Vol. 33, No. 1 March 2004

Journal of the International Planetarium Society

Map of the Universe: An Engaging Astronomical Exhibit

The Planetarian (ISN 0090-3213) is published quarterly by the International Planetarium Society. ©2004, Inter- national Planetarium Society, Inc., all rights reserved. March, 2004 Vol. 33, No. 1 Opinions expressed by authors are personal opinions and are not necessarily the opinions of the International Planetarium Society, its officers, or agents. Acceptance of advertisements, announcements, or other material does not imply en- dorsement by the International Planetarium Society, its officers or agents. The Editor wel- Executive Editor comes items for consideration for publication. Please consult "Guidelines for Contributors" John Mosley at www.GriffithObs.org/IPSGuidelines.html. The Editor reserves the right to edit any Griffith Observatory manuscript to suit this publication’s needs. 2800 E. Observatory Road Los Angeles, California 90027 USA Articles (1) 323-664-1181 daytime phone 6 God Under the Dome ...... Br. Guy Consolmagno (1) 323-663-4323 Griffith fax 13 The Universe Below: Creating Underwater Allskies ...... (1) 603-506-8255 personal efax ...... Tom Kwasnitschka and Wilhelm Ermgassen [email protected] 16 Amusing Astronomical Anecdotes ...... Steve Tidey Advertising Coordinator 21 I. M. Levitt, 1908 - 2004 ...... Derrick Pitts Chuck Bueter Columns 15893 Ashville Lane Granger, Indiana 46530 USA 24 NASA Space Science News ...... Anita Sohus (1) 574-271-3150 26 Mobile News Network ...... Susan Reynolds Button [email protected] 30 Reviews ...... April S. Whitt www.GriffithObs.org/IPSratesheet4.htm 36 President’s Message ...... Jon Elvert 40 Minutes of the IPS Council Meeting ...... Lee Ann Hennig Membership 47 Forum: Planetarians We Admire ...... Steve Tidey Individual: $50 one year; $90 two years 51 What’s New ...... Jim Manning Institutional: $200 first year; $100 annual renewal 57 International News ...... Lars Broman Library Subscriptions: $36 one year 64 Gibbous Gazette ...... James Hughes Direct membership requests and changes of address to 68 Last Light ...... April S. Whitt the Treasurer/Membership Chairman on next page. Back Issues of the Planetarian IPS Back Publications Repository maintained by the Treasurer/Membership Chairman; contact information is on next page Index of Advertisers Index Adler Planetarium ...... 25 Astro-Tec ...... 23 A cumulative index of major articles that have Calgary Science Centre ...... 19 appeared in the Planetarian from the first issue Coronado ...... 22 through the current issue is available online as East Coast Control Systems ...... 33 www.GriffithObs.org/planetarian_index.pdf Evans & Sutherland ...... outside back cover Final Deadlines Goto Optical Manufacturing Co...... 50 Learning Technologies, Inc...... 29 March: January 21 Konica Minolta ...... 46 and 67 June: April 21 Mirage3D ...... 28 September: July 21 R. S. Automation ...... inside back cover December: October 21 Scott Electric ...... 38 Seiler Instruments ...... inside front cover SEOS ...... 5 Sky-Skan, Inc...... centerfold International Planetarium Society WWW home page: Spitz, Inc...... 20 www.ips-planetarium.org Planetarian journal WWW home page: www.GriffithObs.org/IPSPlanetarian.html

Cover: “Map of the Universe” from the center of the Associate Editors earth to the Big Bang. One of the fundamental chal- Forum Last Light Reviews lenges for astronomy educators is to explain the scale Steve Tidey April S. Whitt April S. Whitt of the universe, and a large but simplified version of this new map with proper interpretation could make a Gibbous Gazette Mobile News Network What's New James Hughes Susan Button Jim Manning wonderfully engaging exhibit for planetarium visitors. The full map is at http://housefly.astro.Princeton.EDU/~ International News NASA Space News mjuric/universe. See the editorial on page 4. Source: J. Lars Broman Anita Sohus Richard Gott and Mario Juric.

March 2004 Planetarian 1

I. P. S. Officers

President 61 3 63233776 fax for Science and Technology Jon W. Elvert, Director [email protected] 6560 Braddock Road Irene W. Pennington Planetarium Alexandria, Virginia 22312 USA Louisiana Art & Science Museum Past President (1) 703-750-8380 100 South River Road Martin Ratcliffe (1) 703-750-5010 fax Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 USA Director, Theaters & Media Services [email protected] (1) 225-344-5272 Exploration Place (1) 225-214-4027 fax 300 N McLean Blvd Treasurer and Membership Chair [email protected] Wichita, Kansas 67203 USA Shawn Laatsch (1) 316-263-3373 P.O. Box 1812 President Elect (1) 316-263-4545 fax Greenville, NC 27835 USA Martin George [email protected] (1) 252-328-6139 office Launceston Planetarium (1) 252-328-6218 fax Queen Victoria Museum Executive Secretary [email protected] Wellington Street Lee Ann Hennig Launceston, Tasmania 7250 Australia Planetarium 61 3 63233777 Thomas Jefferson High School

I. P. S. Affiliate Representatives

Association of Dutch Speaking Canadian Association of Science Japan Planetarium Society [email protected] Planetariums Centres Shoichi Itoh Michel Hommel John Dickenson, Managing Director Planetarium Ur Southeastern Planetarium Associ- Artis Planetarium Pacific Space Centre Suginami Science Education Center ation Plantage Kerklaan 38-40 H.R. MacMillan Planetarium 3-3-13 Shimizu, Suginami-ku John Hare 1018 CZ Amsterdam 1100 Chestnut Street Tokyo 167-0033 Japan Ash Enterprises The Netherlands Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 3J9 (81) 3 3396 4391 3602 23rd Avenue West 31 20 52 33 426 Canada (81) 3 3396 4393 fax Bradenton, Florida 34205 USA 31 20 52 33 481/419 fax (1) 604-738-7827 ext.234 [email protected] (1) 941-746-3522 [email protected] (1) 604-736-5665 fax [email protected] (1) 941-750-9497 fax jdickens@hrmacmillanspacecentre [email protected] Association of French-Speaking .com Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society Planetariums Paul Krupinski Southwestern Association of Plane- Agnes Acker Council of German Planetariums 180 Crandon Blvd. tariums Observatoire de Strasbourg Dr. Andreas Haenel, Mobile Dome Planetarium Donna Pierce 11, rue de l'universite Planetarium des Museums am Buffalo, New York 14225 USA Planetarium 67000 Strasbourg France Schoelerberg (1) 716-681-0204 Highland Park Independent School 03 90 24 24 67 Am Schoelerberg 8 [email protected] District 03 90 24 24 17 fax D 49082 Osnabrueck Germany 4220 Emerson [email protected] +49 541 560 0326 Nordic Planetarium Association Dallas, Texas 75205 USA [email protected] +49 541 560 0337 fax Lars Broman (1) 214-780-3858 [email protected] Dalarna University (1) 214-780-3799 fax Association of Mexican Planetariums SE 791 88 Falun Sweden [email protected] Ignacio Castro Pinal European/Mediterranean (46) 2310 177 Torres de Mixcoac, A6-702 Planetarium Association [email protected] Ukranian Planetariums Association C.P. 01490, México D.F. México Dennis Simopoulos www.planetarium.se/npa Lydmila Rybko (52) (55) 55 24 51 50 Eugenides Planetarium Kiev Republican Planetarium (52) (55) 55 24 01 40 Fax Syngrou Avenue-Amfithea Pacific Planetarium Association 57/3 Velyka Vasyikivska Street [email protected] Athens Greece Gail Chaid, Director 03150 Kiev Ukraine (30) 1 941 1181 Independence Planetarium +380 442 27 27 81 Association of Spanish Planetariums (30) 1 941 7372 fax 1776 Educational Park Drive +380 442 27 37 43 fax Javier Armentia [email protected] San Jose, California 95133 USA [email protected] Planetario de Pamplona +1 408-928-9604 Sancho Ramirez, 2 Great Lakes Planetarium Association +1 408-926-9515 fax E-31008 Pamplona Navarra Spain Chuck Bueter [email protected] +34 948 260 004 15893 Ashville Lane +34 948 260 056 Granger, Indiana 46530 USA Planetarium Society of India +34 948 261 919 fax (1) 574 271 3150 Professor S. Gopinath [email protected] [email protected] Director-Astronomer [email protected] Daruna, cio.com Great Plains Planetarium Association 80, Kathatorn Road Jack Dunn Amper Muang, Australasian Planetarium Society Ralph Mueller Planetarium Ratchaburi- 70000. Thailand Glen Moore University of Nebraska- Lincoln 66 1 858 3698 Planetarium, Science Centre 210 Morrill Hall [email protected] University of Wollongong Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0375 USA [email protected] Northfields Ave, (1) 402-472-2641 Wollongong, NSW 2522 Australia (1) 402-475-8899 fax Rocky Mountain Planetarium +61 2 4286 5000 [email protected] Association +61 2 4283 6665 fax Aaron McEuen [email protected] Italian Planetaria’s Friends Hansen Planetarium http://home.vicnet.net.au/~apsweb Association 15 South State St. Loris Ramponi Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 USA British Association of Planetaria National Archive of Planetaria (1) 801-531-4934 Teresa Grafton c/o Centro Studi e Ricerche Serafino [email protected] London Planetarium Zani Marylebone Road via Bosca 24, C.P. 104 Russian Planetariums Association London NW1 5LR England United 25066 Lumezzane (Brescia) Italy Zinaida P. Sitkova Kingdom (39) 30 87 21 64 Nizhny Novgorod Planetarium 44 (0) 20 7487 0243 (39) 30 87 25 45 fax Pokhvalinskii S’Yezd 5-A 44 (0) 20 7465 0923 fax http://www.cityline.it Nizhny Novgorod, 603 600 Russia Teresa.Grafton@madame- [email protected] (7) 831 2 30 51 51 tussauds.com (7) 831 2 30 51 66 fax

2 Planetarian March 2004

I. P. S. Standing Committees

IPS Conference Host- 2004 IPS Elections Committee IPS Web Committee Esperanza Vidal Infer, Director Steve Mitch, Chair Alan Gould L'Hemispheric Planetarium Holt Planetarium Ciudad De Las Artes Y Las Ciencias Benedum Natural Science Center Lawrence Hall of Science Valencia, Spain Oglebay Park University of California +34 96 197 4600 Wheeling, West Virginia 26003 USA Berkeley, California 94720-5200 USA +34 96 197 4627 fax (1) 304-243-4034 (1) 510-643-5082 [email protected] (1) 304-243-4110 fax (1) 510-642-1055 fax [email protected] [email protected] IPS Conference Committee Jon W. Elvert, Director IPS Awards Committee IPS Ethics Committee Irene W. Pennington Planetarium Jon Bell vacant Louisiana Art & Science Museum Hallstrom Planetarium 100 South River Road Indian River Community College IPS Finance Committee - President, Past- Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 USA 3209 Virginia Avenue President, President-Elect, Treasurer, (1) 225-344-5272 Fort Pierce, Florida 34981 USA Secretary (1) 225-214-4027 fax (1) 561-462-4888 [email protected] [email protected] IPS Membership Committee IPS Publications Committee Shawn Laatsch Dr. Dale W. Smith Please notify the Editor of any changes P.O. Box 1812 BGSU Planetarium, 104 Overman Hall on these two pages. Greenville, NC 27835 USA Physics &Astronomy Dept. (1) 252-328-6139 office Bowling Green State University Contact the Treasurer/Membership Chair (1) 252-328-6218 fax Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 USA for individual member address changes and general [email protected] (1) 419-372-8666 circulation and billing questions. (1) 419-372-9938 fax [email protected] I. P. S. AD HOC Committees

IPS Consumer Affairs/Astrology Committee IPS Media Distribution Committee [email protected] Dr. Jeanne Bishop, Chair Thomas Kraupe, Chair Westlake Schools Planetarium Art of Sky & Planetarium Hamburg Strategic Planning Committee Parkside Middle School Hindenburgstrasse . 1b John Dickenson, Chair 24525 Hilliard Road D-22303 Hamburg Germany H.R. MacMillan Planetarium Westlake, Ohio 44145 USA +49 40-5142824 303 Pacific Space Centre (1) 440-835-6399 +49 40-5142824 244 fax 1100 Chestnut Street (1) 440-835-6325 [email protected] Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 3J9 [email protected] [email protected] Canada http://www.artofsky.com (1) 604-738-7827 ext. 234 Armand Spitz Planetarium Education Fund (1) 604-736-5665 fax Finance Committee IPS Outreach Committee [email protected] Christine Shupla IPS Education Committee Arizona Science Center IPS Technology Committee April Whitt 600 East Washington Street Jan Sifner, Chair Fernbank Science Center Phoenix, Arizona 85004 USA Planetarium Praha 156 Heaton Park Drive NE (1) 602-716-2078 Observatory and Planetarium of Prague Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA (1) 602-716-2099 fax Kralovska obora 233 (1) 678-875-7148 [email protected] CZ-170 21 Prague 7 Czech Republic (1) 678-874-7110 fax +420 2 333 764 52 [email protected] IPS Planetarium Development Group +420 2 333 794 44 (Jan) Ken Wilson, Chair +420 2 333 764 34 fax IPS History Committee Ethyl Universe Planetarium [email protected] John Hare, Chair, IPS Historian Science Museum of Virginia www.planetarium.cz Ash Enterprises 2500 West Broad Street 3602 23rd Avenue West Richmond, Virginia 23220 USA Bradenton, Florida 34205 USA (1) 804-864-1429 (1) 941-746-3522 (1) 804-864-1560 fax (1) 941-750-9497 fax [email protected] [email protected] IPS Portable Planetarium Committee IPS Job Information Service Subcommittee Sue Reynolds Button, Chair (Professional Services Committee) 8793 Horseshoe Lane Steve_Fentress, Chair Chittenango, New York 13037 USA Strasenburgh Planetarium (1) 315-687-5371 Rochester Museum & Science Center [email protected] 657 East Avenue IPS Permanent Mailing Address Rochester, New York 14607 USA IPS Professional Services Committee (1) 585-271-4552 ext. 409 Mike Murray International Planetarium Society (1 )585-271-7146 fax Clark Planetarium c/o Taylor Planetarium [email protected] 110 South 400 West Museum of the Rockies Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 USA Montana State University IPS Language Committee (1) 801 456 4949 Martin George (1) 801 456 4928 fax 600 W. Kagy Blvd. Launceston Planetarium [email protected] Bozeman, Montana 59717 USA Queen Victoria Museum Wellington Street IPS Script Contest Committee IPS Web Site Launceston, Tasmania 7250 Australia Steve Tidey http://www.ips-planetarium.org 61 3 63233777 58 Prince Avenue 61 3 63233776 fax Southend, Essex, SS2 6NN England [email protected] United Kingdom Produced at the Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, California; http://www.GriffithObs.org/IPSPlanetarian.html

March 2004 Planetarian 3

The map appeared as a fold-out along with Editor’s Keyboard an article that explained it in the November 22, 2003, issue of New Scientist magazine, and tles in the next largest in a connected set of a portion appears on the cover of this jour- maps. This technique was used in Cosmic nal. It’s one of those things I can spend a long View: The Universe in 40 Jumps by Kees Boeke time looking at, getting new insights as the in 1957 and later (and very dramatically) in relationships of the parts reveal themselves the short film Powers of Ten. in yet more ways and the information sinks Recently Princeton astrophysicist J. in. It is worth revisiting many times. Richard Gott III devised an especially clever You can view the map and associated files map that shows the universe from the center at http://housefly.astro.Princeton.EDU/~ of the earth to the Big Bang in a logarithmic mjuric/universe. scale that lets you see the earth’s core-mantle Gott suggests that his map would make a boundary, the earth’s surface, satellite orbits, wonderful exhibit, and I heartily agree. It the moon, individual asteroids, the present would require a lot of interpretation (per- location of Voyager I and II, the Oort cloud, haps sets of nestled cubes along the edge to individual named stars, the Trifid and Crab show the compression visually – but inter- nebulae, familiar galaxies, very distant galax- pretation is our specialty). It is infinitely ex- ies, and the cosmic microwave background. pandable, and the larger it is, the more detail I've always enjoyed maps, and my home is Their abstract reads: “This map projection … can be shown, so the map would be awe- decorated with antique maps of the earth preserves shapes locally, and yet is able to some if it covered a wall or a hallway or even and sky. They show not only how places display the entire range of astronomical the side of a building or a sidewalk. (Allow a relate to each other, but – more interestingly scales from the Earth's neighborhood to the way to update it as our knowledge im- – what was known (and unknown) at the cosmic microwave background. The confor- proves.) It is hard to think of a huge astrono- time. mal nature of the projection, preserving mical exhibit that – if the language were Maps that show the entire universe are shapes locally, may be of particular use for greatly simplified and interpretation provid- hard to come by. The scale of the solar sys- analyzing large scale structure. Prominent in ed – would both be so inexpensive and so tem, the Milky Way, and intergalactic space the map is a Sloan Great Wall of galaxies … effective at challenging the imagination. are incompatible, and you often end up pick- the largest observed structure in the uni- Often simple exhibits are the most effec- ing a chunk of space at one scale and relating verse.” tive. Have a look at Gott’s map, and let me it to others with sets of boxes with lines con- The map is also a timeline that spans the know if you make an exhibit out of it. I’d necting each that show how each box nes- entire age of the universe. like to hear about it. C

The spring 1979 issue was only 26 pages posed jazzing up such a lecture: "… a little long plus covers, but quite a bit was packed dash of music here and the occasional visual into that slim issue. 25 Years Ago spectacle there, changes the sky lecture into a James A. Hooks began by enthusiastically one-third of the issue) were devoted to a show." He lamented that all lecturers were proclaiming his excitement at the honor of transparent umbrella developed in Houston, not equally skilled, and even the best had bad assuming the presidency of the I. P. S. largely by the ever-inventive Carolyn Sum- days, so he proposed a solution to uneven lec- “Here Comes the Sun – Part II” from the ners, with glow-in-the-dark stars that showed turing that creates the perfect show: "The Burke-Baker Planetarium followed, with the the sky on both the inside and outside. In remedy to this problem is obvious. One takes conclusion of the adventures of Mr. Splurge addition to keeping the user dry during a a good lecturer and immortalizes him on and his energy-wasting ways. Texas rainstorm, the umbrella served as a sound tape." Were pre-recorded shows so new David Romanowski described a program portable planetarium. By orienting it so the only 25 years ago? performed at Boston’s Hayden Planetarium shaft pointed to the North Star and rotating That was followed by David Aguilar’s called “An Evening of Poetry Under the it – and with the help of instructions – the (Salinas, California) tongue-in-cheek “Plane- Stars.” Taped readings by local poets were user could learn, among other things, how tarium Aptitude Test.” played under simple planetarium visuals. the length of the day changes seasonally, James Brown’s What’s New column listed Jeanne Bishop’s Focus on Education col- how the horns of the crescent moon are ori- three sources for ready-made planetarium umn presented “The Educational Value of ented with respect to the horizon, and why shows: the Strasenburgh Planetarium in the Planetarium, A Statement Prepared by there is a midnight sun at high latitudes. Rochester, New York, the Hansen Planetari- the Great Lakes Planetarium Association.” It In what could have been a long open let- um in Salt Lake City, and Astral Projections is intended to help administrators and others ter, Sig Wieser of the Centennial Planetarium in Dallas. I remember the Hansen offerings recognize the value of a planetarium and a in Calgary, Canada, noted in “The Automated well as I was responsible for packaging them trained professional staff, and the points Star Show” that in "pure" planetarium shows, for distribution. raised remain valid today. "The narrator will use the planetarium projec- Lastly, Herb Schwartz’s Creative Corner George Reed proposed a new field of tor to show the motions of the celestial described ways to modify TMC slide projec- study to be named alcoholastronomy, for motions of the celestial bodies and, at times, tors. collectors of beer cans with astronomical explain some of the more difficult concepts In 1978 the Planetarian had no advertise- designs. He cited a few intriguing examples by the use of carefully selected dispositive ments, few photographs, no color (other than (Orbit Premium Beer from Florida in the slides. Practically, such a lecture is very much a purple cover), and no contributions from 1960s) but provided no photographs. akin to the classroom experience …." Sig pro- outside the United States. It did pack a lot of The following seven full pages (almost information into its relatively few pages. C

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God Under the Dome Br. Guy Consolmagno SJ Vatican Observatory Specola Vaticana, V-00120 Vatican City State [email protected]

As an astronomer and Jesuit, wearing both the creator — is essentially unchanged in ling rivalry: science has its beginnings in the a Roman Collar and an MIT Class Ring, I am English. Anyone familiar with Christmas car- medieval scholastic theology that attempted living proof that it is possible to be at the ols will recognize the next two words, to understand God using the tools of reason same time a fanatic and a nerd. I am both; I “Venite Adoremus”, come, let us adore him. and philosophy. Recall, astronomy was one am a fanatic about my science, and a nerd “Come, let us adore God the Creator.” of the seven subjects you were expected to when it comes to delighting in the workings If a person of faith accepts God as Creator master in the medieval universities before of my religion. of the universe, how can they possibly find you could go on to study theology or philo- The supposed conflict be- Presenting astronomy to the general public sophy. tween science and religion is an The “fathers” of many fields of issue that affects all of us whose inevitably involves one in the ongoing discussion science were monks or priests. job it is to present science to the of science and religion; in particular, one is likely Saint Albert the Great, a Doctor of general public. In planetariums, to encounter members of the public who fear the Church who was Thomas you are on the front line of this that their strongly-held religious views are dis- Aquinas’s teacher, wrote the first great educational program; and systematic book of mineralogy. as such, you have undoubtedly respected or attacked by modern science. To Roger Bacon, the father of Chem- encountered the sincere patron deal appropriately with such attitudes, it is im- istry; Christopher Clavius, the who firmly holds that the bil- portant to know the history of the relationship “Second Euclid” of the Renais- lions of years and millions of between science and religion; to understand the sance; Gregor Mendel, the father light years you talk about in source of anxiety among those in the public who of genetics, were all priests or your shows are a threat to their monks. faith. You may well have asked are mistrustful of science; and to be aware of The Vatican Observatory itself yourself, “How can I talk to these one’s own attitudes towards religion and how traces its origins back to the 16th Fundamentalists?” I don’t claim these may unintentionally color the way we pre- century and the Council of Trent, to have all the answers, and I am sent our material. A brief survey of the history of which instructed the Pope to hire sure that you all have stories to an astronomer and other experts match any that I will be bringing astronomy shows that there is no inherent con- to reform the calendar. Fr. Chris- here. I don’t consider this article flict, and much commonality, between science topher Clavius, the Jesuit astrono- to be a definitive answer in any and religion. However, people unfamiliar with sci- mer and mathematician, played a way. Rather, I hope that it might ence often fear it as a substitute or threat to key role in devising what we now serve to start the conversation know and use as the Gregorian among ourselves. their beliefs, a fear that is compounded when Calendar, promulgated by Pope science is presented in a way that does not Gregory XIII in 1582. I. Know Your History respect its philosophical and religious roots. One (Incidentally, the astronomers In reflecting about how we successful strategy is to present astronomy working out that calendar reform deal with God under the Dome, I used the tables and calculations am personally inspired by the within a religious context, even to the point of published forty years earlier by motto of my own Observatory, discussing one’s own religious affiliation, and Copernicus in this work. They inscribed on a telescope dome always emphasizing the humility that comes with eventually decided that the date located at the Pope’s summer admitting that one’s knowledge is ever incom- of Easter, a key sticking point, home in Castel Gandolfo: “Deum would be determined by an arbi- Creatorem, Venite Adoremus.” plete. trary formula, not by the position Even if your memory of high of the Moon — unlike Passover or school Latin is nonexistent, you should fault in the scientific enterprise? How better Ramadan — so that we’ll have no problem probably be able to guess what it means. to get to know the Creator than by studying deciding when to hunt for chocolate eggs “Deum” — God — is the word that English the things that have been created? (And on when we move to Mars!) gets “deity” from. The word “Creatorem” — this issue I quote no less an authority than St. Indeed, when Copernicus published his Paul, in his letter to the Romans, Chapter 1, revolutionary work, he did so at the urging Based on an invited talk at the 2003 Great verse 22.) of a Cardinal, and he dedicated the book to Lakes Planetarium Association conference. Indeed, the roots of science and religion the Pope. It was accepted without serious Reprinted with permission from the Pro- are much closer than many people realize. If problem in the Catholic world for nearly ceedings of the 39th Annual GLPA Con- in the past the two have squabbled, it’s a sib- eighty years, before Galileo got in trouble. ference." 6 Planetarian March 2004

But what about Galileo? I could spend an any more headaches with the local censors, tate for the Copernican system during those hour talking about Galileo. Since he is usual- this book was published in Holland—a route turbulent times.) What the Church did ly held up as a prime example of how the he could well have chosen for his earlier wrong was to confuse its religious role of Church and Science have been opposed, it’s works if he had really thought they were defending the faith, with the secular role it worthwhile to spend a minute or two going to lead to trouble.) played as the only functioning government remembering a few key points that get over- That trouble brings up a second important in the central part of Italy and as such a looked in the usual telling of the Galileo point to remember about Galileo. He was world power wrapped up in the politics of its Myth. never convicted of heresy. day. First of all, Galileo was a devout Catholic. Indeed, if you read the transcript of his It is important to remember that the He remained so even after his trial in 1632. trial (it, and many other relevant documents, Galileo trial occurred in the middle of the His two daughters were both nuns. (Granted, are available in English translation in a book Thirty Years War, that terrible conflict pit- he never married their mother; he was an edited by M. A. Finocchiaro, The Galileo ting half of Europe against the other half. Italian Catholic, after all!) Affair; U of California Press, 1989) you see That war is usually portrayed as a war of reli- He could have fled Italy for the Protestant that the entire argument was over a techni- gions, but if you look more closely you see north at any time; he chose not to. He had cality. If you are looking for a long philo- that it looks much more like a war of Spain submitted his books to the appropriate gov- sophical discussion of science versus religion, (which also controlled the Holy Roman ernment and church censors (all govern- you won’t find it here. Empire) against those nations who feared ments in those days censored books; the idea At the end of the trial, the sentence was Spanish dominance on the continent of of a “free press” was still hundreds of years in promulgated and it appears to have nothing Europe. the future) and he’d never had any serious to do with the trial itself, as if it had already Spain’s enemies included both the Protes- trouble passing review. been written before the trial began. It did tant parts of Germany and Scandinavia, and For most of his life Galileo was lionized in originally call Galileo a heretic, but Galileo Catholic France. The Italian states were leery Rome. Indeed, the approval that the Church argued that he wasn’t, and that his “heresy” themselves of Spain and many, including censor wrote for an earlier book, The Assayer, had never been shown. The judges agreed. Galileo’s Florence, secretly supported France. is so fulsome that it reads like the kind of Instead, the final version of the sentence Was the Galileo trial brought about by Span- blurb you’d expect to see on a Tom Clancy condemns Galileo on the grounds that he ish pressure on the Pope, as a way to put pres- novel: “I believe our age is to be glorified by has been “vehemently suspected of heresy” sure on the Medici family of Florence? If so, future ages…. thanks to the deep and sound which is hardly the same thing, and indeed a it would have virtually nothing to do with reflections of this author in whose time I peculiar sort of a crime! science or religion. count myself fortunate to be born ….” Even in the famous abjuration, Galileo I am not a historian. I note that there are as Even the book that eventually got him only renounces “anything in my writings many different theories (and books) about into trouble, A Dialogue Concerning the Two which goes contrary to the faith” — which is what caused Galileo to go on trial as there Chief Systems of the World, was originally to say, he abjured nothing, since he believed are people who’ve looked into the matter. If passed by Church censors. Perhaps more that nothing he said was heresy. He was nothing else, that convinces me that the oddly and more telling, immediately after right. motivations behind the Galileo trial, what- his trial and famous “abjuration” when he That’s the third, and perhaps most impor- ever they were, were not merely a blunt was confined to house arrest, he first served tant thing, to remember. Galileo was right. attack of the Church on Science. that “arrest” in the house of the Cardinal of The Church was wrong. And the Church has One often reads that following the trial, all Siena. He was considered an honored guest said so, in many times and many ways over science stopped in Catholic Europe and only and treated so well that his enemies com- the years that followed. continued in the Protestant north, like Eng- plained and forced him to return to his We must remember what the Church land or Germany. (Oddly, the people who estates in Florence. actually did that was wrong. It was not nec- say this tend themselves to come from Eng- It was in Florence, after the trial, where he essarily wrong philosophically, or even tech- land and Germany.) A cursory glance at the finally finished his most important work, nically. (Galileo was indeed guilty of the history of astronomy shows otherwise. Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations technicality of violating an agreement he’d Twenty years after the Galileo trial, the Concerning the Two New Sciences. (To avoid entered into twenty years earlier not to agi- Italian/French astronomer Cassini — with Church cooperation — turned the cathedral of Bologna into a giant “camera obscura” to trace the size and position of the Sun’s image on the cathedral floor. His goal was both to measure precisely the latitude of the cathe- dral (as done eventually in many Catholic Cathedrals, to provide the fixed points from which the first accurate maps of Italy and France were drawn) and to measure how the size of the Sun changed during the year, which would be a test of Kepler’s theories. (For more details, see J. L. Heilbron’s book The Sun in the Church, Harvard University Press 1999.) Cassini went on to found the Paris Observatory, accurately describe the rings of Saturn, and discover Saturn’s moon Titan. The modern naming of the craters of the The great astronomer appeared on the Italian 2000 lira note some years ago. Moon dates from a map made in Italy in March 2004 Planetarian 7

1672, forty years after Galileo’s trial. There expeditions to observe the transit, Jesuit clerical atmosphere that Pope Leo XIII in are thirty-five Jesuit priests whose names astronomers played a large role. How could 1891 decided to use the resources of the have been given to lunar features, no sur- they not, considering that 30 of the 130 Vatican to formally found a Vatican prise, since it was a Jesuit, G. B. Riccioli, who observatories in Europe — nearly a quarter — Observatory, “that everyone might see clear- made the map. Incidentally, among the most were run by Jesuits? Along with Jesuit ly that the Church and her Pastors are not prominent craters on the Moon are those astronomers in China, India, and Africa, the opposed to true and solid science, whether named for Clavius (remember the Moon expedition of Fr. Maximillian Hell into Lap- human or divine, but that they embrace it, Base in the movie 2001, A Space Odyssey) and land was notable, especially considering that encourage it, and promote it with the fullest for Tycho Brahe, the last defender of the geo- it was only by special invitation of the King possible devotion.” centric system. However, the most central, of Denmark that he could enter Scandinavia, There were several reasons why astrono- most prominent crater on the Moon Fr. where Jesuits were considered so dangerous my in particular was chosen for this role. For Riccioli gave the name “Copernicus.” that they were forbidden to set foot in the one thing, national observatories were a Riccioli’s map is based on many observa- country. (Such laws in Scandinavia and well-accepted sign of nationhood, an impor- tions by another Jesuit priest, F. Grimaldi, Switzerland stayed on the books well into tant political issue at a time when the Vati- who was the first person to describe diffrac- the middle of the 20th century.) can was still fighting to be recognized as in- tion in terms of a wave theory for light. Alas, Fr. Hell soon fell prey to the anticleri- dependent of the anticlerical Italian king- Other Jesuit scientists of the era were those cal movements of Europe that eventually dom. The tradition of astronomy supported who took modern scientific instruments to led to the suppression of the Jesuit order for by the Vatican, going back to the calendar the Imperial Court in China, using western 45 years, and the beginning of the myth of reform, was undoubtedly another argument science as a demonstration of the superiority the split between science and religion. In in its favor; and perhaps, it also served as a of western thought. Europe, the anti-religious fervor of the direct counter to the Galileo affair. So much for the Church trying to stamp French Republicans saw the Church as sup- No doubt a large reason was the already out scientific thought. porters of the old kings and thus enemies of strong reputation in astronomy that the Indeed, many people seem to misunder- their sense of the “progress of man”. In the Papal States had accrued thanks to the work stand just how “monolithic” the Catholic United States, anti-Catholic nativism some- of Fr. Angelo Secchi. Building a set of tele- Church is. This is, after all, the Roman Catho- times took the form of books like Andrew scopes atop the church of St. Ignatius (on pil- lic Church we’re talking about; to get a feel White’s The Warfare of Science with Theology, lars designed to bear the weight of a dome about how seriously they take rules and reg- which argued that all progress in science that was never built), he had observed Mars ulations, just try driving in Rome! occurred in spite of religion, while all opposi- at close approach and suggested the presence As an example: after Galileo’s agitation in tion to progress was rooted in the “supersti- of “canali” to his friend G. Schiaparelli. More 1616, the Roman censors ordered that all tions” typical of the newly arrived, and poor- importantly, he was the first astronomer to copies of Copernicus’ book be edited — not ly educated, immi- burned, merely edited — so that a line was grants from southern crossed out and a few words added to the and eastern Europe. effect that the Copernican system was mere- Fr. Hell’s private ly a calculating device, not a real description hell came in the guise of the heavens. Yet, recently Owen Ginge- of accusations by the rich, the Harvard historian of science, did an French revolutionary examination of all the extant copies of Jerome Lalande that Copernicus and he found that only half the his excellent transit copies in Italy were so edited; and virtually observations were sus- none of them outside of Italy were changed piciously “too good” in any way! and thus must have Though I have concentrated up to now on been faked. Hell’s rep- science done in Catholic Europe, it is worth utation was further noting that the scientists of the Protestant slandered by J. J. Lit- half of Europe also considered themselves to trow, the Director of be devoutly religious men. Kepler, Newton, the Vienna observa- and Leibnitz all thought of themselves as tory in the mid 1800s, theologians and philosophers as well as sci- who based his attack entists. Indeed, the majority of scientists up in part on the per- until the mid 19th century, not just the big ceived difference in names, but also the tireless workers who colors of the inks Hell gathered and classified flora and fauna, used to record his observed double stars, and so forth, were by measurements. It was and large clergymen. Who else had the edu- only in 1890 that a cation, and the free time, to pursue scientific review of the affair by work? Recall that the English word “clerk” is Simon Newcombe simply a shortened form of “cleric” and we completely exonerat- still refer to such classification, filing and ed Hell — noting, The Tower of the Winds, built in 1582 at the time of the sorting, as “clerical” work. among other things, Gregorian Calendar Reform, housed the re-established One of those clergymen was the young that Littrow himself Specola Vaticana (Vatican Observatory) in the late 1890s. Note the telescope dome on the roof. From “In the Service of Jeremiah Horrocks, the first to see a transit of was color-blind! Nine Popes” by Fr. Sabino Maffeo (2002, University of Notre Venus. One hundred years later, in the 1700s It was in this anti- Dame Press). 8 Planetarian March 2004

pass starlight through a prism and thus clas- ments was the 1910 experiment by Fr. J. G. come to be called the Big Bang theory was a sify stars by their chemical composition. For Hagen using carefully balanced weights to Belgian priest, Abbe Georges LeMaître. (There changing astronomy from the study of stel- measure the coriolis force due to the Earth’s is a wonderful photograph of him standing lar positions, to the study of stellar physical spin. After the Foucault Pendulum, this was between Albert Einstein and Robert Milli- states as revealed in their spectra, Fr. Secchi is only the second proof of the Earth’s spin; kan.) Modern astronomers who are public often called the Father of Astrophysics. thus Jesuits at the Vatican proved Coper- with their religious affiliations include the Since 1891, the Popes have supported the nicus was right! (For many more details of discoverer of pulsars, Jocelyn Bell-Burnell Observatory both financially and with their the Vatican Observatory’s history, see Sabino (Quaker), and the Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz personal presence. Pope Pius XII was a keen Maffeo’s book In the Service of Nine Popes, Aldrin, who brought Presbyterian commu- amateur astronomer. On July 20, 1969, Pope University of Notre Dame Press, 2002) nion elements of bread and wine to the Paul VI spoke to the astronauts on the Moon The point of all this history is that there is Moon. from the dome of the Vatican Observatory’s no historical foundation for the idea that sci- Indeed, when I became a Jesuit brother Schmidt telescope. Pope John Paul II has ence and religion are eternally opposed. It after fifteen years in the field of planetary issued landmark documents on the comple- also follows that there is no reason to believe sciences, I was surprised how many of my mentary role of science and religion, in that you “have to be an atheist” to be an scientific colleagues suddenly felt free to talk consultation with both Vatican Observatory astronomer or a scientist. to me about their own churches. From this astronomers and his friends in the Polish experience I would guess that the proportion astronomical community, such as the … there is no historical of those working in astronomy who are also astronomer/cosmologists Michael Heller, foundation for the idea churchgoers is no different from the general who is a priest, and Joseph Zycinski, who was population at large. named archbishop of Lublin by the Pope in that science and religion This connection shouldn’t be surprising. 1997. are eternally opposed. After all, western religion provides the essen- Among the many notable achievements tial underpinnings for two fundamental of the Observatory (including the collection assumptions on which all science is based. Indeed, most modern physicists are, like of one of the world’s largest set of meteorites, First, if you’re going to do science, you Einstein, at the very least “theists” believing my specialty) was the spectrochemical labo- have to believe that science is worth doing. in some sort of God. Some of the biggest ratory of the 1930s and the building of the Is pure knowledge about the physical uni- names in modern physics were active partic- Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope on verse in and of itself a worthy pursuit for ipants in religions, Protestant or Catholic. Mt. Graham, Arizona, serving as the testbed one’s life? If your philosophy or religion Among them one can list James Clerk Max- for technologies now going into the Large maintains that the physical world is a trap or well (Anglican), Guglielmo Marconi (Catho- Binocular Telescope currently under con- an illusion, then even pursuing knowledge lic), and Erwin Schrödinger (Catholic). struction. for the sake of curing disease (or getting rich The first person to propose what would Among the more ironic of these achieve- by building better mousetraps) will be seen as inferior to the more “spiritual” goals of, say, reaching Nirvana through meditation. That attitude certainly did nothing to pro- mote the study of the natural world in India or China. However, the Jewish, or Christian, or Islamic belief in a creator God, one who at the end of the day looks at His handiwork and declares it “good,” implies that the physi- cal universe has also a spiritual worth. The peculiarly Christian doctrine of the Incar- nation suggests that (to quote the ancient Church father St. Athanatius) the physical universe has been “cleansed and quickened” by the physical presence of the Divine in its midst. The Gospel of John (in the verse made famous at countless football games, John 3:16) notes that God sent his Son because he “so loved the world” — not humanity, or goodness, but the world. Second, to apply the powers of observa- tion and reason to the physical universe, you must start with the assumption that the physical universe is itself reasonable. If you believe the universe is merely random chaos, again as was seen in the ancient East, then there is no hope in imposing reason upon what is eminently unreasonable. If that were In the 1930s a spectrochemical laboratory was established at the Specola Vaticana true, than science would be no more valid in Castel Gandolfo. Today the room houses the Vatican’s meteorite collection, one of the largest in the world. From “In the Service of Nine Popes” by Fr. Sabino Maffeo than finding faces in the clouds. The Genesis (2002, University of Notre Dame Press). story of the seven days of creation tells the March 2004 Planetarian 9

believer that God made the Universe accord- science as merely a “useful myth.” is still dominated by white males (I confess ing to a logic and plan that is ours to discov- Each of these statements reminds me of a to be guilty of being one myself) simply look er. principle I learned in theology: “Every here- around the room at the faces present at the sy is based on an important truth.” While I Great Lakes Planetarium Association annual II. Know Your Opposition would disagree with the ultimate conclu- meeting. It’s better than it used to be; but we If religion is not only not opposed to sci- sions of Fundamentalists, Radicals, or Post- still do not accurately reflect the population ence, but provides the essential underpin- modernists, I have to concede that in each as a whole. nings to science, then why are so many reli- case their premise is based on an important Even the Postmodernists have a point. gious people opposed to science? One way to truth. Everything we do in science is colored by find out is to ask them, and listen to their the fact that we are human beings in a com- answers. “Every heresy is based on munity of humans. The questions we ask, In the issue of Science News for June 8, 1996, an important truth.” and the way we apprehend their answers, are Janet Raloff’s article “When Science and all strongly influenced by our own personal Beliefs Collide” summarized much of the urges and by the influences of the society in research that had been done on the attitudes All of us, especially scientists, interpret the which we live (and what that society choos- of those in our culture who were seen to be world in light of what we have learned from es to pay for). Among other things, this opposed to science. authority. I can’t do every experiment or means that “truths”, which come to us from She noted that many people misunder- measure every physical constant; I must outside the context of our contemporary stand the basic precepts of science, and these trust the literature, including the professors society will be misunderstood and unappre- misconceptions about science could be who taught me. We believe the world is ciated. Just as we depend on authority, so we traced to the deeply held ways, the “belief round for the same reason a Fundamentalist depend on our ability to recognize who gets systems,” through which an individual inter- believes God made it; because someone we to speak with authority. prets the world. Fundamentalists interpret trust told us so. Raloff’s Science News article goes on to the world in light of what they learn from describe the results of polling two specific authority (e.g. the appropriate Bible verse) as We believe the world is groups that were thought to be hostile to sci- opposed to forming and testing hypotheses round for the same rea- ence: religious Creationists and New Age like the classic “scientific method” teaches. Pagans or Wiccans. The surveys found that Radical thinkers among minorities or femi- son a Fundamentalist be- many of those polled were very well educat- nists have a basic distrust of science, which lieves God made it; ed; that rather than being just a manifesta- they see as an expression of white male dom- because someone we tion of a certain brand of evangelical Christ- inance in Western society. In addition, trust told us so. ianity, Creationism cuts across denomina- Postmodernist philosophers, questioning the tional and social class lines, and in fact the assumption that the physical universe can Wiccans and Pagans expressed somewhat If you don’t think that science to this day ever really be known, were prone to dismiss more antiscientific attitudes than Crea- tionists, for instance in being far more likely to accept astrology and reject “scientific” arguments against it. Not surprisingly, 80 percent of the Crea- tionists surveyed believed that Earth is not 4 billion years old. More than 60 percent of Wiccan/pagans shared this view. (Perhaps more surprising is that a significant percent- age of each group had no problem with the concept.) About a quarter of both groups thought science causes spiritual decline, while roughly 40 percent of each said scien- tists possess dangerous powers.

About a quarter of both groups thought science causes spiritual decline, while roughly 40 percent of each said scientists possess dangerous pow- ers.

The dome of the 60 cm (24 inch) Again, we must recognize that to some The Vatican Advanced Technology Double Astrograph telescope at the degree, these fears are not totally unjustified. Telescope, the world’s first large spin- Vatican Observatory’s headquarters cast mirror (1.8 meters) located at the in Castel Gandolfo. Note the plaque I spent two years in the Peace Corps, living in Mount Graham International Obser- reading “Deum Creatorem Venite the third world. I saw first hand that people vatory in Arizona. Photo courtesy Adoremus”: Come let us adore God the who lived “close to nature” lived much of Christopher Corbally SJ. Creator.” (courtesy the author)

10 Planetarian March 2004

their too-short lives cold, hungry, and vul- found in Genesis. (And it’s not a bad descrip- years later, I wonder about that guy. Is he nerable to disease. However, I would have to tion of a planetarium!) still smoking dope, or drinking too much? Is be blind to ignore the fact that the same If you dig more deeply into what they he married? Happily? Does he worry about technology that feeds and warms us, also really mean by “Creationism” you will soon his kids doing the same things he did when pollutes our streams and atmosphere; that realize that it is not a scientific principle that he was in college? the science that explains how stars work, they are holding to at all. For example, the I say this to remind you, yet again, that also suggests how weapons of mass destruc- survey found that many people who “reject the fears that motivate the Fundamentalists tion can work. evolution” can accept the idea that there are are well founded. They are fears we can I think most scientists are humble enough thousands of planets in the universe on relate to ourselves. We do live in a dangerous, to recognize the limitations and dangers of which life might have developed. More out-of-control world, with too much trash science (though I worry about some of my oddly to us, even while they insist the world on TV and too many good people falling vic- friends in genetics). However, it may well be is only five thousand years old, some of tim to narcissism, selfishness, and greed. If that most non-scientists don’t see any sign of them may also agree that the continents on science is used as a justification to throw out such humility in the way we present our sci- which we live have been moving in their all the old rules, if the “scientific” goals of life ence to them. locations for millions of years. are to lead “healthy and self-actualized lives” The point is that the issues, indeed the instead of being good, then they have a right The point is that the fears, of the Fundamentalists are not tied to to be suspicious of science. issues, indeed the fears, any particular bit of science, but rather to We know, from our intimate ties to sci- the more general perceived attitude that sci- ence, that it doesn’t have to be that way, but of the Fundamentalists ence is opposed to religion. Given the they don’t have that experience. There’s no are not tied to any particu- premise of a fight between the two, people way they could know it, if we don’t tell lar bit of science, but who are comfortable with their religion, but them. uncertain of science will always choose what A while back I was invited to give a collo- rather to the more general they already know. So we can conclude that quium about the moons of Jupiter at a perceived attitude that many of these people might accept the school where a friend of mine teaches, the science is opposed to reli- explanations offered by science if they felt College of Charleston in South Carolina. that doing so wouldn’t subsume their reli- After the talk, one of her students came up to gion. Given the premise of gion. me, all enthused, and he said he wanted to a fight between the two, The lesson for us should be clear. Science is become a geologist. I told him I thought it people who are comfort- not religion; it must not be portrayed as was a great idea; I love geology. able with their religion, but such. All the more reason that we should be “But can you help me?” he asked. I cautious of sounding like the Voice of God thought he wanted a letter of recommenda- uncertain of science will coming from the dome. tion. What he really wanted was an answer always choose what they to a question: “What do I tell my Mom?” already know. So we can III. Know Yourself In his family, in his world, going into geol- When I was an MIT student, I once was in ogy meant turning his back on his religion conclude that many of conversation with a fellow in class where it and his upbringing, and they were afraid, these people might came out that, in fact, I did go to church on turning against everything his family stood accept the explanations Sunday. He was astonished, and wanted to for. How could he answer them? talk to me about it. It happened that he had It was a serious question, and we wound offered by science if they come from West Virginia, raised by strict up talking about it at some length. There was felt that doing so wouldn’t Baptists, and his experience of religion was no simple sound-bite answer. Indeed, the subsume their religion. very different from mine. Coming to the Big only answer I could come up with was a City had been a real eye-opener to him, and hard one. If you’re going to be a geologist, I he viewed his old religion as a collection of said, then you’re also going to have to be a constricting falsehoods that fell to pieces very devout, gentle, and good human being. In dealing with Fundamentalists, we must once he had a taste of the Real World. A holy life will be the only response they’ll recognize some important dynamics of how I in turn was fascinated by his attitude, believe, and being good isn’t easy. their beliefs differ from what we would call since that wasn’t my experience of religion That sort of attitude, that kind of Funda- scientific arguments. First, recognize that at all. So I asked him, what in particular had mentalism, can be very frustrating to deal “Creationism” — saying that one accepts the religion lied to him about? with. How many times have you wished “literal truth of Genesis” — is a litmus test for “They told me all sorts of crazy things,” he that you could get just one Fundamentalist membership in some sects. This attitude is a said. “They told me that if I stopped going to alone, to sit down and talk to, and make sense that “By fighting evolution, we’re sav- church I’d be damned for sure.” them listen, make them understand …. ing souls.” Thus any attempt to argue direct- “Like, what would happen?” I asked. “Be Well, what would you tell a Fundamental- ly against Creationism will be immediately more specific.” ist if you could get them alone, one on one, interpreted as an attack on their religion, and “Well ….” he hesitated for a moment. and you knew they would listen? Maybe an attempt to stop souls from being saved. “Well, things like, I would fall among loose you’d want to say things like …. Don’t be However, it is not clear just what they women, and start drinking and doing drugs afraid of new ideas. Don’t be afraid to em- mean by a “literal truth.” Certainly I have ....” brace the truth, even if you think there are never heard a Creationist insist that the “Well,” I asked, “were they right?” strong pressures from your family and world is flat, with a dome above it separating He paused for a minute and a sheepish friends not to. Don’t close your mind, don’t the world from the “waters” above and grin appeared on his face. “Yeah!” think you have all the answers, don’t depend below, even though that is literally what is It was funny at the time, but now, thirty just on what people tell you, think for your- March 2004 Planetarian 11

self, open your eyes, see the world the way had gotten a lot of bad press up north about all pilgrims on the road and none of us can we do … its conservative attitudes towards science pretend that we already know the way. Come up with your own list. Then go into and religion. Some of the high school educa- If you don’t go to a church, ask yourself: the bathroom, take a look at the mirror, and tors feared the worst. So they asked a number why not? Do you think you don’t need start talking. The things you most want to of us who were both scientists-and-some- someone else to ask you unsettling questions tell someone else are often the things you thing to come and sit in on the meeting. It at least once a week? There are churches out most need to hear, yourself. was like a bad joke; we had a Protestant, a there even for those who “believe in one It’s not just the religious right who are Catholic, and a Jew, a Black, a White, a His- God at most,” as my Unitarian college room- Fundamentalists. There are Science Funda- panic, and a male and female, all the differ- mate used to joke. It’s the humility, not the mentalists out there, too. Maybe you think ent bases covered. I showed up in my collar creed, that’s important in this context. those people who express their Christianity and MIT ring. I am reminded of the passage in the Book by driving around with a fish on the back of None of us said a word at the meeting. of Job (chapter 38: verses 1, 4-7, 12-13, 16-21) their car are guilty of an attitude of arrogant None of us had to. The curriculum was where, after Job is complaining about how smug self-righteousness; but isn’t that exact- roundly praised, and passed without dissent. God has failed to order the universe to his ly the same attitude expressed if the fish has Afterwards, the chair from Greenville satisfaction, the Lord answers Job out of the feet and says “Darwin”? Do you think either came up to chat briefly with me. “It’s so nice whirlwind: Jesus or Darwin would approve of having to meet you,” she said. “What you are doing “Where were you when I laid the founda- their names taken in vain that way? at the Vatican Observatory is wonderful tion of the earth? Tell me, if you have under- work.” standing! Who determined its measurements It’s not just the religious The lesson — besides me learning to let go — surely you know! — or stretched the line right who are Fundamen- of my northern prejudices — was this: The upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who Fundamentalists are opposed to our science laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars talists. There are Science if they see it as a threat to religion. If instead sang together, and all the sons of God shout- Fundamentalists out they see science embraced by religion, the ed for joy? there, too. Maybe you fear falls away. “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to think those people who Fundamentalists are op- know its place? Have you entered into the express their Christianity posed to our science if springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been by driving around with a they see it as a threat to fish on the back of their revealed to you, or have you seen the gates religion. If instead they of deep darkness? Have you comprehended car are guilty of an atti- see science embraced by the expanse of the earth? Declare if you know all this! tude of arrogant smug religion, the fear falls self-righteousness; but “Where is the way to the dwelling of light, away. and where is the place of darkness, that you isn’t that exactly the may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? You know, for same attitude expressed Which leads to a most embarrassing and you were born then, and the number of your if the fish has feet and impertinent question on my part: Where days is great.” were you last Sunday morning? says “Darwin”? You can read that passage as a sarcastic In our society, religion is a very private put-down of Job’s presumption; and certain- affair. We tend to shy at proclaiming it from ly it is a call to humility: don’t pretend you Too many “public scientists” — the ones the rooftops, and rightly so. Part of being in a know it all. However, if you look more close- who work to get their pictures on TV — pro- multicultural society is that we expect to be ly, it is also an invitation to come learn, claim their atheism as if they’re afraid that given the space to follow our consciences, because it is only the humility of saying “I otherwise no one will take them seriously as and to grant that same space to our neigh- don’t know” that allows you to follow up by scientists. If, as I believe, a faith that’s afraid bors. So when it comes to religion, we nor- saying, “let’s find out.” of the truth has no faith, then what can you mally adopt a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. That’s science, and it is rooted in faith. say about a science that’s afraid of religion? However, if we really want to get the That’s where you find God: under the dome, I got an interesting clue about how to point across, forcefully, that science is not a in the dwelling of light. C reach across these barriers a few years ago, religion, nor a threat to religion, you should back in South Carolina again. If I talk about be prepared to say what you do think about Adapted from the 2003 Keynote Address, pub- South Carolina High School Science Stand- religion. You should be prepared to talk lished in the Proceedings of the 39th Great ards, you might think the worst; but in fact about your religion. Lakes Planetarium Association Annual Con- the science curriculum in the public schools If you go to a church, you should be sure ference, D. W. Smith, ed. Reprinted with per- of South Carolina is one of the best in the to mention that fact even if just in passing. mission. country. The curriculum was developed by To ease the fear and earn the respect of a sci- educators in the state and includes issues ence-fearing churchgoer, you don’t have to See also David Chandler’s “Who Are the Crea- such as Big Bang cosmology and evolution. go to their church. It’s enough for them to tionists” in Vol. 18, #2, June 1989; John Apple- When it was developed, the last hurdle was see that you go to any church. If nothing doorn’s “The Myth of Galileo” in Vol. 19, #4, for it to be approved by the state Board of else, by doing so you acknowledge that you December 1990; and Shores’ “Religion and the Education. don’t have all the answers; that you’re will- Planetarium”, Vol. 22, #3, September 1993. All At that time, the chair of the State Board ing to spend an hour a week in the presence are posted at the Planetarian web site at www came from Greenville, the town where Bob of others, acknowledging publicly that we’re Jones University is located — a school that .GriffithObs.org/IPSPlanetarian.html. - JM 12 Planetarian March 2004

The Universe Below: Creating Underwater Allskies

Tom Kwasnitschka and Wilhelm Ermgassen Hertzstr. 35 24149 Kiel Germany [email protected] www.allsky.de

It has become fashionable to broaden the Luckily we are also sports divers, and one appropriate Sea&Sea housing and dome port. thematic spectrum of planetarium shows. of us holds a scientific divers’ certificate. We The dome port is the spherical glass window Our visitors no longer gain insight into the already had some general knowledge of in front of the lens which corrects the wonders of just the night sky. They can also underwater photography as well as the right decrease in the field of view that a flat win- enjoy laser-enhanced music shows or pro- diving skills. dow would produce underwater. Next we grams on general natural science at wanted to address technical issues. On the planetarium of their choice. As Long experience in the field of allsky land we usually take six photographs planetarium operators, we have to still photography led the team of all- using a QTVR-head that prevents par- incorporate new media and imagery sky.de to create a thematic program of allax and provides an even angle of to address these topics. underwater allskies. The experiences 60° between the images. We needed So it was natural to us at allsky.de to an underwater equivalent that was include non-astronomical allskies as a and techniques they developed are not extremely sturdy, absolutely non-cor- vital part of our range of products. just a curiosity among divers, but may rosive at contact with seawater and, This year we decided to run a whole serve as an encouragement to design- above all, easy to handle. To enable assignment for the first time entirely parallax correction, we simplified the on one topic. We travelled to Egypt to ers of progressive planetarium shows. design to two perpendicular metal produce material on antique astrono- rods that could be attached to each my. Starting at the Giza Pyramids, we photo- We began to dream: Hovering in the other at any point using a single screw. graphed our path up the Nile to Luxor, the water, one can capture scenes that would Another screw fixed the camera to the verti- Valley of Kings, and Abu Simbel. During the normally ask for a Hollywood elevator or a cal rod. The construction was then screwed preparations for the trip it occurred to us high ladder at least. Yet in any case one needs onto a fixable swivel joint that exactly that we could really cover another fascinat- a fixed point in the water column to control copied the design we already used. Having ing world untapped by allsky photography: the orientation of the camera. accomplished this, we lost our enthusiasm the reefs of the Red Sea. In our functions as The question arose whether we should use for welding and turning and decided to use a show producers at the Kiel Planetarium we a tripod as on land, or suspend a buoy at the spare sturdy tripod by Manfrotto as a had long wanted to have some allskies of position and depth we wanted to take a mounting. coral, wrecks, or just waves from beneath. photo and hold the camera at a point in ref- In complete negligence of traditional un- Yet all the material we knew of was either erence to it. In the end we decided to com- derwater photography we decided to use no computer-rendered, made up of several unre- pletely transfer terrestrial allsky techniques flashlight. It is part of the art of allsky photo- lated shots, or showed severe technical defi- underwater because it appeared to be the graphy to get along without any flashlights ciencies. approach that asked for the least preliminary that would result in an unevenly illuminat- tests and training. Preliminary Thoughts The challenge of shooting any photo- Preparations graph underwater is really trifold. An ordi- First came the choice of a camera. Due to nary diver has to watch out for currents and difficult overall exposure times, allsky pho- fragile coral twigs while monitoring the lim- tography demands an inflationary amount ited capacities of his life-support system. An of raw imagery. Since it is not possible to underwater photographer has to keep in change a film roll underwater, we chose to mind the optical properties of seawater that use a digital camera. We also wanted to have alter his results in color, field of view, and immediate proof of the outcome while still detail, while he needs one eye and hand for in Egypt to be able to correct mistakes. With his camera all the time. A planetarian shoot- a limited budget and the need for a fisheye ing allskies has to look for the right distance, lens combined with high resolution, we The camera system we used in Swit- angular elevation, and overall light dynam- chose the Nikon Coolpix 5000 with its zerland. Image courtesy Tilman ics of his subject. 16mm fisheye converter, together with the Göhlert.

March 2004 Planetarian 13

ed scene, regardless of a stationary or rota- week we produced the raw material for underwater allsky, the objects should have a tional mount. Our itinerary would not have about fifteen allskies. much higher angular elevation (i.e. they allowed us to carry several heavy flashlights We usually divided the equipment among have to be much closer) than on land, as the up and down the Nile Valley anyway. us. Once we had reached a spot that seemed visibility is decreased by the water. Doing so, promising, the diver carrying the camera we became dependent on a seventh shot to Practical experience started to measure the exposure for the the zenith. Before flying to Egypt, there was an oppor- major features, especially the darkest and Unfortunately we did not gain usable tunity to do some practical fieldwork at the brightest spots. Meanwhile the other one set material on the first dive, which was at one Verzasca and Maggia valleys in southern up the tripod, unfolding it in the midst of of the best locations. The following days we Switzerland. The area features mountain the water column and landing it on a sandy stayed in depths of 5 to 25 meters. The reefs rivers that have formed breathtaking cav- spot. The whole procedure reminded us we visited were more-or-less steeply sloped, erns, holes, and gorges, cutting their way more of a moon landing than of prepara- sometimes followed by a drop-off. We pre- through richly patterned gneiss formations tions to take some photos. While it is very ferred sandy spots surrounded by coral of the southern Alps. For this project we important to set up the tripod evenly on blocks in each direction so we could get a teamed up with passionate underwater pho- land, one lacks a clearly marked horizon decent view without the danger of destroy- tographer Tilman Göhlert. He achieved great under water. It therefore does not matter if ing coral. One highlight was an underwater results using the Nikon F801 and Ikelite the rotational axis of the camera is not exact- cave we photographed at Ras Mohammed. housing. Yet the limited number of expo- ly vertical. Once we had determined an ex- Its most difficult light situation required two sures of the analog camera greatly limited posure, the camera was screwed onto the tri- complete series of different exposures as well the quantity of the outcome, and we had to pod head, and a couple of low-resolution as some single shots at maximum shutter restrain ourselves to just one uniform expo- samples were made to control the outcome speed. sure per location. Strong currents, very nar- on site over the LCD display. Then we shot To complete our topical range of under- rowly spaced settings, as well as sediment our round of six pictures at optimum resolu- water scenes, we set out for a wreck in the perturbation by the divers, made the dives tion, holding our breath to prevent bubbles Strait of Suez. The SS Thistlegorm is regarded technically demanding. from entering the field of view. To overcome by many as the “Holy Grail of Wreck problems in the zenith region during stitch- Diving”. Sunk during WWII, it is famous for On assignment ing, we also shot a view straight up. In order its state of preservation but just as infamous After a highly productive week on the to stay out of sight, the whole dive group for the currents and challenging water depth Egyptian mainland, the diving team separat- including the photographer performed a bal- at the site. We had the chance to explore it ed from the others who would continue at let around the tripod. on our own on two dives, during which we the ancient sites for a couple more days. We On the first dive, we tilted the camera up took allskies of the propeller and bow as well had chosen dive spots around Sharm el about 30°. This trick makes a difference to all- as of its spectacular cargo from motorcycles Sheikh and Ras Mohammed National Park at skies shot with a single 180° fisheye lens by to railroad cars. The advanced depth as well the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. The avoiding stitching; this way one receives a as the weight of the heavy allsky equipment locations in Switzerland were shallower than dome original that covers roughly 210° of made us use up our air quickly – air con- six meters, but we now descended to much vertical field of view, which resembles a sumption is a major issue doing underwater greater depths. Over the period of the next much more natural allsky photography. Nevertheless it was to approach to the real be the crowning finale of our field work. viewing situation. Yet after our first tri- Post-production als in Switzerland we Blending the raw material to dome origi- saw the need to nals really proved to be a lesson in oceanog- abandon that tilt raphy. and aim straight at During the final steps of stitching the the horizon. In an images, we even found an equivalent to the

A Swiss riverbed. The sky has to be shaded for projection. The digital camera used in the Red Sea. Image courtesy Image courtesy allsky.de. www.e-mocean.com.

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sharp line of the terrestrial horizon. Due to other images. ground is available. the refraction index of seawater, all the light We switched off most of the features of a One will readily recognize the difference entering the sea from above comes through digital camera that are intended to improve in color saturation between our allskies and a circle of 48.3° around the zenith. In reality a the image quality. Color correction, align- professional but conventional underwater diver sees a bright blue circle above him, ment, or automatic exposure would have photography. Yet one has to keep in mind while the rest of the underwater world made it impossible to blend the photos to that most of the coral images we see actually appears considerably darker. As the surface one coherent allsky. However, the raw were shot as close-ups, using a strong flash- of a liquid is never inclined, it means that images did not look very staggering using light. Look at the background in professional this circle serves just as well as a horizon. that method … underwater photographs: Distant objects This effect is only visible in shallow waters With the Digistar3 projection system of rapidly loose contrast and their color be- down to about 10 meters because of light the Kiel Planetarium at hand, we could comes a uniform greenish-blue. Flashlights scattering. The sun appears within this directly evaluate our allskies and then recali- do not reach that far; on the contrary, they bright area. As all our images were taken in a brate the color and brightness to their aes- illuminate particles suspended in the water dark environment, the sun was depicted as thetic optimum and physical accuracy. and turn the image into a snow blizzard at an ugly white burn spot in the images. This Another problem was that the deep blue worst. After all, the allskies now resemble spot decreases in size with increasing water waters prevented our eyes from adapting to what you would see if you jumped into the depth. darker parts of the image. The effect was not water to look for yourself – which was our It turned out that, except for the most appreciated to its full extent until we con- ultimate goal. shallow allskies, all the views of the deep ducted our first tests in the dome. The solu- blue water had to be manipulated. Erasing tion was to correct the brightness of seabed Conclusion the “sun burn” generally produced a very sat- and water (“landscape and sky”) separately. This report once more proves that a plane- isfactory image. Yet even the most perfect tarium production may actually require allsky still has to be projected onto a dome. Evaluation fieldwork. There are many subjects that have Reality is bitter, and most conventional full- At optimum resolution, we resurfaced not yet been captured in an allsky. Then, dome projection methods do not blend to with about as many exposures after one dive look at the many possibilities to animate all- 100% seam invisibility. as an analog system would have stored. Yet sky sequences using slide projection. New The hints of projector overlap in the uni- our techniques are subject to refinement, digital methods allow to use an allsky as a form blue of deep waters could be distracted and working somewhat quicker, the 500 MB real virtual environment rather than just a by inserting an artificial sea surface with or chip we used would not have been sufficient. background facade for a plot. Producers may without a sun, and if the size were chosen All of our equipment served very well, and dare a lot more to explore the immersive carefully, the audience would never notice. even the aluminum tripod suffered almost impact of exceptional places, and they shall For this case, we had planned from the begin- no damage from the seawater. In a next trial be encouraged to use real life material! It will ning to produce a “macro allsky” of the it would be interesting to experiment with a be interesting to see this medium transferred zenith area in shallow waters, with a beauti- buoy rather than a tripod, yet this demands to real life all-dome video, overcoming the ful sun and wave crests. These images now a different stitching process. This could be last boundary between the audiences’ imagi- C serve as individual allskies or as parts of used at reef walls or places where no clear nation and reality.

The foredeck of SS Thistlegorm at 20 meters depth. Note the A coral reef five meters down. The sky is original; note the railroad car! Image courtesy allsky.de. bright zenith! Image courtesy allsky.de.

March 2004 Planetarian 15

Humorous Astronomical Anecdotes Steve Tidey 58 Prince Avenue Southend, Essex SS2 6NN England [email protected]

The March 2001 issue of the Planetarian d Let’s start with a classic moment from tied an inflatable bag to his chest under his featured an article of mine (‘Astronomical National Public Radio’s Car Talk programme. shirt, and at an appropriate moment while Quotes’) in which I listed over 100 quotes (For international listeners who perhaps eating he slumped over the table, groaning, that you could slot into your programs aren’t familiar with this programme, broth- secretly inflated the bag and his chest when you’re looking for a few words that ers Tom and Ray Magliozzi advise callers swelled like John Hurt’s in Alien. sum up succinctly a concept or thought. about how to fix mechanical problems with You gotta love it. Well, for this issue I’ve taken a slightly differ- their vehicles. Somehow they find some- Do Your Ears Pop In Space?, p. 221, Mike ent slant on that general idea by giving you thing funny in every situation, so it’s a de- Mullane, Wiley Books, 1997. below a whole host of humorous astronomi- light to listen to even if, like me, you’re nor- d During the Manhattan Project at the cal anecdotes. If you can’t fit them into your mally left cold by car mechanics. This is a Los Alamos laboratories in New Mexico presentations (many of them are probably valuable lesson for planetarians: make the shortly before the first test of the atomic best suited to the relaxed air of live shows) subject fun and interesting and you’ll grab bomb in 1943, Robert Oppenheimer and his then simply appreciate them on their own and keep people’s attention.) team of scientists were intrigued by a bright merits. You don’t have to relate them exact- Anyway, here are the edited highlights object they saw one morning in the sky after ly as they are written here so feel free to from a call that began: a long night of work. With the important bend them a little, if necessary, to fit your ‘Hello, Tom And Ray, this is John from atomic test looming security was very tight, needs. Houston. I work for the government so I and so they studied this object rather ner- But before we get started, let me say a few can’t tell you too much, but I occasionally vously through binoculars. Somebody called words about the advisability of using humor drive a government vehicle. It’s one of those the local Air Force base. Planes were scram- in a presentation. To begin with, some plane- Rockwell things. Each time I drive it, it’s bled, but none could get near the strange tarians would advise us to steer well clear of done a funny thing and I was hoping you light. After a while the Project’s Director of funnies; if the humor falls flat, you’re dead in guys could help me with it. When I start it Personnel, an astronomer, walked into the water. I agree about the inherent danger, up it starts great, but it runs incredibly rough Oppenheimer’s office and said in a firm but the way to avoid this is to ‘field test’ the for the first two minutes, then there’s a big voice, ‘Will you stop trying to shoot down humor, as it were. Use it on people outside of jolt and it runs smooth for about another six Venus!’ the profession, and if it’s a proven winner, minutes and at that point the engine dies.’ Eurekas and Euphorias, p. 92, Walter Grat- sure, go ahead and use it. But don’t base the The call continues in this vein for a while, zer, Oxford University Press, 2002 whole show, or even one part of a show, then Ray says, ‘I hate to sound suspicious, d Some planetarians here in the UK around it. The less integral it is to your pre- but the distortion on the line sounds so (and, I imagine, in many other countries, sentation the better. So insert it as a throw- familiar. Where are you calling from?’ too) occasionally receive calls from car insur- away line. ‘About 200 miles north of Hawaii.’ ance claims assessors, wanting to know the Also, funnies are best placed near the ‘How fast are you going?’ Sun’s precise position at a given time on a beginning of a presentation. You’ll be sur- ‘About 17,500 mph.’ given day. In this way they weed out fraudu- prised how getting a laugh (even a titter) ‘Boy, you must have some brakes!’ lent claims from drivers who claim they from your audience can relax both you and ‘Yeah. The odometer on this thing reads were blinded by the Sun. them. They’ll appreciate your effort, and it about 60 million miles.’ Retired planetarian, Harry Ford, Caird Plane- will give you a confidence boost. The penny had dropped by now, of tarium, Old Royal Observatory, Greenwich, So, let’s delve into the seemingly serious course, and it was apparent the caller was London. subject of astronomy, and search for those astronaut Mission Specialist John Grunsfeld, d Andrew Fraknoi of the Astronomical little pearls of delight that register at least a aboard the Atlantis space shuttle that was Society of the Pacific, has invented a tongue- wry smile or three on our mirth meters. A docked to Mir, delivering Jerry Linenger and in-cheek, comical science he calls Jetology. few of these tales may be familiar to some of bringing home John Blaha. Its purpose is to highlight to his students you, but I hope you all find enough new ‘I recognized that distortion on the line,’ how astrology takes advantage of our will- anecdotes here to make the next few min- said Ray, ‘You guys at NASA have been using ingness to link coincidences to form patterns utes worthwhile. I’ve referenced each entry that same crummy microphone for the last where none exist. He tells them to imagine at the end of the anecdote, except for those 30 years!’ that the position of all the world’s airborne that were events that I witnessed in person, You can hear the full conversation at: jets at the time of birth will influence a and so there won’t necessarily be a printed http://cartalk.cars.com/About/Space. baby’s whole life. (That bunching of planes reference available. Also, I’ve not quoted d Another astronaut pulled a stunt above O’Hare is significant for your love life!) word for word from the published sources, while eating lunch with his crewmates at a They agree that sounds ridiculous, then real- but paraphrased and edited the original NASA cafeteria. Unknown to them, he had ize it’s no less believable when planes are material for space. substituted with planets. 16 Planetarian March 2004

Sky & Telescope, August 1989, p. 146-150 they were the winners of the UK Popular fashion, it was made up of individual letters d The level of secrecy surrounding Astronomy magazine’s annual Bent Astrolabe taken from newspaper headlines, and read: preparations for Valentina Tereshkova’s his- Award for 1986. WE HAVE YOUR SATELLITE. IF YOU WANT toric space flight in 1963 was so great, her Popular Astronomy, p. 4, January 1987 IT BACK, SEND 20 BILLION IN MARTIAN mother only found out what her daughter d For a few years in the 1890s ranch MONEY. NO FUNNY BUSINESS, OR YOU had been training for over the previous 18 owners who owned land near Meteor Crater WILL NEVER SEE IT AGAIN. months on the day of the flight, when Radio in Arizona found decent cowboys hard to New Scientist magazine, p. 4, September 25, Moscow announced the mission had been a come by, because there was a lot more 1993 success. money to be earned searching the desert for And you know what? They didn’t. Red Star In Orbit, James Oberg, Random the valuable iron in meteorite fragments. d Even in daylight you can see Pluto House, 1981 (Of course, people in those days had no through one of the ancient refractors on d Do you remember the closing scene conception of the cosmic origin of the rocks show in the Octagonal Room at the Royal from The Empire Strikes Back? No, not the bit concerned. That knowledge took several Greenwich Observatory; a member of staff that said The End; the scene where Luke and more decades to be widely accepted. All they has taped a slide of the Disney character to friends are on a spaceship gazing out at a dis- knew and cared about, was they were find- the objective lens. tant, rotating galaxy. You could point out to ing funny looking rocks containing valuable Witnessed by Steve Tidey your patrons that if the stars were really iron that would earn them good money). d To relieve the stress of constant train- moving that fast, the galaxy would be rotat- As told to visitors by tour guides at Meteor ing, NASA astronauts often play jokes on ing at thousands of times the speed of light. Crater, Arizona each other. For example, some of them The Cosmic Mind-Boggling Book, p. 159, Neil d In 1988 a housewife in Wales was return to their office to find everything has McAleer, Hodder & Stoughton, 1982 innocently using a shop-bought electronic been cleaned out and moved in to the eleva- Hey, if they’re in a galaxy far, far away, the device that emitted a sound too high to be tor. Others find their cars have been moved one they’re looking at could be ours. Grab a detected by the human ear, but which kept into the lobby of a building. hold of something! away mice. Unfortunately, the signals were Do Your Ears Pop In Space? p. 222, Mike d Another bit of artistic license cropped so strong they triggered activity aboard an Mullane, John Wiley Books, 1997 up in Kevin Costner’s film, Robin Hood: Prince orbiting Russian satellite that was otherwise d In 1970 the prominent naked eye of Thieves. In one scene some of the charac- dormant. It caused a minor international Comet Bennett was mistaken by some ner- ters are seen using a primitive telescope – incident for a few hours until the connec- vous Arabs for an Israeli war weapon. about 500 years before Galileo got his hands tion was made. Countdown!, p. 62, Patrick Moore, Michael on one! Fireside Astronomy, p. 93, Patrick Moore, Joseph Books, 1983. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, 1991 John Wiley & Sons, 1993 d Not reading properly what we’ve just d Some years ago there was a radio news- d In 1962 astronomers at the Haute ritten (sorry, written) happens to us all. I reader in Brazil who had been given notice Provence Observatory in France were equal- offer you these examples: that he was about to lose his job because of ly puzzled, when their stellar spectrography The October 21, 1993 issue of England’s some indiscretion. He didn’t agree with the observations kept picking up unexpected Independent newspaper reported on Earth decision, and so to get his own back on his phosphorus absorption lines. The cause took observations taken by the late Galileo probe bosses during the reading of his last news a full five years to be revealed. During the as it headed out toward Jupiter. It informed bulletin he slipped in an erroneous piece long exposures, one of their team would in- readers that, ‘Scientists have concluded there stating that astronomers had made a start- nocently stand by the telescope and light a is probably life on Earth, most likely water- ling discovery: the Moon was falling towards cigarette with a match. The resulting phos- based. They could find little sign of intelli- the Earth and the two bodies would collide phorous smoke would then drift through gent life in Australia.’ in a matter of weeks! Panicked listeners the spectroscope’s field of view. Still in England, a regional newspaper pub- flooded the radio station’s switchboard with Fireside Astronomy, p. 27, Patrick Moore, lished a feature on a local government econ- calls asking for advice about what to do. John Wiley & Sons, 1993 omy drive with the headline, ‘Space probe Countdown!, p. 48, Patrick Moore, Michael d At some point in the 1890s, an launched at town hall’. Joseph Books, 1983. astronomer observing the Moon through his From an advertisement in Sky & Telescope: d In 1986 a British supermarket chain, telescope was amazed to see what appeared ‘Exciting, full-size posters of Mars, Jupiter and Tescos, held a spot-the-planet competition. to be black creatures scurrying over the Saturn.’ Full size? They sent participants a photograph of a star lunar surface. But after some investigation he The New York Times once stated, ‘the field, with a letter attached stating that the realized that, far from observing extraterres- probe Galileo will cost $1.4.’ brightest star in the picture was called Alde- trial life, he had instead been looking at One of England’s Royal Astronomical basau. (They meant Aldebaran, of course). trapped ants scurrying around inside his eye- Society’s journals declared that a particular The point of the exercise was to mark piece tube. star was, ‘hotter than itself’. Saturn’s position on December 2, 1971. The 80 Not Out, Patrick Moore, Contender A press release by the European Space Royal Greenwich Observatory fielded hun- Books, 2003 Agency announced to the world that, ‘The dreds of calls from people asking for Saturn’s d On his 16th birthday Neil Armstrong lunar probe, Clementine, is orbiting the position on that date, but even though they was presented with a pilots license – and this Earth at a distance of 140 by 160 nanome- all had the right answer none of them won was before he’d passed his driving test! tres.’ the competition. For reasons known only to Neil Armstrong, First Man On the Moon, All the above are taken from Popular Tescos (and they weren’t giving any explana- Wayland Books, 2001 Astronomy magazine, p. 16-17, October 1998 tions) they decided the answer was a posi- d After the news of Mars Observer’s d Patrick Moore has a file labeled, Oh My tion that was out by over three degrees! They demise was made public a wag mailed a ‘ran- God. In it he places letters from people who, treated the answer as a matter of opinion, som’ note to mission controllers at JPL in as he puts it, ‘could, frankly, be described as rather than a scientific fact. For this boo-boo Pasadena, California. In classic crime novel nuts’. He sends letters from Nut A on to Nut March 2004 Planetarian 17

B, merely marked, ’For comment’. The two receives a letter from somebody claiming to British newspaper commented, ‘The faint then start writing to each other, instead of to have come up with a radical new cosmologi- outline of a bouffant hairdo … the Caligula Patrick. He once put the International Flat cal theory, he sends them a form letter in eyes … is there nothing the woman won’t do Earth Society in touch with a German orga- which he expresses a keen interest in their to publicize her memoirs?’ nization whose members maintain that the ‘discovery’. But he also states that he can Reported in Popular Astronomy, p. 5, Octo- world is hollow, and that we live on the only help them develop their idea if they ber 1993 inside of it. All of which proves Moore’s send him a full, rigorous mathematical anal- d During a Spacelab briefing for a group Second Law: Every nut thinks that every ysis. And it works every time; he never hears of children at Florida’s Space Camp, coun- other nut is a nut! from them again. selors were emphasizing the need to use the TV Astronomer, Patrick Moore, p. 163, 80 Not Out, p. 202, Patrick Moore, Conten- foot loops in the Lab to hold down their Harrap Books, 1987 der Books, 2003 bodies, and to use Velcro to tie things down You gotta love it. d Staying with Patrick for a moment, he because in space things float around if d (You may not want to use this one once accepted a written invitation to give a they’re not secured. Well, they must have with a family audience). In 1969 Russia dock- talk. But when he turned up at the venue on been particularly good at making this all ed together in Earth orbit the spaceships the appointed night, he found the building seem realistic to the kids, because one of Soyuz-4 and Soyuz-5. As they closed in on to be dark and empty. Glancing at the letter, them thought he really was going to be each other, the docking probe from one ship he realized that he’d turned up exactly one floating in the Spacelab mockup. And so slipped neatly into the latching mechanism year too early. when the doors were opened he took a run- of the other, and a cosmonaut was heard on 80 Not Out, Patrick Moore, Contender ning, Superman-style leap into it and imme- the communications link shouting in mock Books, 2003 diately crashed to the floor. Getting back up horror, ‘We’re being raped!’ Laughed? I screamed. with bruised feelings he said in anger, ‘You Red Star In Orbit, James Oberg, Random d When Comet Halley fever was reach- forgot to turn on the anti-gravity machine!’ House, 1981 ing its peak in 1986, Auntie (as we Brits affec- Do Your Ears Pop In Space? p. 31, Mike d In a similar adult vein, there was an tionately call the BBC) decided to air a live Mullane, John Wiley Books, 1997 incident at the summit of Mauna Kea that programme to coincide with the Giotto d In 1978 the UK’s Royal Mint issued a showed the weird effect that oxygen depri- probe’s close flyby of Halley’s nucleus. A new £1 note that bore on its reverse a draw- vation can have on some visitors. (The oxy- panel of astronomy experts in England ing of Sir Isaac Newton. He was pictured gen levels at 14,000 feet are 60% that of would provide instant analysis (!) of the pic- under an apple tree in the garden of his ground level). An astronomer heard a bang- tures coming in to the control center at house at Woolsthorpe, with his reflector tele- ing on the door to one of the observatory Darmstadt, Germany, where Patrick Moore scope by his side. On his lap the Principia lies domes, and when he opened it he was greet- would hold down the fort. open at a page showing Proposition XI. Un- ed with the sight of a naked, shivering Unfortunately, they hyped the program- fortunately, the Mint artist’s accompanying woman. She asked if he could give her a tour me to death, producing breathless, over the diagram contravened Kepler’s First Law by of the observatory complex. He asked where top trailers that were more suitable to Holly- placing the Sun in the wrong position with- her clothes were, but she seemed disoriented wood blockbuster films. So when the pro- in planetary orbits. and wasn’t sure of their whereabouts. He gramme began the nation’s expectations As witnessed by Steve Tidey and 59 million hurriedly rustled up some clothes and gave were far removed from the reality. Sure other Brits her a tour. enough, the flyby was fascinating as pure d For some peculiar reason, Edwin Frost, Stairway to the Stars, Barry Parker, p. 129, research, but, surprise, surprise, it was a poor the Yerkes Observatory’s second Director, Plenum Books, 1994 TV event. And the backlash was severe; felt he wanted to determine the temperature d Arthur C. Clarke has been receiving Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister at the without the use of a thermometer. And so he crank letters for many years. So now when- time and a qualified chemist, was extremely devised a formula that could only be used ever one is received in which the writer disappointed with the perceived lack of during the short summer months when claims to have made contact with an extra- deep, insightful descriptions of the pictures. crickets inhabited the area surrounding the terrestrial civilization, he asks one of his six This was unfair, as months of analysis would observatory. Frost believed that by counting (!) secretaries to mail them back a form letter. be needed to determine exactly what we the number of chirps made by a cricket in 13 One recipient was assured that, after exten- were seeing. But her opinion was widely seconds and adding 40, he was able to deter- sive investigation, Arthur had discovered shared by the nation, apparently, and so she mine the temperature in Fahrenheit. that an alien from whom the writer had took the earliest opportunity to cut funding TV Astronomer, Patrick Moore, p. 172, claimed to have received a visit wasn’t from for UK science. (And if that sounds like a con- Harrap Books, 1987 the planet Ying, 50,000 light years away, as spiracy theory, the Iron Lady publicly admit- d In training for his Atlantis shuttle the creature had claimed, but was in fact ted as much some years later). flight to Mir, Jerry Linenger learned that the from the planet Yang, a star system a mere Popular Astronomy, p. 5, October 1987 restraining devices on the shuttle’s toilet pre- 40,000 light years distant. (Well, naturally!). There was a slightly amusing postscript to vent the user, ‘from being thrust away from Long experience has shown Arthur that this story when, in 1990, some disgruntled the toilet when what could tactfully be playing into a person’s delusion ensures he Members of Parliament in Thatcher’s Con- described as digestive gas thrusters are fired.’ never hears from them again, but engaging servative Party forced a vote of no confi- Off the Planet, Jerry Linenger, p. 59, in reasoned argument simply ensures they dence in her leadership. She didn’t take the McGraw-Hill Books, 2000 never stop sending more letters filled with challenge seriously enough and therefore got d You will all, no doubt, recall the crankiness. dumped as Prime Minister – during National ridiculous scare surrounding asteroid 1997 Eureka! Adrian Berry, p. 158-159, Helicon Astronomy Week. XF11. For a while the news media was half Publishing, 1993 d Staying with the Iron Lady for a convinced the asteroid would strike the d On a similar tack, whenever the doyen moment, when the infamous ‘face’ on Mars Earth in a few decades. But once reality had of UK astronomy education, Patrick Moore, was getting heavy media attention in 1993 a struck and things calmed down when it was

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obvious no collision was imminent, the New On; Bertha D. Universe; The NICK (Nature’s per mega parsec. And, of course, 42 was York Times printed a funny list of reasons Initial Cosmic Kickstart) of Time; The What’s Douglas Adams’ answer to life the universe why the asteroid changed its mind: It Matter? Theory; Hubble Bubble; Origin of and everything in his eponymous book. Dinosaurs were more fun to make extinct the Space-ies; Origin of the Theses; God When told of the Cavendish study, he com- It’s healthier to strike a non-smoking plan- Fodder Part 1, Jurassic Quark; What Happens mented that when he wrote the novel he et If I Press This Button? and (my favorite one) chose the number for its bathetic nature. ‘I It would get six points on its driving You’ll Never Get It Back In There Again. wanted a nice, ordinary number,’ he said. license Sky & Telescope, p. 20-22, March 1994. ‘One that you wouldn’t mind taking home It was worried about being subpoenaed by Oh, I don’t know, though; it’s amazing and introducing to your parents.’ the independent counsel how much you can fit into a suitcase if you http://www.kgw.tu-berlin.de/~cho/html/ It wasn’t sure, can’t commit to anything, is pack it properly …. call/st12/Tornow2e.htm considering therapy d A meteorite shower fell to Earth on 27 d Astronauts are paid extra when they It felt humans had a negative attitude March 2003 at Park Forest, near Chicago, fly in space, just like any other government toward it Illinois. A local man, Mr. Gazza, whose house employee who has to travel during business It had jury duty was hit by one of the small rocks, phoned his hours. So when they return to Earth they It had no desire to spend the rest of its boss to say he needed the day off as his house need to fill out an expenses form explaining days in the lobby of the Museum of had been hit. His boss laughed, consented where they’ve been (in space) what taxi they Natural History and replied that was the best excuse he’d took (a government shuttle) where they The human race will destroy itself, anway. ever heard, but not to use it again! stayed (in a government cockpit) and what New York Times, March 18, 1998 The UK’s Popular Astronomy magazine, p. they ate (government space food). They get d Sky & Telescope hosted a light-hearted 6, October, 2003 $20 to $30 extra per diem for each mission. competition in which readers were asked to d A team of astronomers at the Caven- Astronauts laugh about this, and joke that submit suggestions for renaming the Big dish Laboratories in Cambridge, England, they wish NASA would just give them a Bang. 13,099 entries were received from per- combined data from X-ray telescopes with penny for every mile they’ve travelled. sons in 41 countries. The particularly funny information gleaned from the COBE satellite 400,000 miles per day at a penny per mile suggestions were: Big TOE (Theory Of Every- about the cosmic background radiation, and equals $4,000 per day. thing); The Magic Wand Theory; The came up with a value for the Hubble con- Do Your Ears Pop In Space? p. 215, Mike DREAM (Definitive Realization of Energy stant. They averaged out their results and Mullane, John Wiley Books, 1997. And Matter); Hawking’s Hunch; God’s Log- came up with a figure of 42 miles per second It’s a funny old Universe. C

March 2004 Planetarian 19

Dr. I.M. Levitt, Fels Director Emeritus 1908 - 2004

Dr. I. M. Levitt, longtime director exploration gained momentum. of the Fels Planetarium at Phila- Dr. Levitt was the Carl Sagan of his delphia’s Franklin Institute Science day. Like Sagan with his trademark Museum, died January 2, 2004. He turtleneck sweater, Levitt’s trade- was ninety-five. mark was his bow-tie. Born Israel Monroe Levitt in 1908 Levitt retired from the Institute and raised in Philadelphia, I.M. was as a Vice-President in 1968. He was an astronomer and engineer with then appointed the first and only extraordinary communication Director of the Mayor’s Science skills. He was associated with the and Advisory Council, a position Fels Planetarium as a lecturer and he held until only a year ago. His Director during the “Golden Age” of accomplishments are still quite planetariums in this country. He is well known (he developed the first directly descended in planetarium pulse-counting photomultiplier) directorship from Philip Fox, the and particularly relevant as we country’s first planetarium director begin this era of Mars exploration. at the Adler Planetarium in Chi- In 1954, in collaboration with the Dr. Levitt “working the sky” in the Fels Planetari- cago. The Fels Planetarium owes its um, 1954. Photo courtesy The Franklin Institute. Hamilton Watch Company, Dr. well-earned reputation to Dr. Levitt. Levitt built a Mars clock to tell His career began when he applied for a throughout the world as the co-author of time and dates on Mars. Since he firmly position on the Institute’s 1932 solar eclipse Star Maps for Beginners with Roy K. Mar- believed Mars would be the obvious desti- expedition. He was hired as a “chaperone” shall. First published in 1942, the ink is just nation of human explorers by the late ‘60s, for the scientific equipment on its journey drying after its 35th printing. He earned his he built the Mars clock to facilitate coordi- to Conway, New Hampshire. He stayed on Ph.D in astronomy from the University of nated travel and communication between at the Institute after the clouded-out Pennsylvania in 1948. Earth and Mars explorers. The clock was eclipse, becoming caretaker to the recently Because of his stature as a scientist, he built two years before his book, A Space installed 24-inch Fecker reflector and 10- was chosen to design and assemble NASA’s Traveler’s Guide to Mars was published. inch Zeiss refractor telescopes. Levitt quick- first traveling exhibit known today as the I had the pleasure and privilege to sit and ly became the embodiment of astronomy “Spacemobile”. Remarkably, Levitt ran up chat with Dr. Levitt about the history of at the Franklin Institute; lecturing in the hundreds of hours in television and radio the planetarium and observatory several planetarium, operating the observatory appearances in the ‘50s and ‘60s as space years ago. He told me many stories about and the seismograph, helping establish one the early days of operation; he was a master of the nation’s earliest amateur telescope of the live lecture technique. As Director of making groups, as well as designing unique Fels he wrote a different show for each planetarium programs for that era. Levitt’s month for more than 20 years! He was signature shows were “A Trip to the Moon“ always fascinated to learn how the plane- and “A Trip To Mars.” In these shows, he tarium business was changing and develop- used the perforated stainless steel dome of ing today. the planetarium as a scrim, decorating and Knowledgeable, gregarious, and well- illuminating the area behind the dome to informed, Levitt taught thousands of peo- look like a spacecraft interior then project- ple the wonders of the heavens under the ing the main images and stars on the front stars of the Zeiss planetarium projector. He side of the dome. Many people remember was a legend in Philadelphia and to this those shows today. day is well-remembered by many for his During his tenure it was rare for a plane- “sharp as a tack” intellect and his ever-pre- tarium director to be a “household name,” sent bow-tie. but Levitt was the “go to guy” for astrono- Ad Martem! my and space science in the ‘40s, ‘50s, and Derrick H. Pitts ‘60s. He was a nationally-recognized Chief Astronomer authority on space travel and was quoted Planetarium Programs Director frequently in the national press at the beginning of the “Space Race”. By the time the first rocket left Earth, Levitt had writ- [Thomas Gangale has created an “In Me- ten hundreds of internationally-syndicated moriam” page at http://www.martiana.org/ magazine and newspaper articles describ- mars/other/levitt_memoriam_frm.htm, Lev and students at the Institute’s ing and explaining the science of space rooftop 10” Zeiss refractor circa which is a compilation of reflections by exploration. He is probably best-known 1955. Photo courtesy The Franklin those who knew him or knew his work.] Institute.

March 2004 Planetarian 21

few of us biting our nails. That’s why it took NASA Space Science News several days to move the rover off its landing platform, as the engineers checked it all out (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom/sch to be sure all was in working order. But that’s oolhouse/). But he is fully committed to the a lot of time to spend when the scientists – project. and the public – are chomping at the bit to Somewhat overshadowed by the Mars get six wheels on the soil and start exploring. missions, Stardust achieved a phenomenal It’s also not likely that any astronaut would success on January 2 as it daringly darted in be too happy about bouncing down to the front of a speeding comet, snapped pictures, surface of Mars in an airbag cocoon. The and held out its catcher’s mitt to snag some Mars Science Laboratory is looking at a new comet stuff (http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov). This approach: a tether. The rover would descend mission was proposed several times before to near the surface using landing rockets, as finally being selected, making it all the more the Vikings did in 1976 – but the rockets satisfying to its team. The sample return cap- would be above the rover, not beneath it. At sule will arrive back on Earth two years from some distance above the surface, the rover now, on January 15, 2006. It will be a night and the rocket assembly would start to sepa- landing in Utah, and the capsule will be rate, as a tether between them spools out. quickly packed up and hauled off to a cura- The rovers’ wheels would deploy, the tether would literally run to the end of its rope, and Anita Sohus tion facility. The Stardust outreach team has posted nice exhibit-type posters at http:// voila, the rover would touch down ready to NASA/Jet Propulsion stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom/museums go with six wheels on the surface. The release of the rover would take a ton of weight off Laboratory .html and also has an active loan program of small Stardust models. the landing rockets platform, and it would 4800 Oak Grove Drive Although Stardust was launched first, jet off to its own (crash) landing some dis- Pasadena, California 91109 Genesis will actually be the first to return a tance away. sample from beyond our Moon. Genesis has Innovative design ideas also made possible USA been collecting solar wind particles near the Spitzer Space Telescope – formerly (1) 818-354-6613 Earth’s L1 point for several years. On known as the Space Infrared Telescope September 8, 2004, two chase helicopters will Facility (SIRTF). In early plans Spitzer was (1) 818-354-7586 fax move in as the sample return capsule spirals going to orbit Earth, as many satellites do. [email protected] to Earth on a parafoil. The helicopters will Spitzer needs to use liquid helium (cryogen) have several opportunities to snag the to stay cold. Since liquid helium is pretty Could there be anything better than when parafoil in mid-air and lower its precious heavy, and it is expensive to launch a heavy things go right? Or anything worse when cargo into a transportation container. The spacecraft, the science team decided to make they don’t? Eighteen sols into surface opera- project has hired some Hollywood stunt do with less liquid helium. But to still keep tions at Gusev, and just a few days away from pilots for the capture. Keep up with mission the telescope very cold with less liquid heli- Opportunity’s landing on Meridiani, Spirit events at http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov. um, Spitzer’s orbit was moved to a much was a healthy, bouncing rover, and mission That’s one of the fun things in space colder part of space. Spitzer now shares folks were already talking about the possibil- exploration: what are they gonna think of Earth’s orbit around the Sun, but slowly ity of extending the mission beyond the next? Spirit and Opportunity had to be fold- drifts away from the warm Earth. With this planned three months, to six or even nine ed up like pretzels to fit into the same lander new orbit, Spitzer has a very different view months. Then Spirit balked. It looks like the envelope as Pathfinder. All those moving of the sky than before. Spitzer can’t look flight team is well on its way to diagnosing parts and bouncing landings had at least a right at the Sun, but it has to keep its solar and working around the problem. No one panels pointed towards the Sun, since that’s thought there could be a more perfect land- where it gets its energy. Even though Spitzer ing than Spirit’s, but Opportunity rolled in has to be careful, and can’t look at some parts like a champ. The public interest has been of the sky at some times, it will be able to see tremendous, and I hope it will continue, every part of the sky at least every six inspiring students to reach for the stars. Keep months during its five-year life. The out- up with the latest developments at reach team at the Spitzer Science Center (on http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov. There are lots the Caltech campus in Pasadena) has posted a of educational programs and products, number of tutorials and activities as aids in including “Schoolhouse Rocks” and the Mars teaching about the infrared portion of the Time Capsule projects. Phil Christensen, prin- spectrum at http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech cipal investigator on four instruments cur- .edu. rently at Mars (the thermal emission spec- Last but not least, Cassini will begin orbit- trometers on the orbiting Mars Global ing Saturn on July 1, 2004 – just in time for Surveyor and Mars Odyssey, and the mini- the IPS meeting in Spain! On December 24, thermal emission spectrometers on the two 2004, at 6 p.m. PST, Cassini will release the European Space Agency’s Huygens probe, for rovers) is wondering what he got himself— Comet Wild 2’s lumpy terrain, cov- and his grad students—into by offering to ered with impact craters and cliffs, its trip through Titan’s atmosphere on surprised scientists who expected a January 14, 2005. 2004 is indeed a year of post spectra of rocks sent to him by students much older surface. extreme exploration! C 24 Planetarian March 2004

Dayle’s Final Report: there was a national strike. Only seven teach- Mobile News What a wonderful week! The opportunity ers reported for duty at the high school on to work with Loris, the students, and the that day. Five of the seven were the English other faculty and staff of the various schools teachers with whom we worked. On the and facilities was an experience I’ll treasure night before the strike, other teachers came always. out on a stormy night and traveled to Lumezzane for a presentation at the plane- tarium there. These teachers were not paid for their time and trouble. It was an honor and a privilege to work with these people. The chance to work with teachers and stu- dents from across the sea benefited us all. It was wonderful to see that even though I spoke no Italian, we all communicated a love of learning. Upon entering the Starlab , the students’ eyes shone with the same excitement seen in students here in the States. When given the opportunity to be involved in a task involving many skills On the night of a presentation for the under a starry sky, they responded with en- Public, Loris Ramponi and Erico Loda were technical assistants while Lucia thusiasm and determination. Susan Reynolds Button Pedersoli acted as Dayle’s interpreter. We all encountered fewer differences than Left to right: Loris, Dayle, Lucia and expected. That may be the most important Enrico. Photo by David Piser. Quarks to Clusters lesson we can learn about the people of dis- tant cultures. 8793 Horseshoe Lane My host, Loris Ramponi, is especially tire- Chittenango, New York less in his devotion to astronomy education in the area. He is involved with projects with 13037 the elementary school children, high school (1) 315-687-5371 students, the general public, and the interna- [email protected] tional community in a wide range of venues. His enthusiasm and love of the field was an inspiration to me and will be to anyone with New Year: the good fortune of working with him. We are well into the New Year and I hope all goes well and will continue to go well for all of you in 2004! Dayle working with Secondary Level “A Week in the North of Italy”: students. Photo by David Piser. October 20 - 26, 2003 Each year, as you probably already know, Serafino Zani Astronomical Observatory (Lu- November PIPS Meeting mezzane/Brescia), in collaboration with the Learning Technologies Inc. provided fund- IPS Mobile Planetarium Committee and ing for another meeting of Powerful Inter- with the support of Learning Technologies, active Planetarium Systems (PIPS) on Friday, Inc., hosts an American planetarium opera- 21 November 2003. The dynamic duo, Ted tor who presents lessons in English with the Williams and Steve Berr, hosted 41 teacher itinerant planetarium Starlab to high school planetarians at the Mallon Planetarium, students of English. Transportation from the Methacton School District, Norristown, United States is provided, along with bed Elementary Level students’ unit of Pennsylvania, USA! It was a “full house” with study about Space culminated with a and meals from Monday to Sunday (lunch visit from Dayle during Parents’ continuous learning, excitement and humor. and dinner Saturday and Sunday, on your night. Photo by David Piser. own). The Program: This year’s participant was Dayle Brown On Thursday, the night before the PIPS The teachers reported that the students (Pegasus Productions, 849 Trailridge East, meeting, participants were invited to an were excited and happy with the presenta- Mishawaka, Indiana 46544 USA; e-mail: open house at the Spitz factory (Chadds tions. Likewise, I was very pleased with the [email protected]). Dayle has work- Ford, Pennsylvania, USA). to learn about new response of the students. They were extreme- ed extensively with Starlab both as a teacher innovations there. We were provided with ly well prepared for the lessons by their and as a business owner. an extensive tour, a delicious dinner and teachers. It was rewarding to see that the Below you will find her final report about time to “play” during a StarryNight Dome work done before the trip in providing the experience. Contact her directly for workshop. http://www.spitzinc.com. vocabulary and text for the lessons was so copies of the lesson plans. Congratulations The PIPS registration began the next ably implemented. Dayle, sounds like you had a marvelous time morning at 8:30 AM and sessions ran from The devotion of the teachers was very both working and playing in Italy! 9:00 AM to 12 noon and 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM impressive. On the final day of presentations with a one-hour break for lunch and conver-

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Planetarians in attendance at a November PIPS Meeting. Photos by Steve Berr and Susan Button. sation. Also at this time materials were made could be used in conjunction with a Starlab international impact. Portable planetariums available for participants to peruse. lesson using the night sky and the solar sys- have been sold in 45 countries with global The day included demonstrations and tem cylinders. audiences now totaling about 12 million experimentation using the planetarium as a All in all we had an extremely enjoyable people. The radio universe project has the laboratory for observing, predicting and and productive day and plan to do it again potential to reach that many people – or recording changes due to the rotation and next year! more. revolution of the earth and/or changes in latitude. We explored specific lessons about Pisgah Astronomical Research New “Kids” on the Block Indian History of the Stars, Celestial Motion, Institute (PARI) Receives National Well, the race is on! We all knew that the Moon Phases, Seasonal Sun’s Path, Sailing Science Foundation Grant next big development in the portable plane- with Columbus, Counting the Stars, as well Here’s an exciting new development in tarium world would a smaller and truly port- as how to introduce pre-schoolers to the our portable planetarium world. Congratu- able version of the digital projection systems planetarium. lations to all the dedicated and creative we have seen on the market in the last few There was also a multitude of mini-tricks workers at PARI! years. of the trade shared; they were too numerous Bob Hayward, Ph.D. (Astronomer/Educa- A new company called Digitalis Education to mention each and every one. We took tor, PARI, One PARI Drive, Rosman, North Solutions has advertised that the first of some time to have people learn how to set Carolina 28772 USA; Phone: 828-862-5554; E- these projectors is now for sale at a very com- up moon phases, planets, and to learn how mail: [email protected]) reports that: petitive price! to use “Swifter” dry cloths to clean the exte- PARI has received a $249,000 grant from Digitalis Education Solutions (PO Box rior of the Starlab cylinders. We were able to the National Science Foundation (NSF) to 2976, Bremerton, Washington 98310 USA; see the latest new Starlab cylinders and develop a unique multimedia presentation Phone: 1-360-616-8915; FAX: 1-360-616-8917) Fiberarc projector and thanks to Ted Will- of the radio universe. consists of two people: Karrie Berglund, iams we also had the pleasure of seeing and The project will unfold over a two-year Director of Education, and Robert Spearman, working with a Spitz 512 projector in the period and will involve students from the President. beautiful Mallon Planetarium. See Ted’s web- University of North Carolina-Asheville I met Karrie and Rob at the 2003 ASTC site for information about his intensive working with a professional planetarium multi-media programming. He tells me that operator, two professional astronomers and a all of his daytime programs are open to stu- multimedia expert with planetarium experi- dents of the Methacton School District. But ence. Their objective will be to develop, for he also provides evening presentations that the first time, a portable planetarium pro- are open to the public. http://www.methac- gram featuring the electromagnetic spec- ton.org/arcola/planetarium/mallon.htm. trum. Ted ran a Loch Ness Productions show, To date, planetarium programs have been “More Than Meets the Eye,” that compares able to show only the visible universe. The the naked-eye views from our back yard (or NSF grant will help fund development of a planetarium parking lot) with observatory program featuring a radio view of the night astrophotos and spacecraft images. (www sky. The program will be accompanied by a .lochness.com/shows). multimedia presentation that can be used in We also previewed an interactive power a classroom or in the planetarium itself. point program that he developed with stu- PARI’s Starlab portable planetarium has dents from Philadelphia University (In- already taken night-sky programs to about structional Technology Graduate Program) 20,000 people. It is estimated that through and the Franklin Institute. Ted demonstrated classroom presentations and public open the software as an introduction to the “The houses, the new radio sky project could be Milky Way.” A Starlab operator would need viewed by as many as 50,000 people in west- ern North Carolina alone. Additionally, the Robert Spearman, Karrie Berglund a laptop PC and a small, shoebox size, digital and the new Digitarium Alpha pro- light projector to present it. This program project could have a significant national and jector. Photo by Susan Button.

March 2004 Planetarian 27

meeting and interviewed them to find out ble with a little creativity. The winners of this race, of course, will be the following details. After a lot of research, conversations the producers that come in with the best Karrie spent more than six years teaching between Rob and Karrie led to the idea of a visual quality for the lowest price. Other for Pacific Science Center’s Science On portable digital planetarium projector, since considerations for a winner will be user- Wheels outreach program based in Seattle. portable projectors were so much less versa- friendly software, reliability, customer ser- Three of those years were spent as the lead tile than fixed projectors. vice and support. teacher or supervisor of the astronomy pro- In January 2003, Rob founded Digitalis Kerrie and Rob plan to keep their position gram, including two Starlab portable plane- Education Solutions, with a mission of pro- at the lowest cost end of the spectrum and tariums. viding capable and affordable tools for have started developing a wide variety of les- When she finally tired of traveling, Karrie astronomy education. In February 2003, son plans to support purchasers. Good luck took on a new position at Pacific Science Karrie left the Smith Planetarium to devote Kerrie and Rob with your new adventure! Center, overseeing the Willard Smith Plane- her time to this new adventure. She still tarium. occasionally substitutes for Science On IPS Conference 2004 Rob had spent many years as a software Wheels. Do not forget to attend the next IPS Con- architect but was on disability leave when In late October 2003, Digitalis launched its ference: 4-8 July 2004 at L’Hemispheric, he and Karrie met. He was considering other Digitarium Alpha projector. It premiered at Valencia, Spain. http://www.ips-planetari- career options, since future heavy computer the ASTC convention in St. Paul, Minnesota um.org/ips-conferences.html. Check it out at use seemed to be out of the question. in early November. http://www.cac.es/ips2004. There will be In late October 2002, Karrie gave Rob a The Digitarium Alpha website states that many papers, workshops, and vendors of tour of the Smith Planetarium. While re- it is a digital planetarium projector designed interest to planetarians working in small searching options for upgrading the old specifically for use in portable domes. “It and/or mobile domes! video projectors in the Smith Planetarium, allows you to take the capabilities of a fixed Rob began to wonder why the entire plane- planetarium projector on the road, in an easi- Signing Off tarium couldn’t be digitally projected to ly transportable package.” http://www.digi- That’s all for now. Please send news, infor- reduce maintenance and add flexibility. taliseducation.com/products.html. mation and questions of interest to all the Shocked by prices of digital planetariums, So the race has officially begun and it will mini-dome planetarians out there, we are Rob thought a cheaper alternative was possi- be interesting to see future developments. huge in numbers and can surely help each other! C

28 Planetarian March 2004

Lost Stars http://www.mwpubco.com/lost%20stars2.htm. Reviews Morgan Wagman, McDonald & Woodward Lost Stars is not a light read, but it is an Publishing Company, 431-B East College unusual reference that would be appropriate Street, Granville, Ohio, 43023, USA, 2003, for the very well-stocked astronomy library. ISBN 0-939923-78-5, www.mwpubco.com. US $59.95.

Review by John Mosley, Griffith Observato- ry, Los Angeles, California, USA

Some books are labors of love, and this is a spectacular example. In his youth the author became intrigued by stars that seemed to be “missing” from star charts. Telescopium, for example, has stars named Alpha and Delta, but there is no Beta or Gamma. Canes Vena- tici has stars numbered 1 through 25, but there is no 22. Years later, Wagman produced this massive 540-page book which answers these questions and many more. Some books are labors of April S. Whitt love, and this is a specta- Fernbank Science Center cular example. 156 Heaton Park Drive NE Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA Subtitled “Lost, Missing, and Troublesome Stars from the Catalogues of Johannes Bayer, [email protected] Nicholas-Louis de Lacaille, John Flamsteed, and Sundry Others,” Wagman looks at each named and numbered star in each constella- Spacecraft are wandering around Mars. tion and traces the history of its designation. Cassini will arrive at Saturn this summer. Our Cosmic Habitat You might think that something as simple as Martin J. Rees, Princeton University Press, 41 Data from orbiting telescopes are pouring naming a naked-eye star could cause no con- William Street, Princeton, New Jersey, 08540, information down to our planet. Take a fusion, but remember that the constellations USA, 2003, ISBN 0-691-11477-3, http://pup break from the cyber-pace and leaf through did not acquire their final definitions and .princeton.edu/ US $14.95 / £9.95 some of this issue’s offerings. Lose yourself in borders until 1930 and astronomers were free a good book, and get some great ideas for a to be inventive until then. The constella- Review by Bruce Dietrich, Professor of planetarium program, or some good answers tions themselves have a convoluted history, Astronomy, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, for that next telephone inquiry. and it is not surprising that the stars designa- USA. And give a round of applause to our gener- tions have a history too. ous reviewers: Bruce Dietrich, John Mosley Wagman told me all that I wanted to This is a fine book for anyone with either and Steve Tidey. know about the nomenclature of thousands a scientific or metaphysical interest in the of naked-eye stars, and Lost Stars could well cosmos. If you enjoy reading scientific prose be the last word on the subject. The part that look no further. Here is a treasure trove of interested me the most is the history of the ideas for innovative planetarium programs. constellations and their cartographers. The illustrations drawn by Richard Sword Wagman begins his search in ancient are both clear and useful. Frankly, the nine Babylonia, but focuses on the 17th and 18th pages of end notes alone are worth the price centuries when star charts were developed of admission. and perfected. Lost Stars includes 113 charts If you enjoy reading scien- from the atlases of Bayer, Flamsteed, and Lacaille. Lacaille is comparatively obscure tific prose look no further. and this volume lets you compare his charts Here is a treasure trove of with the better-known atlases of Bayer and ideas for innovative plane- Flamsteed. tarium programs. A total of 147 tables cross-reference the named and numbered stars of each constella- tion (and to the HR and HD catalogs). One The basis for this wonderfully readable interesting appendix describes the location book is a new lecture series at Princeton Uni- of each star in Bayer’s catalog, and there is an versity, entitled the Scribner Lectures, the exhaustive annotated bibliography. first of which was delivered by Martin J. Rees, You can find a description of Lost Stars, Astronomer Royal of Great Britain. The self- sample pages, and ordering information at assurance required to lecture extremely

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knowledgeable peers on their own turf is evi- A New Look At An Old Earth an indefinite period of time, perhaps eons. dent in this book, and totally without Don Stoner, Harvest House Publishers Inc., It’s not the literal 24-hour modern day. And hubris. Dr. Rees honored his eminent hosts 990 Owen Loop North, Eugene, Oregon, so the six ‘days’ that God took to make the by noting that: “God invented space so that 97402, USA, 1997, http://www.growinglife universe may have lasted millions or billions not everything had to happen in Princeton.” style.com/psearch/Manufacturer/Book/Harv of years. The original writing of the Old Our Cosmic Habitat asks the fundamental est_House_Publishers_Inc./index.html ISBN Testament may pre-date early Hebrew writ- questions: Why is the universe hospitable to 1565075951, US$9.95 ings, so translation difficulties abound when life? What is the nature of the chemical tem- trying to determine the Bible’s original plates that order life? Is the universe really Review by Steve Tidey, Essex, England. meaning. infinite, and what does that mean? Are there Stoner takes a scientific approach to the other universes? Is the question itself really “By acting ignorantly concerning the age subject, clearly explaining difficult astro- sophistry? Why does the grand unified theo- of the Earth, Christians have lost credibility nomical concepts. He reminds the reader of ry hold so much appeal? Should it influence in the scientific community.” So reads the the scientific method, and then takes a num- our research modalities? Several thoughtful back cover of this worthy book that will be ber of creationist “proofs” of a young uni- answers are suggested. read with some relief by many of us in the verse (the stars are much closer than they Sir Martin truly understands and can planetarium profession, especially in some seem, shallow levels of dust on the Moon explain the nature of science and science fic- US states where the creationists movement indicate it’s a young body, carbon dating tion, as well as, our current knowledge of the has had a particularly strong influence on errors, weather erosion anomalies, etc.) and universe. He explores the creation and ulti- the teaching of school science in recent skillfully lists solid scientific arguments in mate nature of the Space/Time Continuum. years. favor of a 15 billion year-old universe. And The reader is correctly positioned near the The author has a BSc in physics and is a citing the original sources for his material beginning of time, not at the end of the cos- committed Christian, and so he has a foot in solidifies his well-reasoned arguments. mic quest. The developmental exposition of both camps. This is good, as his knowledge of By the time I’d finished this fascinating the universe is amazingly clear, from the both sides of the argument about the uni- book the phrase, “The Bible tells us how to go establishment of the primary conditions to verse’s age (10,000 years vs. 15 billion?) pre- to heaven, not how the heavens go,” had run several possible long range sequels. Tiny vents him from having what could easily be through my mind a good few times. Stoner’s changes at the beginning could preclude our a hectoring tone towards one side. The book should have a place on the bookshelf very existence. book’s Foreword states that the young/old of planetarians worldwide, because even if This book never fails to engage the reader. Earth argument is splitting some areas of your corner of the globe hasn’t felt the hand If you seek ways to share the fundamental Christianity, and so Stoner wants to restore of creationism yet, it’s only a matter of time understanding of the laws and by-laws of the unity. His message is clear: scientists aren’t before it does and you’ll want to be ready universe, the nature of time machines, or M- non-Christians and Christians aren’t (or with some logical arguments in defense of theory without getting overly knotted in shouldn’t be) non-scientists. Let’s live in a the tried and tested “old” universe. superstrings, this book is for you. It provides world of shades of grey, rather than black a model of clarity and great references, and it and white. In playing the devil’s advocate, he is beautifully crafted. bends over backward to tread a sometimes unsteady path between not disbelieving the Bible (he clearly doesn’t) and stating that we must go along with what our telescopes and other scientific instruments tell us about the Earth and the universe. God made them, after all, so how can we not trust what His universe is telling us? Stoner’s arguments are scrupulously fair to both sides, and he right- ly states that creationists should give the uni- verse the same literal reading they give the Bible. Stoner takes a scientific approach to the subject , clearly explaining difficult astronomical concepts.

He believes that any conflict between sci- ence and theology must be attributable to our misinterpretation of what we read or see. Early on Stoner tackles this point by explain- Stepping Stones: The Making ing that the Bible doesn’t always say what we of Our Home World remember it saying, or have been told it says. Stephen Drury, Oxford University Press, And he explains that in Genesis the Hebrew Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, word ‘yom’, which has been translated as England, 1999. ISBN: 0198502710, US$37 meaning ‘day’, is a word that can be used for

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Review by Steve Tidey, Essex, England. focus is, essentially, Earth Science, and so you Review by Bruce L. Dietrich, Professor of learn perhaps more than you thought you Astronomy, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, USA My first opinion is that this is not a book wanted to know about heat flow from the for the faint-hearted; you need to already interior, atmospheric and ocean circulation, John Charap defines and delineates 20th have a keen interest in Earth Science (ideally continental drift, and a great many other century physics at the beginning of the 21st to college level) to meet the challenge of things including geological dating mecha- century. This book paints a realistic picture plowing through the worthy, dense, but dry nisms and the processes that characterized of what we know about the universe, and, prose. The overall style of writing and pre- the four main periods of Earth’s “long and like a Rene Magritte painting, opens the win- sentation is classically academic and some- torturous history,” as the author puts it. But dow to future speculation. The broad what old-fashioned, which is a pity because he takes his remit further by widening the panoply of modern physics is presented with there’s a lot of interesting stuff here, but book’s scope to discuss, in lengthy, tough, linguistic precision and abundant quota- most kids would be put off by the text-book undergraduate detail, what life is, biochemi- tions. The text is supported with drawings, style. However, if the author’s target market cally, and how it got a foothold on the early diagrams and some rare photographs of the is the mature student, then that’s less of a Earth. We follow its evolution through the intellectual A-team. There is a treasure trove drawback. millennia and see how the resources it need- in the end notes, but the glossary could well The book’s focus is, ed to survive shifted round the planet with be strengthened. geological activity. And he brings the story The broad panoply of essentially, Earth Science, up to date with a look at the last few million and so you learn perhaps years of human ancestry and recent ice ages. modern physics is pre- more than you thought Here we learn that the Earth’s crust is forced sented with linguistic pre- down 270 meters for every one kilometer- cision and abundant quo- you wanted to know about deep layer of ice that’s lying on it. That little heat flow from the interi- factoid will stay with me. tations. or, atmospheric and The author resists the temptation to indulge in political hand-wringing over how As with many popularizations, the ocean circulation, conti- we’re changing our planet’s environment. approach is non-mathematical; however, ex- nental drift, and a great Instead, he lets the Earth’s incredible diversi- ponential notation is introduced and well many other things … ty, complexity, and power speak for itself. explained. When you get to the more for- And so, overall, I would recommend this as a midable concepts, i.e. Planck time, you are useful reference if you’re designing an exhi- on your own. If you studied college physics The blurb on the back cover sums up the bition about our home world, but the high- you will enjoy this book as a good review, contents nicely: “… this history of the whole brow treatment would need some heavy re- and if you have not, this book will serve as a [Earth] system of dynamic, interacting parts – focusing to make the fascinating material great syllabus. ocean, atmosphere, continents, the great visitor-friendly on a popular level. Throughout the book great care has been internal heat engine and life.” Yes, we get the taken to separate the worlds of fancy and fic- whole works here, and then some. tion from science; although Charap points The British author is an Earth Science out that they are both driven by human tutor for the UK’s Open University, a dis- imagination. He has chosen quintessential tance learning facility. And he clearly knows quotes from the most articulate physicists his stuff, although at times he betrays a lin- and beautifully persuasive illustrations from gering resentment at the comparatively very talented artists to develop and explain small sums spent on exploring our own his major points. If one carefully follows the world compared to what is spent on explor- exposition, Heisenberg seems more certain, ing space. He reckons Earth Science is consid- dimensional compactification appears con- ered “not sexy enough,” and our planet has cise, and M-Theory appears even more magi- been forgotten about in the rush to learn cal. about others in the solar system. Hmmm. The current pace of scientific inquiry is First of all, he should check out NASA’s such that some of the future speculation Mission To Earth series of satellites, and then raised in the epilogue has already been talk to planetary geologists who will explain resolved. Since the book went to print, data to him that we’ve learned an awful lot about from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Earth by studying the other planets. Probe have demonstrated that this flat uni- But then he knows his astronomy, of verse is about 13.7 billion old years, and it is which there is a sprinkling in these pages, expanding at a rate of approximately 71 kilo- because he covers the history of how the meters per second per megaparsec. Certainly Earth’s heavy elements got here from stellar there is more to come. The interplay alchemy in supernovae. Yet I was puzzled to Explaining the Universe: The between quantum uncertainty and classical read his belief that Mars is “terminally bor- New Age of Physics chaos is still an active topic of research. ing,” geologically. That seemed to me like a John M. Charap, Princeton University Press, Much smugness pervaded the physical sci- th quote from 40 years ago, before a myriad of 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey, ences at the end of the 19 century, and now spacecraft revealed the Martian surface to 08540, USA, 2002, http://pup.princeton.edu/ we should to be reminded, this time by Niels have had a very active geological history ISBN 0-691-00663-6, US $29.95. Bohr, that, “prediction is hard – especially of that is fascinating planetary geologists today. the future” Certainly, when the Higgs Boson But these are minor quibbles. The book’s is found, Schrödinger’s Cat will be smiling.C 32 Planetarian March 2004

March 2004 Planetarian 33

tee, has agreed to this collaboration and is President’s Message now a member of the Technology Commit- tee. Jan Sifner has also agreed to this merger announcements are listed under the IPS and will continue to chair the committee. Committees heading below. Alan Gould, Web Committee Chair, has Since last December, several IPS Affiliates begun a redesign of our web page and has re- have inquired about receiving foreign lan- cruited five new, talented members for his guage versions or editions of NASA posters, committee. Although the Officers have pro- such as the Multiwavelength Astronomy and posed that Alan hire a professional staff to Cassini at Saturn, primarily for distribution assist him in the redesign project, Alan in schools. The idea is reasonable since many believes that with the combined talents of missions are multinational and our planetari- his committee there will be no need, at this ums include the results of missions like point, to pay for additional assistance. The Hubble, Cassini-Huygens, Chandra, etc. But newly appointed committee members are: unfortunately, the short answer is that there Jeff Hunt (Waubonsie Planetarium), Joyce is no central advertising/distribution office Townes (Spitz, Inc.), Gavin Hoffman (T.C. that creates mission posters, rather the mis- Hooper Planetarium), Randi Slaughter and sions themselves, such as NASA/JPL, general- Ken Wilson (both from Ethyl Imax Dome & Planetarium). These new committee mem- Jon W. Elvert, Director ly generate the posters. Therefore, it would be up to other participating nationalities to bers are in addition to the existing commit- Irene W. Pennington reproduce the posters in their languages. tee team. I believe I can speak on behalf of Planetarium This brings up another related topic – how the entire IPS membership in saying that we does the IPS insure that all our members are are all looking forward to the results of the 100 South River Road treated equitably on the materials distribut- Web Committee’s redesign project. Baton Rouge, Louisiana ed? Should the IPS bear the costs of distribu- In my previous message, I stated that dur- tion if the materials are not going to all ing our Council meeting in Jena, Germany, 70802 USA members? The Officers and Council are last October, Council unanimously agreed to (1) 225-344-5272 addressing these concerns and we hope to bring the amendment of the By-Laws abol- work collaboratively with the ESA on these ishing the Ethics Committee, Article VIII, (1) 225-214.4029 fax issues. Section 6, to a vote by the General Member- [email protected] ship before it becomes officially inactive. My IPS Committees proposal to Council for this committee’s In my previous message, I mentioned that elimination was because: 1) There has not It’s a new year, new beginnings and what a I would be filling the vacant Chair of the been an active Chair or committee for over difference a year makes since the tragic lost Professional Services Committee and begin 10 years! 2) There have been no relevant of the Columbia Shuttle a year ago. This New realigning some of our committees, which issues related to the committee in several Year began with the incredible success of the have lost their original relevance and mem- years. 3) It clutters up the by-laws in its pre- Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit, roaming the bership benefits over the years. I am pleased sent state. 4) The purpose and function of the Marian landscape while the European Mars to announce that Mike Murray, Clark committee could be better administered Express Orbiter began circling the planet just Planetarium in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, has under the auspices of another committee, days before. Data from the Cassini-Huygens accepted the Chair position for the Profes- such as the Professional Services Committee. mission, the Stardust spacecraft, the Spitzer sional Service Committee. Mike has been in 5) Discussion by the Council suggested that a Infrared Telescope and the daily stream of the planetarium field for over twenty years “Code of Ethics” regarding safety standards Hubble Space Telescope images already and served as president of the Rocky Moun- of planetariums, membership conduct, busi- promise to make this year an astronomically tain Planetarium Association (RUMPA), but ness practices, etc. might be worth studying significant one, a year that promises to more importantly he has many years of pro- for inclusion into such a document that enrich the content of our planetarium pro- fessional development in the field and has would serve to define what we mean by gramming. Even the United States govern- worked on projects to help in the profession- “Code of Ethics.” The Professional Services ment recently announced a timeline for al development of both new and experi- Committee would be a good resource to future manned exploration of the Moon and enced planetarians. Mike has some very cre- begin developing this “Code of Ethics” docu- eventually the planet Mars! This year, we ative ideas and an enthusiasm for making ment. have reason to be optimistic of our space this committee an active resource for all our Our Executive Secretary, Lee Ann Hennig, programs. members. Mike outlined some of his vision has confirmed that according to Article XIII- We have good reason to be optimistic for me, which I included in the committee Amendment of By-Laws, there is no “specific about the IPS this year as well. Our member- reports below. time” that the vote has to be taken. The only ship will continue to benefit from the I have long thought that the current Lasers stipulation is that 60 days be given from the posters and DVD, CD-ROM inserts in every in Planetariums Committee and the Tech- date of mailing the ballot until it is returned issue of the Planetarian, the biennial confer- nology Committee would be more effective and that the amendment goes into effect ence this year in Valencia, Spain certainly if they were combined into one committee. immediately upon its adoption, unless the promises to be rewarding, and a number of As of this issue, all new laser technology and amendment specifies otherwise. I very much changes have taken place within the com- related information will be posted under the would like to see this vote take place elec- mittees that will effectively improve over all Technology Committee. Jack Dunn, who tronically (in our web site’s Members Only membership benefits. These committee chaired the Lasers in Planetariums Commit- section) and make available a mail-in ballot

36 Planetarian March 2004

to those members without Internet access. As July. Registration materials can also be Progress within the Language Committee of this writing, the web site is not quite set downloaded from the conference web at has been slower than anticipated owing up for electronic voting, but by our summer www.cac.es/ips2004. largely to illness and a temporary change of issue of the Planetarian, this method of vot- Our conference hosts have invited repre- jobs by the Committee Chair, who was ing will be available and the Elections sentatives from the European Space Agency placed in charge of the entire Museum (with Committee will include a paper ballot in the (ESA) to give a workshop for planetari- 85 staff) in which the Launceston Plane- issue for mail-in voting. ans/educators in conjunction with the tarium is housed. Speaking of elections, the IPS membership Cassini-Huygens arrival at Saturn. Also new Recent months have seen considerable votes on a new President-elect and has the this conference will be a “Fulldome Stand- progress made on translation of the new ver- opportunity to nominate candidates for the ards Summit” workshop offered by Spitz, Inc. sion of the Membership brochure, the offices of Executive Secretary and Treasurer/ and supported by a grant from the National English version of which has been supplied Membership Chair. I strongly urge you to Science Foundation. to the Committee by Dale Smith. Several consider running for one of these positions, The highlight of my visit in Valencia was members of the Committee have submitted or nominate someone who you think would a press conference to officially announce our translated versions of the brochure, and we be an ideal candidate. Please consider this conference to the citizens of Valencia. At one are currently sorting out the logistics of request and contact Steve Mitch, Elections point during the press conference, I handed printing them and/or placing them on the Committee Chair, at smitch@oglebay- the symbolic IPS Conference “bird” over to IPS web page in the different languages. resort.com, with your nomination. You will Jose-Manuel Aguilar, General Director of the Exactly how we present the information also have an opportunity to nominate some- Ciutat de les Arts I Ciencies (CAC). The fol- on the web page will depend on the layout one during our conference business meeting lowing day, four newspapers, radio and tele- of the page itself, which is currently under this summer. vision stations ran this story of the IPS com- review. We shall decide whether the links to ing to Valencia. Society information from the ‘flags’ (in other IPS2004 Conference Update In 2006, our conference will be held in languages) should be purely text-based or Last November I visited Valencia, Spain, Melbourne, Australia and an update will be have full colour versions of the brochure. for a preliminary look at this summer’s con- presented to the membership at the general This question is expected to be resolved very ference site, as well as to meet our hosts, meeting in Valencia. Invitations to host the shortly. review the proposed conference agenda and 2008 conference are still being accepted. Chris Janssen and I have each spent some budget, and stay at one of the four confer- Since my last report, the Hayden Planetar- time working with language translation soft- ence hotels. The staff of the l’Hemispheric ium and Rose Center for Earth & Space of the ware. was very gracious in their hospitality and led American Museum of Natural History in There are a number of web-based transla- me on a detailed tour of the entire Ciutat de New York City has expressed in writing an tion sites. Those examined by the Commit- les Arts i les Ciencies (City of the Arts and interest in hosting the 2008 IPS Conference, tee Chair have been SYSTRAN, SDL, PAR- Sciences). I was quite impressed with their but we have not received their bid as of this ALINK, BABEL FISH and TRAJIM. Several organization, preparedness and general con- writing. The bids thus far are from the sites also offer, at a price, full versions of the cerns for making this a successful conference. Glasgow Science Centre in the United software for downloading. Of these, SYS- The meeting/workshop areas are spacious, Kingdom and the Planetario de Morelia in TRAN seemed to produce the best results, the vendors exhibit hall is adjacent to the Mexico. Council will vote on the 2008 site but all (including SYSTRAN), when used to rooms where paper sessions will be held, and during our business meeting in Valencia. translate their own results back into the orig- there is both inside and outside open spaces Although hosting a conference is a tremen- inal language, showed deficiencies. for socializing. I’m confident that our hosts dous challenge and requires a lot of work, it A major, and consistent, problem was are preparing for a very productive and is a very rewarding experience. If your facili- found in the translation of pronouns. This memorable conference. Registration materi- ty is at all interested in bidding for 2008 and comes about especially between English and als were mailed out in January, but it may having the planetarium profession visit your the many European languages that have take a while for some members to receive city and institution, please contact me or our masculine and feminine nouns. For example, their packets. Again, conference dates are 4-8 Executive Secretary Lee Ann Hennig for de- the French for I miss her very much is Elle me tails on how to apply and host manque beaucoup. SYSTRAN, however, trans- a conference. lates the French Elle me manque beaucoup in- to I miss it much. This is impressive, because Committee Reports this sentence in French is rather unusual: to a As part of my promise to person with only a rudimentary knowledge provide a venue for IPS Com- of French, it would appear that Elle (she) is mittees to be more visible in performing an action, whereas this is not the the context of the member- case. SYSTRAN has correctly interpreted this ship, the following three quar- unusual structure, and has made ‘I’ the terly reports provide current subject of the English version. The pronoun, updates and highlights from however, has been translated as ‘it’; indeed, the Language Committee, the in French, both elle and il (she and he, respec- Professional Services Com- tively), can mean it. In this regard, therefore, mittee and the the translation is not actually flawed, but the concept of missing a female person has been IPS Language lost. At L’Hemispheric press conference. Left to right: IPS Committee After a good deal of investigation, it would President Jon Elvert and General Director of CAC Martin George, Chair appear that translation software is sufficient Jose-Manuel Aguilar. Photo credit: Javier Yaya/CAC.

March 2004 Planetarian 37

for some basic translations, but the user nev- in this regard it seems still to win out by a port. With this in mind, our first broad brush ertheless needs to know a good deal about long way. description of goals looks like this: both the source and destination languages. I recall discussing with fellow students in 1) Outline the general aspects of planetari- In my opinion, the software is a tool, to be the early 1970s whether it would be possible um management and a business approach to used in capable hands. As a further illustra- to develop software to translate perfectly planetarium operation. tion of this, SDL translates Elle me manque between languages, and the question is not 2) Provide guidance to potential people beaucoup into She lacks me a lot. new to me! I commented at the time that it interested in becoming involved in the plan- A typical translation program, when asked would probably be at least 50 years before etarium field. to repeatedly translate backwards and for- we were anywhere near this level. That was 3) Be available to give recommendations wards (using its own results) between two 30 years ago. I still stick by what I said all to candidates and institutions regarding pro- languages, will reach a ‘stable’ point beyond those years ago! files and applications (offering assistance to which there are no longer any further planetarians seeking job related guidance changes. This is sometimes reached after IPS Professional Services Committee within our field). only two iterations, but it can take longer. Mike Murray, Chair These are some great beginnings, but the The abovementioned SDL translation finally Greetings from the Rocky Mountain West! priorities and specifics of what we do depend stabilizes at She lacks me a piece and Elle me I am honored to accept the position of Chair on what you the members feel would be manque un morceau. for your Professional Services Committee. I most valuable. What do you need from a Chris Janssen, has also gone into the sub- have had the great opportunity of commu- Professional Services Committee? I need to ject in considerable detail, and has come up nicating with many of you through the last hear from you. with similar results. several years regarding professional issues, If you look at the IPS website, you’ll read At this point, indications are, in my opin- sometimes because of the rapid changes that the descriptive statement for the com- ion, that the available software is barely ade- affecting our working environment but mittee says to help planetarium profession- quate for our needs. I personally feel that we mostly due to the fine research efforts and als improve their jobs, salaries, and/or get are a very long way from having software contributions to the Planetarium Primer better jobs and higher salaries. With our pos- that will translate between languages well, guide that the Rocky Mountain Planetarium sible new goals in mind, I might propose that especially in such a way that most or all of Association produced in 1998. I’ve always this be changed to say that we help planetar- the subtleties are correctly expressed. It has had a great passion for improving the quali- ium professionals and those interested in often been said that the human brain is the ty of what we do and I look forward to dis- developing planetariums to gain the knowl- most complex computer of all, and, indeed, cussing new methods and techniques with edge and backgrounds necessary to manage a all of you, my col- professional operation. Does this sound like a leagues. good start? I would like to I will also be looking to those of you who acknowledge the fine would like to participate as committee mem- efforts that David bers. Now before you go running away from Menke, your past these pages in fright, just keep in mind that I Chairman, has made know what you’re thinking - what, I don’t for us in the past. His have enough to do already?! I understand thorough surveys of that. I’m there too. But I’m not talking about planetarium profes- a big time commitment. Mostly, I’m looking sionals have aided in for those of you who feel deeply about these a better understand- issues and have some ideas or resources to ing of the kinds of share, and occasionally some communica- backgrounds, train- tions to do with people who need our help. ing, and salaries need- Please feel free to call or email me so we can ed to attract and pro- brainstorm the possibilities. duce professional op- erations. However, I IPS Awards Committee believe that for our Jon U. Bell, Chair profession to evolve Fellows of the International Planetarium and improve, it’s Society going to need more On the following page is a listing of all IPS than just good statis- Fellows as of December 2002. Prior to every tics. I would like to IPS biennial conference, the Awards Com- offer some initial mittee seeks those planetarians who have thoughts on where either contributed significantly to our orga- the Professional Servi- nization, or have been a long-standing mem- ces Committee might ber. If you know of planetarians who meet go from here. The these requirements, let me know so that they committee needs bet- can be recognized as a Fellow at our IPS ter opportunities for Conference this summer. If you recognize training, develop- any IPS Fellows on this list who are now ment, networking, retired or deceased, please let me know this and access to objec- too. C tive advice and sup- 38 Planetarian March 2004

Fellows Etheridge, Dale Lieb, H. Stephen Sharrah, Paul C. (R) = Retired Fairall, Anthony Lowry, William H. Shuey, Ronald (D) = Deceased Fairman, Rita Mallon, Gerald L. (D) Simopoulos, Dionysios P. Favour, Donna Manning, James Sitkova, Zinaida Abraham, James H. Feldman, Charles Marché, Jordan D., II Smith, Charles Adams, Kenneth Fentress, Stephen McCall, Kris Smith, Dale Allen, Robert Fleenor, George McColman, Richard Smith, Daniel D. Amaral, Bess Friedman, Alan J. McGregor, Ian Smith, Jeffery Arai, Tatsuyuki Friedman, Francis Meader, John Smolders, Piet Baber, Barbara Gallant, Roy Melenbrink, Eric Snow, Bryan Back, Mariana Gan, Hiromichi Menke, David Sonntag, Mark Baker, Lonny Geohegan, Jane (R) Mitch, Steven Sperling, Norman Ballantyne, Robert J. George, Martin Monda, Richard Starr, Eileen Bassett, Irvin Gielow, Arthur Moore, Glen Stec, Thomas Bassett, Nello Gijsenbergs, Johan Morris, Tony Stoke, John Batch, David Goering, Keith Mosley, John Storch, Samuel Becker, Gary Gonzales, Val Moutin, Marc Stutz, Fred Becker, Katherine Gould, Alan Muñoz, Gabriel Sumners, Carolyn Bell, Jon U. Grafton, Teresa Murtagh, Terence Takacs, Charles Biddy, Fran (D) Grice, Noreen Negley, Scott Tenschert, Walter (R) Bishop, Jeanne E. Groce, Philip R. O’Leary, James Tidey, Steve Blain, Auray (R) Gutsch Jr., William Olivarez, José Tomlinson, Gary Bowen, Jeff Hagar, Charles F. Pabon, Tony Towne-Huggins, Joyce Broman, Lars Hall, Donald S. (R) Panek, Jeri Toy, Larry Broman, Per Hamilton, George (R) Pasachoff, Jay Trbovich, Sheri Brunello, Christine Harber, Hubert Pedas, Ted Tuttle, Donald E. (R) Buchalter, Terry Hare, John Peery, Richard A. Van Schaik, Harold Button, Reynolds Susan Hart, James Perkins, Ken Vinski, Jerome Callen, Thomas Hastings, Jane Peters, William T. Wasiluk, Elizabeth Calvird, H. Rich (R) Helper, Carole Petersen, Carolyn C. Webster, Dennis Campbell, Paul B. Hemann, Charles Petersen, Mark C. Wharton, John Canter, Rosy Hennig, Lee Ann Peterson, John Whitt, April Carlson, Gary A. Hicks, John Pettersen, Franck Wieser, Sig (R) Carr, Claire Hocking, Thomas Pierce, Donna Williams, John Carr, Everett Q. (D) Hoffman, David (R) Pitluga, Phyllis (R) Wilson, Kenneth Castro, Ignacio Holmes, Charles Pogue, John C. Winslow, Thomas Chamberlain, Joe (R) Hook, James T. Pohl, Scott Wollman, Robert Chamberlain, Von Del Horn, James Purinton, Gary Wyrick, Wayne Chapman, Stu Hostetter, David Rådbo, Marie Young, Warren Chastenay, Pierre Hughes, James Rahunen, Timo Zimmermann, R. Erik Chronister, William Hutton, Michael Ramponi, Loris Clamann, York Irby, Linda Ratcliffe, Martin Service Awards Clarke, Thomas Itoh, Shoichi Reed, George (R) Mark Littmann, 1982 Concannon, Undine Jackson, Francine Reede, Roger J. Ian McLennan, 1982 Conners, Peter Jameson, Edward Reilly, Robert Ronald Hartman, 1984 Cotton, John Johnson, Keith Roehrs,Volker Walter Tenschert, 1986 Davenport, Alan King, Henry C. (R) Russo, Steven Walter Bauersfeld, 1988 Davis, Darryl Kinsella, William Ryan, Michael Jeanne Bishop, 1990 DeRocher, Joseph Knapp, Donald Sampson, Gary Alan Friedman, 1990 DeVore, Edna Knapp, Richard Sasaki, Kosy Von Del Chamberlain, 1992 Dietrich, Bruce L. Knappenberger, Paul Savage, Steven John Mosley, 1994 Doyle, Robert J. Knudsen, Ole Schafer, Sheldon Shoichi Itoh 1996 Dumas, Jacques A. Koonce, Eloise Schindler, Lawrence Dionysios Simopoulos, 1996 Dundee, David A. Kraupe, Thomas Schmidt, Mickey Armand Spitz Jr., 1998 Dunn, Jack A. Laatsch, Shawn Scott, Kevin John Hare, 2000 Elvert, Jon Lazader, William Seltzer, Allen Jane Hastings, 2000 Engle, Paul R. (D) Lazich, Gary Serrie, Jonn Susan Reynolds Button, 2002 Levine, Mark J. Shapiro, Lee

March 2004 Planetarian 39

Minutes of the IPS Council Wilfried Lang- Carl Zeiss focused on continuing on the track of previ- Volkmar Schorcht- Carl Zeiss ous Past Presidents’ initiatives and finalizing Meeting Ann Wagner- Carl Zeiss the report on the 2002 IPS Conference Dr. Dale Smith- Chair, Publications Com- which his facility hosted. Carl Zeiss Factory mittee • Congratulations to Planetarian Editor Jena, Germany John Mosley on the redesign and quali- October 4, 5, 2003 The meeting was called to order at 9:10 ty of production on the organization’s * indicates action items A.M. by President Jon Elvert. Jon welcomed journal. Council to Jena and introduced Wilfried • The Strategic Planning Committee In attendance: Lang of the Carl Zeiss Factory, our host for under the Chairmanship of John President Jon Elvert the Council Meeting. October 2003 marked Dickenson is progressing on its initia- President-Elect Martin George the 80th anniversary of the first planetarium tive of reevaluation of the state and Past President Martin Ratcliffe instrument that was assembled and demon- future of IPS. Treasurer Shawn Laatsch strated by Carl Zeiss in Jena. Mr. Lang gave a • The IPS 2002 Conference raised rev- Secretary Lee Ann Hennig brief history of the Zeiss facility and of the enues for the IPS Treasury which will Jena region in general. Jon expressed Coun- enable us to maintain our dues at an Affiliate Representatives: cil’s gratitude to Wilfried Lang, Volkmar even level for a while. This was due to Association of Dutch Speaking Planetariums- Schorcht, and Ann Wagner of Carl Zeiss, and an excellent membership attendance Chris Janssen for Michel Hommel Laura Misajet of Seiler Instruments for spon- and vendor support. Association of French Speaking Planetariums sorship of the IPS Council Meeting. Council • The IPS 2002 Conference was successful (APLF) - Agnès Acker voted to formally thank Zeiss and Seiler for also because of the financial planning. Association of Mexican Planetariums their generous sponsorship of the 2003 IPS The budget was based on an attendance (AMPAC) - Gabriel R. Muñoz for Ignacio Council Meeting. The President reviewed the number of 300 registrants; however, Castro Pinal proposed agenda for the meeting and em- there were actually 451 delegates. The Association of Spanish Planetariums (APLE)- phasized the rules and the privileges of the factors that contributed to the overall Javier Armentia Affiliate Representatives regarding Council profit margin were: increased number of Australasian Planetarium Society (APS) - matters. participants, strong vendor support, and Martin George for Glen Moore The Secretary’s Report on the Minutes the fact that meal costs remained the British Association of Planetaria (BAP) - of the 2002 Wichita, Kansas Meeting had same despite the higher attendance. Teresa Grafton been previously published in the March • Martin expressed his gratitude to Canadian Association of Science Centres 2003 Planetarian. Donna Pierce moved to Council for support and friendship dur- (CASC) - John Dickenson accept the Minutes, seconded by John Dick- ing his presidency and conference host Council of German Planetariums (RDP) – Dr. enson, and approved by Council. Secretary duties. Andreas Haenel Lee Ann Hennig reported that beginning European/Mediterranean Planetarium Asso- with the 2004 Conference, the IPS Council President Jon Elvert presented the ciation (EMPA) – Jon Elvert for Dionysios Packets will be distributed electronically. President’s Report as a reflection of where we Simopoulos The electronic version will allow Council are as an organization: what we are doing, Great Lakes Planetarium Association (GLPA) members to review the materials as they are where the transition is taking place, what - Susan Reynolds Button submitted in a more timely manner. The our goals are, and how the current state of Great Plains Planetarium Association (GPPA hard copy will be available to all Council IPS is perceived. – John Hare for Jack Dunn members closer to the time of the Council • Thanks to Past President Martin Rat- Italian Planetaria’s Friends Association (IPFA) Meeting. cliffe for his leadership and guidance. - Loris Ramponi Shawn Laatsch presented the Treasurer’s • Jon’s original goal to strengthen IPS as Japan Planetarium Society (JPS) - Shoichi Report. Council reviewed and discussed an organization by working with Itoh specifics of the 2002 Financial Report, the Affiliates and improving communica- Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society (MAPS) mid-year 2003 Budget, and the proposed tions between IPS and the Affiliates is - Lee Ann Hennig for Paul Krupinski 03/04 Budget. The Treasurer reported that continuing. He has attended several Nordic Planetarium Association (NPA) - Lars the change over from print to CD format for regional conferences and plans to Broman special publications has dramatically attend as many more as possible. Pacific Planetarium Association (PPA) - Jon reduced the expense of that production. The • Jon is expanding efforts at enhancing Elvert for Gail Chaid 2002 IPS Wichita Conference resulted in a the image of IPS with professional soci- Rocky Mountain Planetarium Association profit. Past President Martin Ratcliffe will eties/organizations and seeking oppor- (RMPA) - Donna Pierce for Aaron McEuen give a review of the conference in his tunities for cooperation with those enti- Southeastern Planetarium Association (SEPA) Conference Report. Discussion regarding ties. - John Hare advertising rates and the possibility of selling • The visible statement of our organiza- Southwestern Association of Planetariums the Planetarian outside the membership will tion, the Planetarian, has emerged as a (SWAP) – Donna Pierce be reconsidered in the Publications Report. flagship of which we can be proud – it is Susan Button moved to approve the report, on time, every time, it is a high quality Affiliates not in attendance: seconded by Agnès Acker, and approved by product, and it should receive more Planetarium Society of India (PSI) Council. exposure/distribution. Russian Planetarium Association (RPA) The Past President’s Report was deliv- • The IPS Website will undergo a dramat- Ukrainian Planetarium Association (UPA) ered by Past President Martin Ratcliffe. ic redesign in the coming year in order Martin reported that much of his work was to better serve the membership. Guests:

40 Planetarian March 2004

• Jon hopes to expand affiliate societies look into this issue with regard to dealing duce a current list of IPS Fellows/Service and IPS membership to other regions of with future projects and report back to Award winners. He will be organizing his the world as well as promoting mem- Council. committee to fulfill the goals for the award bership in the existing affiliates. APLF Representative Agnès Acker presentations in Valencia in 2004. • The 2004 IPS Valencia Conference plan- reported on the state of French Planetariums Elections Committee Chair Steve Mitch ning is going well and details are avail- and how they are utilized in the schools and submitted his report on the results of the able on the IPS Website. communities. Agnès spoke of the coopera- election of officers for 2005/06. Martin • The President reports that IPS is progres- tion among planetariums, teachers and the George was declared the victor for the office sing as an organization and seeking Hands On Universe program in an effort to of President-Elect, Lee Ann Hennig (unop- improvement through several on-going utilize astronomy in the schools. She also posed) for Executive Secretary and Shawn initiatives and future proposals. reported on collaboration among the French Laatsch (unopposed) for Treasurer/Member- Space Agency, ESO, the French Minister of ship Chair. Affiliate Reports Education, and French planetariums to pro- In June of 2003, the Elections Com- Discussion regarding the Affiliate Report duce planetarium presentations in several mittee completed an article for President Jon Form resulted in the following suggestions languages. This sparked some discussion Elvert’s “President’s Message” in the Septem- for improvement: among Council members about the possibili- ber edition of the Planetarian. The article dis- • Include a line for special equipment/ ty of working together and exchanging pro- cusses some of the outstanding issues facing provisions needed for Affiliate Report to grams on a global scale. the Elections Committee and possible reme- Council/General Meeting JPS Representative Shoichi Itoh report- dies. The Elections Committee will be put- • Design a standard map template for ed that the Japan Astronomical Society is dis- ting forth a call for nominations for the next Affiliate Reports tributing a DVD about the Subaru Telescope, round of elections as required by IPS By- • Add a line for Affiliate/IPS News Con- very in-depth view of the instrument and its Laws, beginning in March 2004. A prelimi- tact for Planetarian’s International News scientific goals. Shoi previewed the DVD to nary slate of candidates for the offices of Column Council members during the break. President-Elect, Executive Secretary, and ADSP Representative Chris Janssen Treasurer/Membership Chair will be present- Council reviewed the draft of the Affili- reported that the new Affiliate has grown ed in a report to IPS Council at the confer- ate Responsibilities Document and discus- from 4 to 11 members and is actively seeking ence in Valencia, Spain. Suggestions from sion by Council followed. Since there was new members. Chris said that by offering to Council for the Elections Committee to con- limited response to revise the draft, it was host a meeting of the ADSP in other plane- sider included the following: decided to allow Council more time for tariums, they spread the word of the benefits • Strive for at least two candidates for input, * then a final draft would be presented and goals of becoming members of the orga- each office to Council for consideration prior to the nization. • Implement an electronic voting option Valencia Council Meeting. RDP Representative Dr. Andreas Haenel for the membership Written Affiliate Reports were reviewed. reported on upcoming conferences in Kiev • Biographical data of the candidates In Affiliate News from the floor: and Hamburg. should be posted on the Web APS Representative Martin George re- AMPAC Representative Gabriel R. • Encourage Affiliate Representatives to ported on the fire damage to the Australian Muñoz reported the Sept. 5 and 27, 2003, actively participate in the nominations observatory community. IPS made a contri- openings of two new planetariums. process bution of $500 to the reconstruction effort *Council agreed to introduce an Treasurer/Membership Committee for the observatories. Affiliate Calendar of Events to be published Chair Shawn Laatsch presented the Mem- APLF Representative Agnès Acker asked in each issue of the Planetarian and to bership Report. Updating the 2002 Report, about the possibility of offering multilingual remind Affiliates to post such announce- Shawn reported that Dale Smith and Martin translations of some of the NASA posters. * ments on the IPS Website and IPSnews. George continue to promote IPS member- President Jon Elvert will follow up on this Donna Pierce moved to accept all Affiliate ship on a global basis through their travels. request with Anita Sohus. Reports, seconded by Shawn Laatsch and Shawn encourages all IPS members to spread RDP Representative Dr. Andreas Haenel approved by Council. the word of the benefits of IPS membership inquired about the higher cost of the Cassini within their regions or when they travel. * planetarium program, “Ring World”, for Standing Committee Reports The Benefits of Membership Document non-US IPS members. President Jon Elvert Standing Committee Reports were pre- should be ready for review by Council in replied that the difference was due to the sented, reviewed and discussed. December. It will be forwarded to all Affili- legal agreement among the producers of the John Dickenson inquired about the ates and made available on the IPS Web Site. program, NASA, and JPL. There was discus- nature and activity of IPS committees and Council members shared ideas on how sion among Council members about how to chair positions. President Jon Elvert reviewed they are promoting IPS membership in their deal with the issue of distribution of materi- the history of chair appointments and his regions, such as: promoting IPS membership als to IPS members: that is, how do we insure philosophy of the effectiveness and purposes in regional publications and distributing that all members are treated equitably on of committees in general. * Jon is in the pro- extra copies of the Planetarian to new plane- the materials distribution issue. It was agreed cess of reevaluating all IPS committees in tarians. * It was also suggested that IPS dis- that IPS should not bear the costs of distribu- terms of their activities and goals and will be tribute Certificates of Membership for mem- tion if the materials are not going to all making recommendations as to the future of bers to display at their facilities. members. Another suggestion was to seek each committee. Past President Martin Ratcliffe reported collaboration with ESA to promote the inter- President Jon Elvert announced that he on his efforts to draft a Corporate Mem- national distribution aspect of this issue. * has appointed Jon Bell as Chair of the IPS bership proposal. President Jon Elvert and the officers will Awards Committee. *Chair Jon Bell will pro- • Set up three levels of corporate mem-

March 2004 Planetarian 41

bership/sponsorship depending on the audit at the change of office of the Treasurer. in 2000, which made Proceedings a size of the support Since it has been some time since a change in required element of the biennial confer- • Benefits of corporate membership office, Council agreed that it might be pru- ence and a benefit of membership. would depend on the level of support dent to look into this issue. * John Dickenson Special Publications: and might include some variations on moved to request the Treasurer to explore • The Portable Planetarium User’s Hand- the following: complementary mem- the expense and process of auditing the book – Editor Susan Reynolds Button bership(s); acknowledgement of corpo- books in the United States and report back to and the Portable Planetarium Commit- rate membership in biennial conference Council at Valencia, seconded by John Hare tee completed this comprehensive proceedings, conference program, and and approved by Council. guide for portable (and small) planetari- Planetarian; conference discount; mail- The Publications Committee Chair Dale ums. It was distributed in CD-ROM for- ing labels; insertions/complementary Smith reported on the activities of the Com- mat with the September 2002 Plane- advertisement in the Planetarian. mittee. The Planetarian, under the leadership tarian. of John Mosley (now in his 16th year as • IPS Astronomical Songbook- (Jon Bell, Discussion by Council suggested that Editor), has progressed with the redesign ini- Editor) texts for dozens of astronomical the proposal address the revenue issues, lev- tiative to an all-digital layout. The conver- songs and recordings of many of them. els of membership, and other options for sion to full-color and change of paper stock The CD-ROM master is ready and copies benefits related to the corporate category.* A from matte to glossy was completed with will be pressed and distributed with a revised proposal will be presented to Council the September 2003 issue. The feature future issue of the Planetarian. for approval in January. columns are prepared by a dedicated team of • The Moon Phase Book (Jay Ryan, President Jon Elvert presented an out- Associate Editors; senior among these is Jim artist/author) artwork has been digitally line of the relevant topics that should be Manning, whose “What’s New” column has scanned and the presentation format is included in an IPS Annual Report Proposal to appeared since 1989, and he is closely fol- being arranged. Release date for the CD- the membership. Such a document would lowed by Susan Reynolds Button whose ROM will be early 2004. address the following: “Mobile News Network” column first • Small/Portable Planetarium Guidebook • Financial Report: a brief statement of appeared in 1990. “Focus on Education” and in Spanish (Pedro Saizar, astronomer/ the overall financial state of the organi- “NASA News” are recent additions to the educator/ author) is a project in the zation repertoire of columns. The rates for advertis- works intended for Spanish-speaking • Publications: state of materials in pro- ing were raised in January 2003 to reflect the planetarians. A first draft is now com- gress, or already published, and future rate of inflation over the last 4 years. Dale plete and under review. To be released publications reminded Affiliates to solicit articles from in CD-ROM format. • Summary of the President’s Message on their membership for publication considera- Status of other documents, publications, and the State of IPS tion in the Planetarian. efforts: • Visuals: supporting material for main • The IPS Directory was mailed to all mem- • An “Eloquent Rationale for Planetar- items/text bers in June in CD-ROM format. The edi- iums” was completed and printed in the • The document should be multilingual tion featured two significant changes March 2003 Planetarian. • The materials from the annual Affiliate from prior editions. First, it was issued in • In cooperation with the Membership and Committee Reports should be in- CD-ROM format, and second, it inaugu- Committee, we rewrote the IPS mem- cluded in such a document. rated the co-publication of the planetar- bership brochure last year and oversaw • The vehicle for this report should be the ium and vendor directories. The IPS a complete redesign into a full-color for- Professional Services Committee Directory of the World’s Planetariums mat. The Language Committee is cur- * The officers will present a draft document (white pages) lists information about rently translating the brochure into sev- for the Annual Report for Council’s consider- the over 2800 planetariums worldwide eral languages and it will be printed for ation. known to IPS. The IPS Resource Directory distribution in 2004. Membership Chair Shawn Laatsch will (yellow pages) lists information about • Dale reminded Affiliate Representatives be incorporating the material proposed by 800 companies and organizations that that it would be helpful in the produc- John Dickenson in the Membership Guide offer products or services of interest to tion of the Directories to have delegate into the Benefits of Membership Document. planetarians. The directories were lists from regional conferences and Dale Smith, as chair of a committee to released in PDF format to give universal membership lists from affiliates. research alternate methods of representation platform-independent access, permit • Dale reported that IPS keeps three repos- of votes among Affiliates, spoke to the issue searching, preserve the appearance of itories of back publications: the U.S. of the fairness of Affiliate representation in the printed page, and allow easy print- Repository is with Treasurer/Member- terms of large and small affiliates alike hav- out by the user. There are also active ship Chair Shawn Laatsch; the European ing a single representative. This issue of how links to all e-mail and web addresses. Repository is with Chris Janssen in to be equitable in the representation process Eventually, the Directory files will be Genk, Belgium; and the Asian Reposito- is challenging. Dale suggested that a weight- placed on the members’ only area of the ry is with Shoichi Itoh at the Suginami ed or scaled voting method be studied (not a IPS Website and fresh versions will be Science Center in Tokyo, Japan. strict direct proportion). * It was agreed that uploaded periodically. • IPS continues the program of exchang- the Strategic Planning Committee research • The Proceedings of the IPS 2002 Con- ing abstracts between the Planetarian the issue and make recommendations/alter- ference in Wichita, under the editorship and the APLF French journal Planétari- natives to the voting representation issue. of Alan Gould, were distributed in CD- ums and the JPS Japanese journal NPA Representative Lars Broman in- ROM format with the December 2002 Twilight. quired about the requirements of an audit of issue of the Planetarian. The distribution • The Committee also coordinates the the IPS finances. The By-Laws require an continued the IPS policy implemented inserts provided by the Planetary

42 Planetarian March 2004

Society, the JPL Outreach office and state materials emphasizing astronomical accura- other organizations providing materials • The purpose and function of the com- cy. Please contact Jeanne if you are interest- to the membership. mittee could be better administered ed. under the auspices of another commit- The IPS Education Committee Report In closing, the Chairman reported that tee, such as the Professional Services was submitted by Chair April Whitt, who conversion to CD-ROM in PDF format for Committee reports the following future projects: most of our publications has produced a sav- • Upper elementary level Moon program: ings of 80% in the cost of duplication and Discussion by Council resulted in a * perhaps in cooperation with GOTO, and distribution compared to print publications. motion by John Dickenson to abolish the translated in various Indian dialects These savings allow IPS more flexibility in Ethics Committee as a Standing Committee, • Star Lab Lesson Plans on the IPS Website the production of non-journal publications. seconded by John Hare and approved by • Saturn Observation Campaign in coop- * John Dickenson moved to request the Council. * John Dickenson moved to bring eration with NASA President acknowledge the superb work of the amendment of the By-Laws abolishing Editor John Mosley regarding the Plane- the Ethics Committee, Article VIII, Section 6, The IPS History Committee Report was tarian, seconded by Martin Ratcliffe and to a vote by the General Membership, sec- delivered by Historian John Hare. The tasks approved by Council. President Jon Elvert onded by John Hare, and approved by Coun- of preservation, documentation, and display will write a letter to John expressing Coun- cil. Council also considered that the possibil- of IPS historical items, as well as Affiliate cil’s congratulations on the Editor’s efforts ity of a “Code of Ethics” regarding safety items of interest are progressing. Archive files and results. standards of planetariums, membership con- will be scanned and stored on CD-ROMs. The Council discussed methods of encourag- duct, business practices, etc., might be worth committee reminds members to please pass ing submission of articles to the Planetarian. studying for inclusion into such a document on any relevant materials to Chair John Martin Ratcliffe suggested that six that would serve to define what is meant by Hare. In preparation for the 2004 IPS Valen- weeks prior to the Planetarian deadline, a “Code of Ethics”. cia Conference, John will produce an * posting should be made through IPSnews on Historical Perspective of IPS available in sev- “Instructions on Submitting an Article to the IPS 2004 Conference Report eral languages. Discussion within Council Planetarian”. Other suggestions included list- President Jon Elvert gave a preliminary generated several suggestions for action: ing proposed topics for articles on the report on the 2004 IPS Conference in Valen- • Several IPS members will be requested Web/Planetarian, and providing extra copies cia. Jose Carlos Guirado will be giving the to write retrospectives on IPS of the Planetarian or other IPS Publications detailed report to Council tomorrow. Jon • Publications Chair Dale Smith will coor- for door prizes/giveaways at regional/IPS will be visiting Valencia in December to dinate with Historian John Hare and conferences. check on the venue hotel and conference APLF Representative Agnès Acker to dig- Lars Broman suggested the Committee planning. itize various publications consider two publications for consideration: John Dickenson moved to adjourn the • Publications Chair Dale Smith will coor- a planetarium handbook similar to the pub- Council Meeting, seconded by Susan Rey- dinate with Historian John Hare and lication that GLPA published years ago, and nolds Button and approved by Council. Editor John Mosley to select a History a college level text on planetarium manu- Council Meeting was adjourned at 6:15 P.M., Editor for a column in the Planetarian scripts/writings/histories. to be continued on Sunday, October 4, 2003. The Language Committee Report was President Jon Elvert reminded Affiliates presented by Chair Martin George. Martin to be sure to have copies of the IPS Mem- Continuation of IPS Council Meeting, 9:00 reported that work on translating the IPS bership Brochure available at their regional A.M., Oct. 5, 2003 Membership Brochure is progressing. Several conferences as well as the Benefits Docu- Additional Attendees: translation programs have been investigated ment. Treasurer Shawn Laatsch has copies Jose Carlos Guirado- Valencia, Spain by the committee under the leadership of available for distribution. * It was suggested Chris Janssen and Martin. Their investiga- that Shawn forward these publications to President Jon Elvert called the meeting tions show that most translation software is the Affiliates in time for their conferences. to order as a continuation from the previous sufficient for some basic translations howev- day. er, a native speaker is still essential for accu- Ethics Committee: vacant racy. * The Committee will continue to President Jon Elvert proposed to Council Ad Hoc Committee Reports monitor the technology and will make rec- that the Ethics Committee, which has lan- Armand Spitz Planetarium Education ommendations in Valencia. The Language guished for years without a Chairperson or Fund has a balance of $5154.47. The Treasur- Committee will work with the Historian on direction, should be reconsidered as a viable er reported no activity regarding the account translation for text on the Historical IPS committee. Jon’s suggestion to Council was this year. There will be a proposal in New Perspective Presentation. Teresa Grafton sug- that perhaps if the goals of this committee Business for the use of the Funds. Council dis- gested and Council agreed, that Martin’s were assumed by an active committee, then cussed the past uses of the funds and poten- Report should be published in the Plane- it might have better direction. Among the tial future projects- these discussions will be tarian. reasons cited for a change in the status of the continued in New Business. IPS Lasers in Planetariums Committee – committee are: The IPS Consumer Affairs/Astrology no report • The committee has not been active nor Committee Report was submitted by Chair IPS Media Distribution Committee had a chairperson for over ten years Jeanne Bishop. Jeanne’s article concerning Report was given by Shawn Laatsch on be- • There have been no relevant issues re- the naming of astronomical objects should half of Chair Thomas Kraupe. Shawn lated to the committee’s goals/objec- be in an upcoming issue of the Planetarian. announced that the new SOHO: Exploring the tives in that time period Jeanne reports upon Barbara Baber’s retire- Sun DVD is available. The Slide Service is • It clutters up the By-Laws in its present ment, there is an opening for a reviewer of operational and information about subscrip-

March 2004 Planetarian 43

tions is posted on the IPS Website. The com- for small/mobile planetariums. The commit- receive $300 (USD). Congratulations to all mittee is still engaged in planning for up- tee continues to monitor and encourage a competitors. coming projects. number of activities by portable planetari- Council discussed how to make the con- Chair Christine Shupla submitted the ans and manufacturers as well as workshops test more inclusive of other languages as well Outreach Committee report. The committee and contributions to conferences. The latest as how to encourage more entries. * Chair continues to pursue partnerships and coop- news regarding portable planetaria is pub- Steve Tidey and the committee will conduct erative ventures with organizations sharing lished in the Planetarian column “Mobile a review of the contest guidelines and make a common goal with the planetarium field. News Network”, so please send your news to a proposal to Council in Valencia regarding Christine, Jon Elvert, and Martin Ratcliffe, Susan. The committee would like to receive improvements in the implementation and have represented IPS at various events host- information about the following items in goals of the contest. ed by the astronomy/space science commu- particular: John Hare reported on behalf of Jan nity. The membership has received materials • remarks/reviews on equipment Sifner, Chair of the IPS Technology Commit- from a variety of sources as inserts in the • contact information on new portables tee. This young committee is in the process Planetarian thanks in part to the work of the • workshops/conferences of setting up databases of vendors, spare Outreach Committee’s efforts in strengthen- • number of portables in each affiliate parts, and technical solutions. They plan to ing ties with industry and science education and how they are utilized focus on assisting planetarians utilize new partners. IPSnews continues to provide a Serafino Zani Astronomical Observa- technologies in the planetarium field; main- valuable service in communications to our tory (Lumezzane/Brescia) continues to col- tain and upgrade their existing facilities; pro- membership. Council encourages committee laborate (since 1995) with the IPS Portable vide information on technical standards in chairs to use IPSnews as a means of inform- Planetarium Committee to host an Ameri- the planetarium field. This work in progress ing members of the purpose and work of IPS can planetarium operator who presents will be posted on the IPS Technology Com- committees and to promote participation in lessons with an itinerant planetarium to mittee Webpage on the IPS Website. the committees. high school students of English. The 2003 John Dickenson, Chair of the Strategic George Fleenor, Chair of the Light Pollu- winner is Dayle Brown from Mishawaka, Planning Committee reviewed the status of tion Initiative Subcommittee under the aus- Indiana. the proposal addressing the restructuring of pices of the Outreach Committee, and Jack * Council discussion resulted in the fol- IPS. The proposal is designed to conduct a Dunn authored “Saving the Night by lowing suggestions regarding portable plane- study of IPS operations to: Supporting Dark Skies” published in the tariums: • determine member satisfaction with IPS September 2003 Planetarian. George pro- • Conference Committee should include services posed to Council that IPS donate funding for a focus on Portable Planetariums in the • develop a strategic plan for the Society the purchase of a traveling exhibit highlight- planning process • recommend options for future gover- ing the “Myths of Nighttime Lighting”. • Conference Guidelines should include nance and structure Although Council voiced support for the dimensions for Portable Planetarium McLennan-Ballantyne Consulting theme and agreed in principle about the setups Consortium, consisting of Ian C. McLennan value of the exhibit, there were several con- • Encourage portable planetarium opera- and Robert J. Ballantyne (both experienced cerns brought up in the discussion. * tors to join IPS planetarians and consultants) has been cho- Council requested that President Jon Elvert • Encourage partnerships between sen to conduct the study. The consultants discuss the details of the issue with George portable planetariums and larger/fixed will use the following methodology in and report back to Council. domes preparing their report: The IPS Planetarium Development The IPS Professional Services Commit- • conduct a number of interviews to Group chaired by Ken Wilson is making tee is without a chair. President Jon Elvert ascertain economic and industry trends progress on the IPS Planetarium Development reports this is one of the committees that • survey IPS membership and non-mem- Guide. Peer review of the completed chap- will be reevaluated for its goals and objec- ber planetariums using an on-line ters has been accomplished by Ken and by tives and that the new chair will be tasked forum Alan Gould. The original pamphlet “So You with helping to formulate those terms of ref- • interview IPS leadership and review sig- Want to Build a Planetarium” has been con- erence. Steve Fentress, Chair of the IPS Job nificant materials to verify history and verted to PDF format and will be posted on Information Service Subcommittee, contin- operations of IPS the IPS Website before the Valencia Con- ues to post job opportunities to the IPS The Report will be presented at the ference. Upon approval of the Publications Website and IPSnews. 2004 IPS Valencia Conference. John walked Committee, the completed peer reviewed Steve Tidey, Chair of the IPS Script Con- the Council through a workshop relating to chapters will be posted along with a listing test Committee submitted a report on the the methods of the study, the time-line for of the chapter topics remaining. Ken could Eugenides Foundation Script Contest. Four the study, and ideas and strategies for evalu- still use authors interested in the following scripts were submitted for review by the ating and implementing the study and dis- topics: Special Effects and Multi-Image; judges. After evaluating each script, the top seminating the information to IPS member- Sound Systems and Studios; Wide Angle Film two prize winning submissions were: ship. Council members discussed their per- Systems. Javier Armentia suggested that Ken First Place - Castillo del Cielo, written by ceptions of the key issues and challenges fac- look into a “collaborative tool” used on the Gary Lazich ing IPS as an organization, and emphasized website which would enable the posted Second Place - A Whale’s Tale, written their desire to have those topics addressed in product to be updated. by Jon Bell the study. President Jon Elvert expressed his Chair Susan Reynolds Button presented * These scripts will be placed in the IPS Script gratitude to John Dickenson for his work on the Portable Planetarium Committee Report. Bank and printed in the Planetarian, in accor- the study and its promised results. The Portable Planetarium Users Handbook was dance with the competition rules. Gary will President Jon Elvert reported that the distributed in late 2002- a valuable resource receive a prize of $700 (USD) and Jon will officers feel it is time for the IPS Website is to

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undergo a dramatic redesign and reformat- will review the By-Laws and Standing Rules set up and/or maintain contacts in those ting to serve as the appropriate window into to identify sections which need updated ter- areas where there are no active affiliates.* our organization. The website should be at a minology (references to include “electronic” Council directed President Jon Elvert to con- standard to which our journal aspires. To means of balloting and communication), tact all such affiliates and personally review meet this goal, President Jon Elvert will other modifications, and overall structure their status with IPS. * Martin Ratcliffe appoint Alan Gould as Chair of the IPS Web for ease of reading. moved to charge The Strategic Planning Committee. Council expressed thanks to Committee to study this issue and report Tom Callen for setting up the initial IPS Old Business back to Council in Valencia, seconded by Website and nurturing it through its early At the 2002 IPS Wichita Conference, Shawn Laatsch, and approved by Council. stages. The committee will continue to do Council approved Loris Ramponi’s proposal Conference Guidelines Status Report the bulk of the work devoted to maintaining that an IPS Update Video for use by affiliates was given by Dale Smith. The guidelines are and updating the site, while we seek a profes- at regional conferences be produced. Council still under review and * will be completed sional to redesign and reformat the site to IPS tasked the Media Committee to investigate under the guidance of Past President Martin specifications. * Susan Reynolds Button the proposal with respect to using a CD for- Ratcliffe moved to approve a proposal for redesign mat. Loris reminded Council that the visibil- and reformatting the IPS Website contingent ity of IPS is important and this project would New Business on specifications to be presented to Council serve as an effective vehicle at regional meet- NPA Representative Lars Broman pre- in December, seconded by Lars Broman, and ings. * President Jon Elvert will follow up on sented a proposal regarding the Armand approved by Council. this issue to insure that the project meets the Spitz Planetarium Education Fund. The pro- Shawn Laatsch moved to approve all following guidelines: posal requested a grant to fund two master reports, seconded by Donna Pierce, and • An introduction/greeting by the IPS students’ internships and field work at a approved by Council. President planetarium for three months, April-June • A brief description of IPS (benefits/ 2004. The students are attending a 50-week IPS Conference Reports goals) Master’s Program in Science Communi- Jose Carlos presented the IPS 2004 Con- • Highlights/ Review of the year cation at Dalarna University (Högskolan ference Report on the plans and preparations • Upcoming Conference/special news Dalarna), Falun, Sweden. This is in prepara- for the conference in Valencia, Spain. This endeavor should involve the tion for careers in science centers, planetari- Council discussed details of the budget, Media Distribution Committee and Lang- ums, or museums. Council asked Lars ques- schedule, and registration details. The Local uage Committee. tions regarding his proposal. To allow further Organizing Committee has carefully plan- At the 2002 IPS Wichita Conference, discussion among Council members, Lars ned an exciting and productive conference Council charged the officers to review the Broman and John Dickenson (recused him- in a beautiful venue. Standing Rules regarding Affiliate Organi- self from the discussion) left the Council 2002 IPS Wichita Conference Host zations, in particular: meeting for the discussion. Upon review of Martin Ratcliffe gave a brief review of the • Section II.1.A.2.ii, which addresses the the guidelines for the ASPEF, and the request financial aspects of the Wichita Conference. minimum number of members of a proposal terms, * John Hare moved to accept John Dickenson reminded future conference potential affiliate organization Lars Broman’s proposal for a grant from the hosts that the audio/visual rentals can be ex- • Section II.1.C.1-3, which addresses voting Armand Spitz Planetarium Education Fund pensive and should be carefully considered representation with the conditions listed below, seconded in budgets. • Section X.1,2, which addresses travel by Teresa Grafton and approved by Council: 2006 IPS Melbourne Conference expenses and reimbursement for repre- • the students will submit a report to spokesperson Martin George reported on the sentatives attending Council Meetings Council describing their experiences plans for the July 24-27, Australian event. Secretary Lee Ann Hennig reported on and the significance of their project Conference organizers expect the registra- the officers’ discussion regarding the need to • the report will be published in the Plan- tion fee to be approximately $365.00 (USD). modify these rules. etarian and posted on the IPS Website Pre and Post tours will include Tasmania and One suggestion is to add a section 3 to • Two scholarships of $500 (USD) will be the observatories of New South Wales and the By-Laws under Affiliate Organizations: awarded for one year and will then be Mt. Stromlo. Updates will be posted on the II.1.A.3 which would address the following evaluated for a possible second year web and a presentation will be made in items with regard to new affiliates: renewal Valencia. • stipulate a minimum time period that * The Secretary will include the guidelines of 2008 Preliminary Bids were submitted the organization has been in existence the Armand Spitz Planetarium Education by the The ScottishPower Space Theatre, prior to application for affiliation Fund and the Star Partners Fund as appen- Glasgow Science Centre, Glasgow, Scotland, • demonstrate a record supporting viabili- dices to the Standing Rules. and Morelia’s Convention Center and Expo, ty of the organization (for example: Treasurer/Membership Chair Shawn Morelia, Mexico. Complete presentations by number of meetings, length of existence Laatsch reported that he and Dale Smith both bidders will be made in Valencia. since adoption of constitution, evi- were working on a proposal regarding identi- dence of sustainable membership fication of potential candidates to receive Constitution Issues Extended discussion continued on this IPS benefits through the Star Partners funds * The Secretary will notify Elections issue, as well as how to address the problems and a means of implementing the funding Committee Chair Steve Mitch to prepare a associated with affiliates that are not active process. * Susan Reynolds Button suggested ballot for the question of a By-Laws amend- or cannot maintain enough members to that the document which describes the ment regarding the dissolution of the Ethics fully participate in the IPS community. goals, objectives, and purpose of the Star Committee. Opinions were voiced about steps we could * The Strategic Planning Committee take to assist such affiliates, as well as how to (Please see Minutes on page 63)

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serve any more of the technology and know- we don’t have a planet that starts with a ’C.’ Forum how than one sees displayed in science We need to shake things up and try new museums and the Kennedy Space Center. It’s things sometimes. Mostly for our audiences, depressing to realize we approached the but for ourselves too. Apollo artifacts with the same throwaway Excellence It may not always be attained, mentality as we did a tin of beans. Both but it must be striven for to achieve the best ended up on the rubbish heap of history. success available. The European Union, a political and eco- Motivation This can be tough after doing nomic grouping of over a dozen countries, the same show six times in one day to a has a larger GDP than the USA, believe it or bunch of restless 4th graders. But it has to be not. The European Space Agency thus has a there - you know, for the kids. lot to draw on, and so a joint Europe/USA Joyful Being joyful will not only advance space venture, carrying on from where we’ve your planetarium, it feels good. This is a nat- left off with the ISS, is certainly likely. (Hey, ural for most of us and it’s a big plus in we all want a piece of this pie!). China will go advancing the wonders of astronomy. We ahead with its adventurous space plans love teaching with a smile. regardless of how the political winds in the Supportive Always, in all directions. Even USA blow, and so I believe President Bush’s when you ask the audience to name the big- proposal will fly because the new challenges gest planet in our solar system and some in space will be too tempting to resist. child blurts out “Saturn”, we must answer Steve Tidey The media will portray it as a race back to with a, ‘Good try.’ the Moon against China (hey, wasn’t that Understanding Even when facing the 58 Prince Avenue, the eerily prescient topic of a recent Forum most ardent astrologer or UFO-crazed nut, Southend, Essex, SS2 6NN column? Wow, how did that happen?) and we need to be understanding of them and so planetarians are going to be a busy bunch their beliefs. We need understanding even England of people running extra Moon/Mars/space when budgets are cut, or with other bad [email protected] travel education initiatives for some time to news. Without understanding, we harbor come. And when that comes about, we’ll all anger and as Yoda said, “That leads to the be doing ourselves a favor if we can incorpo- dark side.” Equinoctal greetings to one and all. rate into our work more of the characteris- Notable Really wanted to say leadership As I write, news about the USA’s new push tics we admire in others across the profes- here, but again no ‘L’ planet. You and your for the human exploration of the Moon and sion. The media and public will use us as planetarium need to stand out in your com- Mars is just breaking. To say the least, that’s information conduits, so we’ll need to put munity as much as possible. Staff and star exciting news for planetarians, of course, as it our best foot forward. And that brings me on shows should be memorable and enjoyable. puts our much-loved subject matter more in to the current Forum topic, which is: Positive Two atoms are zipping around the public focus than usual for an indefinite the Galaxy and one atom says to the other, ‘I time if the promise becomes a reality. (And if We all have fellow planetarians whom we think I lost an electron.’ The other atom says, it does, be prepared to see Robert Zubrin on admire for their professionalism in one or ‘Are you sure?’ And the one atoms says, your TV screens an awful lot. The hat he more areas of the job. You can name names if ‘Yeah, I’m positive.’ It helps in so many ways wears will become the new fashion item). you like, but what qualities and skills do to be positive, but not necessarily with When I heard the news I had a mental image you most admire in others, skills that would humor. of people desperately digging through a load push the profession forward if we could all Bob Bonadurer of rubbish in the landfill site on Long Island, attain them? (They need not necessarily be Director, Minnesota Planetarium where Grumman’s lunar module blueprints physical skills, but perhaps ways of handling 250 Marquette Avenue, #400 and data logs were buried in 1984. (‘OK, I’ve certain situations or having a creative Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 USA found the Launch Escape Tower circuit dia- thought process). grams from Saturn V. Now for the other * * * three million parts.’) I don’t expect the tech- * * * nology to be exactly the same this time Personally, I have many individuals who I round, of course, but if they can find just Bob Bonadurer drops the puck to get us admire in our profession. Some of these peo- some of the original engineering papers and underway. He’s come up with nine things to ple are well-known to many in the field, pick the brains of the surviving engineers a admire and aspire to, set out as a list in the owing to their positions of managing or lot of work, time and, not least of all, money form of a clever planet mnemonic. working at major facilities. Others are not as will be saved by not having to reinvent the well-known, working in less prominent posi- wheel to a certain extent. That won’t stop us Marketing We’re in a business - even if it’s tions, but are nonetheless extremely talented doing it all over again and creating some- not for the money. It doesn’t matter if you’re and creative people. So I won’t name any thing for the kids to strive for, with Mars as in a K-12 school, university or museum, you names here for fear of leaving someone out, an added bonus (and this time we really have to effectively sell what you do to the but I will reveal some of the attributes they can’t afford to pull back when the initial administration above, and to the visitors have which gain them my admiration. goals have been achieved) it’s just deeply who walk through your door. We may think One thing that most of these people have frustrating and mystifying that society astronomy is cool, but not everyone else in common is an open willingness to share didn’t value the supreme effort it took to does, or at least not to our level of coolness. knowledge and their creative work. In open- achieve the Moon landings enough to pre- Variety A substitution for creativity - since ly sharing their work and knowledge they

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help collectively to make all planetariums every one of you can see yourself here, Dave Maness better. Ours is an industry that is still very because I haven’t met any yet in our busi- Director of Astronomy much a cottage industry. There are few ness, who lack some admirable quality. Lack Virginia Living Museum industry standards, although it is getting bet- of adequate space is another reason not to 524 J. Clyde Morris Boulevard ter, and there are many out there who lack name names. Newport News, Virginia 23601-1929 USA the equipment, software, budgets, and time I admire many of you for your friendli- to produce much in the way of original ness, honesty, creativity, sense of humor, and * * * work. Technology often makes new and dedication to science education. Many of exciting things possible, however it often you are visionaries who produce programs It’s so easy to list the superlatives that I’d seems that it comes at the expense of limited that give the public new ways of thinking like to see in the ideal planetarian: the best time. Through the sharing of work and about the universe. You capture the imagi- administrator, the most creative writer, the knowledge everyone has a better product in nation with unusual points of view. Some most persuasive fundraiser, the best eye for the end and more time to invest in other are skilled planners and administrators. this, the best ear for that, and so on. But areas of production. Others are the talented ones who do the speaking for myself, I also admire the usher, Another common trait these individuals technical work behind the scenes, the ones the ticket-taker, and the cashier who smile, share is a deep-seated passion for what they who as much as is possible, turn a vision make visitors feel welcome, offer helpful do. There may well be differences of opinion into reality. But after all that, I think I will advice or information, and, simply, who care among them on what makes a good plane- single out two qualities or skills to write about the customer experience; who can tarium show, visual styles, or a host of other about in more detail. calmly deal with problems without becom- things, but the passion is there. That passion I admire scriptwriters. I especially admire ing part of the problem; and whose goal is to tells me that there is a strong commitment the ones who effectively put some of their help make sure that visitors feel their time to what they believe in and that they work own feelings into their efforts. Although sci- has not been wasted. I admire the managers extremely hard to make what they believe ence by its nature is cognitive, a good script and supervisors who can lead by example in work in their theaters for their audiences. is more than simply relating facts. After all, and motivate their floor teams to do their Their passion can also be infectious and light the ultimate motivation for what we know best, and give visitors confidence that the fires of passion in others. about the universe is emotion. It is a gnaw- they’re in good hands. I admire the produc- Many of these individuals also have the ing hunger for knowledge. It is the thrill of tion team and presenters who enjoy doing ability to connect with their audiences. They discovery. It is the inspiration one feels what they do and - whatever their skill level possess a certain flair for communicating in a when we hear tales of selfless sacrifice, - leave their egos at home and give their sin- way that brings astronomy, or other areas of whether it is in a story of the Challenger or cerest effort to deliver a product that respects science, to their patrons in a way that is not Columbia astronauts, or a researcher who both the audience and the science; to edu- intimidating. If we are not making astrono- dedicates his life to solving a great mystery cate, inform, and inspire without being mis- my accessible and understandable to our cus- of science. It is also surprise, excitement, leading; and to communicate effectively and tomers, then what are we really here for? humor, sadness, and even despair. A good entertain without losing sight of why These people make science accessible and scriptwriter is a good storyteller and every they’re there. exciting to people of all ages. good story works because it evokes some Bing Quock Last, but not least, I admire creativity. emotion. Acting Chairman There are some extremely creative and tal- But there is one type of person with spe- Morrison Planetarium ented people in the planetarium profession. cial qualities that I admire above all. Many of California Academy of Sciences I’m always thrilled when I visit another the- you have been lucky enough to have known Golden Gate Park ater and see something completely new or one at some point in your careers. He or she San Francisco, California 94118 USA unexpected on the dome. I’m not talking may have exceptional knowledge of astron- about the technology. I’m talking about omy, of the planetarium instrument as a * * * what is done with the technology to pro- teaching tool, or many other things. They duce visual content and the artistic perspec- share that knowledge freely and give others There are many planetarians that I admire tives. I like to see creative work that spawns the opportunity to learn while working in a for many reasons, but one person stands out something within my own creative being to planetarium theater. They encourage others in my mind at the moment. She has an explore new areas and techniques. to try out new skills. They give the freedom impressive package of knowledge, skills, and Rick Greenawald to create while guiding rather than criticisiz- experience which is managed by a humble Manager, Faulkner Planetarium ing. They temper their reactions to those un- outlook and a passion for learning. The joy- Herrett Center for Arts and Science steady early attempts by sprinkling in ful sharing of this package is facilitated with College of Southern Idaho enough praise to keep from dampening her open, endearing personality. I’m already 315 Falls Avenue youthful enthusiasm, or hurting fragile egos. proud of our profession for the number of Twin Falls, Idaho 83301 USA As a result of the efforts of such special people who excel in these areas, but I wish I people, I was able to continue in the field (and we) could be more like this profession- * * * with more confidence and a more personal al planetarian – April Whitt. sense of style, among many other benefits. Geoff Holt There have been several individuals that I More than anything else in the planetarium Director, Madison Metro School District admire in the planetarIum business. In fact, business, it would please me to be able to Planetarium the more I think about it the more of them emulate the best qualities I saw in them. 201 South Gammon Road come to mind. Rather than risk leaving any- They were and are the best teachers. In fact, a Madison, Wisconsin 53717-1499 USA one out, I won’t name names, but you whole other word is needed to set them should know who you are. In fact, I hope apart; they are mentors. * * *

48 Planetarian March 2004

What qualities and skills do I most admire with the cosmos - and the best people with knowledge of the sky influenced their daily in others? The quality of willingness and whom to share that romance are profession- lives and traditions. For the ancients, the leg- even generosity to share expertise with oth- als who are in love with the stars. The new ends and myths of the sky were related to ers. Some of the most amazing things I ScottishPower Space Theatre has benefited their own heroes, villains, and history; the have found are people who take the time tremendously from the input of just such patterns of stars, motions of the planets, and and patience to bring planetarium newbies individuals (Robert Hughes, Jon Davies, Steve celestial events were correlated to cycles of up to speed and help them with tips and Owens, Gill Russell, Francisco Diego and nature and perhaps influenced certain earth- ideas derived from years of hard-earned Derek Shanks) who, together with our Zeiss ly events. All of these topics were richly experience. What do you do about the slide Starmaster, have created a winning combina- addressed in Von Del’s presentations, and projector that’s not dropping slides properly? tion! It’s not the people who want to be plan- always with a personal touch to the audi- Where’s a good source for Kodalith? Why etarians that we should be employing, but ence that encouraged them to become par- can’t you use an LCD projector in the plane- rather those who have to be planetarians. ticipants. He sometimes referred to planetari- tarium? How do we know how far away the Mario Di Maggio ans as the singers of the sky. He reminded us Andromeda galaxy is, anyway? What do you Manager: ScottishPower Space Theatre that we are responsible for presenting the say to someone who just bought a star for Glasgow Science Centre sky’s songs to the public, and keeping the their just deceased parent? 50 Pacific Quay spirit of the stars alive with our love of There are certain people who take the Glasgow, G51 1EA Scotland astronomy. It is a bond we share with our time to answer and explain these things and ancestors, although in a more enlightened a zillion others when asked. They do it * * * frame of mind in the 21st century, for now we patiently, compassionately, and often inject also sing the songs of Hubble, and Spirit and a healthy dose of humor. Who are these Ken Perkins strikes me as the model best so many more. people? Some of them write stuff on Dome-L. followed. He could take the simplest thing Lee Ann A. Hennig Some we meet at IPS and other planetarIum and make it magical. He could keep a bunch Planetarium conferences. So many names come to mind, of us conference-goers spellbound, and hold Thomas Jefferson High School but a few who helped me tremendously the attention of third graders, with nothing 6560 Braddock Road early on (in PPA) were John Young (San more than a bunch of felt and a board to Alexandria, Virginia, 22312 USA Diego), Steve Craig and Bing Quock (San stick it to. We’ll take all the whiz-bang-for- Francisco), Dale Etheridge and Bob Pippin the-buck that we can get, but when the * * * (Las Vegas), Don Warren (passed away). movie moguls put in full-dome sense-sur- Others were Mark and Carolyn Collins round mega-million-dollar productions, we Here’s the topic for the next Forum col- Peterson, Ken Miller, Ken Wilson and John will still be the only ones with a realistic sky umn: Hare (good beer drinking advice, too). There and a knowledgeable guide to it. I have bor- are so many. What a great profession we rowed the stories learned from Ken Perkins A fresh round of planetarium conferences have. and use them at every opportunity. will be getting underway shortly. Tra- Anyone who serves as an officer or a rep in Also, I have to laud the vendors. I won’t ditionally, they are well attended and the a planetarium organization gets my praise, list all the names, but every one of them are delegates derive a lot of enjoyment and too, for service to others: Keith Johnson, Sho making a go of it in a very limited market, satisfaction from these gatherings. All the Itoh, Jon Elvert, Jim Manning, Christine and they’re all real nice and helpful, too. conferences have pretty much the same Shupla, Dale Smith, Martin Ratcliffe, Gail Chuck Greenwood structure, but how much room is there Chaid, Glen Moore, Shawn Laatsch, Lee Ann Engineer, Astronaut Memorial Planetarium for improvement? Would you like to Hennig, Jeanne Bishop, John Mosley. And Brevard Community College have more scheduled free time to social- the ones who got me into this great field in 1519 Clearlake Road ize with other planetarians between the the first place: Alan Friedman (now at New Cocoa, Florida 32922-6597 USA formal events? Less papers, more practical York Hall of Science), Dennis Schatz (now at workshops that teach skills? More invited Pacific Science Center, Seattle), and Cary * * * speakers? Or perhaps you have an idea for Sneider (now at Museum of Science, Boston). a new ingredient not tried before. So It’s good to stop every now and then, take a The ability to communicate with an audi- what’s your ideal conference program of breath, take time out from a day crammed ence in the planetarium environment is a activities? with too much, and just listen to that person special skill. The words, the narration, the asking that question. subject matter, the audio and visual elements The deadline for submissions is April 9, so And answer it. that weave the program into a symphony please consider sending in your thoughts. Alan Gould can be complicated and challenging to pro- Short or long in length, I don’t mind. Planetarium Director duce. But some of the most memorable Let’s hope that by that time Beagle 2 has University of California moments in the planetarium for me have responded to its masters back in England. (It’s Lawrence Hall of Science involved those basic messages that touch the OK, the onboard software understands our Berkeley, California 94709-5200 USA soul and spark the imagination. accent.) Somebody contacted the mission Von Del Chamberlain has that gift of story controllers recently, asking if they wanted * * * telling that connects us to the sky in particu- him to re-tune his transistor radio to listen lar and to astronomy in general. His sky lec- for the signal! If contact is finally made, the I believe people who are astronomers at tures, both in the planetarium and under the project’s Chief Scientist, Professor Colin heart make the best planetarians. Regardless real stars, linked the cultures in their com- Pillinger can do what he’s promised JPL and of modern trends, planetariums will always mon investigations of astronomical phe- invite the MERs over for a cup of tea on be about the night sky and our relationship nomena. He emphasized how this love and Mars. C

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ed other missions are being made ready, and information on the NASA Mars missions. What’s New goodness knows how many more tiny In fact, I’ve just explored a DVD sent quite moons of the gas giants are waiting to be dis- literally overnight, filled with animation vi- covered – or how many more obscure myth- deos (including an expanded version of the ological names we’ll need to scrape up as a Entry-Descent-Landing-Deployment video result (I’m still trying to get my tongue distributed last year, and a fly-over of Gusev around Kiviuq, Ijiraq, and Siarnaq – some of Crater I’d not seen before) plus all of the still the new names for newly-discovered satel- images and video pans and animations pre- lites of Saturn). sented at news conferences right up through All in all, it will be a planetary 2004, and if sol 10. It’s great, high-quality stuff, and ex- all goes reasonably well, that can only be tremely useful in our educational and infor- good news for the likes of us. When the sky mational efforts. If you’re not part of this is busy, so are we. Alliance but would still like to be, contact And we’ll definitely have a role to play. Anita Sohus at JPL (who writes a regular col- Consider, for example, my favorite com- umn in this journal) for information on sign- ments so far from the Spirit press briefings, ing up. While the Alliance seems limited to which came from Michael Malin of Malin U.S. facilities at present, I’m sure I don’t have Space Science Systems and Mars Global Sur- to direct anybody to the Mars Rovers home veyor fame. In characterizing the value of page at marsrovers.jpl.nasa.com where much Jim Manning panoramic images as ways to provide a sense of this imagery is also readily available. of placement and direction, he mentioned Here’s hoping JPL/Caltech will do some- Taylor Planetarium that during the Lunar Surveyor days, they thing similar for the upcoming Cassini mis- Museum of the Rockies would paste panoramic images around the sion. It’s a great idea, and a great way to bring inside of a sphere and stick their heads inside up-to-date information and images to the Montana State University to get a sense of “being there” – and he hoped public. My facility’s current sky/current Bozeman, Montana 59717 to be able to do something similar with the events program is already bulging with this new Mars pans. Hmm … pasting panoramas new plunder from the Red Planet. USA around the inside of a sphere to give a sense And do thank Anita Sohus, Michelle [email protected] of “being there.” Sounds familiar. Viotti and Eric deJong, all of JPL, whenever While I go stick my head into my plane- the opportunity arises, for their wonderful tarium to admire the new Spirit Mars support and assistance in helping to make Welcome to the year of the planets! panorama already pasted around the base of this treasury of Mars possible for those of us They’ll be keeping us busy this year – every my hemispherical dome – to give me a sense well-placed for funneling it to an interested one. of “being there” (as well as our visitors), read public. Bring it on! As I write in mid-January, all eyes are on on about new and recent items that might Mars. While we mourn the loss of Nozomi help you in your own efforts to bring the SpaceShot Mars and apparently Beagle 2 as casualties of our planets and the universe at large a little clos- Speaking of Mars imagery, Spaceshots, Inc. Martian invasion, we celebrate the fact that er to home. was out like a shot in mid-January with a we have a third orbiter in Mars Express and a brand new poster featuring some of the best safely-landed and functioning rover in A Treasury of Mars images sent by Spirit in the first two weeks Spirit, ready to give us a string of new data With Spirit’s Mars visit not two weeks old of its mission. Certainly many of my fav- points on the rusty surface. (May it be roving as I write, we’re already enjoying a delightful orite views are here. well as you read, and let me hope that influx of new imagery and data from the The cost information I received for this Opportunity achieved a safe if bouncy land- Rusty Planet, with the promise of much one offers wholesale costs of $5 U.S. apiece ing besides!) more to come, if all continues to go well. My for orders of 1-61 and $9 apiece for orders of Already on clear evenings we can spy facility is especially fortunate because we 1-60 laminated copies, with lesser per-copy Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter in succession signed up to become part of the Mars Mu- rates for larger quantities. Suggested retail is across a hemispherical span of sky, and in seum Visualization Alliance created by the $11.95 to $14.95. You can check the Space- late March – again just about as you read – Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech, which shots web site for more details; the product we will have one of those relatively rare provides access to a dedicated web site jam- number is 3121-P or 3121-L. opportunities to glimpse these four and packed with useful links to both raw and As you read this a couple of months after Mercury simultaneously in the early processed data, real-time images, and other the Spirit landing, there are probably any evening sky – ready fodder for public star useful bits to help assure that informal edu- number of new products hitting the market parties. Venus will further oblige us by cross- cation organizations have “ready access” to relating to the rovers. But to check out what ing the face of the sun in early June for a siz- news, imagery, schedules, data, and other Spaceshots has going, contact Cynthia at able portion of the Earth for the first time in more than a century. And not a month later, in early July, Cassini-Huygens will at last reach the Saturn system for what we all hope will be a long and fruitful stay. We also have Stardust speeding home- ward with a gooey capful of Comet Wild 2 bits (as we enjoy some lovely pictures of the The red hills of Mars, courtesy of NASA and Spirit. comet’s pitted meatball of a nucleus), assort-

March 2004 Planetarian 51

and other means to determine ac- curate distances within the solar system, but the sheer novelty of the event, not to mention its rich historical signifi- cance, makes it arguably the sin- gular astronomi- cal happening of 2004. And if you want to make the most of it, by all means check New Mars poster from Spaceshots, Inc. out a very nice product available Spaceshots, Inc., 26943 Ruether Ave., Suite R, through the Great Lakes Planetarium Santa Clarita, California 91351, telephone Association (GLPA) called “Transit of Venus,” 800-272-2779 extension 14 or 661-299-5594, very ably produced by Chuck Bueter and fax 661-299-5586. Or access the company’s Art Klinger of Indiana. web site at www.spaceshots.com. Transit observer, courtesy of Chuck Bueter. Transit of Venus You’d have to be a minimum of about 122 The program proceeds to recount the adven- years old to have been around when Venus tures – and misadventures – of such transit- last crossed the face of the sun as seen from seekers as Charles Mason and Jeremiah Earth. Since people seem fairly certain that Dixon (most famous for their measurement there’s no one around who’s quite that old, of the Mason-Dixon line between Maryland we have the makings for a well-hyped astro- and Pennsylvania), Captain Cook and his nomical event in June when Earth’s sister sojourn in Tahiti, the hapless Guillaume transits the sun for the first time since 1882. Joseph Hyacinthe Jean Baptiste Le Gentil who came up short twice in India, and a cler- ic with the unfortunate name of Father Hell. Simulated “back drop” effect, cour- The mechanics of Venus transits is included, tesy of the “Transit of Venus” pro- and the show ends with a nice connection gram. to our modern-day search for planets around The product comprises a CD and DVD other stars – in part by detecting the transits loaded with stuff. The DVD contains a full- of planets which dim stars briefly, slightly fledged audiovisual program that can stand and regularly and thus betray their presence. alone as a DVD presentation (or as individual The upcoming Kepler mission is nicely chapters for tutorials) and can serve as the described in this regard. And, planetarium basis for a planetarium program – script, types being what they are, the obligatory soundtrack, video clips, and a slide set are groaners are in adequate supply! included for use as such. Just provide the star The imagery is appropriate and interest- projector and you’re set. ing, the many short video clips very good, The program is both wry and eclectic as a and the show even manages to incorporate Transit at sea (of Mercury in this case), courtesy of Chuck Bueter. dialogue between the spirits of Jeremiah Chuck Bueter’s Paper Plate Astronomy pen- Horrocks and Edmund Halley and two kids chant with a demonstration of how Venus’ Way back then, during the 1774/1882 pair fidgeting in their planetarium seats. Over slightly-inclined orbit to the Earth’s makes of transits, the event still held some scientif- about 40 minutes, the conversation manages transits so rare. ic value as astronomers used photography to to cover an impressive array of subject mat- The documentation for the program also try to foil the “black drop effect” and get ter, ranging from a discussion of con- includes links to Bueter’s Transit of Venus good enough timings of ingress and egress to stellations and astrology, to Kepler and his web site at www.transitofvenus.org which nail down the length of the astronomical three laws, to Horrocks predicting and ob- contains a breathtaking amount of informa- unit and thus, the scale of the solar system. It serving the 1639 transit, to Halley’s realiza- tion concerning the mechanics of transits turned out that the annoying black drop tion that careful parallax-affected timings of and circumstances of the two upcoming, his- that connected the silhouette of Venus to Venus transits from widely-separated loca- torical information about past transits and the sun’s limb on the way in and on the way tions could fix Venus’ distance, and hence those who sought them, many useful educa- out photographed just as well as it manifest- the astronomical unit, and hence the dis- tional exercises, and interesting related bits. ed itself to the filtered naked eye, and made tance of other planets in the solar system. The number of linkages is quite amazing, precise timings difficult. Now we have radar and you can spend lots of time exploring 52 Planetarian March 2004

their nooks and crannies. music wedged in behind works beautifully The program and web site are obviously with the subject matter. labors of love, and it shows. If you’re plan- It’s an excellent product, crisp and clean ning to do anything at all in regard to the and extremely well-done, and very apropos upcoming transit, you’ll want to have this at this moment, considering the recent con- stuff. And just think: you can use it all again tention by some that one of Earth’s great in eight years! past extinctions may have been precipitated The web site, of course, is readily accessi- by the gamma ray burst of a supernova ble to all. The DVD/CD program has already within 10,000 light years of Earth – an event been distributed to all GLPA members, and that could have offed the large fraction of can be ordered by others; just access the web Earth’s life forms that went extinct then and site analyzer.depaul.edu/paperplate/transit could have turned the chemical composi- .htm for details and order forms. The DVD/ tion of the atmosphere into something like CD set costs a mere $15 U.S. An audio CD is Titan’s, bringing on the very long ice age available for $5, and a slide set can be had for that followed the extinction. Fortunately, $225. the astronomers of this little documentary We’ve only got two chances to see Venus tell us that Eta Carinae’s lobes of erupted trundle across the solar disk in our lifetimes: material suggest that its axis (along which this year and in 2012. These products and the gamma ray burst of an exploding Eta web sites can help you to make the most of Carinae would spit) is not aimed toward us. Universe 3D from MegaSystems. those chances. Investigate, and enjoy. We would presumably escape the worst of the dose and our atmosphere would likely 3D” and is an encyclopedic collection of Volcano in the Sky protect us, if Eta Carinae should detonate for pages with pictures, diagrams, and written Casting our gaze a little farther out into good. descriptions on almost any science topic space – say, about 7,500 light years in the Not only is this mini-documentary great, dealing with the Earth and space. There are direction of the constellation Carina – we it’s also cheap, costing a mere $10 for U.S. four layers of information, each deeper layer find one of the worst-behaved stars in our orders, $15 for international. At this price, it providing info pages on more and more spe- galaxy: the massive and infamous Eta Cari- would make an excellent exhibit kiosk cific topics under the major headings. I espe- nae. And recently, I’ve examined a little gem topic, or classroom presentation, or item for cially liked this part of the product – what a of a program about this eruptive sun called sale in your gift shop. You can send your great reference for kids doing their science Volcano in the Sky: The Story of Eta Carinae money to the Minnesota Planetarium Soci- homework! This program, too, is easily navi- sent to me by Bob Bonadurer of the Minne- ety, 250 Marquette Avenue, #400, Minne- gable; the diagrams are instructive, the text sota Planetarium Society, who served as co- apolis, Minnesota 55401, or call or e-mail Bob clean, and there are numerous cross-refer- author and project director. The production Bonadurer at [email protected], tele- encing links. of the 12-minute film was supported by a phone 612-630-6151. Bob takes Master Card This is an informative and useful CD-ROM grant from the Space Telescope Science In- or Visa. set for selling in your gift shop, or perhaps stitute, and it does an excellent job of intro- Do get one of these. At least. for classroom or computer kiosk use – ducing us to this star and why it does what it though check on permissions for the latter does through excellent animations, stills, Universe 3D applications. According to the information I live-action footage, brief and pithy state- So far, we’ve talked about specific bits of received, individual copies wholesale for ments from astronomers, and some clever the universe. If you want to consider the $14.50 U.S. with a suggested retail of $29.99. examples. The spare, “film-noir” effect of the entire cosmic ball of wax, so to speak, con- Larger quantities can result in discounts – for sider Universe 3D, an interactive four CD- example, if you order a case of 10 for $145, ROM set from MegaSystems that can set you you get two additional copies for free. exploring in an endless number of direc- My version of the programs was made in tions. Germany which seems to be the home base The CD set includes two basic programs. of MegaSystems, but was distributed by The “Interactive Cosmos” offers a menu of MegaSystems USA, 2150 Northmont Park- selected space topics – solar system, the way, Suite A, Duluth, Georgia 30096 USA, Milky Way and other galaxies, “Man in telephone 678-417-6353, fax 678-417-6273. space,” and so on. Each topic includes a series The web site at www.mega-systems.net of screens featuring colorful pictures and offers pages in a variety of languages which diagrams plus text, audio commentary and describe this product and others produced music. There are some nice animations as by the company. Pick a language, and have well, and some self-administered tests and at it. educational games. And a utility that allows you to set an animated sky for direction, A Spoonful of Digital month, and particular constellation. It’s I remember when digitalis was heart med- quite easy to navigate once you’re familiar ication. But now the name has gone from with the icons. I noticed a couple of odd pro- drug to small dome as a company called nunciations and a few weird images, but on Digitalis Education Solutions, P.O. Box 2976, the whole it’s quite nice and colorful and Bremerton, Washington 98310 USA, tele- Eta Carinae, courtesy of the Space well done. phone 360-616-8915, fax 360-616-8917, e-mail Telescope Science Institute. The second program is called “Universe [email protected], web site digi-

March 2004 Planetarian 53

For more details, check out the Digitalis web site, (which also offers comparisons among selected systems) and contact Karrie Berglund, education director, as given above or via her e-mail address: karrie@digitalisedu- cation.com.It’s nice to see that the petite planetariums among us are beginning to have so many interesting options at their disposal. There’s as much a revolution going on there as for their larger cousins. The Digitarium Alpha was demonstrated at the ASTC meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota last fall, Sample displays of picoSky, courtesy of Bubba’s Bits. and I expect that we will begin to see it at planetarium conferences in the coming year. phones; you can learn which ones by going Let’s check it out when it does. to the Bubba’s Bits web site at www.bubbas- The Digitarium Alpha, from Digitalis bits.com. The site also has a trial version of Educational Solutions. ET Phone Home picoSky that you can download; it allows Well – it had to happen eventually; we use five trial runs, and if it works on your phone taliseducation.com, offers to fix what ails the blasted things for everything else! and you like the way it does, you can go for small and portable domes by providing a I’m speaking of the ubiquitous cell phone, the full-fledged version. Bubba says that it low-cost digital projection system with full- and of a new astronomical program for the was designed to run “on any color, grayscale fledged planetarium capabilities right down portable wonder that can help you to keep or black-and-white J2ME compatible cell to annual motion and automatic phasing of track of the sky – when you’re not using it to phone that accepts applications of at least the moon. The system, called Digitarium annoy people like me. The new program is 64K bytes in size, with a minimum of 150K Alpha, is contained in a 35-pound (16-kilo) called picoSky from Bubba’s Bits, a Washing- bytes of heap space.” box about 14 inches (35 cm) on a side, using ton state company created “to provide ama- It seems like a cool little program, and Stellarium software and a 175° fisheye lens to teur astronomers with powerful tools for something to keep you busy between phone project stars, planets, sun, moon, constella- their cellular telephones” according to the calls. And it would be especially helpful to tion outlines, the usual grids and references, promotion I received. The program uses a those not as familiar with the sky as some of and about 100 zoomable images of planets, tiny Java application to harness the compu- us – like a little portable astronomy primer moons, and celestial objects. It runs in daily tational power of your cell phone to display just a pocket, purse or belt-holster away. and annual motion, can produce more than a graphical representation of the night sky Check out the web site, and enjoy – while I 16 million colors, has a resolution of 4.4 pix- and other bits of information. go try to find out what “heap space” is. It els per degree, and can project on domes up The sample images I’ve seen suggest that sounds like something the starship Enter- to 26-30 feet (8 to 9 meters) – so it can be used perhaps it shows chunks of the sky rather prise might encounter on a bad day – which for inflatables or small fixed domes. The cost than the whole thing at once (which would reveals my ignorance of cell phone technol- is $13,900 U.S. and includes a transit case, user makes things very, very small), but within ogy. manual, a set of 12 lesson plans, and a two- those chunks, it can display stars brighter Thanks to John Mosley for alerting me to year limited warranty. than magnitude 4.0 with constellation out- this clever little item! If you’ve got a cell You have to supply your own dome, but lines and constellation names, more than phone (and by now, everybody does but Digitalis offers a line of inflatables ranging 100 common star names, all of the standard me), do check this baby out. from 13 feet (4 meters) at $2,900 to 23 feet (7 navigational stars and more than 250 of the meters) at $6,000. brightest deep sky objects. The program cal- Cosmic Decoders culates and displays the posi- John also provided me with a heads-up on tions of the sun, moon and another nice product – this one more game planets for your location, than guide, but still chock-full of good and can derive an accurate things to learn and know. representation of the current Cosmic Decoders is an astronomically- phase of the moon. It can based card game that features images and also search for and find any factoids on star clusters, nebulae, galaxies star, constellation, or deep and a variety of telescopes. It’s part of the sky object in its data base, Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) and offers a menu providing grant-funded project called “Family ASTRO” planet distances, coordi- which provides evening and weekend nates, and rise and set times. astronomy events and activities for families The program can also show plus a take-home kit or game for further use the sky for any date within at home. Cosmic Decoders is the fourth 30 years of present. All of kit/game in a series, and consists of a deck of this running strictly off of 72 cards with which four different games your cell phone – and cost- can be played. ing a mere $19.95 U.S. Wow. The heart of the deck is a set of 52 cards The program runs on bearing pictures from the Hubble Space Tele- Full-dome image from Digitarium Alpha, courtesy of Nokia, N-Gage, Motorola scope and other sources of galaxies, star clus- Digitalis Education Solutions. and Sony Ericsson cell ters, “star birth” nebulae, and “star death”

54 Planetarian March 2004

nebulae (planetary nebulae and supernova 415-337-1100 extension 121, e-mail dzevin@ light source to produce colors and patterns. remnants). There are also a dozen cards with astrosociety.org. Rosco has a wide variety of glass gobos and telescope pictures that are special action steel gobos displaying color patterns and cards, four galaxy type cards, an Earth card, Assorteds shadow patterns. It also carries projection and several reference cards. These cards are Astronomical Data Service, 3922 Leisure machines and rotators and fog machines used in varying combinations to allow 2-4 Lane, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80917, tele- and other theatrical devices at outlets world- players to engage in four different games. phone 719-597-4068, continues to pump out wide. Visit its web site at www.rosco.com to You can “build” a galaxy by collecting a des- great reference publications for those of us find a dealer near you. ignated set of the deep sky object cards, or who look at the sky. The Photographer’s NASA’s Central Operation of Resources for you can try your hand in other competi- Almanac of the Sun and Moon is computed Educators (CORE) offers a plethora of video- tions, either getting rid of your cards or col- for your locality and offers tabular data on tapes, books and publications, CD-ROMs and lecting as many as you can by comparing the beginning and ending of morning and memorabilia on a vast array of space-related deep sky object characteristics, distance evening twilight, when and where on the topics – many of which appear in its most from Earth, or size. You learn things about horizon the sun and moon will rise and set, recent newsletter. CORE is located at CORE- these 52 objects and a series of telescopes in the time of local noon and the sun’s altitude Lorain County JVS, 15181 Route 58 South, the process. then, the percentage of the moon’s Earth- Oberlin, Ohio 44074 USA, telephone 440- It’s a good quality product, colorful with facing side that’s illuminated, and other use- 775-1400, fax 440-775-1460, e-mail nasaco@ fine pictures and accurate bits of informa- ful bits. The Skywatchers Almanac provides a leeca.org, but you can go to the web site at tion, providing a nice astronomical back- calendar of sunrise and sunset times, moon- core.nasa.gov to learn most of what you drop for card games the whole family can rise and moonset times, again the moon’s need to know about it. You can browse the master and enjoy. The cost is $15.95 per copy percentage of illumination, and much useful catalog there, or print out a copy of it or the plus shipping and handling, and can be information on eclipses for the year, star latest newsletter. It’s a wonderful source of ordered through the ASP web site at maps, bright stars, planetary phenomena educational materials; go visit sometime if www.astrosociety.org/astroshop.html. and visibility, and much more. I swear by you haven’t recently. There you will also find the three earlier these babies and they’re quite reasonably products in the series, including Night Sky priced at $20 U.S. The year’s young, still; if Pretty Catalogs Adventure which lets the family build its you need 2004 copies, contact Roger Mans- Year-end catalogs often arrive well after own planisphere to explore the sky, Race to field as given above. the December issue deadline, but are still the Planets featuring question-and-answer GamProducts, Inc. 4975 W. Pico Boule- worth mentioning now – especially when competitions about the solar system, and vard, Los Angeles, California 90019 USA, tele- they have pretty covers. Take note of the Moon Mission in which families work togeth- phone 323-935-4975, fax 323-935-2002, web following quartet: er to retrieve instruments scattered across site www.gamonline.com, is a company spe- MMI Corporation, P.O. Box 19907, the lunar landscape before the long, cold cializing in theatrical lighting. Since plane- Baltimore, Maryland 21211 USA, web site lunar night sets in. tariums have been known to get theatrical www.mmicorporation.com has a very pret- “Family ASTRO” is part of the ASP’s on occasion, you might be interested in get- ty cover – and a load of pretty items inside. famous Project ASTRO program, and ting a copy of its catalog or checking out its These include the CosmOdyssey III Plane- “Family ASTRO” activities take place at web site. The company offers a wide variety tarium System, planetarium and observato- Project ASTRO’s 12 regional sites. But the of special effect patterns and equipment, ry domes, assorted globes and orrery models, activity kits and games are available to any- including “scene machine” projectors that CD-ROMs, books, software, laserdiscs, videos, one. ASTRO is a great program; here’s a resemble klieg lights in appearance; colored slides, prints and murals. A lovely and useful chance to take advantage of some of its pro- filters; strobes and flicker strobes; variable assortment indeed. If only my budget ducts. For more information, contact Dan speed drives, rotators and projectors that can stretched a little farther. Yours may – have a Zevin at Family ASTRO, Astronomical Soci- hold an incredible variety of shadow pat- look, and have fun! ety of the Pacific, 390 Ashton Avenue, San terns; blackwrap for masking light leaks; Francisco, California 94112 USA, telephone heat resistant gel tapes; heat shields; pattern holders and adapters; and other useful items. On the web site, you can also click on the com- pany’s Recipe Book section to see video clips of lighting effects. Useful stuff for the sort of stuff we do. The effects machines can run into the several thousands of dollars U.S., but a shadow pat- tern can be had for as little as $12, and many of the products are quite reasonably priced. If lighting’s your gam – er, game – check out GamProducts. Rosco offers similar things, and I’m in possession of one of its “gobo” catalogs as well. Near as I can figure, a gobo is a round, The MMI Corporation astronomy cat- Cosmic Decoders game, courtesy of the alog. Astronomical Society of the Pacific. flat plate that fits in front of a

March 2004 Planetarian 55

Cambridge Educational at P.O. Box 931, Sky Publishing Corporation, 49 Bay State have to focus on how to keep humans Monmouth Junction, New Jersey 08852 Road, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 USA, healthy in space anyway if we plan on seri- USA, telephone 800-468-4227, fax 800-FAX- 800-253-0245, web site SkyandTelescope ously going anywhere. ON-US, web site www.cambridgeeducation- .com also had a lovely holiday catalog as the I worry about the reallocation part and al.com also has a catalog stuffed with videos, year turned over, filled with all of its usual what it may mean to the successful unman- CD-ROMs, posters and other products, but good stuff. New items included fine art ned program, the “Great Telescopes” pro- not just on astronomy. They also cover life reproductions of classic Sky & Tel covers, its gram, and other important NASA projects; a science, anatomy and physiology, chem- Beautiful Universe calendar, and Skywatch ‘04 true commitment to space exploration istry, physics, Earth science, environmental – its annual guide. It’s now also the exclusive ought not to require cannibalism or giving science, and general science – with some real- distributor of Guy Ottewell’s essential Astro- science a back seat. But at least we’re talking ly cool “Great Scientists,” “Extreme Wea- nomical Calendar – and if you don’t have again about big goals, and that’s a good ther,” “Biomes,” and “Geological Events” pos- one, shame on you! It’s a wonderful astro- thing. Given China’s stated intentions and ters, for example. One of my ghoulish favo- nomical reference for a modest $24.95 U.S., President Bush’s proposal for a renewed rites is the tsunami poster touched up to and you should. American effort in partnership with other show a tidal wave bearing down on the These catalogs and others provide us with nations, we once again have governments Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco – very an arsenal of tools for practicing our craft; do talking about going back to the Moon and attention-getting! (The posters are about $50 keep copies or the web site addresses handy creating a permanent human presence in U.S. unlaminated, and $60 laminated.) If for when you have a need – or a want. space. I choose to see that as a hopeful step in you’re into interdisciplinary, this is the cata- the right direction. log for you, Cambridge also offers products “To the Moon, Mars … and A moon base by 2020. And perhaps Mars a on a wide variety of other subjects; the web Beyond” decade after. In partnership. Even though it’s site tells all. So heralded my local newspaper on Janu- just talk right now, it’s still good news for the Astrographics.com, 85 Oakside Drive, ary 15 – the day after U.S. President George likes of us. As I said at the outset, when the Smithtown, New York 11787 USA, web site W. Bush proposed his new direction for the sky is busy, so are we. If these proposals sur- www.astrographics.com, is by definition American space program, and I can hardly vive in some fashion to give us focus and to pretty, and so is its 2004 catalog. Hubble end my column without noting this very head us in some useful direction, we will def- images, astrophotographers’ images, and big news. initely have a role to play. And it may not artists’ images abound and can be purchased Of course, the words were hardly out of just be pasting panoramas around the peri- as framed or unframed prints in 20 by 20- the president’s mouth when pundits of meters of our hemispherical facilities to give inch or 48 by 48-inch (50 by 50-cm or 120 by every stripe pounced upon his proposal to people a sense of “being there.” It could be 120-cm) sizes. The smaller prints are about analyze it, dissect it – and in some cases, to helping to prepare our species at last to actu- $30 U.S. unframed, the larger about $150 shred it. Is it just election year spin? What are ally be there – to make a serious move out unframed. Framed versions can run from the financial implications, the political into that black beyond where the universe $120 to $650 (these are nice frames). You can motivations, the impact on existing NASA awaits. also get T-shirts, mugs, calendars, slide sets or programs with most of the initial funding Possible? Who knows. I can dream, can’t I? colorful prints of microscopic subjects as coming from internal reallocation? Even After all, that’s always the first step. well. And a magnified butterfly proboscis is space advocates have plenty to debate, the about as startling as a tidal wave bearing Mars-First crowd eschewing the need to go Finally … down on the Golden Gate Bridge, let me tell back to the Moon, the Robot-Oriented pooh- On that note, let’s all dream – and work – you! Explore and enjoy. poohing the thought that we should send for a good year. Stay frosty, keep in touch, out humans over machines. If nothing else, and as always … what’s new? C Bush’s proposals will make for some lively discussions in the ensuing months. Personally, I find much to applaud. If implemented, the new directives will get the space station to some final state of construction, at least, and will provide us with the shuttle’s replacement vehicle which the U.S. program des- perately needs, in my opin- ion. And frankly, it has always seemed logical to me that humankind should reestablish a presence on the Moon and get our space legs back before we reach for Mars – I can recommend Paul Spudis’ book The Once and Future Moon as offering a cogent argument in this The last time humans were on the Moon; Apollo 17 The Astrographics.com catalog 2004. image courtesy of NASA. regard. And we’re going to

56 Planetarian March 2004

International News

favor, while Acker and I stressed the impor- tance of building European collaboration on existing IPS Affiliate Associations. The next ECSITE Conference will be in Barcelona, Spain, 3-6 November 2004. Information is available at www.ecsite.net. The International News column is depen- dent on contributions from IPS Affiliate Associations all over the world. This time, I welcome a new contributor, Alex Delivorias from Eugenides Foundation, Athens, Greece. Many thanks also to Bart Benjamin, Ignacio Castro, Gail Chaid, Kevin Conod, John Dick- enson, Jack Dunn, Jean-Michel Faidit, Teresa Grafton, Andreas Haenel, John Hare, Michel Hommel, Donna Pierce, Loris Ramponi, and James Rusk for your contributions. You are Lars Broman welcome back with new reports, and I look Dalarna University forward to contributions from other Associ- ations as well. Upcoming deadlines are 1 SE 791 88 Falun, Sweden April 2004 for Planetarian June/04 and 1 July +46 2310 177 for September/04. ADSP members admiring the Zeiss ZKP-2, newly installed at the Ridder- [email protected] Association of Dutch-Speaking kerk Planetarium. Photo Michel Hommel. www.du.se/~lbr Planetariums The ADSP convened on 7 November in in Genk was voted the new chairman and he the town of Ridderkerk (near Rotterdam). will host the next meeting of the ADSP on Late in November 2003, ECSITE – the There, in an old school (the historical site May 18. European Collaboration of Science, Industry where the Dutch capitulated to the Germans and Technology Exhibitions – arranged its in May 1940), we witnessed the birth of a Association of French-Speaking annual conference in Munich, Germany, lovely new planetarium. It is the heart of a Planetariums with over 500 delegates. For the first time in technology museum, crammed with a lot of Like every year, the meeting of the an ECSITE conference, workshops were interesting machinery and old technological French-Speaking Planetarium Association devoted to planetariums. Thomas Kraupe gadgets. The owner, Ad Los, built the plane- will be organized in May. As announced in from Hamburg, Germany, presented the his- tarium himself, together with his brother. the last issue of the Planetarian, it will be tory, present and future of planetariums; the These technological wizards constructed the hosted by Saint-Etienne Planetarium and other speakers were Agnes Acker from Stras- wooden frame and the 8-meter dome; they Vaulx-en-Velin Planetarium (near Lyon). The bourg, France, Tiiu Sild from Tartu, Estonia, bought a small Zeiss from the Planetarium in dates are from 20 to 24 May (web sites www. and Dionysios Simopoulos from Athens Kiel and installed it themselves and now planetariumvv.com and www.sideral.com). Greece. The second workshop ended with a they’re installing several slide projectors The APLF web site is advancing. Coordi- discussion of whether a new European Plane- (with the help of Sky-Skan). They have no nated by Jean-François Delorme, this site has tarium Network should be launched. Among planetarium experience at all, but they just been deposed on 26 November. Its official present planetarians, Simopoulos was in do it – and it looks great. The official opening name appears at the IPS web site, but since it will be in April 2004. is still in conception at the time these lines Apart from being amazed by the Ridder- were written, its name will be revealed in the kerk Planetarium, the ADSP-members dis- next issue. It will present various activities of cussed issues concerning the strengthening APLF and those of planetaria, with pictures of our organization and plans for future and interactive design. cooperation. There will be a workshop on At least, the new show on Venus produced image-stitching for all-skies and panoramas, by APLF is in way, coproduced by nearly ten probably at the Brussels Planetarium, and we planetariums. The scenarist is Laure Dela- almost have a logo and a website. All plane- salle. Since the show will not be ready at the tariums presented their plans for 2004, time of the Venus passage of the Sun, but which created several new opportunities for probably after summer, explanations will be cooperation. Of course the Venus transit of spread by planetariums by their own news June 8 inspires us all to create a warm audi- programs. Since this show will be current for ence interest. And the Dutch planetariums only a short time period, it may be pro- are preparing for the visit of Dutch astronaut grammed for the eight years until the next André Kuipers to the ISS in late April. passage in 2012! Thomas Kraupe in ECSITE’s first planetarium workshop. Photo Lars Chris Janssen from the Europlanetarium Broman. March 2004 Planetarian 57

Association of Mexican Planetar- in Australia, not Scotland!). exchanges, to joint program or exhibit devel- iums The Space Theatre setting turned out to be opment, to multi-lateral efforts to raise the The upcoming IPS 2004 International just perfect for this workshop. While images profile of the museum/science centre/plane- Conference in Valencia has motivated some were downloading, the participants were tarium community. Perhaps the Canadian AMPAC member planetarians to consider treated to a short live planetarium show. Planetarium community should consider participating, especially after learning about After processing and enhancing the images, working with one of the US regional plane- the great effort of host organizers to have everyone went home with a printed copy of tarium groups which hold well-conceived Spanish as the second language of the Con- their photograph. Most of the participants annual conferences. For instance, several ference. This measure will hopefully facili- were parents with their children, who Canadians attended the recent Western tate the attendance from other Latin Ameri- seemed to find the whole experience most Alliance Conference held in Salt Lake City, can planetariums as well. exciting. The workshop gave everyone a and by all accounts they got a great deal Papalote’s Digital Dome has already in- good idea of what it’s like to be a real from their participation. It looks as if Inter- stalled its Barco projectors, hard drives and astronomer, patiently taking photos of national collaborations are growing and it control console, and sound system. Tests are fuzzy, distant objects and then carefully will be important that Canada’s planetari- being carried out on Hayden’s Passport to the enhancing the images. ums are not left behind. Universe, which will run throughout 2004. This year, of course, our thoughts are once Plans for the June 2004 CASC Conference For 2005 the Search for Life, Are We Alone? again on the Red Planet! The National Space to be held at Edmonton Alberta’s Odyssium program is projected. Centre team at Leicester has produced the facility are well in hand, and strong efforts Meanwhile additional non-formal educa- planetarium show Mars which is for sale in are being made to include a day which will tional support is being prepared though lec- full-dome format. For more information be very rewarding for Canadian planetarians tures, courses, astronomical observation ses- contact Annette Sotheran at Annettes@ in attendance. Well-known planetarium sions, and educational workshops about spacecentre.co.uk or Helen Osborne at consultant Ian McLennan has been tasked to moon phases, building your own plani- [email protected]. NSC is also develop sessions focusing on planetarium sphere and scale solar systems, allowing the adding e-missions to its on-site Challenger ses- issues. His knowledge and expertise in this children to identify their local home address sions. This is an English version of the format field is unsurpassed, and includes the experi- (a long one: street, city, country, planet, stel- developed by the US Wheeling Jesuit Centre. ence of actually running planetariums (in lar system, galaxy, local group, Virgo Super- The project goes live in June. In addition, the Edmonton and Rochester, New York) as well cluster, and Observable Universe). Leicester team is continuing to develop its as extensive experience as a consultant to a video-conferencing work with schools and number of planetarium facilities. British Associations of Planetari- the network of City Learning Centres A final note on conferences planned in ums around the UK. 2004: On 4-8 October, the 55th International BAP is already well into planning its The Lander Control Centre for Beagle 2 is Astronautical Congress takes place at Van- Annual General Meeting to be held this year based at Leicester, and they are still listening, couver’s International Trade and Conven- in March, which is much earlier than usual. as are we all! Even if Beagle doesn’t bark this tion Centre. The IAF conference “encourages As before BAP is sharing the occasion with time, a great deal of interest around the UK the advancement of knowledge about space, the Association of Astronomy Education has been generated by this mission and all and the development of space assets for the (AAE). This worked very well last year in the other events surrounding the explo- benefit of humanity”. There are currently Orkney, not least because the two organiza- ration of Mars. This excitement is not going IAF members in 44 countries with the tions have a number of members in com- to disappear in the months ahead, so 2004 Canadian members comprising the Cana- mon. The event will again be spread over a bids fair to being an exciting year for us all. dian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI) weekend, and this time it will be in the beau- the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) , Mac- tiful Sussex Downs, to the South Downs Canadian Association of Science Donald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) and Planetarium and Science Centre. This is one Centres Telesat Canada. Theme of the 2004 confer- of the UK’s newest facilities, and it was open- In October the BC Museums Association ence is “Infinite possibilities, global realities”. ed in April 2002 by Sir Martin Rees, the and the US Western Museums Association The Congress will likely have 1500 dele- Astronomer Royal. As with the extremely (representing a number of western US states) gates from around the World, plus their fam- successful meeting in Orkney, a mix of astro- held a joint conference in Reno, Nevada. This ilies. In addition to presentations, there will nomical and cultural events are planned to was the second joint conference of the two be poster sessions and a trade show and exhi- take advantage of this very interesting loca- museum associations, the first having been bition. Part of the mandate of the Congress is tion. held in Victoria BC four years earlier. Natur- to produce a public outreach program in the Up in Scotland, the Glasgow Science ally great efforts were made to ensure that host city. Vancouver’s H. R. MacMillan Space Centre held a fortnight of activities last fall, the conference sessions were on subjects of Centre has been asked to take an active role called Destination Space. They trialed four broad interest to members of both associa- in this. There are going to be some unbeliev- Australian Remote Telescope workshops tions. Over 500 registered for the conference, able presentations at the IAC conference. (with Charles Sturt University, Bathurst), including about 100 from Canada, and as for Presentations will be made by the people in which proved to be very successful. Ten the Victoria conference the general client the field who are actually involved in this workshop participants each took turns at response was very favorable. work in their home countries. Here is a very controlling a 30-cm telescope in Australia Of particular note were two sessions dur- small sample of some of the very cool topics: (where it was night), finding a galaxy, nebula ing which participants were given opportu- • Psychology and culture in long dura- or planet, and photographing it. The work- nities to review both past and future areas tion space missions shops took place in Glasgow’s Space Theatre, for collaboration and partnership. A number • SETI: Managing the communication of and of the four sessions scheduled, just one of interesting suggestions were made for dramatic extraterrestrial discoveries had to be cancelled due to bad weather (i. e. future collaborations ranging from staff • Strategies to establish lunar coloniza-

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tion Council of German Planetariums Planetarium reopened its gates once again to • Future launch vehicle technologies The German Council met on 3 November the people of Greece after four years of re- • Space elevators and carbon nanotubes at the Planetarium of Osnabrück. There dif- construction and additions to its original For more information on the Interna- ferent items were reported and discussed. building. The venerable Zeiss Mark IV projec- tional Astronautical Congress check www The new planetarium installations in Kiel tor, that has been lighting the skies of its 15- .iac2004.ca or contact Peter Newbury at and Hamburg with the first all-dome video meter dome since 1966, is still in its place, yet [email protected]. projection systems in Germany were inaugu- the old planetarium chamber has become Good progress is being made on produc- rated in October and they are overrun by the exit lobby of a brand new digital plane- tion of the new Canadian planetarium show many visitors. The planetarium of the tarium. Equipped with a variety of auxiliary called The Quest for Origins-La quete des orig- Wilhelm-Foerster-Sternwarte in Berlin has projection devices, a double SkyVision Sys- ines, that will be produced in English and been renovated with a new projection dome. tem and a Digital Sky System by Sky-Skan, a French and that will premiere in Montreal, The conference of the planetariums with Digistar 3 System by Evans & Sutherland, a Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver in May smaller domes “Planetaria 2003” in Bremen 15/70 IWERKS Large Format film projector, this year. This show is about the origins of was attended by 45 people and was very suc- an LFI Laser Projector, a 40,000 watts 6.1 Sur- stars, planets, galaxies and clusters, and the cessful. The next meeting will be in Werni- round Sound System, a 24.4 meter dome by whole Universe. It will also highlight the role gerode and Halberstadt in 2005. Astrotec, and a capacity of 280 interactive Canadian astronomers play in the develop- The German planetariums have also tried seats, the new Eugenides Planetarium is one ment of new instruments and programs to to contact ESA to learn if it would be possi- of the largest and best equipped planetari- answer these profound questions. The show ble to get the planetarium show Ring Worlds, ums in the world. The projection on the is divided into four scenes, each of which that was distributed by NASA free of charge dome is achieved through the use of six pairs deals with a specific topic and each of which to US planetariums, at similar conditions for of high-resolution Barco video projectors. is introduced by a Canadian astronomer. The German or European planetariums. Unfortu- The planetarium shows are further support- show is written by Ken Hewitt-White and nately until now we still wait for an answer ed by the S-M Projection system that shows produced by Alan Dyer. .… For many planetariums the Mars opposi- the movements and appearance of various John Dickenson has retired from his posi- tion was a highlight, and the corporation solar system objects, and an extensive series tion as Managing Director at Vancouver’s H. with the magazine GEO brought many new of projection systems for videos, slides, DVDs, R. MacMillan Space Centre. He now plans to visitors. In 2004, a “Night of the Stars” etc under the name of SS Multimedia assist other planetariums and science centers together with Stern magazine is planned for System. achieve their objectives through work as a September. All the projection and sound systems are consultant. In 13 years at the Space Centre, fully directed, controlled and programmed Dickenson was instrumental in the develop- European/Mediterranean Plane- through the SPICE Automation system by ment of the new facility as it moved from tarium Association Sky-Skan, so that the individual parts of each being a stand-alone planetarium to a full- On 3 November 2003, the Eugenides show can always be programmed in advance fledged space center with a Cosmic Court- yard of exhibits, a 30-seat simulator ride, the GroundStation Canada theatre, and a public observatory. Recently board and staff at the facility undertook a planning exercise which identified new traveling exhibit space, a refurbished planetarium theater and more program connections with the Gordon Southam Observatory as key priorities for the future. John decided that it was best if a new Director would undertake these tasks so that he could pursue a further career in con- sulting. With a multi-faceted background in teaching, business, economics, science and not-for-profit administration he has much experience to offer, and a considerable track record of success. John Dickenson can be contacted by phone/fax at 250-537-0870 or by email at jdickens@hrmacmillanspacecen- tre.com. Unfortunately the next outline history of a Canadian planetarium was not available by press time, and so will be deferred until the June issue of the Planetarian. To date, Vancouver’s H R MacMillan Space Centre, Laurentian University’s (Sudbury) Doran Planetarium, Planetarium at the London Regional Children’s Museum, and the Margaret Zeidler Star Theatre at Edmonton’s Part of the new Eugenides Planetarium and its dome lit from behind. The sound sys- Odyssium have been covered in this column. tem is clearly visible. Photo Marios Parisis, Eugenides Foundation Studio.

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and controlled by a central computer. In the the Winter Wonderlight laser light show, in new control panel this spring. All equipment near future, with the use of the 2π system by addition to its children’s show Dinosaurs in was purchased with grant money. ProDome, it will be possible to project on the Space and two additional laser shows. Last The Dassault Systèmes Planetarium at the dome huge static images of unparalleled clar- fall, the Cernan Center hosted two all-day New Detroit Science Center opened their ity and brightness. Both the Greek press and astronomy education workshops for Chica- weather show Blown Away - The Wild World the public received the eagerly anticipated go Public School teachers who participated of Weather in mid-September. The show was opening with great enthusiasm. Suffice it to in the Museum Partners Science Program. created by the DSP staff in cooperation with say that in less than a month of operation The Adler Planetarium in Chicago contin- a team of five local TV meteorologists, who the number of students corresponding to ued to present a daily live update of news narrate the show and make video appear- confirmed school bookings has already from Mars. Visitors also have the opportuni- ances throughout. At Longway Planetarium exceeded 170,000 and stretches until the end ty to view stereoscopic polarized images in Flint the How to Use Your New Telescope of May. If the number of visitors of the gen- from Mars in its Milky Way exhibit gallery. workshop returns in February. eral public are counted, an increase of the These images will be updated within 24 At Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s Universe inflow of planetarium visitors by at least hours of receiving them from the Red Planet. Theater and Planetarium, the production of another 7,000 per week is expected for a Adler will in the spring have the premiere of a new program, tentatively entitled Stories of grand total of 500,000 visitors per year. The Future is Wild, a full dome video version the Seasons, is now underway. This program The vision of the new President, Leonidas of the popular Animal Planet TV series. will cover the astronomical cause of the sea- Demetriades-Eugenides, for the new Eugeni- Indiana. During the week of the Mars sons, the regional influences on weather, and des Foundation is expected to culminate opposition, Director Ron Kaitchuck from the stories from the local Hispanic culture. next year when the new science center Ball State University Planetarium and Obser- Cranbrook Institute of Science Planetarium opens its doors to the public, offering three vatory welcomed approximately 4,500 in Bloomfield Hills debuted Holiday Laser highly interactive exhibition areas in the through the observatory and another 300 Magic, a holiday laser light show. In addition, fields of Matter and Materials, Sound and saw Mars Quest in the planetarium. The they hosted a successful lunar eclipse event Image, and Biotechnology. The designing of observatory attendance broke all observato- on 8 November, taught two month-long the new planetarium started in the late 1980s ry records for the 37 years of its operation. In introductory astronomy courses, and rolled when the then-President of the Eugenides October and November, the planetarium out a new, multi-visit, in-depth school group Foundation, the late Nicos Vernicos-Euge- offered its own program Postcards from Space: offering known as Cranbrook Cosmic College. nides, realized that if the original mission of Images from the Hubble Space Telescope. In January, staff astronomers hosted a Tele- the Foundation was to continue, it was nec- The Merrillville Community Planetarium scope Users Workshop. essary to update its services to the public and celebrated its 30th birthday in October 2003. Ohio. At the Shaker Heights Planetarium, face the challenges of the 21st century with a Each audience member received a piece of the local astronomy club performed their totally renovated building and services. The cake as a part of the birthday celebration. Halloween program to fifth and sixth graders Eugenides Foundation is a public benefit The E. C. Schouweiler Planetarium at the and to a group of high schoolers. Planetari- non-profit institution whose aim since its University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne had um Director Gene Zajac also hosted a star establishment 50 years ago has been to help an October open house for University Ad- party for the lunar eclipse on 8 November. educate young generations of Greeks in the ministration and Faculty to showcase the At the North Hills High School in Pittsburgh, fields of science and technology and to pro- capabilities of the planetarium’s new Bowen the planetarium recently presented a live mote the dissemination of the natural sci- Astro FX Commander automation and six- interactive program focusing on the MER ences to the general public. projector three-screen system. The planetari- landings on Mars and the Stardust encounter um recently began its first-ever regular once- with Comet Wild. Great Lakes Planetarium a-month weekend programming. Youngstown State University is offering a Association Michigan. The Public Museum of Grand live program on positional astronomy by At its conference in October, GLPA con- Rapids is currently featuring an exhibition of Rick Pirko titled Where’s the Moon at Noon? ducted an election of officers. The outcome Plains Indian art entitled Tribes of the Buffalo. Their Saturday afternoon family programs was: President-Elect, Bob Bonadurer; To accompany this exhibition, the planetari- continue to be popular. In 2004, one Satur- Secretary/Treasurer, Mary Schindewolf; and um presents a Digistar-based version of the day afternoon a month will be devoted to IPS Representative, Chuck Bueter. The new Adler Planetarium show Spirits from the Sky - hands-on family astronomy activities. At the GLPA officers will assume their duties on the Thunder on the Land, which is based on Skidi Bowling Green State University Planetarium, Vernal Equinox of 2004. Paunee sky lore. Beginning in January, the Dale Smith is presenting the YSU production Illinois. In December, the Lakeview Chaffee-produced show Voyage to Infinity Centuries, which tells the story of Ohio from Museum Planetarium presented Message was also featured. In East Lansing, Abrams ice age to space age, all in time for Ohio’s from the Stars, which was written and pro- Planetarium presented as their feature show 2003 bicentennial. At the recent Mars oppo- duced by the Museum Studies intern from in January Milky Way Legacy, an original pro- sition, extra showings of MarsQuest (to Bradley University as his senior project. In duction based on a script written by Ken capacity crowds) were scheduled, and hun- January, the Saturday morning show time Croswell. dreds of visitors queued up for a look at the featured The Basic Astronomy Series, a 13-week The Vollbrecht Planetarium in Plymouth red planet through BGSU’s half-meter tele- series of (mostly) live, interactive lessons offered a series of eight, stand-alone, 90- scope. from their repertory of school lessons, adapt- minute, lecture/star shows on Thursday Wisconsin/Minnesota. A new Planetarium ed for presentation to the general family and evenings. The Henry Ford Community is going up in the Forest View Middle School scout group audience. Each program was pre- College Planetarium in Dearborn has begun in Brainerd, Minnesota, thanks to new GLPA ceded by a walk-up tabletop activity. hosting field trips and its first-ever public member Brian Wallace. In Waukesha, Wis- The Cernan Earth and Space Center of Tri- shows utilizing its new East Coast equip- consin, Dave DeRemer continues to plan for ton College brought back its two popular ment. Ash Enterprises will be installing a a new 12.2-meter planetarium. In Des Moines, holiday shows, Celebrations of Winter and

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Iowa, they are building a Science Center facility which has two old star projectors, ple. This planetarium will be the second in with a new planetarium. neither of which is functional. the Rome area open to the general public The Gary Sampson Planetarium in Wau- Ralph Mueller Planetarium has gone and not only to the school. In fact in 2004, watosa, Wisconsin ran its programs titled through a very trying year. In April, major the new big Rome Planetarium inside the The Structure of the Visible Universe, The Big budget cuts were dealt to the Museum by Museum of Roman Civilization will start its Bang - Origin of the Universe? and Dark Energy, the University. For a time, it was rumored activities. Next October, the Rome Plane- Dark Matter - What is this Stuff? Como Plane- the planetarium would close. With good sup- tarium will be the site of the National tarium in Saint Paul, Minnesota recently port, they are still open. Although Jack Dunn Meeting of Italian planetaria. hosted a Discovering the Night Sky class is on 2/3 time and salary, he has hopes to The next Day of Planetaria will be held on through the University of Minnesota. The return to full time in the near future. The 21 March in different Italian cities, from Minnesota Planetarium Society (while still Museum has a new director, who has north to south of Italy, most of them with domeless) was able to attract around 1,000 brought much hope to the facility, along free entrance. The celebration involves the people to its telescopes at five sites through- with placing the planetarium directly under main Italian domes, including those in out the metropolitan area. her influence, which removes the planetari- Milan, Ravenna, and Modena (with plans for um staff from the forces which sought to a whole-day program with Sun observations have the facility close. So, it’s a bright new and a lecture about the next transit of year on the horizon. Venus) in northern Italy, along the peninsula In late November, Mueller Planetarium down to Leonardo Da Vinci Secondary collaborated with the campus’ Ross Film School Planetarium in Molfetta (www. Theater to bring in the Discovery Channel’s liceoclassicomolfetta.it) in the south, and to high definition television broadcast of the Sicily, where the F. Nicosia Planetarium in solar eclipse from Antarctica. Clear skies, nice Roccapalumba will be open – please see eclipse, and penguins – what more could you www.prolocoroccapalumba.it. ask? Hopefully this will open up more spe- The middle of March is also the deadline cial events of this type. Many of the plane- to apply in the yearly Week in the North of taria in the area are running Ringworld while Italy that will be held 18-24 October. Last also anticipating the landing of the Mars year’s winner was Dayle Brown from Mish- Exploration Rovers after the first of the year, awaka, Indiana. American applicants must bringing on more “Mars Mania”. Of course contact Serafino Zani Astronomical Observa- we all have our fingers crossed for safe land- tory, [email protected] or Susan Reynolds ings. Button, IPS Mobile Planetarium Committee, [email protected]. Italian Planetaria’s Friends Asso- Astronomy lab students in the Uni- ciation Middle Atlantic Planetarium versity of Wisconsin LaCrosse Plane- After five years, Venice Planetarium in Society tarium. Pictured are Planetarium Lido of Venezia reopened at a new site, in the MAPS members are looking forward to director Bob Allen, Student Assistant Paul Callan, and Students Marsha expo area of Luna Park. Under a dome of 12 their annual conference, which will be held Waldsmith and Debbie Zaliewski. meters, the stars are projected by a home- in conjunction with SEPA at the Science The photo was used for the cover of made projector that also includes a 360 Museum of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia. the September 2003 issue of Physics Today magazine. Photo: Jonathon degree panorama. The projector was built by The dates are 22-26 June 2004. The registra- Lee. Aldo Abate, a member of the Amateur tion fee is expected to be approximately Astronomers Association of Venice (founded $190. The conference hotel will be the Holi- in 1976) that manages the planetarium. day Inn in Richmond ($72 per night). Great Plains Planetarium Society Above the horizon, the planetarium has an The conference committee is working First of all, congratulations to Mike Murry, amazing skyline view of the world famous hard to put together a great joint conference Richard Cox, Aaron McEuen and everyone “water-city” as seen from the Orceolo dock. which will attract planetarians from all over in Salt Lake City for the very memorable and The planetarium is open to schools by reser- the United States East Coast. The conference enlightening Western Alliance Conference. vation and to the general public on Sunday theme is, appropriately, Partnerships. The The planetaria of the Western Alliance can afternoons until May. More information is host facility is the 23-meter Ethyl IMAX be proud that we, with that wonderfully available at www.museiciviciveneziani.it - DOME & Planetarium which houses an laid-back sensibility, can lead with the best www.astrovenezia.net. of our profession. (Remember the “water- More than 100 planetaria are in operation shed” 2002 IPS conference was held in in Italy, including the many small and medi- Wichita in GPPA.) um-sized facilities. Half of them are situated At the Kansas Cosmosphere (visited by in schools, but plans are to increase the num- many during IPS 2002), they have started ber of planetaria open also to the general restoration on two more Gemini spacecraft. public. Last December, Livio Gratton Plane- Over in Wichita, the Cyberdome is now tarium opened in the city of Latina (center showing Stars of the Pharaohs in full dome. of Italy) inside the G. B. Grassi Secondary At the end of the summer, they had a visit School. This new public institution is man- from a graduate student at Iowa State aged in collaboration with the ATA Astro- University who came to look over this and nomical Association, and it is named after a other nearby installations. He reported that famous Italian astronomer. Under a 5-meter Science Museum of Virginia. Photo: Cyane Lowden. ISU is studying renovation of their old small dome each show can be followed by 40 peo-

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Omnimax projection system and Digistar 2 tor under the 11-meter dome of Steno among the volunteers at the conference. PPA planetarium. The conference committee is Museum Planetarium in Aarhus, Denmark. A members have participated in this confer- planning to include a trip to Charlottesville, dozen planetarians and teachers participated ence previously. Independence Planetarium Virginia, which will include Monticello, a in the event, and everyone was very im- staff continues to network with various speaker, dinner, and an observing session at pressed by the beautiful starfield produced astronomy groups to bring astronomy out- the historic Leander McCormick Observa- by this projector that is basically built for reach to the community. For more informa- tory. For details and updates see www.smv much smaller domes. It wasn’t quite as good tion contact Gail Chaid at gchaid@hotmail .org/SEPAMAPS. as the planetarium’s regular Zeiss Skymaster .com. projector but not that much behind .… The Bishop Museum Planetarium in Nordic Planetarium Association Honolulu was remodeled in June 2003 (new NPA has a new web site, www. Pacific Planetarium Association seats, carpet, lighting, signs, etc.); there is a planetarium.se/npa. The new web master is Alan Gould is now president of PPA and photo of the remodeled planetarium on the Per Broman, who can be reached at pbr@ will preside at the meeting of PPA at the planetarium home page www.bishopmuse- planetarium.se. He has taken over this Western Alliance of Planetariums to be held um.org/planetarium. The planetarium was responsibility from Tom Callen, who has 29 September to 1 October 2004 at Reuben H. renamed the Jhamandas Watumull Plane- served as NPA webmaster for a decade. Many Fleet Science Center in San Diego, California. tarium. The Watumull Family has been a thanks for your very good service! The Digistar Users Group Conference will major supporter of many artistic and educa- In the summer of 2002, the Stella Nova also be held there on 26-27 September. tional projects in Hawaii, and underwrote Planetarium of Falun Science Center was Reuben H. Fleet Science Center also has a the cost of this renovation. Carolyn Kaichi, closed down after ten years of under- planetarium show for sale called To Worlds former planetarium producer for the Bishop financed existence. Now, however, the plan- Beyond. Contact John Young at jyoung@ Museum, was promoted to Planetarium etarium rises again, as an educational instru- rhfleet.org for more information and a free Manager in the Fall of 2003. Mike Shanahan, ment for the Science Communication CD demo. A Spanish soundtrack narrated by the former manager, is now Education Direc- Department of Dalarna University, Falun, Hector Molina is available. tor for the museum. Sweden. It features a Starlab projector under San Francisco’s Morrison Planetarium and a 5-meter-diameter cloth dome, and it is the California Academy of Sciences is now equipped for projecting computerized audio- closed for renovation and rebuilding. The visual slide shows. It will basically feature Morrison’s classic and historic home-built programs created by Science Communi- star projector is now officially retired after 51 cation students. More information is found years of continuous operation. The Academy at www.ScienceCommunication.se. has moved its exhibits and aquarium to a In November, several Nordic/Baltic plane- temporary location in San Francisco. In the tarians participated in the ECSITE Con- absence of a planetarium, the Morrison staff ference in Munich, Germany: From Estonia, will redirect their efforts to outreach with Helle and Jaak Jaaniste, Old Observatory in portable domes and development of future Tartu, and Tiiu Sild, AHAA Science Center programs for the new state-of-the-art plane- with a Starlab planetarium in Tartu. From tarium, which will re-open in 2008. For addi- Norway, Jan Alfred Andersson, National tional information see the websites http:// The renovation of and new construc- Technical Museum and Saint Exupéry Plan- www.aanc-astronomy.org/Articlesfor tion at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles continues on schedule. In etarium in Oslo. From Sweden, Tom Callen, AANC/morrisonclosure.html and http:// this webcam photo from late January Cosmonova Space Theater in Stockholm and www.calacademy.org/planetarium/. the roof over the underground addi- Lars Broman, Dalarna University. Fifty miles south of San Francisco, in San tion is nearing completion while the first row of new copper is placed on In December, Per Broman got the opportu- Jose, California, the Egyptian Museum is get- the planetarium dome. Major con- nity to test the new Starlab FiberArc projec- ting a five million dollar facelift. The Rosi- struction ends in late spring 2005. crucian Egyptian Museum will invest some modern-day cash into its collection of ancient antiquities. Southeastern Planetarium Associ- The museum will also bring the ation shuttered planetarium back to life In November, 2003, Patsy Wilson of the by the summer of 2004. For more Woodson Planetarium, Salisbury, North information check the website: Carolina, was appointed to the office of SEPA http://www.mercurynews.com/ President Elect. This was done in accordance mld/mercurynews/news/local/ with the SEPA by-laws that state that officers 7586962.htm. Also in San Jose, Cali- must reside within the defined SEPA region. fornia, the Independence Plane- Former President Elect Duke Johnson accept- tarium is networking with the ed a position at the Clark Planetarium in Salt Santa Clara County Science Tea- Lake City and thus was forced to resign the chers Association in an effort to position. Wilson had opposed Johnson in the bring more astronomy workshops election for the office. Wilson will assume to teachers. In September of 2004, the office of President effective 1 January the California Science Teachers 2005. Per Broman, Ole Knudsen, Lars Petersen, and Association will again meet at the The Science Museum of Virginia will host Aase Roland Jacobsen under the Steno Museum Planetarium 11-meter dome. Photo Lars convention center in San Jose and a joint conference of SEPA and MAPS, 22-26 Broman. the planetarium staff will be June 2004. For more information see the

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news from MAPS above. Atlanta’s Fernbank The mission of the Elm Fork Education ground on a $39.9 million Chemistry and Science Center will host the 2005 SEPA Center is to develop and implement pre- Physics Building that features a 200-seat Conference. Further information about SEPA miere environmental education programs. planetarium. The estimated completion date is available at the web site www.sepadomes These programs provide investigative is December 2005. Dr. John L. Fry, Physics .org. encounters that engage students of all ages in Department Chairman, said, “The UTA field activities and discovery experiences. installation will be the most sophisticated in Southwestern Association of These opportunities are designed to encour- the country. The digital projector not only Planetariums age sound environmental decision making projects the stars and planets as seen from In the 1970s Texas saw a building boom and responsible environmental stewardship. Earth but allows virtual trips through the with school planetariums. There are present- There are currently eight Sky Theater pro- solar system. Imagine weaving through the ly six public planetariums and one private grams in use for the EDA program: Trip to the rings of Saturn close up.” The person in school planetarium in the Dallas area alone. Moon, Weather, Solar Safari, Long Star Legends, charge of the new planetarium at this time is However, as school budgets got tighter in the The Mars Show, Voyager, More than Meets the Zdzislaw Musielak (pronounced mus-lak), 1990s, no more school planetariums were Eye, and Journey into the Living Cell. Ron whose email is [email protected]. built, nor, given the state’s current financial DiIulio is the Sky Theater Manager. The web Texas A & M International. The third situation, are any more likely to be built. site is http://skytheater.unt.edu. Texas planetarium-in-progress is located on Now, however, many colleges and universi- Tarleton State University. The Tarleton the Texas-Mexico border. Texas A & M ties in Texas are starting to expand in re- State University Planetarium (Stephenville) International in Laredo broke ground on 25 sponse to a surge in student population. is an integral part of the new Science build- June 2003 for a new science building. The Many are adding science and engineering ing at TSU. The facility opened in April 2001. architectural highlight of the $21.6 million buildings, often including a planetarium The Digistar II star projector is housed under building will be a planetarium with seating with a digital projector in the specifications. a 12.2 meter (40-foot) dome, with a seating for 85 housed within a glass pyramid. Many officials feel that since they are con- capacity of 64. Equipment also includes six Although there is no official announcement, structing a new science building, they might all-sky projectors, six panorama projectors, sources expect that the planetarium projec- as well include a digital planetarium in the three dissolve pairs, and two video projec- tor will be a Digistar III. The new planetari- funding costs. tors. The planetarium is visited by 25,000 a um and science building should be ready for Navarro College. One of the first planetari- year. Tarleton State University is a member students in 2005. ums in Texas to feature a Digistar projector, of The Texas A&M University System. What the 1970s were for school planetari- opened in Corsicana. Navarro College, work- Michael Hibbs is the Director. ums, the late 1990s and early part of the ing through a private foundation, opened Central Texas College. One of the newest twenty-first century are for college planetari- the Cook Center in 1997. The planetarium college planetariums in Texas, boasting an ums. Hopefully the end result of the building features 200 seats under an 18-meter (60-foot) 18-meter (60-foot) dome, is the Mayborn boom will be that Texas college graduates dome. The Digistar I projector is enhanced Planetarium and Space Theater. Located at will be more aware of the universe around by large-format film capabilities, as well as Central Texas College in Killeen, the new them. Not only are college students being laser shows. Until recently the Cook Center planetarium opened its doors to the general given the unique opportunity to learn could boast that they had the largest plane- public on 22 August 2003. The college’s origi- astronomy in a planetarium, but outreach tarium dome in Texas, but they now have a nal planetarium opened in 1967 and featured programs such as the University of North rival (see below). The family behind the a Spitz A3P. Besides planetarium programs, Texas’ environmental education partner- Cook Center made most of their money, the facility also presents laser shows and ships are extending the influence of the col- appropriately enough, in the video game large format films. The Mayborn Planetar- lege planetariums to public schools in their business. In addition to the planetarium, the ium web site is wwwstarsatnight.org. areas. Even in a state as large as Texas, the Center features the Leighton B. Dawson Three more college planetariums are being majority of the population may soon find Observatory, which houses a 14-inch Celes- built in Texas: that a planetarium experience is only a short tron telescope. The web site address is http: Texas A & M at Commerce is building a drive away. C //www.nav.cc.tx.us/cook/index.htm. Bruce 100-seat, 12.2 meter (40-foot) tilted dome Brazell is the Director. planetarium in their new science building. (Minutes, continued from page 45) The University of North Texas. When the The estimated construction completion date University of North Texas in Denton built a is May 2005. At this time the bidding process Partners Fund would be helpful to the new Environmental Education, Science and is not complete, but specifications for the Affiliates in taking recommendations for Technology Building, officials included a 100 star projector are similar to the Digistar III. A locations that might be eligible for assis- seat, 12.2-meter (40-foot) dome planetarium planetarium director has not been chosen, tance. Shawn requested that any suggestions featuring the Digistar II projector. The UNT but applications will begin to be reviewed for planetariums that Council members Sky Theater includes large-format film capa- on 15 January 2004. The contact for informa- would like to see sponsored by the fund bilities. The grand opening was held on 28 tion about the A & M Commerce planetari- should be communicated to Shawn and Dale August 1998. The Sky Theater also works um is Dr. Ben Doughty, email Ben_Doughty by December 31, 2003. with the Elm Fork Education Center. The @tamu-commerce.edu. A preliminary plan With business completed, Shawn Elm Fork Education Center is the public edu- for the first floor, showing the location of Laatsch moved to adjourn the Council Meet- cation branch of the University of North the planetarium is at www.tamu-com- ing, seconded by John Dickenson and Texas’s Environmental Programs which merce.edu/coas/dean/mathandscience/first- approved by Council. include Environmental Science, Environ- floor.pdf. Respectfully Submitted, mental Ethics, Environmental and Com- The University of Texas at Arlington Lee Ann A. Hennig munity Journalism, Astronomy, Environ- opened their first planetarium in 1981. On 6 IPS Secretary mental Education, and the Department of November 2003 the University broke Geography. October 10, 2003

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his election to the office of President of the Gibbous Gazette International Laser Display Association. Jim is the Director of Distribution Channels at Send your inspired story to me and I’ll make LFI and he has over 10 years experience in sure the rest of the planetarium community the Sales and Marketing in the Entertain- hears about it, no matter how big or how ment Industry. small. My contact info is listed above; the … to Hélène Mitchell, Project Manager at rest is up to you. the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, part of the National Maritime Museum, who has Congratulations … been awarded the Order of the British … to IPS Past President Dale Smith! At its Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. October 2003 annual meeting, the Great Hélène Mitchell, who has been with the Lakes Planetarium Association (GLPA) pre- Museum for 19 years, receives the award for sented Dr. Dale W. Smith with the Galileo services to the Museum. She is currently lead- Award for exemplary work in the planetari- ing a major project to develop a new um profession within the GLPA region and Astronomy Centre at the Royal Observatory. beyond. His nomination for this award was The project will open up the Observatory’s supported by respected colleagues from listed South Building, and includes a new across the country. The award was presented planetarium in order to meet the needs of an by the GLPA President, Gary Sampson. In expanding schools’ program and a growing public interest in astronomy. Among James P. Hughes presenting the award, Sampson said, “Galileo worked to bring new ideas, truth and fresh Hélène’s many major achievements at the Planetarium Producer thinking to the world and so has Dr. Smith.” Museum is the recent redevelopment of the Henry Buhl, Jr. Planetarium Dr. Smith is the first recipient of the Galileo Queen’s House, the Museum’s venue for art. Award, which is the highest honor of the The project was completed and the Queen’s & Observatory Great Lakes Planetarium Association. It is House reopened by His Royal Highness The Carnegie Science Center given only to a GLPA member who has Prince of Wales in 2001, offering much demonstrated exemplary leadership with greater access to the Museum’s spectacular One Allegheny Avenue GLPA and has carried this work to the art collections. Hélène also developed the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania national and international planetarium Museum’s ‘All Hands’ gallery that offers an community. James Manning, Director of the exciting mix of interactive exhibits for chil- 15212 USA Museum of the Rockies Planetarium in dren themed on the lives and skills of people (1) 412-237-3348 voice Bozeman, Montana (and also an IPS Past who work with the sea. If you missed the President), said of Dr. Smith’s work, “I can 1998 IPS Conference in London, you can take (1) 412-237-3395 fax think of few individuals more dedicated to a virtual tour at http://www.nmm.ac.uk. [email protected] the ideals of planetarium education and pro- fessionalism and to bringing together the Planetariums On The Move Did you get a chance to experience The A recent WWW article from a Houston, world planetarium community in common Matrix: Revolutions at an Imax or Imax Texas, television station recommended the cause than is Dale Smith.” Dale Smith, cur- Dome screen near you this fall? Many large new Mars planetarium show at the Museum rently Professor of Physics & Astronomy and screen theaters world wide offered audiences of Natural Science as alternative entertain- Planetarium Director, has been at Bowling a chance to catch the last of the three part ment to the annual Super Bowl broadcast. It Green State University in Ohio since 1983 series in this eye-popping format. The was either that or a Punks vs. Goths version and has directed its planetarium since that reviews are in, and the word is, “It was BIG”! of Romeo and Juliet – both will be open on time. He graduated cum laude in 1970 from MOSI in Tampa, Florida, has hopes of Super Bowl Sunday. A lucky few can actually Colgate University and received his Ph.D. in expanding and relocating their popular watch the Super Bowl projected on the Imax 1978 from the University of Washington. He Saunders Planetarium to their new children’s Screen at the New England Aquarium in has served as President of both the Great science center – Kids In Charge – in 2005. Boston (only 250 tickets available and only Lakes Planetarium Association and the Inter- Originally opened in October 1992, the plan- sold in blocks of 50). You can have Martinis national Planetarium Society. During his etarium has had approximately 500,000 visi- with your Imax Experience in Atlanta. And association with both of those organizations tors experience its out-of-this-world shows! Walt Disney Pictures recently released their he has edited dozens of publications for the Museum officials hope to make several need- first ever direct to Imax (only) film called improvement of the profession including a ed upgrades in order to strengthen the plane- Young Black Stallion. There is even talk of multi-language publication by the United tarium’s programs. A donation box near the other major motion pictures being released Nations in 1992, Planetarium: A Challenge for planetarium entrance asks visitors for contri- in this format in 2004 and 2005. The secret Educators. He has produced 17 original plane- butions so that the planetarium can contin- behind the spectacle that was pioneered by tarium programs and adapted over 40 others ue its mission of “making science (astrono- the planetarium is slowly creeping out into to play in the planetarium and presented my) real.” the rest of the museum and entertainment over four dozen papers at educational and The Challenger Center of Tallahassee, worlds. Just look at the addition of a plane- scientific conferences. Dr. Smith has traveled Florida, has just installed an Evans & Suther- tarium on board the largest cruise ship in the the globe, largely at his own expense, to im- land Digistar 3 projector in their planetarium world for the proof (see details below). prove the quality of planetariums world- theater. They will open the year with the How are you keeping the magic alive? The wide. E&S show, New Horizons. The center is an readers of this column would love to know. … to Jim Hardaway of LFI International on

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outreach component of the Florida A&M University - Florida State Univer- sity College of Engineering for grades K-12 with an emphasis on Earth and Space Sciences. When is a planetarium not a plane- tarium? When you’ve budgeted for construction but not for the planetari- um projector or ancillary equipment. It really happened in Gainesville, Florida, at the Sante Fe Community College. At a cost of $3.5 million, the Natural Science Building was designed to house labs, classrooms and administrative areas. They built the shell of the plane- tarium in 1999, even equipped it with seats and a dome, but they are still actively seeking the resources to fill it with equipment. When is a movie theater more than just a movie theater? When it is also equipped with a planetarium! That is the case of the Illuminations Theater aboard the new QM2, the largest pas- senger ship in the Cunard Line. “The first permanent planetarium to sail the high seas left port on the luxury ocean liner Queen Mary 2 today”, announced Sky-Skan, Inc. President, Steve Savage on January 12, 2004. Even before departure on its maiden voyage, the planetarium has already hosted thousands of visitors including her QM2 Illuminations Theater image courtesy Steven T. Savage and dome image from the American Museum of Natural History’s show “SonicVision,” New York, NY © 2003 royal highness the Queen of England. The planetarium has quickly become the “must see” element of the most lux- urious ocean liner ever built. Incorpor- ated into a 400+ seat movie theater, a retractable dome screen drops down to engulf 150 reclining seats in the center of the auditorium. The lights dim and the show begins. The planetarium fea- tures Sky-Skan’s SkyVision and Digital- Sky systems coupled with the compa- ny’s new AVS video system to seamless- ly integrate all visual components on the dome. Sky-Skan’s SPICE Automa- tion control system keeps all functions effortlessly under synchronized con- trol and a simple button click away. The entire planetarium system is con- trolled by a single laptop that plugs into a jack under one of the seats in the theater. Passengers will be able to enjoy sev- eral different immersive fulldome ex- periences, from Stars Over the Atlantic - a night-sky identification session, to the very best in SkyVision productions including, Infinity Express and The Secret of the Dragon. The theater will The QM2 digital video system uses 6 Barco Sim4 DLP projectors to completely blanket the dome with a single seamless super high-resolution video image, resulting in spectacular also play a central role in Cunard’s color and brightness even in ambient lighting conditions. The projectors are housed in “Enrichment Program” operated by specially designed domed turrets discretely placed in the seating area of the theater. Photo courtesy of Steven T. Savage © 2003

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Oxford University where the ship takes on will host a GOTO SUPER HELIOS planetari- begun at the Morrison Planetarium at The the role of a floating university. um projector. It will be in a sphere which is California Academy of Sciences in San part observation deck, part TV studio, 25 sto- Francisco, California. The facility will be dis- People on the Move ries in the air! But that’s not all ...The observa- mantled and a new facility will be built over Scott Niskach (former Project Manager for tion deck windows will remain open, so visi- the next five years. The Morrison had a Sky-Skan Inc.) has joined the Evans & Suther- tors will be able to see the gorgeous Tokyo unique planetarium project built by the land Digital Theater Division’s Digistar 3 city skyline across the bay at the same time Academy Staff from precision optical parts team in a project management and sales posi- that they see the spectacular 38,000 star sky and military surplus supplies over four years tion. You can contact him via email at of the SUPER HELIOS. The SUPER HELIOS’ starting back in 1948. The homemade design [email protected] or by phone at +1 801-588- extreme brightness ensures that the city was due in large part to the fact that the 7972. lights won’t interfere with the sky. Since the Academy couldn’t obtain a Zeiss projector as Dr. Ian Griffin (former director of the SUPER HELIOS is rated for up to 50 meter a result of the turmoil caused by World War Armagh Planetarium and the Astronaut domes, projecting a beautiful, super-high res- II. After more than 50 years “The Machine”, Memorial Planetarium in Cocoa, Florida, and olution, super-high contrast sky in the Fuji the nickname given to the planetarium the Auckland Science Center, New Zealand, Television temporary exhibition is no prob- instrument by workers and visitors, will and most recently with the Hubble Space lem. Please take a look at http://www.goto.co retire in January, 2004. The Academy’s tem- Telescope Science Institute) has accepted the .jp/topics/todayphoto/031213-e.html.” porary location at 875 Howard St. will not Directorship of The Museum of Science and Thanks Ken! have a permanent dome. Instead, planetari- Industry in Manchester, England. Beginning Need money to support your web site? Go um staff members will bring a 4.6-meter in April 2004, Dr. Griffin will replace Acting to http://www.astronomy-awards.org and fill inflatable dome to area students. For a well- Director Bob Scott who will be moving on to out their application. They want to award illustrated history of this exotic planetarium become the CEO of Museum Victoria in Mel- monthly prizes to support astronomy educa- wonder, point your web browser to http:// bourne, Australia. The Manchester MOSI is in tion! www.calacademy.org/planetarium/about the final stages of a £15million capital cam- If you’ve ever taken a tour of the Jet Pro- .html#equipment. paign and it will soon open a new exhibition pulsion Laboratory near Pasadena, Califor- Many well-known planetarians partici- entitled Manchester Science: Discoveries nia, you probably remember that a highlight pated in the ECSITE Conference in Munich, That Changed The World. To learn more of the tour for planetarians was a stop at the Germany in November, 2003 - for more about the museum and the new exhibit visit JPL Store! Now you can relive the thrill of information on this event, see the Inter- http://www.msim.org.uk. filling a NASA shopping bag with planetary national News Column. Among the social After 23 years of service, Bob Stoller is goodies thanks to the World Wide Web. You events, the final evening at the famous Hof- retiring as the Operations Manager at the can purchase JPL and NASA Insignia Mer- brauhaus beer hall was a most enjoyable Fiske Planetarium in Boulder, Colorado. Bob chandise and outfit yourself in the latest event with plenty of German food, German has seen the planetarium through heck and Mars Expedition Rover clothing by visiting beer (a large beer means LARGE), and Ger- high water when a water main broke last http://www.bookstore.caltech.edu/JPLLAB/ man entertainment. During the typical year flooding the planetarium. The water DEFAULT.ASP. If you’d rather talk to a live Bavarian Glockspiel, planetarian Johan brought destruction, but it also brought person call them at (1) 818-354-6120. Gijsenbergs of SkySkan-Europe entered the about some much needed renovations. $110 Garry Stasiuk of Stasiuk Enterprises has a stage and played the bass bell beautifully. million later, the Fiske has reopened and is new web address thanks to the ever-increas- Thanks Lars for this insider report! C now in the process of raising $1.8 billion to ing speed of the Internet. You may now take the planetarium into the Digital Age. reach him at http://home.comcast.net/~gar- Replacing Mr. Stoller is Doug Duncan. Good rystasiuk. For information on Planetarium (Last Light, continued forward from page 68) luck Bob and welcome Doug! Show Kits visit http://home.comcast.net dollars on press releases and denials instead Tom Clarke (formerly Head, McLaughlin /~garrystasiuk/PLNT.html. You can send of preparing for the battle to come.” Planetarium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is Gary electronic mail at garrystasiuk@ A spokesthing denied any government retiring as of December 31, 2003, after 28 mac.com or [email protected]. involvement in the disappearance of Rhodo, years in the McLaughlin Planetarium of the The MEGASTAR II Star Projector, which who has not been seen since shortly after the Royal Ontario Museum and the last 8 years was manufactured by Mr. Ohira, will be interview, claiming, “Any sentient being in exhibit development and exhibit project shown at National Museum Of Emerging knows that a planet with the concentrations management at the museum. His plans are, Science And Innovation (Kagaku Miraikan) of water and oxygen found on Earth is a “to do what I want at the pace that suits me in Tokyo, Japan this winter at the GAIA deadly and inhospitable environment for and catch up on my reading and other inter- Dome Theater of the museum. The demon- the formation of life, much less intelligent ests.” If you would like to send Tom a note of stration will repeat in the spring. Visit the life. The fear and consternation caused by congratulations you can email him at museum online at http://www.miraikan.jst the unfounded and wild speculations of citi- [email protected]. .go.jp/en/index.html. The MEGASTAR sys- zens like Rhodo are a traitorous disservice to tem is reported to be capable of projecting the citizens of Mars.” New and Noted 3.5 million stars. Thanks to Tadashi Mori, *** Ken Miller from GOTO Optical Mfg. Co. President, Media i Corporation in Tokyo for wrote in with the following report, “If your this report. Visit his website at http://www As I’m sending this column off to our tal- holiday travel takes you through Tokyo, be .media-i.com. ented editor, part of me is listening to the lat- sure to visit one of the most unique planetar- est information coming from the Spirit ium experiences ever. Through January 4, Last One Out …Turn Off the rover on Mars. To quote Rob Landis from 2004, the headquarters building of Fuji Lights Dome-L, “What a time to be alive and to live Television, in the Odaiba district of Tokyo The countdown to the final show has in the here and now.” Hear, hear! C

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showing of the “Sky Tonight” show, and scopes, based on an interview they did with Last Light about half way through, propose to his girl- me. It led off with a big picture of several of friend. Well, the staff practiced the entire our telescopes, with the caption noting that show a few times, and had the ring tied to they included a ‘114 millimeter microscope’ fishing line, ready to drop directly in front of and an eight inch ‘Schitt-Cassegrain.’ Honest, where the young woman would be sitting. none of this was my fault!” The day of the proposal, everything was *** going as planned. The star show started with just the two in the theater, and Ron making And a press release courtesy Jane Hastings: some great excuses why there were not other Martian Air Force denies UFO crash people there. Gusev Crater (MPI) - A spokesthing for About half way through the show, Ron Mars Air Force denounced as false rumors did his cue, set the stars start spinning, that an alien space craft crashed in the desert, brought up a little background music, and outside of Ares Vallis on Saturday. Appearing the man asked for her hand in marriage. The at a press conference today, General Rgrmr- ring was lowered down, but since the ring my The Lesser stated that “the object was, in was hanging in the dark, she could not see it fact, a harmless high-altitude weather bal- in front of her. It took a little cove lighting loon, not an alien spacecraft”. and the man’s guidance for her to find the The story broke late Saturday night when ring, and say yes. a major stationed at nearby Ares Vallis Air April S. Whitt *** Force Base contacted the Gusev Crater Daily Record with a story about a strange, balloon- Fernbank Science Center A quote for the turning of the year, from shaped object which allegedly came down in the signature block of Cassie Foster Doty: “Be 156 Heaton Park Drive NE the nearby desert, “bouncing” several times very, very careful what you put into that before coming to a stop, and “deflating in a Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA head, because you will never, ever get it out.” sudden explosion of alien gases.” Minutes – Thomas Cardinal Wolsey (1471-1530) [email protected] later, General Rgrmrmy The Lesser contacted *** the Daily Record telepathically to contradict Stories and quotes for the first quarter of the earlier report. the year, dear friends: “We cannot solve the problems we have General Rgrmrmy The Lesser stated that Jack Dunn shares this romantic tale from created with the same thinking that created hysterical stories of a detachable vehicle Mueller Planetarium in Lincoln, Nebraska, them.” – Albert Einstein roaming across the Martian desert were bla- USA: *** tant fiction, provoked by incidences involv- About six years ago we had a wedding in Museum of the Rockies staffer Angie Veloz ing swamp gas. But the general public has the planetarium, with a number of interest- brought her babysitting charge Ellie to the been slow to accept the Air Force’s explana- ing features to the ceremony. Right after the Taylor Planetarium’s “Laser Yuletide” pro- tion of recent events, preferring to speculate ceremony started, they played a video that gram recently; the program features holiday on the “other-worldly” nature of the crash the groom had made. It was based on pic- songs choreographed with laser imagery, debris. tures of the bride and groom, showing computer graphics, and special effects, re- Conspiracy theorists have condemned images of them from childhood up through ports planetarium director Jim Manning. Rgrmrmy’s statements as evidence of “an the present. During a rendition of “Let It Snow,” on the obvious government cover-up,” pointing out After exchanging vows, we went to two hemispherical screen overhead, computer- that Mars has no swamps. They point to the recorded sequences. Several days earlier, the ized snow seems to fall from the sky, and the release of secret government memos detail- bride and groom had come in separately, effect is pretty realistic. ing attempts to discredit reports of the land- recorded a personal message from each to How realistic? Angie looked over at her ings by alien space craft. The memos discuss the other, and had picked out pieces of charge during the song, and found Ellie’s strategies to avoid troubles similar to those music to be played. During the songs, I pro- head back, her mouth open and her tongue caused by the War of the Worlds radio pro- jected the lyrics to the songs in laser, display- out, waiting to catch snowflakes! After the gram of years ago. The program, which fea- ing them for everyone to read up in the stars. song, Angie leaned over and asked Ellie if she tured a sensational story of gigantic oxygen I added some effects on top of this. During caught any. Ellie responded, “I think I caught breathing two-eyed invaders from Earth, the bride’s song (“Thank you” by Led Zep- just one.” sparked planet-wide panic. pelin) I also added some lumia. *** Local residents like Driv Rhodo, who lives After the ceremony, the groomsmen went in the area of the alleged landings, are even outside and reenacted the album cover to In the Dec. 21, 2003 issue of Parade maga- more skeptical. “I seen it with my own 5 the Beatles’ Abbey Road on the street in front zine (page 12) in the Marilyn vos Savant col- eyes” claimed Rhodo last week. “I’ve lived of the Museum. They even had some T-shirts umn, alert reader Gary Tomlinson saw the here over 300 years, most of my adult life- made with a picture of the bride and groom following question: form. Them things used to be few and far kissing, and the caption, “I did it in the plane- “When scientists are measuring distance in between but lately they come in every few tarium.” space, do they add an extra light-day for *** every four light-years?” years or so. The government wants to bury the truth but I can tell you what’s real. The *** Luke Donaher contributed this story, Earthlings are going to invade and the gov- although he said it is best told by Davin Dave Hoestetter in Lafayette, Louisiana ernment is spending our hard-earned tax Flateau or Ron Dantowitz: reports: “We had a nice big article in our A young man asked to have a private local newspaper last Sunday about tele- (Please see Last Light on page 66)

68 Planetarian March 2004