some of it thank­ less, the benefits are many. Please consider iPS 2002 bidding for 2006, and begin to look forward It's conference time for IPS. By the time to having the planetarium profession visit you read this, we will be meeting, or about to your city and institution. meet, at Exploration Place in Wichita, Kan­ sas, U.S.A. for IPS 2002. The meeting runs NASA at IPS from July 28 to August 1. The 2002 confer­ Following a great deal of work a num- ence is the first in the United States of ber of people, I can confirm that the confer­ membership. America since 1994. I look forward to seeing ence will include workshops designed specif­ many of you there. The theme is "New ically for planetarians. These workshops will Explorations". be held on the Sunday afternoon at the Thanks go to Our professional calendar revolves around Hyatt hotel prior to the opening reception. of the Education Committee. our biennial conferences. It's an opportunity In addition, a special presentation by Dr. this new committee under Dale to meet old friends, and make new ones. It's a James Rosendhal, head of the Education divi­ tenure as President, and set up unique opportunity to re-charge the batter­ sion at NASA headquarters, will speak to the lent committee. Earlier this year, ies, generate new ideas, create new collabora­ membership. This presentation is particular­ nounced his retirement both from tions, and inspire a new generation of plane­ ly timely, since the new NASA Administra­ and from the IPS committee. He leaves tarians. It's an opportunity to hear about tor, Mr. Sean O'Keefe, has recently announc­ committee at the end of the IPS 2002 ence. I'd like to take this n."-',,",Al"h1roi1-~, how different cultures tackle a range of chal­ ed that a NASA priority is to provide higher lenges that arise in our profession. It's a time quality educational experiences. Since many a heartfelt thanks to to get an inside view of upcoming technolo­ of NASA's materials are made available over work with the committee, and wish gies that will shape our profession over the the world-wide web, such advances to our well in his retirement. I am coming decade, as many major vendors cause benefit planetarians around the world. announce that Whitt will take choose our conference to launch new prod­ I'd like to than Anita Sohus at the Jet Propul­ Chair of the Education Committee, ucts. I must add to this last point. This year's sion Laboratory for her continued support of of you will, I hope, get a chance to conference will host more new equipment, IPS activities. In addition to coordinating the at the Wichita conference this smnnler. new technologies, and dramatic all-dome workshops for the IPS 2002 conference, scenes than ever before. There's also much, Anita supplies IPS with video material (IPS This message is shorter than usual, and I much more going on at the conference also. Video disk 2 - still available), and recom­ think you will understand - I have a Educational workshops, lectures by keynote mends images for distribution in our slide ence to organize, and I also more speakers, and papers by members of our pro­ service. pIe will read the shortened edition! fessional. It's not too late to register for the confer­ Those of you signed up for the slide ser­ ence. The mail-in deadline is July I, and after vice may have already received the next that date you can register on site. Even at batch of slides as part of your subscription. this late stage, if you think you can come, There is a magnificent collection of slides, please contact the planning team for infor­ including new images from the Hubble mation to assist you. Space Telescope and from Mars Odyssey, Contact Details: You can check the cur­ plus many other sources.~e now have a rent agenda of the conference at the special smooth operation for the slide service, and web site, http://www.exploration.org/ips my thanks to all those who make it work. If 2002. By the way, if you have registration you are not signed up, make sure you do for questions please email ipsregistration the next period of subscriptions when the @exploration.org. If you are a vendor and time is announced. have questions, please email ipsvendors@ exploration.org. about papers and w()rksh

'-V.lHj..H'--IL\c sur- bri:gh1tness was finished in [email protected],Dbn@'du.se) 1929." Dutch astronomer, Antonie Panne­ I t has been shown koek used now found in Master thesis 1995) museums. Even the most accurate reference atlases available like Wil Tirion's Atlas 2000.0, must on this less-than-cur- rent data. At best, four levels of isonhots are and the of the human eye goes unac- counted for. Enter Dr. Axel of the Ir"·o

them to Dennis Ashton told me that he uses of a year and Holmestronic He also says that the the distance to the stars. maker, John Holmes, devised the electronics for the Greenwich time ball. I contacted John to see if his is on sale to the hrr.llcrhr to my attention that there public. were some errors in the column last month. I John Holmes says he is now to apIDIC)gl,~e for that! Section V of the IPS Port­ put his projector on the market. Here a few able Planetarium Handbook 2002 has the lat­ comments he made about his nl'r'1P,"tnT .com. est information on all the models of porta­ COml)atible with Starlab r'ulirlriC>l"C bles. (John does not sell ruljnnlpn: The entry for the RS Automation products tmgnler than other current models was incorrect. Complete immunity to mains You can contact them at: variations R.S. Automation Cosmos, Rue des Mineurs Variable drive - Z.1. de la Vaure, B.P. 40 - 42290 Sorbiers, Reversible for southern pro- France; telephone: +33 (0) 4 77 53 94 94; fax: +33 (0)4 77 53 38 61; email: sales@rsacosmos Built in emergency house in case of .com; website: power cut and/or 3,000 hours bulb life MMI 2950 Park- Quick-change bulbs (about one second) way, PO Box 19907, Baltimore, MD 21211 USA; 410 366 1222; fax: 410 366 PLANETRONIX - Saul 6311; email: [email protected]; Website:

This company has an updated and www.geocities.com/sgrijalva).Mr. plcmetarmrn, Cosmodyssee IILJust to mention va has produced a homemade few of the improvements: it has a halogen combining a digital photographic L,-,-uU~~IL''­ 1535 stars with a wi th a dodecahedron design. and 10 Messier objects. Both this product and tal photo technique, he has In{'nl''nnl'::ltfY1 their Roving Star on a trailer Milky Way into the starball itself. This SPI2CltlCltl<)ns can be found in Section V of design has been accepted the local State the Handbook. University who plan to create a small GOTO has a new USA and Canada Liaison tarium in each of the towns in their state, Office: Ken Miller, 1525 Bernice Street, Hon­ is not for sale publicly at this time but it will olulu, HI 96817-0916 USA; telephone: 888- be for sale in the future. 847-5800 (toll free in USA) or 808-847-5800

(in Hawaii); fax 808-847-5850; email: gotousa MediaGlobe i-J1t'flI1pr"tn1t' - (Minol ta @earthlink.net. tarium Co., Ltd. Business Establishment 2-19-13 Takanawa, Minato-ku, 108-0074, Japan, tel. +81-3-5423-7571FAX. +81- 3-5423-7570; In my search for information to put in the handbook, I ran across several in the manufacture of pf()1ectC)fs. Here's what I found that was new to me. See pictures and more I had heard about the prototype of detailed information about these models in system at the 2001 GLP A/SEPA the Handbook, in Section V. last June. It has now been unveiled shown in one of Gambato - (Gambato, via Martiri domes. della Liberta, 100, 30038 Spinea, VE; tele- It is the world's first full-color 04158301 45; email: gambato@mpb­ etarium. it is a computer net.it Website (this site is in Italian only): prC)1eCtlOn system. It is (two peo- LlUPJ.'-'--'AH/ ~u,~,-,'~"'C~"~1 I so can be used at remote sites for knew Mr. Gambato produced nl'.'">lP,rr,ror(; reach. Additional details about the with individually lensed stars that create a GLOB can be found at the website: www ,-,~,c ~~~,~ very beautiful Now he makes \Gl~Ol)E1=)larlet(lfillm.c01n. This models. ested to see how this type of HOLMSTRONIC - Holmes, 106 Eden revolutionize the small dome world. Estate, Chatham, Kent ME5 (0)1634-301898; - As you all email: holmestronic@@aol.com. Ohira (email: ~~'H'~_ the Griffith Observatory Satellite facility which is going to be up for 2 months and with flHTn,",..'r (they will be presenting school shows from a educational. temporary facility while their main building liThe domes are a brand new is being renovated) in Los Angeles. This new medium for projections, up to 300 software, projected through a 180-degree inside or 1000s outside watching the show fish-eye lens, features over 20 million stars, (that comes) from inside. Towards 2003 we 3D voyages, and beautiful, fast graphics. The should have a 100-ft model./I folk from Starry Night will provide a pre­ Although these are not currently view in Wichita. Contact Torn Andersen used as planetarium domes, it is inten~stilng ([email protected]) or John Mosley to know about the new technology. ([email protected]) for information. ZPS-Cubex - Astronomia Educativa S.R.L., StratoSphere - Stephen Harvey (Laser Magic Casilla de Correo 4184, ClOOOWBP- Buenos Ltd, 2 Church Street, Seaford, East Sussex, Aires, Argentina; 54 11 4697 2815; BN251HD, UK; tel: +44-1323-890752; fax +44- fax: 54 11 4697 9067; website: http://www.zps 1323-898311 [email protected]) .com.ar; email: [email protected] wrote to say, "Dear Susan, Laser Magic has a John Mosley reminded me about this one. product called the StratoSphere, they are They advertised in the last issue of the Plane­ mobile projection domes 50-ft wide by 65-ft tarian. Although I had seen the at talL We have internal video either 1/2 dome IPS 2000, I was not aware that this system or full dome, they are very new and you can was now for sale. There are 2000 stars per find real images on our web site, www cube (to magnitude 5.0) and the visible .lasermagic.com We have one in the UK and ets, moon and sun projection are InCLep'en­ information. one in the Middle East. In April, we are using dently moveable. There is a rotation motor the UK dome as the centre piece for a brands toggle switch for use with northern launch and in Bahrain, we are using the southern hemisphere projection and a hand­ dome as a centre piece for a science park held constellation outlines slide ..... "',.io.ri-rw

o·~r'no .... ~' About How We Know

In several U.S. states there have been demands that discussions of the Big and the vast age curricula in K-12 classrooms. In response, the Astronomy Education Board of the American

article for teachers on how astronomers know that the universe is old and that it '-U'-"U''''''''''' The illustrated article has been posted on the Web at:

The Universe in the Classroom, a newsletter on teaching astronomy in grades 3-12, !-'UIUlh)HLU The article explains the evidence showing that we live in a universe that is between universe and its contents undergo evolutionary It is to community members. A list of written and web resources is also included. The article grew out of a formal statement on behalf of the astronomical .... '-'~'~H"Uu.ua the Kansas State Board of Education in 1999 state standards that eliminated standards have now been repealed, following the election of new Board of Education mE~mlbeI'S, questioned in states and communities around the U.S. Both the AAS Council, astronomers have an obligation to assist teachers in sorting out the evidence SU1JPC)rtimr

(Gende" continued from page 7) 4. Ibid., on p. 268. 5. Maude Bennot, Motions of Stars," Astronomical Journal 36 (8 1. John Lankford, American Astronomy: Com­ 1926): 177-181. munity, Careers, and Power, 1859-1940 6. Sydney J. Harris, "Here is (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Chicago Daily News, 24 Mar. 1944, on p. 16. 1997), esp. Ch. 9, "Science and Gender." 7. W. Rossiter, Women Scientists 2. John Lankford and Rickey L. Slavings, America: Before Affirmative Action 1940- "Gender and Science: Women in Ameri­ 1972 (Baltimore: Johns Univer- can Astronomy, 1859-1940," Physics Today, Press, 1995), on pp. 28, 27. Mar. 1990, 58-65, on p. 58. 8. "Maude Bennot Will be Ousted 3. Margaret W. Rossiter, Women Scientists in ,-,,,,,,,,,,,;v Tribune, 27 Dec. America: Struggles and Strategies to 1940 no. unavailable). (Baltimore: Johns University 9. "Fight Woman's Ouster as Planetarium Press, 1982), on pp. xviii, 167. Chief," Times, 27 Dec. 1944 GOTO CHRONOS'"- Your Time Machine

Ptolemy couldn', do it. The Earl of Orrery for 26- 40 fool domes. The GOm CHRONOS-­ couldn'r do it. And until recently no planetarium is now available at a very competirive price. manufacturer could do it ellher: produce a Contact us soon. to see the CHRONOS'" 'or planetarium projector /0 do away with (he yourseff. complex, yel inherently inaccurale system Special Demonstration at IPS2002 in WIChita. of gears upon gears, and slill show accurate K5. USA from 7/28-8///02. Contact GOTO fot posl/iDns for the sun. moon. and planets. special arrangements. In 1992, GOTO OPTICAL MFG. CO. deeJoped (he now-famous HELlOS planetarium system NEW I which used computer driven )t-y projectors /0 precisely place planetary Images on the dome. Large plane/an'urn domes were revolutionized by this breakthrough. NOW, for the first time in history. this supero accuracy IS married 10 GOTO's beautiful, CHRONOSINTELLIGENT & COMPACT optically projected slarry sky. in a proJeclor PLANETARIUM

USA Sales Associate USA Service ASSOCiate GOlD OPTlCl\l MFG. CO GOTO USA LIAISON ASH ENTERPRISES 4 -16. Y.6,ZAK I·CHQ, FUCHU·SHI. TOKYO 183· 8530- M, Ken MI!I&r 1221 Slanhope Avenue JAPAN ' 525 BernIce Suee ,. Honolulu, HI 96817 Rlc~mo"d. VA 23227 TEL . 61·42- · 362-·5312- FAX 81 42·361· 9571 Toll Ire. 'tom 1M USA 888 · 847· 5800 TEL 804·264·8888 FAX 804 ·266·7966 URL. h1tp. IIWWW QC10. cc. ip FA X 808·847 - 5850 E·mall, in lo2 .gOIO Co jp E ma,'- gOlousae.arlhhnk ner Also available Minneapolis Planetarium Show Productions

AMAlJNG STARGAZING JOURNEY TO THE STARS RunnIng time· 30 m",ule~ RunnIng tllne . 29 mInutes , of slides 172 .of slldes 101

AURORA' ONCE IN A BLUE MOON RunnIng tIme· 35 mInute, Running 1 1~ • 35 minutes , of slides · 302 *of slides· 270 HERCULE.S S

HONEY. I SHRUNK THE SOLAR SYSTEM )·2·1 .. Su..5T OFf Runnmg urne • 36 minutes Running ume . 32 minutes , of slides)36 • of slides 152

A.LL SHOWS S4~S.OO HONEY I SHRUNK THE UNIVERSE WINTER WONDERS Running ume • 37 minutes Running time· 35 minutes f of slides · 172 • of slides· 172

Call 612-630-6155 for more information and sample cassettes. 300 Nicollet Mall Minneapolis Minnesota 55401 www.mplanetarium.org

nnl!l"UUI'l!III,jn~uW'1!. combines traditional nic:)notClf'II motion with a digital projection With the touch of a screen, MEDIA,liUJin accurately and realistically immerses audiences in 6,000 stars, the sun, moon and planets, all at the of MEDlA.GUnn features: High speed dual processors Proprietary software Full-dome defraction-limited Minolta Built-in sound

At 1220mm (48"J in the Mtl~IAI~lUlln rtor,nn'~rt for smaller domes that like to think planetariums or any size classroom or exhibit hall. look at tonight's a shuttle launch or a simulated asteroid field, learning has never been more

Can be connected to remote host Instantly the from Solar Can Eliminates the need for

Inc. 215.546.5300 Fax 215.546.2443 www.megasystem.com Minolta Planetarium U.S. Office 201.934.4732 201.818.0498 Minolta Planetarium Co., l_td. 81.6.6386.4950 81 of this quarter's column: a motherlode of There's much to mine here, and it's

resources concerning Planet Earth. organized and current, with search Io-UIJULYLU ties to boot. This is a web site deJtiniteJy bookmark ed, and I Last November, I attended the NASA Earth browse whenever your space destination Science Inquiry Institute hosted by NASA Earth. and the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. And while at it, take a Paul. It provided an exceptional opportunity Earth Science Information Federation to hob-nob with fellow science educators site at . This site describes and NASA experts, and for participants to eration of Earth Science Information connect NASA Earth Science resources, infor­ ners (ESIP's) - data centers that take NASA mation, and technology with our own edu­ data and create new for cn,:>r,..-,r cation, exhibit, and programming efforts. user groups. There are some 2,000 data bases The emphasis was on Earth systems sci­ of assorted information that can be accessed, Even as the ruddy ember of Mars disap­ ence - treating the Earth as an integrated sys­ as well as information on the various pears into the glare of the sun this June, Mars tem and seeking a holistic view of how the ners and what do. You may find Odyssey is firmly ensconced in its working Earth works by gaining in-depth knowledge bits here. orbit, taking infrared images and probing the of system components and processes (includ­ soil for evidence of water ice and revealing ing human influence) and how they interact what cosmic ray dosimeters might read for and feed back. And in the case of education, astronauts mucking about on the surface to foster an understanding of these systems Virtually every Earth-sensing mission has one day. It could almost wave (if it had a and their implications for life and long-term its own web sites these several you hand) to its fellow orbiting Martian, Mars variability and change. want to check out are listed here. Global Surveyor, which is picking its shots The institute featured a wide variety of Terra, launched in December, 1999, is the these days to round out an impressive data speakers and experts covering an equally flagship of NASA's Earth base of delightfully odd and tantalizing land­ wide range of space-based research and edu­ ing System (EOS), a capable little HTr.?lrl-,r.~"~ scape features. cational efforts, and there was a wealth of charged with beginning the collection of a It's all part of an Earthly invasion designed information and resources to be shared. IS-year data set on our planet, m()niltorinl£ to help us understand (and perhaps ultimate­ Following are some of the more concrete bits from sea surface temperatures ly visit) this most Earth-like of the other which may help you in your own efforts to and cloud cover to the planets, which we may eventually know at educate your constituencies about good old Earth's radiation budget, and least as well as we do that closer alien world terra firma on which we stand to gaze at the tion. Its web site at n ... r,ui,rl"" called the ocean floor. stars. information and links to its on.C>-o'y,_,,,,,,y,Hir.,, What we learn about Mars, of course, can data base. Good pickings here on a help us understand the Earth, even as new studies. squadrons of satellites leave virtually no Another web site is that stone unsensed in our modern-day quest to NASA's Earth Science Enterprise had a new Tropical Rainfall Mission (TRMM) know everything there is to know and see web site as of last November, and you'll find at . This satellite, a everything there is to see concerning our it at .It·s an excellent effort of NASA and the National own cosmic digs. Just recently (as I write), and growing compilation of images, data (NASDA) of instruments on NASA's Terra satellite have sets, and educational references all dealing measures been watching icebergs calve from a disinte­ with a space-based view of Planet Earth - a energy release which helps to power grating ice shelf in Antarctica, and detecting wonderful resource for peeking at our home. circulation, weather and climate. You can signs of life in dormant volcanoes around The "Earth Observatory" section features a find out where it is, where it's raining the the Pacific Rim. And I've just read a fascinat­ selection of images from such satellites as now, and can access a data base ing article about the analysis of the Sea WIFS and Terra, and the Shuttle Radar of past including maps of Hawaiian Islands' "wake" (a warm counter­ Topography Mission (SRTM), nicely orga­ rainfall measurements month. current) analyzed by QuikSCAT (which mea­ nized by global regions, countries, and in the During the Earth Science Institute, we sures ocean surface winds) and TOPEX/ case of the U.S., by state. You'll also find true an to travel to the Poseidon and TRMM (Tropical Rainfall color and false color and graphic images on Minnesota's of Natural Resources Measurement Mission) which can sense ocean temperatures, winds, snow cover, see some interesting applications of the data storms, population effects, volca­ ocean currents - and speculating how this EOS satellites, '-"iJ''-'-JlUH warm west-to-east wind-and-water current noes, and just about every other sort of appli­ sat and Terra. The Remote and Geo­ might have helped those first Polynesian cation you can think of. You can build ani­ spatial Analysis Lab there uses EOS data to aquanauts reach the Hawaiian Islands. mations from on-line data sets on UV expo­ develop data bases that can help to monitor It's one small finding in the mission of sure and ozone concentration and numerous land use and natural resources. The lab's orbiting instruments and Earth-bound scien­ other variables over selected periods of time. goals include image to r1ry products when we wandered about the cam­ ence and filmmaking. NOAA ENSO Horne (El Nino): palm pilots loaded with local maps, watch­ program track called Museum Studies, in UW-Madison Space Science and Enguleermlg ing the palm pilot pinpoint our shifting loca­ which students will work with a funder and Center (world satellite imagine an intrepid forest ranger hiking that museum. If you've got some ideas, or through the trackless forest of northern need some work done, you might contact Minnesota, outlining on his/her easily-car­ Ron to see if your project and one of his stu­ Unisys Weather (mapped ried palm pilot an area of blow-down or dents might be a good match. Ron can be models): insect infestation. Cool! reached at Montana State University at 1- NOAA Storm Prediction Center: A couple of the lab's web sites worth not­ 406-994-6227, email [email protected]. .noaa.gov /index.sh tml> ing are which offers Bureau of Meteorology - Australia: www insight into the applications process as well Weather Sites .bom.gov.au/lam/index.shtml>

as some educational exercises on scaling and During the course of the institute, we had Naval Pacific Meteorology and ,--,,-",-< which several presentations on the subject "every­ phy Center, Joint Typhoon outlines a project on forest classification body talks about," from people who are ter: using satellite imagery. doing something about it, at least in terms of WSI Corp Intellicast: studying the global picture of weather and United Kingdom Meteorological Science Bulletins climate, and suggesting how we might use At the institute, Smokey Forrester of the weather data in museum settings. National Drought Mitigation Center: New York demonstrated an example of the Meteorlogix in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area Global Fire Mcmitoring museum's new "science bulletins" which he - the largest commercial weather visualiza­ produces there: continuous-loop, high-defi­ tion company around, which helps some rent/globalfire.htm> nition TV visualizations on biodiversity, 22,000 clients (from networks and airlines to NOAA National Hurricane Center: large-screen format for playback as MPEG2 cise, real-time weather data. The computer Environment Canada: files from an HDTV video server. power at work was impressive, as were the indexe.shtml> We viewed EarthBulletin in which a graphiC visualizations of weather occurring NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center: primer on volcanoes, earthquakes, and hurri­ as we watched the screens. The possibilities canes played out on the backdrop of a global for such real-time displays in museums were NCAR Forecast Models: view of the Earth, with focus on current quite tantalizing. weather/rnodel.html> events around the world. It was exceedingly The company has a free weather site you National Ice Center (polar ice conditions, impressive - the sort of thing you could can browse called , but be fore­ bergs): imagine visitors just standing and watching warned that you need to have Netscape 6+, Colorado State Arctic Oscillation Web in the exhibit areas of the museum where Internet Explorer 4+, or Mozilla 0.9+ to (Arctic UjJ'ualC:)!.

touch-screen interactive kiosks laborations with museums in weather educa­ University of Washington Pacific JJLLU'.HU Smokey indicated that the museum tion, including curriculum development Oscillation Web Site: ucts to other museums on a subscription If you're interested in exploring this notion, Columbia North Atlantic Oscilla- basis, in which the clients provide the hard­ you might contact Ron Sznaider at Meteor­ tion Web Site: History is responsible for supplying content, sota 55337 USA, 1-952-882-4574, email The Weather Underground: the American Museum of Natural History, 1- ing, and I received a hearty list of them dur­ USA 212-496-3559, email [email protected]. ing the institute. There's something here for everyone, so enjoy: World Meteorological Science Films, Anyone? Another of the institute presenters was NOAA National Weather Service Interactive National Weather Service Forecast Office: Ron Tobias, program coordinator of Science Weather Information Network: and Natural History Filmmaking at my own .nws.noaa.gov /iwin/main.h tml> NOAA North Central River Forecast Center: Montana State University in Bozeman. MSU NOAA Climate Prediction Center: has the only graduate degree program in the .cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/index_frame.html> University of Minnesota/State '-AIHlal'JlL't:, world in this discipline, and is the only aca­ NOAA National Climatic Data Center: Office: demic program Ron knows of in the U.S. that teaches and allows students to produce in National Weather Service Headquarters: VS. high definition media. The program is based Our good friend Anita Sohus from Jet on the extraordinary premise that people NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Califor­ who make films about science ought to have Laboratory: , science and missions to balance our obsessive focus on Earth during the institute, and biodiversity, plate tectonics and volca­ Weather section featured similar data revealing ways in which the two disciplines noes, ice ages and the Earth's magnetic field. earth, the sun, auroras (including some can complement each other in our educa­ One of the cleverest features is the "latest little time-lapse movies), and other tional efforts. She left a trail of good web site image" sections, where you can update the bits, with possibilities to references in her wake, and while we space data base to include what the weather looks see what the sun looked like types may be aware of many of these, some like today over the Earth, or where the Earth pIe. The Space Events section included of them were new to me, and I'll repeat some currently has snow, or the latest drought line pieces on recent activities in space of them here for your reference: conditions in the U.S., or how wet the soil is, exploration and such, and hosted valuable - NASA's solar system or where there are currently active volca­ links to other current-event sites such exploration web site, including profiles of noes or earthquake activity. So long as you're Astronomy and Earth Science Pictures of past, present, and future planetary mis­ operating from your hard drive with a prop­ Day, HST and Sky & Telescope sites, the sions. er internet connection, an "update" button Heavens-Above site to track major f'l1"I-,itiiTHT A directory of allows you to retrieve the latest images from hardware. products developed from NASA data. either the source site or the Rice University The fifth section, the mirror site. It's a great way to see the latest little planetarium-in-a-computer - a watering hole of sorts for informal sci­ gOings-on for Planet Earth. showing the sky for the latitude of your ence education organizations, with links The CD-ROM also includes an exhaustive ROM (you have choices here) in one of the to NASA space science resources (includ­ help section which explains how to install cardinal directions or overhead, at either ing NASA-funded exhibits and planetari­ and update, includes frequently-asked ques­ dusk or dawn. You can run the simulation um programs), projects, and best practices. tions, and provides classroom activities and a forward or back through time, co:ntinuously - information on applying teachers gUide which key off of the informa­ or in steps, watching the stars and constella­ for IDEAS grants, IDEAS short for Initiative tion in the CD-ROM. It's all quite a neat and tions come and go and the moon and naked­ to Develop Education through Astronomy tidy, and offers great possibilities for use in eye planets slides along the zodiac. In fact, and Space Science. exhibit computer kiosks, the classroom, or at was able to use the simulator to the - offers links home. evening dance of the planets we'll all be to the U.S. National Space Grant Program. I also snared a copy of MuTPE's earlier periencing between late April and product, a CD-ROM called Space Update. It's These are fine products, Space use- without some of my favorite design features ful for the same applications as is Earth The aforementioned institute also includ­ and educational approaches of the later Update. And the cost is extremely reasonable: ed presentations by our own Carolyn Sum­ Earth Update CD-ROM, but is still nicely real­ $20 U.S. apiece with $5 shipping and han­ ners of the Houston Museum of Natural ized and very serviceable, concentrating on dling. If you purchase both, the and Science with Patricia Reiff, director of the all things spacey. handling is free. You can print out and use Rice University Space Institute in Houston, It's divided into its own five areas of inves­ the imagery (some of it public domain from who demonstrated the interactive CD-ROM tigation: (deep sky) astronomy, the solar sys­ NASA, some of it from Rice) for educational called Earth Update, one of the products of tem, space weather, space events, and the sky purposes, and can get a full site license their Museums Teaching Planet Earth tonight. The Astronomy section focuses use. And you can choose your for (MuTPE) enterprise which is one of the beyond the solar system, with categories fea­ your latitude in the case of Earth Science Information Partners (or turing stars and nebulae, clusters, galaxies, (which gives you an appropriate ESIP's) mentioned earlier. "what's new," and a section called "all sky." night" latitude, and for your area of the U.S. This is a clever and chock-full CD-ROM It's more image-driven than question-driven (which you access to weather which organizes its wealth of information in (a feature of Earth Update that I really like), for your You might ask if there are five spheres of investigation: the atmosphere but showcases excellent images (many of Earth Update versions which focus on (air), geosphere (land), hydrosphere (water), them from Hubble) with information cap­ areas of the world in their weather data - cryosphere (ice), and biosphere (life). Select­ tions, though images and captions overlie global weather imagery is included in the ing any of these sends you to a well-designed and so you can only access one or the other CD in any case. screen format which is further organized by at the same time. There are some nice movies Minimum computer for a general topics, hot topicS, and latest images. here, such as a zoom-in and animation Macintosh include 120 MHz of a faster Power Each of these sections introduces its topiCS as sequence on the galaxy Centaurus A, ulti­ PC, Mac OS 8.1 or later, 64 MB or more of in­ a series of questions relating to the atmo­ mately revealing an animation of the black stalled RAM, Netscape 4.0 or Internet sphere, oceans, land masses, ice sheets, or life hole believed to lurk in its core. "What's er 4.5 or AOL 4.0 or greater, and 800 X 600 and human impact. By clicking on questions, new" includes recent imagery, but my screen resolution. PC minimum 1'''''''''''£>­ you can access images and informational favorite part was "All Sky," cleverly devised ments include 166 MHz Intel Pentium pro­ captions, and run short data-set animations so that as you slide a little bar along the elec­ cessor or greater, Windows 95 or 98, 64 MB or and movies. tromagnetic spectrum, full-sky images of the more of installed RAM, ~1'.id internet It's colorful and neatly packed and nicely universe in the corresponding wavelength browsers and screen resolution similar to the done. As you roam about the "spheres," you appear in the window. Great idea! Mac. You can check out the and can find out which countries are warmest on The Solar System section was very nicely ducts at a couple of Rice the Earth, and see a graph that shows how organized in a screen format more similar to and carbon dioxide levels are increasing in the Earth Update, allowing the user to select a .com/>. For more information or to atmosphere. You can run a Ii ttle movie planet and then select images with captions contact Dr. Patricia Reiff at the Rice showing how global carbon dioxide levels or (appearing in different parts of the screen Institute, Rice -MS 108, 6100 Main ocean temperatures change through the format and thus viewable at the same time) St., Houston, Texas 77005 USA, ~'-~'-VUV'H'- year. You can learn about global warming or little zoom-ins or movies, and/or images 713-348-4634, fax 1-713-348-5143, email and El Nino, glaciers and icebergs, acid rain and copy on planetary moons. The Space [email protected]. Check these out. Incidentally, during the institute we all conferences, it surely shows off Hubble - and got to play with a number of new toys that the universe at its most wonderful. John in­ Carolyn is in the process of "flying" on the dicates that the latest compilation includes space shuttle - some of them actually quite about 70 minutes of material before any­ old toys culturally, and from a variety of cul­ thing repeats, and he's slowly ratcheting up tures. Ask her about them the next time you the technical sophistication while maintain­ see her. ing focus on the cosmos he interprets for us. ViewSpace now comes in two formats: the traditional 4:3 monitor/aspect ratio, and a One of the take-aways I took away from 16:9 ratio for plasma screens. John also plans last Novembers' institute was an informa­ this year to offer automatic and more fre­ tion package from the Oceanography Out­ quent updates via the internet, including reach Team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, newly-released images virtually as they sphere or star map to use, this 4800 Oak Grove Drive, M/S 264-355, Pasa­ appear from the institute. Further, he's work­ wearable accessory and conversation dena, California 91109, telephone 1-818-393- ing on boilerplate language for funding pro­ for your next star party. I very much 1064, fax 1-818-393-1173, email topex@ posals to help planetariums and museums The Star Quest Fundana is jpl.nasa.gov. The package includes informa­ apply for local funding of the hardware to series. The others are imprintE~d tion, images, and web sites for a variety of run the pieces with the prestige of the HST to in the fashion of a game board or Earth-sensing satellites that study the oceans, back them up. and are to prompt including Topex/Poseidon, TRMM, Quik­ John says the project seems to be gaining scavenger hunts in various Scat,Jason-l, and SeaWIFS. momentum, which is great to hear. The stuff For the Nature Quest, Beach Quest, There are CD-ROMs containing useful bits he does in ViewSpace is so good, it almost Quest fundanas, you a number on some of these missions as well. There's makes me yearn for a Pc. Well - at least for 20, count from a square marked one on Topex/Poseidon called "Visit to an the exhibit area. scramble off to search for Ocean Planet," which is nicely designed and If you're not familiar with ViewSpace, con­ described on the selected square that user-friendly and question-driven as it pre­ tact John to become so; you'll be glad you do with natural or beach environments sents images and animations and descrip­ did. In addition to the above contact infor­ trees - a shell, a feather, a leaf, tions of Topex/Poseidon data on El Nino and mation, you can reach him at email stoke@ bird would eat, something soft, ,",,",'.U'-uU.UA any number of other ocean characteristics stsci.edu, or you can check out a useful web round. You then to other squares and phenomena, as well as a series of class­ site at . all have been accounted for. The 1'<:»-'-'':I1n"."" room activities associated with each major fundana is called and iY'o

Sky-Skan - Europe office. Barco reps Susan Association and he was one of the VUl;;".JlHU Camp and Phil Laney had twelve reasons to board members of the Pacific smile all evening long! A glittering assort­ ment of past and present planetarians filled the chamber including: Wendy Ackerman, Sally Goff and Joe Halley from the Davis Planetarium in Baltimore, Maryland; Susan Barnett from the Buehler Planetarium in equipment, automation control, and Melbourne, Florida; Carter Emmart and Ryan angle slide projection system. Art will Wyatt from the Hayden Planetarium in New his newly found free time devoted York, New York; former NASM staffer Geoff "second career" at the organ of the Chester now from the U.S. Naval Observatory Trinity Episcopal Church, were he also [email protected] in Washington D.c.; Dr. Bill Gutsch of Great choir director. Ideas in Kinnelon, New Jersey; Har­ The true definition of the word planetari­ mon from the Arlington Planetarium in laserium 28 Year Run um is currently being fought out on Dome-L, Arlington, Virginia; Rod Martin from the Hare (ASH Enterprises) wrote to the IPS sanctioned, but privately run, daily Brish Planetarium in Hagerstown, Maryland; report his eyewitness account of the final email-based information service for the Laura Misajet from Seiler Instruments/Zeiss performances of running laser show world's planetarians. The debate will rock Inc. in Narberth, Pennsylvania; Lois and in the world '" this community to its very foundation. Plan­ Steven Nichol from the Morehead Plane­ On Saturday evening, January 5th, the etariums will change, but one thing that tarium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Mark performance of Laserium was never changes is our enthusiasm for astrono­ and Carolyn Collins Peterson from Loch Ness Planetarium at the Griffith I h"'''''1!,-,t-n.. , I my and our ability to relay that enthusiasm Productions in Groton, Massachusetts; Derek Angeles. Linda Hare (former Executive to our audiences - regardless of whether they Pitts from the Fels Planetarium in Phila­ International Laser Display Association) are inside an inflatable plastic dome or a fully delphia, Pennsylvania, and Jim former cashed in a ton miles to make digital cyberdome. If you'd like to relay some Albert Einstein Planetarium Director and the 36-hour to Los and back to of your enthusiasm to your colleagues, please mentor to many in attendance. Lots of other our home in Florida for the occasion. The show send me a note or email at the address above well-wishers came to show their support closed not because of faltering attendance or and I'll include it in a future column. Until incl uding: Tom Casey from Home Run any other reason, except that the then I'd like to start this edition with a very Pictures in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Dave tarium was to be closed beginning two special ... Oxenreider of Singularity Arts in State later until 2005 for extensive renovations. College, Pennsylvania; Patricia Reiff of Rice Laserium at the in 1973 and had University in Houston, Texas, and John Stoke played since. It was the The staff of the and Frank Summers from the Space running production of any kind in Los urn at the National Air and Space Museum Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, and the longest laser (Washington D.c., USA) and the employees of Maryland. There was even a special guest M",,,h"r/J in the world. Insiders in the Sky-Skan, Inc. (Nashua, New Hampshire) appearance by Rob Landis of NASA/JPL in are played co-hosts to a sneak preview party on Pasadena, California. But the night really aware of the far-reaching implications Friday April 5, 2002 of the new planetarium belonged to Sky-Skan owners and ". "'/'mo,,t-1 d endeavor, which show Infinity Express, designed exclusively Steve Savage who, along with their parents, floodgates for laser presentations in for the theater's new High Definition Sky­ family members, and the other attendees, fin­ ums and other venues, so I won't rehash those Vision System. Kudos go to Planetarium ished the night off with a buffet supper details. Director Cheryl Bauer and her staff including inside the Imax Jazz Cafe at the National Ivan advised that we should arrive Deb Fuller, Chandra Holmes, Shannon Lee, Museum of Natural History just across the because of the anticipated crowds. We our Dalton McIntosh, Frances McRae, Jay Miller, National Mall. It was truly a crowning hotel by taxi at about 6:30, (for the 9:45 shown Sean O'Brien and Bruce Wood on a truly moment in an already stellar career for the with assurances that it was 5 or 6 minute amazing show narrated by Laurence Fish­ both of them. All in all, a very satisfying end­ ride. After sitting in a traffic a burne. Also in attendance were Gen. John R. ing to a grueling production and the mar­ half hour at the foot of the hill on which the Dailey (Director of the National Air and velous beginning of a new era at the Albert hl~M"t-.-",,;,.. VV1 is situated, we decided to walk. Space Museum), Micheal Altman, Gary Beer, Einstein Planetarium! highly recommend Kim, Lisa Mazzio, Toby Mensforth workout. That's not and Dan Stevenson (Smithsonian Business mind but at least it got us there The front lawn of the planetarium was packed. site. Geoff has been out installing Barcos like Titanic. The program takes the

People were lined up by the hundreds and oth­ crazy and has just started working on exhibit into the all-dome format ... the UU'UH.. H'-.L ers were milling about. We were fortunate to content installation and show control pro­ exr:lerilences the run into Ivan out front and were invited to see gramming for the over 150 interactive of a survivor in one of the lifeboats. You the 7:45 star show. Once in the theater, Ivan exhibits. Fear not, they will be finished with see a case history with at suggested that we remain through all the shows the project just in time to get out to the www.hrpictures.com/titanic. since to exit and attempt reentry would be regional and IPS conferences ... although they The benefits of chaotic. The planetarium lecturer mentioned both might be asleep on their feet. that the very uncomfortable planetarium seats were also scheduled for replacement and we New and Noteworthy could understand why after just the first show. Eddy Pirotte (Planetarium Beisbroek in Europe. "In Seville, After enjoying a well-presented feature on Mars Bruges, Belgium) wrote in to report that their less SkyVision theater 1"ort:>rl-!-lu and the first laser show, Dark Side of the Moon, planetarium has undergone a major upgrade. newest attraction at the Isla we waited in anticipation for the final show. Eddy writes, "After working for fifteen years Park. Situated on the As we watched the crowd file in we noticed a with a Viewlex-Apollo, we submitted our number of familiar faces. Ivan had invited first dossier for renovation in February 2000. laserists from all past Laserium venues as well Considering all possible pro's and con's, we as production and support staff and others, and finally decided to go for the Zeiss ZKP3 Sky­ a large number were in attendance. Barbara master. While this magnificent piece of and Seiji Inatsugu, John Tilp, Mitch Hartman, equipment isn't handled from the centre of Ron Hipschman, Benjamin Mendelsohn, past our 7.3 m dome, we had to construct an oper­ and current Griffith staff including Ron Oriti, ating desk in the wall of the planetarium. and representatives from the media among oth­ This reduced our number of seats by two to ers, were there. After the customary pre-show 45 in a concentric setting. Our search for the announcements, Ivan took the mic and wel­ necessary funds proved to be so successful, comed the audience. He gave a brief synopsis of that we even were able to order an all-sky the history of the show, then announced that projection system by Sky-Skan. To lower the the final show, Laser Visions, would open with number of projectors somewhat in order to The Blue Danube, a selection from the original reduce the weight on our budget, we went Laserium show. Laserist Tim Barrett gave an for a 9-projector array. Eight of them are in­ show in full high-resolution 3D computer inspired performance to an enthusiastic capaci­ stalled in a similar way to an ordinary pano­ animation, which tells the story of a ty crowd ofover 6001 rama setting but in portrait rather than land­ on a quest to show humanity the beautiful Following the conclusion of the show and scape mode. This makes the picture go qUite nature of the Universe." Visit the departure of the general public, the invited high up, but doesn't cover the whole dome: .islamagica.es/simple/planet/planet.htm guests were told ofplans for the next generation it leaves the area around the zenith open. closer look. of laser entertainment that Dryer has already Tilting a slide projector to the needed angle began working on. A freestanding facility, was impossible without building some Cyberdome, will incorporate interactive dis­ device to suck the slides into position. To get plays, live performers, lasers, and other innova­ at the zenith, we direct the ninth projector duction Coordinator, Abrams Planetarium tive forms of stimulating sensory media. He right across the dome, but deflect the light East LanSing, Michigan) for one urged all to visit their web site [www.laserium beam with a thin mirror. This awkward way digital photographs posted on the .com] to follow the project as it develops. Finally, of setting the projectors up, gives us the interesting Picture Of we all adjourned to a nearby pub and restau­ opportunity to project panorama's as well as site. Surf on over and check it out at rant for food, libation, and reminisces of past all-skies with a limited number of projectors. antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020418.html. times. All in all it was an exhausting but And it works remarkably well. Ok, we still ... to Salt Lake and thrilling experience. need a lot of fine-tuning, but as you all Sutherland on the announcement of the know, this is something that can take a long selection of the new Digistar 3® for On The Move time to get to perfection. Due to the limited T. Hansen Star Theater at the At the beginning of 2002, Jon Shaw, preVi­ available space in our dome, we had to figure M. Clark Planetarium currently under con­ ously Executive Vice President and C.O.o. for out something similar for the positioning of struction at Salt Lake's new r.:.,"h:nATCHT Spitz, Inc., was named President and C.E.o for our slew mirror. With the aid of a "peri­ The 16.8-meter domed theater, which is the company. Charlie Holmes was promoted scope", we bend the light beam over 180 0 so scheduled to open in November, will seat to Vice Chairman of the Board. Both admin­ we can put the mirror right on top of the more than 200 people. istrators work from the Chadds Ford facility. slide projector. Our ultimate goal was to ... to the staff of the Planetarium the Geoff Skelton (formerly with the Fisk renew our exhibition area as well, and in this Forum der Technik in Munich, on Planetarium and the Fels Planetarium) and too we were successful. This means that we the colossal success of their new laser show, Mark Trotter (formerly with LA Tech, Shreve­ are now ready to try and raise our number of Queen Heaven. The show has been to port and the Louisiana Nature Science Cen­ visitors to some 15,000, hopefully within the sell out crowds at least once since last ter) have joined Bowen Productions, Inc. in next three years." December when it premiered. Not Indianapolis, Indiana. Mark was immediately Tom Casey of Home Run Pictures in they get access to the entire Queen assigned as Senior Project Manager for the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has just finished a of music, but they also had the direct artistic $3.4 million interactive exhibit systems con­ new SkyVision immersive program for the input of band members Brian (he has a tract for the new Indiana State Museum and Houston Museum of Natural Science's Burke doctorate in astrophysics) and manages the Bowen installation office on Baker Planetarium on the sinking of the as well as Brian's sound '-"hA'A'-'_' Shirley-Smith. One of the show highlights is they were able to display high-definition the world premier of Bohemian Rhapsody broadcasts of several Olympic events on a 24- Keep your star projectors free of dust. remixed in S.1 Surround from the original hour delay. Planetarium Director Shawn Spitz' Service Department Supervisor, recording tracks. Laatsch and Program Coordinator J. Scott Wilkin, suggests dusting ODto--m leCIlarncal ... to MegaSystems, Inc. (Philadelphia, Pen­ Miller ran the events in an effort to increase star balls only with soft brushes (his secret is nsylvania) for being named the US distribu­ awareness of the planetariums offerings and using large make-up brushes from cosmetic tors for the Minolta MEDIA GLOBE - The to focus attention on the unique multi­ stores, or camel hair brushes). Reserve canned world's first full color digital planetarium. media equipment of the facility. The air for planet and rotating mirrors Olympic broadcasts attracted crowds of (From the Spitz online newsletter - Thanks to You Know? about 40 people each. According to CEO Ted Joyce Towne Huggins!) Charlie Dodge of Gamma Tech in Albu­ Geier, CineMuse, Inc. has a network of Katsuhiro Mouri (Nagoya Science querque, New Mexico, has offered to convert approximately 34 museums and universities Museum Planetarium, Japan) passed a digital images to slides for planetarians for a with high-definition television in various great web site for Japanese constellation find­ very good price, $1.00 per slide plus shipping! stages of development. ers at http://www.nhao.go.jprtokimasa You can upload your files at his web site, The astronomers at John Hopkins Univer­ /hayami/hayamLhtml. Japanese Constella­ www.gammatech.com and have them over­ sity have determined the color of the uni­ tion Finders are called "seiza hayami ban" in nighted back to you. Call Charlie at 1-877- verse. You can have some fun if you go to Japanese. If you are interested in the page, 293-9440 in advance to introduce yourself their website and print out the color swatch please contact to Dr. Noritaka Tokimasa for and to set up an account. Thanks goes to they have posted there. Take your print out permission to use the resources at this web­ Steve Savage of Sky-Skan for finding this to your favorite paint or hardware store and page. Dr. Noritaka has said this "hayami ban" great resource! tell them that you need to match the color is free for educational use. His email address The folks at Evans & Sutherland in Salt because you want to paint everything in is, [email protected]. Lake City weren't the only ones playing host your house that color in case the mothers hip to the Olympics this year. That's because of a returns. For even more fun, tell them that That's all for now. I look forward to hear­ unique collaboration between the high-defi­ you need to buy the new color because you ing from you. I especially need information nition video eqUipment and content pro­ have to repaint everything you painted the from Asian-Pacific planetarians. This is your vider Cinemuse, Inc. of New York City and first color that they announced back in Gibbous Gazette. Help me to make it the best the University of Louisville's Gheens Science January. Visit http://www.jhu.edu/news it can be and email your news today! Hall and Rauch Planetarium. Thanks to the info/news/home02/mar02/coior.html for Cinemuse eqUipment and the Rauch dome, the full details. up with a motto for the main bodies in the debris. theorists have solar system. (The one listed for the Sun I lift­ demned t ed from a George Reed article, and the comet of "an obvious government one is a quote from David Levy, but the rest ing out that Mars has no swamps. are mine). So, here goes: And here's another version of the The Sun - A Thermonuclear Bomb With GreatPR Plus-que-Possible, rna noire, Mercury - You Boil. You Freeze. Deal With It Elle pond ses oeufs dans Ie Quand-Provi- Venus - Gas Masks R Us Earth - The Abode Of Life. Catch It While You Can Car l' e:x.D~::m::m::e Mars - Space Probe Killer Asteroids -Rock Stars And finally, with the Greetings of the solstice to each of you, Jupiter - Cornet Killer types of matter comes the reminder from and a happy Father's Day. Shall we begin the Saturn - Easy To Run Rings Around celebration with some poetry? A Mother Uranus - Seasons? What Are They? Goose nursery rhyme, that is: Neptune - Horne Of The Dysfunctional Satel­ lite Family Hickety-Pickety, my black hen Pluto - Permanent Host Of The All Solar AMES, lA-The heaviest element She lays eggs for gentlemen. System Winter Olympics ... That Never science was discovered materials Sometimes nine and sometimes ten, End researchers at IPRT jISU. The new element, Hickety-Pickety my black hen. Cornets - Like Cats, They Have Tails And Do tentatively named Administratium, has Just What They Want protons or electrons, and thus has an Imagine my delight at discovering The weight of O. However, it does have one Space Child's Mother Goose book of rhymes Another version: tron, 125 assistant neutrons, 7S vice neutrons, among my late father's effects, a slender vol­ and 111 assistant vice neutrons. This ume originally published in 1958, before the MOGLICH-W ARSCHEINLICH, mein' an atomic mass of 312. These 312 ",,,,e-l-ir'lac ISBN system was born. (Thanks to Simon and Schwartzhenn', held together in a nucleus Schuster for permission to print these here.) Legt ihr Ei in das Relativwenn. involves the continuous exch(m~;e It includes another version of the rhyme: Sie legt keine Eier ins Positivdann des called morons. Wei! sie postulieren nun einmal nicht Since it has no electrons, Administratium Probable-Possible, my black hen, Kann. is totally inert. However, it can be detected She lays eggs in the Relative When. chemically, since it impedes every H-'JlLU.V'H She doesn't lay eggs in the Positive Now Press comes into contact with. Because she's unable to Postulate How. by:Jim Griffith ([email protected]): discovers, a amount of Administraltillm Valles Marineris (MPI) - A spokesthing for caused one reaction to take over four Shades of Uncle Albert! Mars Air Force denounced as false rumors complete; the normal reaction time is less We grew up on a farm in upstate New that an alien space craft crashed in the desert, than one second. York, where the sky was dark and the air was outside of Ares Vallis on Friday. at Administratium has a normal half clear, and my father built a telescope for us. a press conference today, General Rgrmrmy approximately three years, at which He began grinding the mirror when I was The Lesser, stated that "the object was, in does not but instead two years old (he claimed the scratch marks fact, a harmless high-altitude weather bal­ goes a in which neutrons, on the box of grit were made by my gnaw­ loon, not an alien spacecraft". vice neutrons, and assistant vice neutrons ing young teeth) and completed it just before The story broke late Friday night when a places. Studies have shown I left for college. major stationed at nearby Ares Vallis Air the atomic mass usually increases after I remember peering at Saturn, and our Force Base contacted the Valles Marineris Moon, and marveling. How many of us start­ Daily Record with a story about a strange, bal­ Research at other laboratories indicates ed off in this business in a similar way, I won­ loon-shaped object which allegedly carne that Administratium occurs naturally der. down in the nearby desert, "bouncing" sever­ atrnospJt1e]~e It tends to concentrate Before he moved from Buffalo's frigid al times before corning to a stop, "deflating such as governmental alrE~nCles, climes to the tropics of Florida, Steve Tidey in a sudden exploSion of alien gases". and universities. composed a list of slogans for the planets. Minutes later, General Rgrmrmy The Lesser found in the newest, best U!JLJ~HH_""U­ Here's his email posting: contacted the Daily Record telepathically to and best maintained buildin~~s. contradict the earlier report. Scientists point out that Administratium "Over the weekend my local newspaper, General Rgrmrmy The Lesser stated that is known to be toxic at any level of the Buffalo News, printed a funny list of hysterical stories of a detachable vehicle tration and can any mottos that they'd made up for each roaming across the Martian desert were bla­ tive reactions where it is allowed to state. (For example, Delaware: Bathroom tant fiction, provoked by incidences involv­ late. Attempts are being made to determine Stop Between Philadelphia and Wash­ ing swamp gas. But the general public has how Administratium can be controlled ington; Hawaii: No Interstates). been slow to accept the Air Force's explana­ prevent irreversible aalmage, but results tion of recent events, preferring to speculate date are not promising. This prompted me to sit down and corne on the "other-worldly" nature of the crash Just like a A planetanum grown-up on the road