December 2006 Vol. 35, No. 4

Vol. 35, No. 4 December 2006

Journal of the International Planetarium Society

A u n i v e r s e w i t h w i d e l y spaced observers would see similar,, yet different,, cosmic m i c r o w a v e b a c k g r o u n d s .. Page 6.. I. P. S. Standing Committees

IPS Awards Committee IPS Elections Committee IPS Publications Committee Jon Bell Steve Mitch, Chair Dr. Dale W. Smith Hallstrom Planetarium Planetarium BGSU Planetarium, 104 Overman Hall Indian River Community College Benedum Natural Science Center Physics &Astronomy Dept. 3209 Virginia Avenue Oglebay Park Bowling Green State University Fort Pierce, Florida 34981 USA Wheeling, West Virginia 26003 USA Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 USA (1) 561-462-4888 (1) 304-243-4034 (1) 419-372-8666 [email protected] (1) 304-243-4110 fax (1) 419-372-9938 fax [email protected] [email protected] IPS Conference Committee Martin George IPS Finance Committee - President, Past- Launceston Planetarium President, President-Elect, Treasurer, Queen Victoria Museum Secretary Wellington Street Launceston, Tasmania 7250 Australia IPS Membership Committee 61 3 63233777 Shawn Laatsch IPS Permanent Mailing Address 61 3 63233776 fax Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii International Planetarium Society [email protected] 600 Imiloa Place Hilo, Hawaii 96720 USA c/o Shawn Laatsch IPS Conference Host-2008 (1) 808-969-9735 IPS Treasurer/Membership Chair Dr. Paul Knappenberger, President (1) 808-969-9748 fax Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum 600 Imiloa Place 1300 South Lake Shore Drive Hilo, Hawaii 96720 USA Chicago, Illinois 60605 USA (1) 312-922-7827 reception IPS Web Site (10 312-322-2257 fax www.ips-planetarium.org www.adlerplanetarium.org I. P. S. AD HOC Committees

Armand Spitz Planetarium Education Fund IPS Media Distribution Committee IPS Script Contest Committee Finance Committee Thomas W. Kraupe, Direktor Steve Tidey Planetarium Hamburg 58 Prince Avenue IPS Education Committee Hindenburgstr.1b Southend, Essex, SS2 6NN England April Whitt D-22303 Hamburg United Kingdom Fernbank Science Center +49(0)40-428 86 52-50 [email protected] 156 Heaton Park Drive NE +49(0)40-428 86 52-99 fax Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA +49(0)40-4279 24-850 efax Strategic Planning Committee (1) 678-875-7148 +49(0)172-40 86 133 cell John Dickenson (1) 678-874-7110 fax [email protected] H.R. MacMillan Planetarium [email protected] www.planetarium-hamburg.de Pacific Space Centre 1100 Chestnut Street IPS Full-Dome Video Committee IPS Outreach Committee Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 3J9 Ryan Wyatt Jon W. Elvert Canada Rose Center for Earth & Space Irene W. Pennington Planetarium (1) 604-738-7827 ext. 234 American Museum of Natural History Louisiana Art & Science Museum (1) 604-736-5665 fax 79th Street & Central Park West 100 South River Road [email protected] New York, New York, 10024 USA Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 USA (1) 212-313-7903 (1) 225-344-5272 IPS Technology Committee (1) 212-313-7868 fax (1) 225-214-4027 fax Jan Sifner [email protected] Planetarium Praha IPS History Committee Observatory and Planetarium of Prague John Hare, IPS Historian IPS Planetarium Development Group Kralovska obora 233 Ash Enterprises Ken Wilson CZ-170 21 Prague 7 Czech Republic 3602 23rd Avenue West Ethyl Universe Planetarium +420 2 333 764 52 Bradenton, Florida 34205 USA Science Museum of Virginia +420 2 333 794 44 (Jan) (1) 941-746-3522 2500 West Broad Street +420 2 333 764 34 fax (1) 941-750-9497 fax Richmond, Virginia 23220 USA [email protected] [email protected] (1) 804-864-1429 www.planetarium.cz (1) 804-864-1560 fax IPS Job Information Service Subcommittee [email protected] IPS Web Committee (Professional Services Committee) Alan Gould Steve Fentress IPS Portable Planetarium Committee Holt Planetarium Strasenburgh Planetarium Susan Reynolds Button Lawrence Hall of Science Rochester Museum & Science Center Quarks to Clusters University of California 657 East Avenue 8793 Horseshoe Lane Berkeley, California 94720-5200 USA Rochester, New York 14607 USA Chittenango, NY 13037 (1) 510-643-5082 (1) 585-271-4552 ext. 409 (1) 315-687-5371 (1) 510-642-1055 fax (1 )585-271-7146 fax [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] IPS Professional Services Committee IPS Language Committee Mike Murray Martin George Clark Planetarium Launceston Planetarium 110 South 400 West Queen Victoria Museum Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 USA Wellington Street (1) 801 456 4949 Launceston, Tasmania 7250 Australia (1) 801 456 4928 fax Please notify the Editor of any changes 61 3 63233777 [email protected] on these two pages. 61 3 63233776 fax [email protected] Contact the Treasurer/Membership Chair for individual member address changes and general circulation and billing questions.

December 2006 Planetarian 3 In Front of the Console

Astronomy Center in Hilo in December. The about someone from India? Is there a tradi- Imiloa people made a fine choice. tional star story that you tell that you could share with your colleagues around the Welcome to the AER world? It doesn’t have to be long, and if you A partnership with the Astronomy have an illustration, send it along. Education Review debuts in this issue. I’m There are a couple of great pictures in this sure you all know that AER is the web-based, issue. My favorite is on page 64. It gave me peer-reviewed journal for astronomy educa- déjà vu shivers because I’ve seen exactly the tion and outreach (and if you didn’t, you same pose at events we’ve sponsored by should check it out at aer.noao.edu). The edi- Youngstown State University. The same tors are Sidney Wolff and Andrew Fraknoi, excited, fascinated kids, the same decorated names that are nearly synonymous with rockets, even the same bicycle pump. The astronomy education. The AER especially is only difference was that really cool hat the interested “in increasing the number of one student is wearing. Kids will be kids, papers relating to education outside the for- regardless of where they live. mal classroom.” Hey—that’s us! I’ll select an AER article for each issue of Change—and More Change the Planetarian, and if I receive material that Ed Lantz writes in “Digital Frontiers” is worthy of review by the AER, I’ll forward about the speed with which the develop- it to them. It’s a win-win situation., especially ment of all-dome video is moving and the Sharon Shanks for the Planetarian. I would like to see this potential for it to present themes outside of Ward Beecher Planetarium publication grown in professional status. astronomy by professionals outside of the This is a good first step. dome. It’s a strong opinion column (some- Youngstown State This month’s article is by IPS member thing expected of by-lined columns of this University Stacy Palen from the Ott Planetarium at type) and Ed has some valid arguments. Weber State University in Utah (and her col- The “fulldome vs traditional” divide has- Youngstown, OH 44555 league AmyJo Proctor), and is one I was par- n’t come about because of a lack of desire for USA ticularly excited to see: a comparison of all-dome or the willingness to show science [email protected] astronomy standards across the US. topics other than astronomy in our domes. Once you look at the different states’ edu- It’s money, to put it bluntly. Some “tradi- cation standards you’ll see what a daunting tional” planetariums will never change to I just couldn’t do it yet—show you the real task this paper took on and completed. I felt digital because they simply can’t afford to. me. Maybe next time. This is the only pic- that devoting five pages to the comparison Some of us “hybrids,” who have digital/all- ture of myself that I like, and it’s 30 years old. table was well worth the space. You can see dome capability, are having trouble “feeding One of my favorite lines from the movie at a glance which states don’t include a lot of the beast.” We have the machine, but not the Jurassic Park comes from Dr. Alan Grant, astronomy in their science standards, and resources to afford the shows. Come on, who says “The world is changing so fast, and how planetariums are meeting—and not guys—$20,000 for a 50-license for a show? No we're all running to catch up.” He could be meeting—what teachers need. matter how good it is, a non-profit, free-to- talking about the planetarium world, where the-public institution (or one working with our community is facing a myriad of chal- “25 Years Ago,” Anyone? all volunteers in Mexico or India or lenges—and the pace of change is almost Three columns are missing this issue, Thailand) can’t afford $20,000 for a single overwhelming. Anita Sohus’ NASA column, and John program, and what kind of technology will (Aside: Grant is played by Sam Neill, one of Schroer’s "What’s New." John got wrapped up we be using for projection in 10 years, let my favorite actors. He was born in Northern in the GLPA conference, and Anita is still alone 50? Ireland, but moved as a child to the South overwhelmed with NASA duties. Another complicated issue is the “print vs Island of New Zealand. I guess you can both I’m at fault for the missing “25 Years Ago electronic” debate. Should we save trees and claim him!) column.” I’m probably not the right person membership fees and make the Planetarian Grant, of course, is talking about to be writing it, so I’m tossing it up for grabs completely electronic (like the AER)? Or dinosaurs. The situation facing us isn’t as to anyone would like to share their writing should we recognize that the internet is not dangerous as a velociraptor or as fanciful as talents with the IPS community. I think the ubiquitous, and still provide a printed jour- cloned dinosaurs, but we are at a technology person who would do justice to the column nal? It’s a tough question, one that has, again, crossroads. But, before I muse about change, is someone who’s been involved with the been brought about by technology and we need to take care of some business. planetarium world and the IPS for a long money. Let’s face it: printing is expensive. time, perhaps when the events of 25 years An even more-debated issue is Pluto. At New Address for Planetarian ago were taking place. You’ll get a personally last: something that isn’t related to money! The Planetarian has a new permanent copied issue of the historical Planetarian and Let’s apply our reaction to the Pluto decision mailing address (see page 2), necessitated by my profound thanks. “intelligently,” as Martin George describes in the relocation of Treasurer/Membership “Star Stories” is also missing. I received no his story on page 34, and not be iconoclastic Chair Shawn Laatch to Hawaii. submissions this month, so it looks like I’ll or intolerant to changes. The IAU is vested Congratulations to Shawn, who became the have to go knocking on doors to find them with the authority to make this decision; director of the planetarium at the Imiloa (virtually, of course). Little nudge here: How (Please see Editor on page 71)

4 Planetarian December 2006

TheThe MysteryMystery atat thetheEEddgg ofof thethe UniverseUniverse e? James S. Sweitzer, Ph.D. ? Science Communications Consultants 528 North Ridgeland Ave. Oak Park, Illinois 60302 USA [email protected]

Figure 1: WMAP Sphere: Cosmic microwave background visualized and rendered as a 3-D sphere. 22 All graphics by the author unless otherwise noted; this image courtesy of NASA/WMAP Science Team. Submitted for publication 9/16/06; Accepted for publication 10/31/06

6 Planetarian December 2006 Abstract: Digital projection systems that can display cosmological-scale models offer both opportunities and challenges for planetarians. The chance of implanting or reinforcing popular misconceptions is high when presenting the WMAP cosmic microwave background data as a sphere seen from the outside. This paper addresses questions about the edge of the universe raised by this depiction. This is done by focusing on drawing the distinction between cosmic maps versus cosmic pictures of an expanding universe. The reader should acquire a working knowledge from this discussion to be able to handle questions from the public about the various edges or, more properly, horizons, that present themselves in cosmological models.

Fulldome digital planetariums1 have biological evolution. The latest National The challenge, however, goes far revolutionized what planetarium and Science Foundation Science and Engin- beyond simply knowing more about astronomy educators need to know. eering Indicators3 states: stars, galaxies, and cosmology. Because a Because these systems can display a scale, digital planetarium can display a model 3-D model of the universe, they have Americans were less likely than resi- based upon 3-D databases, it can engen- extended dramatically the domain over dents of other countries to answer der problems when the models contra- which educators need content expertise. “true” to the following scientific dict relativity. The intent of this paper is Older opto-mechanical planetarium knowledge questions: “human beings, to address one limit of these new 3-D technology only required the ability to as we know them today, developed models5. To start we will address some describe and interpret night and day sky from earlier species of animals” and misconceptions that can arise from the phenomena—in other words, basic “the universe began with a huge explo- problem of displaying the cosmic astronomy. Guiding audiences through a sion.” In the United States, 44% of the microwave background (CMB). digital universe requires a much deeper respondents in an NSF-sponsored sur- The CMB data in Figure 1 display the knowledge of astrophysics and cosmolo- vey answered “true” to the first ques- distribution of the variations in the 2.725 gy. tion in 2004, about the same level K cosmic microwave background, which This is what is hoped to become the recorded in every year (except one) is the relic electromagnetic radiation first of a series of papers to deal with the that the question has been asked. In from an early epoch of the hot Big Bang pedagogical consequences for planetari- contrast, 78% of Japanese respondents origin of the universe. These data were ans when working with this new tech- answered “true,” as did 70% of the recorded by the Wilkinson Microwave nology. We must now confront the fact Chinese and European respondents Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and this fig- that we live in an evolving universe and more than 60% of the South ure will often be referred to as the WMAP where the speed of light (c) is finite. Korean and Malaysian respondents. Sphere. The false colors are emphasized Because c is finite, we need to deal with Only in Russia did less than half (44%) to show the structure of variations in the many issues in interpreting what of respondents answer “true.” microwave radiation. In actuality, these astronomers observe with telescopes as Similarly, Americans were less likely variations are quite small, of order one well as what we can display in visual than other survey respondents (except part in 10-5. The spatial spectrum and models. A subsequent paper will discuss the Chinese) to answer “true” to the amplitude constrain the cosmological virtual travel through stellar databases. “Big Bang” question. parameters describing the universe. In This first paper focuses on an important particular, the WMAP data indicate we cosmological problem related to a fre- This paper is intended for planetarium live in a spatially flat6 universe dominat- quently asked question: “Is there an edge and astronomy educators who form the ed by dark matter and dark energy. to the universe?” front lines of astronomical education. It is crucial that we, as astronomy educa- Misleading “baby picture” Extending beyond the dome tors, have a sound background in aspects In digital planetariums, these data can The issues associated with teaching of modern cosmology, if the public be depicted as the ultimate data set after modern cosmology extend far beyond understanding of contemporary science flying past stars, galaxies and clusters of the planetarium dome. Most audiences is to progress. A recent popular science galaxies. This is because the WMAP data have only rudimentary mental models magazine article4 took great care to dis- represents the limit of what is observ- of outer space that extend only as far as cuss common misconceptions about cos- able, at least by microwave telescopes. It Pluto2. Furthermore, some Americans mology, but it did not address specific has been referred to in writings intended have a negative attitude towars the Big problems planetarians might face using a for popular audiences as a “baby picture” Bang in much the same way as they do digital planetarium projection system. of the universe. In that sense, they are the

December 2006 Planetarian 7 Because we rely on light for celestial information, we are constrained to live in a relativistic universe where images of distant objects are actually images of past events. In our everyday life this is never apparent because the distances, typically meters, are so small and c is extremely fast (3x108 meters per second). But in cosmology the distances are enormous, so we can’t avoid the fact that we always observe a cosmic picture. If light traveled infinitely fast, then we might see something like Figure 2 when we looked into space. This figure shows a slice of the structure of the universe and is a cosmic map; our common sense understanding of large-scale spatial information is that of a map. The map in Figure 2 was constructed theoretically from the Millennium Simulation of the Virgo Consortium8. Where the problem with using Figure 1 arises in a planetarium program is that it is sometimes used in a conflicting way—like a cosmic map, when the WMAP Sphere is in fact simply the horizon of a very early event in our cosmic picture. This paper will elaborate further on this distinction and show ultimately how to envision the WMAP data in a more Figure 2: A Cosmic Map of the Universe23. This image is 1,500 Mpc/h wide. Using h=0.71 meaningful way. If the speed of light were and converting the units to light years, it spans a distance of 6.9 billion light years! infinite this distinction would not have to 23 This is simulated slice of the dark matter in the cosmos and is still only a fraction of be made. the dimension of what we can know. This simulation is for the present epoch, t0 = 13.7 billion years after the Big Bang. • Different Observers mean Different data from the edge of what we can observe. been called the world picture, not a world Horizons: Related to the concept of cosmic pictures is the fact that what observers see Digital planetarium presenters can then vir- map7. With this distinction rests many of the depends on their location. Different tually fly outside these data to observe it, as problems we aim to solve. (In this paper, observers on different galaxies will see differ- we are in Figure 1. when we are talking about the universe as a ent cosmic pictures and. therefore. different There are problems implicit in the use of whole, we will use the more contemporary CMB horizons. So, if we were to live in a this spherical representation as a visualized word cosmic instead of the archaic adjective local universe of, for example, eight WMAP model of the universe. This paper will world.) A cosmic picture is literally what we observatories in galaxies many billions of address five and suggest an approach to an see with our telescopes, or even our eyes for light years apart, they would all see their alternative interpretation, based upon the that matter. own particular WMAP spheres, like those construction of a space-time diagram. Even if this alternative is not directly useful in digital planetarium presentations, the hope is that by addressing and learning about the problem of depicting cosmological horizons, astronomy educators will be better equipped to answer questions about cosmology. We will first look at several important scientific concepts concealed by the problematic WMAP Sphere. From there we will list some possible misconceptions created by ignoring these concepts. Finally, we’ll go to some length to examine an alternative way to understand the CMB as the light horizon of a cosmic picture of the universe.

Five Problems with WMAP Sphere We will first examine some of the concepts that are implicit in any display of deep cosmological data. Understanding them will help frame the use of the Figure 1. There are at least five ideas that limit the use of the WMAP sphere as a model:

• Cosmic Pictures vs. Cosmic Maps: When Figure 3: CMB Spheres for Different Observers. A universe with widely spaced we observe the universe, we see what has observers using WMAP-like observatories would see similar, yet different, CMBs.

8 Planetarian December 2006 shown in Figure 3. The general statistics of where t0 is the age of the universe today, te is outside and inside are really meaningless. the data of the different spheres would be the age of the universe when the detected The relativistic hot Big Bang model used in the same, but the particular figures would light was emitted. R(t) is called the scale fac- science does not need to hypothesize a not. Cosmic picture are centered on tor of the universe, which increases over super-ambient medium. Unfortunately, observers, cosmic maps are not. time. Note that cosmological redshift is due depicting the CMB as a bounding sphere can to the expansion of the universe and not the reinforce this misconception. • Expanding Universe: If the challenge pre- Doppler Effect, a common misconception. sented by the speed of light was not bad The calibration of distance with redshift is • Misconception 2: There is a center to the enough, we must add to it the fact that the problematic and quite challenging, especial- universe. When used in a digital program, universe is expanding. Astronomers are, in ly deep in the universe. Astrophysicists typi- the WMAP sphere is necessarily centered on effect, observing moving targets. By the time cally keep their cosmological data in redshift our location. This is because all cosmic pic- we receive light from a distant galaxy, the coordinates, because they usually do not tures are centered on the observer. This is galaxy is nowhere close to where it was need to know actual distances. Computer not due to any Ptolemaic point of view; it is when it emitted that light. Since the light systems rendering digital 3-D models need to merely due to the finite nature of c. 9 seen by the WMAP was emitted 379,000 use distances, so here again is a complication years after the beginning of the universe, it is when visualizing deep space data. • Misconception 3: The Big Bang was like a highly susceptible to this effect. That is why bomb. By extension from the previous two using Figure 1 to display the edge of the uni- It’s All Relativistic misconceptions, the public might imagine verse is so problematic. As we shall see, at the These five problems arise because we live that the universe was created at a point in 10 time that the WMAP light was emitted it in a relativistic, expanding universe. Even space and the matter hurled out as far as the 11 was quite close to us—at a proper distance our concept of distance needs to be revised. WMAP Sphere. Not only is this cosmologi- of only 40 million light years! We cannot rely on naïve notions of a cally the wrong way to think of the Big Newtonian universe with its absolute con- Bang, but it also connotes a chaotic begin- • Cosmic Horizons: The depiction of cepts of space and time. Because the universe ning often used by religious fundamental- WMAP as the horizon of the observable uni- is evolving, we really can only define a dis- ists14 to criticize modern science. The origin verse has another problem. The photons tance between objects at a particular instant of the universe was, in fact, quite orderly and detected by WMAP have long since decou- of cosmological time. We denote this as anything but chaotic. pled from the material particles from which proper distance in the discussions below. In the next section, we will elaborate on they were emitted. The CMB should be prop- The proper distance13 between two objects the concepts we need to understand in order erly referred to as our visual horizon. The changes with time in an expanding universe. to make a model or a presentation that will actual set of particles (mostly hydrogen, heli- Our common-sense depiction of space is, avoid stoking these misconceptions. Even um and electrons) that last scattered the however, more like a static map with stars when properly addressed, however, we will CMB light define what is called the particle and planets represented as tiny balls arrayed see that it will be difficult to circumvent horizon. in empty space—a map Newton would love. them. As it turns out, the expansion of the uni- For that reason, it is easy to see why there This is a challenging knot to unravel, so verse has stretched this sphere of particles to can be conflicts when using everyday expe- much of the content in this paper is not an enormous proper distance. At the current rience to understand cosmological models. appropriate for planetarium audiences. It is, epoch (13.7 billion years after the Big Bang), We will do a thought experiment to show however, easy now to create or reinforce the particle horizon is now 41 billion light how different our mundane world would be these misconceptions with digital planetari- 12 years away! (We will return to a short dis- if the effects of relativity were obvious. But ums. We can’t avoid the public’s questions cussion of these and other horizons at the first we must discuss how using the WMAP about the edge of the universe, because it is a end of the article.) Which is the correct figure as the boundary for our observable boundary question15—often such questions boundary to our universe? universe can lead to confusion and miscon- have deep meaning for both novices and Further complicating the horizons prob- ceptions. experts. Nevertheless, these are concepts that lem is that the horizons are different for dif- astronomy educators must understand and ferent observers, as shown in Figure 3. So, an Potential Misconceptions from come to grips with in our modern scientific observer 5 billion light years to our right will the WMAP Sphere age. If this paper does one thing, we hope to see a very different cosmic microwave back- When interpreting the boundary of the illustrate better the distinction between a ground figure, one dependent on the scatter- observable universe as the WMAP Sphere, cosmic map and cosmic picture and help ing from a different set of particles. we might expect several misconceptions to planetarians explaining or leading discus- crop up, especially if the digital planetarium sions about the edge of the universe. • Redshifts: Cosmological redshift is a phe- operator takes a point of view outside of this nomenon observed in the spectrum of dis- figure. Here are three misconceptions: Cosmic Maps vs. Cosmic Pictures tant galaxies. Astrophysicists use redshift as a We live in a universe where the speed of distance indicator, but it is more precisely • Misconception 1: There is an outside to light is high, but it is, nevertheless, finite. So, related to the change in cosmic scale the universe. Figure 1 can imply that there is we need to be very careful how we describe between the time the light was emitted and an “outside” to the universe, not just the deep space. To understand this effect, we will when it reached the telescope. Redshift is observable universe. Cosmologists know do a thought experiment on more familiar really a time measure of the expansion of the that the universe has not been expanding territory to me—the USA. universe, since redshift (z) and expansion are into an exterior space, but is an expansion of A map of the United States—or any coun- coupled directly. If the cosmological redshift space itself. Current flat-geometry cosmolo- try—is one that contains cities, roads, and seen in the spectrum of a galaxy is , then, gies are even consonant with an infinite uni- other features, all of which are contempora- verse. Space and time themselves came into neous to the time of publication of the map. being with the Big Bang, so that questions of Practically speaking, you want to have the

December 2006 Planetarian 9 Figure 4 (left): World Picture of USA. Thought experiment showing events in the United States as seen from Mt. Palomar in 2006 if the speed of light were only 20 km/year. Figure 5 (right): Constructing US Picture. This is done from maps different epochs. The green light cone widens as one proceeds into the past, intersecting older and older maps. In the picture view of the US we only see the events where the cone intersects the maps. most up-to-date road map. If you tried to example, the battle of Wilson’s Creek in only a thought experiment—but it illustrates drive across the country visiting cities along Missouri17. The Confederates won that first what we are dealing with in cosmology. the way, a map from 1926 would be of little battle west of the Mississippi river. Way out use. at the eastern edge of the continent, the tele- Cosmic Picture of a Static It is natural to think of our spatial world scope is just getting information of events in Universe being analogous to a road map. With cos- Massachusetts, in particular the midnight This section will explore the cosmic pic- mology, however, it is as if we have a stack ride of Paul Revere on April 18, 1775.18 This ture of a static universe that had a fiery of maps to deal with. With farther objects, world picture is due to the slow speed of epoch in the past and has evolved in local we are confined to older maps. light we have imagined. events ever since. (We are not including the Matters can become even worse. We only A way to see how this world picture is effects of expansion at the moment.) see a portion of the distant maps correspond- constructed is to imagine a series of maps Though this is not an impossible model uni- ing to the exact time delay for that distance. including events for every year of United verse to conceive, there is no evidence for it. Furthermore, people in different locations States history (or the history of any country) Figure 6 is one way to imagine a cosmic see different situations. This is the basis of as shown in Figure 5. If the maps were picture. If we could take a thin, circular slice the concept of a world picture, a term first stacked, then what is actually seen in the pic- (an extension of a great circle, actually) of coined by E. A. Milne16 in the 1930s. Our ture could be determined by slicing a cone the WMAP sphere, we could imagine seeing thought experiment world picture of the back through the stack of maps. The cone the inside of the sphere. The radial dimen- United States might help to make this point would grow in radius by 20 km every year sion in the slice is challenging to understand clear. (See Figure 4.) until it reached To understand this picture, we will start all the way to atop Mt. Palomar Observatory in Southern the East Coast. California. The time is the present—2006. Where this cone Furthermore, assume that we could use the sliced the differ- observatory’s Hale five-meter telescope to ent maps would see locations in the continental US. (The determine what atmosphere and the curvature of Earth are the telescope the least of our problems in this thought saw for that par- experiment!) To make this analogy strictly ticular map parallel to cosmology, now consider what it epoch. The would be like if the speed of light was only events that 20 km/year! That’s very slow, but not make up the unimaginable. Figure 4 then outlines world picture fix schematically what we would see. times with loca- The three black circles correspond to dis- tions, so the pic- tances from Mt. Palomar of simultaneous ture would be past events. The first circle is the ring from entirely differ- which events from 1945 are just beginning to ent if we were to reach the observatory. On this ring the first put the Hale atomic bomb test would be occurring in telescope in New Mexico. Ring two, three times farther Chicago. away, corresponds to a date around the time Of course, Figure 6. Cosmic Picture inside WMAP Sphere. A great circle25 slice of the American Civil War, 1861. At this dis- the previous is shown, if one could see inside the WMAP Sphere. The star at the tance, the telescope would be seeing, for example is center represents our location as the observer.

10 Planetarian December 2006 before. The cone is often referred to Cosmic Picture of an Expanding as our backward light cone. This Universe cone is the surface, in space-time We will now create a space-time represen- coordinates, that we see when we tation of a cosmic picture in an expanding observe the universe along a partic- universe. To preview what will happen, con- ular two dimensional spatial plane. sider Figure 10 (on page 12). What used to be If we now eliminate the parts of a cone with a wide base has now wrapped the past cosmic maps that we do back to its central time axis. In Figure 10, not actually receive light from and time is again along the axis of symmetry concentrate only on the light from through the central axis. The present epoch each plane that has actually (t=t0) is at the apex of the cone and is away reached us along the cone, we get from us in this view. At the bottom pole, tilt- the cone shown in Figure 9. ed toward us, is epoch t=0, or the beginning When we observe deep into of the universe, which is just before td. The space, along a great circle on the green arrows show the two directions of Figure 7. Cosmic Maps for a Cosmic Picture. sky (the celestial equator, for exam- space being represented. These distances Source for top four figures is the same as in ple), we are observing the surface of Figure 2. The bottom figure, representing the could be any x-y plane in space and, again, time of the CMB emission, is adapted from a past light cone. This is a cosmic are proper distance coordinates. WMAP data. Note that this is a space-time dia- picture. Unfortunately, we are lim- This drop-shaped surface is what happens gram. ited to being able to visualize in 3 to the backward light cone when, in the far dimensions, so suppressing one spa- distant past, the scale of the uni- because the universe has changed size with verse was smaller. The drop shaped time. Although it is a spatial dimension, we surface represents, then, a dynam- are really looking back in time. We see earli- ic, expanding universe. Curiously, er and earlier in time as we look outward, the light received from very early since the light took longer and longer to times was emitted from a proper reach the origin. To construct a more mean- distance that is closer and closer to ingful representation of a cosmic picture for the time axis. a static universe, we will have to create a The shape of the surface comes space-time diagram similar to our US picture from a simple model of the thought experiment above. It will be similar, expanding universe starting except for the fact that we must suppress around the time of the emission of one spatial dimension. the WMAP light, but before the Figure 7 shows a set of cosmic maps start- effects of acceleration will become ing with the present epoch (t0) at the top and dominate in the distant future. We tracing back downward to the epoch of the will see that the WMAP light was

CMB emission (td), where d stands for the Figure 8. Construction the Cosmic Picture from emitted near the very bottom of epoch when light decoupled from matter. Cosmic Maps. Here the backward light cone is this drop shape. This shape is a shown intersecting with these maps. The inter- An arrow for the time dimension is indicat- secting points will make up parts of our space-time version of our world ed. The other two dimensions in this per- Cosmic Picture. picture. spective are spatial dimensions. These indi- This drop shape results from a vidual maps should be thought of as contin- straightforward, though mathe- uing on indefinitely in their spatial directions. The edges are shown as squares only tial dimension in order to include for convenience. time was necessary. Different great The maps are based upon a theoretical circles on the sky result in different simulation of the structure of dark matter. cones. The details might be differ- The galaxies that we would observe are ent, but the general features will be arranged along this superstructure network the same. of dark matter. The fact is, however, we can- Being able to imagine the uni- not actually observe a map of the real universe with a time dimension is cru- verse, since we must rely on light from the cial for an accurate understanding galaxies for their positions to be known. So, of the edge of the universe. We here we need to use theoretical cosmic maps. may have to lose one space dimen- To understand the origin of a cosmic pic- sion, but in return we will now ture, we will draw upon the lessons from the able to understand the universe as USA example. Now we imagine piercing the it changes scale over time. The rep- cosmic maps with a cone going backwards resentation in Figure 9 is for a static in time. Figure 8 shows this construction. As universe. When space itself is the observer, we are at the apex of the cone. allowed to expand, the cone will change shape dramatically. This Figure 9. Cosmic Picture of a Hypothetical It widens going back in time because we are Static Universe. Shown in space-time coordi- seeing farther and farther distances at earlier will lead us to our ultimate goal of nates. The observer is at the apex of the cone a cosmic picture of the expanding and the CMB is near the very bottom of the and earlier epochs. cone. Figure 8 is a space-time diagram just like universe.

December 2006 Planetarian 11 matical, understanding of how light that axis vertically. Figure 12 shows the final travels in an expanding universe19. result. The backward light cone from before, (See the appendix for the mathemati- which is the surface of the cosmic picture, is cal details.) The net result of the calcu- more like a backward light drop. This illus- lations is plotted in Figure 11. The red tration shows the space and time dimensions line shows the path of light from as before. The colors are included on this sur- objects at a different time now reach- face primarily to help one see the structure

ing us at today’s epoch, t0 =13.7 billion of this drop shape. Here are some things to years. The horizontal distance, for a remember and notice about the geometry of given emission time, is the proper dis- this cosmic picture: tance an object was away from our This is this shape of our cosmic picture position when it emitted the light for one great circle on the sky. Time is the

observed today. This curve illustrates vertical axis, with t0=13.7 billon years, today, several important features: at the top. At the bottom of the pole is time Figure 10. Backward Light Drop in t=0. Strictly speaking, the analysis described Expanding Universe. See text for explana- • In our more recent past, more dis- here only holds back to the time of the emis- tion. tant objects are emitted the light we sion of the WMAP light. This time is called

see at greater and greater proper dis- decoupling and occurred at time td=379,000 tances. This is just like the static uni- years. In the units on this plot, this time is verse model above. 0.000379 billion years. This makes it barely • There is, however, a maximum visible at the bottom. proper distance! It occurs almost 10 billion years ago, or 4 billion years after the Big Bang. This is a rather surprising conclusion. At that time the scale of the universe was four- ninths as large as it is now, which corresponds to a redshift20 of 1.25. So, a galaxy with redshift 1.25 is the farthest distance anything Figure 11. Proper Distance of Emitting Event versus Emission Time. The red line depicts has been away Figure 13. Bottom of Light Drop. This is the view of our the proper distance from which light was from us. This is world picture focusing on the early epochs of the universe. emitted in the past. See Appendix for the The emission location of the CMB is shown as a blue-green derivation and text for detailed explana- not an extremely disk. Note that this disk has been made large to illustrate tion. high redshift at the point of this article. If drawn to scale, it would be about 300 times smaller than the diameter of the light all! Galaxies and drop. quasars with higher and higher redshift were actually closer to us in Figure 13 shows a view of the bottom of proper distance when the light we see the comic picture drop. The blue green area started on its journey. is where the CMB was located when it emit- • Prior to 10 billion years ago more ted the light we see today. Note that it has and more distant objects emitted their been exaggerated for this illustration. The light from closer and closer proper dis- WMAP light has traveled along the entire tances. This might seem puzzling, but outside shape of this drop to reach us today. it is a natural conclusion, considering Although it cannot be depicted to scale, the universe started from a very com- even on this figure, the proper distance at pact state. which the CMB was emitted is really only • The WMAP light was actually about 1/340th of 13.7 billion light years! That

Figure 12. Cosmic Picture of an Expanding emitted from a very tiny bottom cor- comes to a mere 40 million light years away. Universe. This is a space-time diagram. Time ner of this curve. The circle in Figure 11 Rather than being from the current edge of is shown by the vertical yellow arrow. The shows a magnified version. the universe, the light that makes up the spatial distance is represented by the ring coordinates below the drop-shaped surface. To properly see this as a three dimen- WMAP Sphere started on its journey from a This surface depicts the locus of events that sional cosmic picture, we need to rotate distance far less than the present proper dis- form our cosmic picture along a hypotheti- the curve about the time axis and orient tance of Virgo Cluster of Galaxies! cal great circle in the sky.

12 Planetarian December 2006 So what’s a planetarian • Limit the Question. If we to do? look for boundaries related to When we visualize our cos- the CMB and limit the scope of mic picture in expanding the question to a current scien- space-time, we receive a new tific cosmological model, we perspective on the question of arrive at the answers above. This the WMAP CMB data and the strategy is a bit of a cop out, edge of our observable uni- because it is only related to verse. Viewing a sphere from observable phenomenon. the outside (Figure 1) is not real- Doesn’t the theory upon which ly a good strategy. We will not our model is based make a pre- want to use space-time dia- diction? Indeed it does. We grams in public planetarium observe the geometry of the programs, but by understand- universe to be flat. A flat uni- ing the backward light drop verse like this could well be infi- shape of the cosmic picture nite. Even if it is extremely and the concepts on which it Figure 14. The Three Horizons. Imagine slicing a sphere in half, large, it still makes even our par- centered upon our location. The radius represents the proper ticle horizon seem like a very is based can help us make a few distance of three important horizons at two different times. points: The blue dot in the center represents the Visual Horizon, or local boundary—more like the • There is a difference proper distance at which the WMAP light was released upon its edge of our neighborhood. journey to us (40 million light years in radius and is actually • Understand the Limits of between a cosmic map and a ten times too large in this figure). The pink sphere is 20.6 bil- cosmic picture. Planetarium lion light years in radius and represents the Speed of Light the Common Sense. More fun- educators often speak of the Sphere or the total proper distance light has been able to travel damentally, it seems that our in the expanding universe since the Big Bang. The outer, green- light-travel time from differ- ish sphere is the Particle Horizon, which represents the current cosmological notions of space ent stars. Now it is time to put proper distance of the particles that originally last scattered and time are bound up with the the WMAP light. The Particle Horizon radius is two times that concept of the expanding uni- the universe in that perspec- of the Speed of Light Sphere, or 41.1 billion light years distant. tive and understand that our verse. Both space and time came view of space is entangled with into existence with the Big time. We live in a space-time universe. some 41.1 billion light years away! This is Bang. Asking about what’s outside the uni- • Our view of the universe depends on our more than 1,000 times farther away than the verse is really an inadmissible question—a location within it, both in space and time. blue dot! Needless to say the universe has question outside of the rules of our scientific Every observer sees a different world picture, been expanding much faster than the speed model for the universe. We simply can’t take 21 due to the speed of light and the fact that of light . The intermediate sphere is the dis- our everyday concepts and language and our universe has been expanding for 13.7 bil- tance where space is indeed receding at the hope that they apply to the extremes of lion years. speed of light. It is called the Hubble Horizon space-time. Every-day concepts don’t apply • Rather than thinking of boundaries and and is currently 20.6 billion light years away. in the quantum world of the atom, so why edges, it makes more sense to think of hori- These pedagogical points should be should common sense work for cosmology? zons. A good analogy is a horizon at sea. Such enlightening, but they still don’t address the • Develop an Understanding of the Use of a horizon is far away and a limit to our view, more practical question: How do we deal Scientific Models. So, is all this effort worth it but it is not the edge of the world or even with questions about the edge of the uni- for such an esoteric cosmological concept? the edge of the sea for that matter. And hori- verse? The strategy as planetarium educators The answer is yes, if we wish to continue to zons are different for different observers, just should contain at least these three approach- stay enlightened in our scientific age. And the point we made previously. es: since most educated people carry some sort • Of horizons, there are three of mental model of the Big Bang to consider. Figure 14 shows a in their minds, it is worth work- cut away of three nested ing on refining that model. In spheres in 3-D space. These dis- the end we may not make tances are proper distances. everyone think like a cosmolo- Two are at the present epoch gist, but at least we might help and one is at the epoch of the them understand a more accu- creation of WMAP. The rate model and help them criti- observer is at the very center. cally discuss its implications and The tiny innermost blue-green limitations. dot is at the distance from which the WMAP CMB was Coda: A Cautionary Tale emitted, a mere 40 million The failure to understand real light years away. We should versus fictional boundaries in call this our visual horizon. It space has led to at least one spec- is, in fact, too large on the scale tacular failure in the past. An of this figure. astronomically knowledgeable The outer sphere represents person gazing at the ceiling of the particle horizon. This is New York City’s Grand Central Terminal will witness an egre- where the matter that scat- Figure 15. Ceiling of Grand Central Terminal. An example of tered the WMAP CMB light is how a misconception about the edge of the celestial sphere lit- gious error. The stars are back- at the present epoch. Today it’s erally became set in stone. Courtesy of N. de Grasse Tyson wards! (See Figure 15.) The reason December 2006 Planetarian 13 for this is that the artist who created the mural designed it from a celestial globe. A Appendix celestial globe is another fictional perspec- Derivation of the Shape of the Cosmic Picture in Space-Time tive, just like that of the WMAP Sphere. In the case of the Grand Central Terminal The light reaching our telescopes detect travels from the past along the following simple ceiling, there is a confession that what is path, called a null geodesic in General Relativity: depicted is not really what is seen in the sky. 5.1 The explanation written on a wall plaque states: In this equation: t is the proper time that we measure at our position riding on a galaxy The Grand Central Terminal ceiling por- r is the proper distance in dimensionless coordinates trays stars of the Mediterranean sky in the R(t) is the size scale factor of the universe. The functional dependence of R on t comes summer. Said to be backwards, the sky is from a solution to Einstein’s Equations of General Relativity. In this paper we will actually seen from a point of view outside use the convention that R has units of distance our solar system. We are interested in the matter-dominated epoch of the universe, the time after t , when the If only the creator of the terminal’s ceiling d light of the CMB was emitted. This is the time after the WMAP light was emitted. WMAP had understood the solar system model this results also show that the geometry of the universe is flat. What this means is that R(t) has a would have been avoided. Let’s hope that simple form: our depictions of the modern cosmological models are free of excuses and also valid for 5.2 viewers far beyond the Mediterranean! The expansion expansion factor looks like tht shown in Image I.1. Acknowledgements The spark that ignited this article occurred Note that R(t) starts out at zero at time = t , the beginning of the universe, and grows with under a digital sky in fascinating discussion 0 time until its current scale size, R(t ), where today is (t ), which is 13.7 billion years from the with Carter Emmart, Carolyn Petersen, and 0 0 beginning. Note that this scale factor R is what describes the expanding universe. The galax- Steve Savage almost two years ago. I would ies are not flying apart through space, since their coordinate positions r do not change. Space like to thank Stephen Soter for pointing out itself is expanding carrying the galaxies with them. This is what leads to Hubble’s Law and the distinction between world maps and the redshifts we see. world pictures to me many years ago. I would also like to thank Sean Carroll of the Note that the above expansion factor does not take into account that the universe is University of Chicago for clarifying my own observed now to be accelerating. This recent cosmological observation is not expected to cosmological misconceptions. I would final- make a significant change in the current analysis, which is focused on the past. But, it could ly like to thank Neil de Grasse Tyson for the make a dramatic difference in the distance future. picture of Grand Central Terminal. Armed with 5.1 and 5.2, we can now calculate the shape of the past light cone or cosmic pic- Endnotes ture in such an expanding universe. 1 The arguments and discussion also apply for flat-screen display of these scientific First define the radial distance coordinate: models. In this paper we will use the term l(t ) = proper distance corresponding to a time t when light was emitted from a galaxy digital planetarium to mean any system e e we see today in our Cosmic Picture. Note that 0< t < t . that projects a contemporary model of the e 0 l will describe our past light cone. We get it by integrating equation 5 . . . universe, from planets to stars, galaxies e and beyond. 5.3 2 The intense recent debates over Pluto’s status as a planet could be explained, in part But, 5.2 allow us to substitute for the functionality of t, leading to at least, because it inhabits the limit of most of the public’s model of the universe. 5.4 3 NSF, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006. See Chapter 7, Public Attitudes and Integrating, we get: Understanding, at www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/c7/c7s2.htm#c7s2l1. 5.5 4 Lineweaver, C. H., and Davis, T. M., “Misconceptions about the Big Bang,” If we insert t = 13.7 billion years and use billions of years for t , we can drop the c to make l Scientific American, March, 2005, pg. 36. 0 e in units of billions of light years. This is an article every planetarian should be familiar with. billion light years 5.6 5 Two 3-D digital planetarium systems powerful enough to encounter the problem This relatively simple equation is, then, the result we are looking for. It describes our back- addressed in this paper are Sky-Skan’s DigitalSky2 and Evans & Sutherland’s D3. ward light cone or cosmic picture back to the time of the emission of the WMAP light. It is The problem can also occur when using plotted in Image 11 in the body of the paper. other modeling software, like UniView (www.scalingtheuniverse.com) and Parti- 14 Planetarian December 2006 Image I.1. Expansion factor R in a flat, matter-dominated universe. Time is along the horizontal axis.

view (haydenplanetarium.org/universe/ present epoch (13.7 billion years) should World-Structure, Oxford, England, partiview). not be paradoxical. The expansion of the Clarendon Press, 1935. 6 Flat, in this usage, refers to the geometry of universe is measured by the Hubble 17 www.nps.gov/wicr space itself and is not a literal label. If it parameter. For any value of the Hubble 18 www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/ were literal we would be living in Edwin parameter and a large enough universe, revolution/revwar-75.htm A. Abbott’s Flatland, A Romance of Many one will always have regions farther than 19This is based upon work by Ellis and Dimensions (Dover 1992). Here it means the Hubble radius or speed of light sphere. Rothman, “Lost Horizons,” Am. J. Phys. 61 that the geometry of space is the same as 13 To be more precise, we would talk about (10) October 1993, pg. 883. 20 we learned in high school. In particular, the distance between the world lines of The redshift (zm) of a galaxy that was the any triangle drawn in a flat universe will two objects. A world line is the path traced maximum distance from us when the have its three angles sum to 180 degrees. by an object in space-time. My position light was emitted can be determined as

Four dimensional space-time, however, is sitting in one place as I write this is just a follows: zm = R(t0) / R(tm) - 1. When the not flat because it is expanding. dot in normal spatial coordinates. But, if ratio of R’s of 9/4 is plugged in, this yields 7 Traditionally these have been called world we include time as a dimension, then even zm=1.25. maps and world pictures. See for example if I don’t move in position, I am streaking 21 This is not really a problem. The speed of Ellis, George F. R., and Williams, Ruth M., through time. My world line, even if I’m light limit only holds to motion within Flat and Curved Space-Times, Oxford stationary, extends in the time dimension. space. It doesn’t apply to space itself. Any University Press, 2000. But since the use of 14 See, for example, www.spotlightmin- region of space beyond the Speed of Light the word world to refer to the wider uni- istries.org.uk/bigbang.htm: , where it is Sphere is moving away from us superlumi- verse is archaic by now, I’ve chosen to stated: “… how can such order and com- nally. stick with cosmic. plexity that we see in the universe and liv- 22 WMAP Data projected onto a sphere, from: 8 www.virgo.dur.ac.uk/new/index.php ing things be created from such a disorder http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_or.html, cour- 9 This and other numbers about the age of as a big bang? Common sense tells us that tesy of NASA/WMAP Science Team. events in the big bang model used in this a big explosion results in a big mess. No 23 Map is from Springel, et al., Simulating the paper are based on the results of the one would argue that a work of art came Joint Evolution of Quasars, Galaxies, and WMAP mission and can be found at about as the result of an explosion in a their Large-Scale Distribution, arxiv.org/ map.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html. paint factory. The Bible tells us that the abs/astro-ph/0504097. 10 Emitted is technically not the right word, design of the universe that exists all 24 Some 22% of the Universe is made up of but it sounds better here. The light that around us is evidence of an intelligent dark matter as opposed to 4% being made formed the WMAP image was scattered designer (Ps. 19:1-4; Rom. 1:20).” of normal atomic baryons. The gravita- from particles in the early universe. 15 A boundary question is one that addresses tional accumulation dark matter controls Cosmologists call it the surface of last scat- knowledge at its limits. “What happened the show interms of determining the tering. before the beginning of time?” is a bound- structure of matter. The baryons then sim- 11 Proper distance is a term that will be used ary question. So too is the question of ply follow the lead. throughout this paper. It is defined as the extraterrestrial life. Boundary questions 25 A great circle is an imaginary circle tracing physical distance you would measure usually ask about issues of deep meaning all the way around the celestial sphere, between two simultaneous events. It is an for most people: life, the universe, and with the observer at its center. The celes- invariant quantity in relativity. everything. tial equator is a great circle. So is the eclip- 12 To be 41.1 billion light years distant at the 16 Milne, E. A., Relativity, Gravitation and tic.

December 2006 Planetarian 15 The Continuing Challenges of Canada’s Creative Consortium Pierre Chastenay1, Alan Dyer2, Erik Koelemeyer3, Scott Young4

With our first national show, came from federal government The Quest For Origins (described In 2004, a group of four planetariums in agencies: the Museum Assistance in the June 2005 Planetarian), we Program of Heritage Canada, the focused on leading-edge Can- Canada came together to co-produce a major Canadian Space Agency, and the adian research about the origin astronomy show that played across the nation. National Science and of stars, galaxies, and the uni- Perhaps rather foolishly, a year later we actually Engineering Research Council. verse. As if that wasn’t a big decided to do it again, this time with a produc- While we were still required to enough topic, for our second contribute a lot of our own staff joint venture we chose a show tion far more complex. labour (we did not and could not about the prospects for alien life. simply hire a production compa- The production process began ny to do it all for us), the grant in June 2005 with a face-to-face meeting in considerably from our first consortium funds made it possible for us to extend the Montréal among the partner facilities: the show. While small by most standards for a production values beyond what any of us Montréal Planétarium, the Planetarium at documentary production, that figure is still could afford on our own. For example, we the Museum of Man in Winnipeg, the TELUS 10 to 20 times the normal budget of a single were able to conduct extensive location World of Science in Calgary, and the H.R. show produced by any our partner facilities shooting, including on-camera interviews on their own. So, by pooling the resources of MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver. with experts ranging from SETI researchers four theatres, we increased our production The show, Is Anybody Out There?, opened to scientists working on extremophile life in budget by a factor of 10. simultaneously on May 20, 2006, at all four Arctic Canada. Of the $310,000, about half was covered theatres—on time and on budget. Would one of the partner institutions, by grants, while the remainder was brought given the same amount of money, have pro- forward as in-kind contributions from the Leveraging Money duced a show of the complexity of Is We created our consortium first and fore- four partners (essentially, salaries of the Anybody Out There on their own? most because it offered a way to get more many people involved in this project) and a Undoubtedly, yes. Each institution has the money to produce shows. For our latest pro- few external consultants (mostly scientists talent and know-how to produce excellent ject, the production budget was $310,000, up and educational experts). Outside funding planetarium shows, though “big budget” programs could be produced locally only 1 Montréal Planetarium (contact: [email protected]) with the help of costly consultants and con- 2 TELUS World of Science (contact: [email protected]) tracted labour. Instead, we distributed most 3 H.R. MacMillan Space Centre (contact: [email protected]) of the work amongst ourselves, making use 4 Manitoba Planetarium (contact: [email protected]) of the production expertise we already had

16 Planetarian December 2006 At Left: The hosts were composited with friendly ETs for this “dancing with aliens” scene and other sequences that had the hosts interact with computer-generated characters. All the composites and effects had to be done twice, for the English host (Dave Kelly, left) and the French host (Patrick Masbourian, right). All images courtesy of the Canadian Planetarium Consortium on our respective staffs. This made it possible tographer Hans to produce a high-quality show within an Thater. Financial affordable budget. management and The other reality for us in Canada is that the many tasks relat- one institution alone probably would not ed to the French ver- have been able to secure federal grants. sion of the show Leveraging those funds was possible only were the specialty of because we were applying for them as a Pierre Lacombe and group, for a program that would play both Pierre Chastenay of in English and French across Canada. We’ve the Montréal found that when planetariums speak as a Planétarium, while group they are loud enough for govern- in Vancouver Erik ments and other funding agencies to hear. A Koelemeyer concen- grant from one agency is often enough to trated on the 3D ani- secure grants from other agencies. mation work. Staff In effect, this is the “Canadian model” for at each facility (the financing and producing programs: work credit roll lasts sever- together across the country’s various regions al minutes!) took on and in both official languages to leverage additional work All-sky images anchored most of the scenes in the show, but to funds from national sources, usually govern- preparing materials avoid visual monotony, the all-skies came in several varieties. Some were image collages for use with video and other effects ment departments or arm’s length agencies. shared by all facili- (above). Others were real-life scenes shot on location (below), It may be a uniquely Canadian process that ties: location video such as the perpetual springs on Axel Heiberg Island in the does not translate to other countries, but we shoots, graphic art- high Arctic, an analog for what might be found on Mars. offer it for consideration. work, computer- generated alien land- Consortia, not Committees scapes, marketing While jointly producing a show is a chal- materials, the final lenge, the fact that our group is small, just edited video, as well four facilities and not dozens, made it feasi- as performing all the ble. Each took on specific production tasks local installation under the direction of a single lead facility. tasks. We like to think we were able to avoid much of the “production by committee” Taking It to the syndrome that is the downfall of many joint Next Level ventures: projects that either get stalled in To qualify for bureaucracy or, if they do get completed, national funding, look like they were compromises to please a our shows have to sprawling committee, not an audience. In be produced in both our case, any science advisors we brought French and English. into the process did only that—advise. The For our first consor- planetariums, and in particular the lead facil- tium show, The ity, had ultimate creative control as we’re Quest for Origins, we the experts on show production, not the played it conserva- research scientists. Developing a sense of tively and used trust between the creative and scientific voice-over actors to sides is something we’ve never had an issue provide the narra- with. tion. That made it The writing of grant proposals was under- easier to create paral- taken by the Montréal Planétarium in 2004. lel soundtracks with After funding was approved early in 2005, identical timing. Even so, we can’t just run a (the bane of many a boring planetarium we divided the production tasks along the parallel second-language soundtrack, as all show) and go with a host who appears on lines of each facility’s area of expertise. on-screen typography (the animated title camera, usually amid some alien setting. We Writing the script and directing the show sequence, for example) must be in either one wanted a host with a hip, MTV-style of production was done by Alan Dyer from language or the other. Two versions of the delivery to create a casual “blue-jeans-and-T- Calgary. Principle photography and prepara- video tracks are always needed. shirt” feel to a show that did not take itself tion of panorama scenes was assigned to the For Is Anybody Out There? we decided to too seriously, yet did not skimp on the sci- Manitoba Planetarium and their expert pho- dump the omniscient off-screen narrator ence. An on-camera host could talk in a

December 2006 Planetarian 17 The French version of the show was local- ized with references to pop culture familiar to residents of Québec—French music where we could, references and clips from French TV shows, and phrases and attitudes expressed differently. Ensuring the French version, titled Seuls dans l’Univers? (Alone in the Universe?), worked for the Québec audience was a big part of Montréal’s role in the show. Location shooting was largely Winnipeg’s responsibility. The demands of the show took Hans Thater across the continent, including stops in California at the new Allen Telescope Array, as well as a three- week trip to “Mars analog” sites on Axel Heiberg and Devon islands in the Canadian Arctic. The result was a stunning set of real- life panorama scenes. For imaginary alien worlds, Calgary’s digital artist Brett Pawson used 3D landscape modeling software to create scenes with detail and lighting so intricate they taxed our ability to render them. Providing visual The show was punctuated by on-camera experts providing their thoughts about contrast to the landscape scenes were a series alien life. Some, such as Frank Drake of the SETI Institute, were shot on location with portable gear and backdrops. Others were shot in the more controlled environ- of dome-filling collages. Calgary’s Darrell ment of a TV studio. All were masked, framed and by-lined, and often projected as Ward created several tunnel-like scenes lined one element of a larger immersive scene. with science fiction posters and Mars probe friendly, unscripted style, asking questions as images. Other collages were designed by much as providing information—important Montréal’s Sophie DesRosiers. Sophie’s beau- for a topic where there are more questions tiful all-skies were often used as backdrops than answers. Most importantly, the host for video clips, giving the impression of provides the central focus to the show, serv- immersive video despite the show’s conven- ing as an identifiable element the audience tional projection technology. can return to, rather than be lost, drifting through space with only a god-like voice as a Scientists and Songs guide. In Quest for Origins we put four astronomers on video in scripted cameo Dealing with the Demon appearances, each introducing a segment of For the on-screen talent we sought out the show. With Is Anybody Out There, we personalities from pop culture and youth- raised the bar a few notches and shot nearly oriented TV programs, not scientists. But we two dozen astrobiology experts on video, feared the headaches that shooting two dif- sometimes in a studio but often by going to ferent hosts, in two different languages, at them and shooting them against a portable two different locations would entail when green screen in their offices or labs. we tried to sync them up in soundtracks The interviews were conducted by Alan that, ideally, should have identical timing. Dyer and Vancouver’s video crew at such Well, it worked. The success was largely locations as the SETI Institute in Mountain due to Montréal working hard at producing View, California, USA: the University of a tightly edited and reworded French transla- Washington in Seattle, USA (for Peter Ward tion of the script. As a result, the French and the Rare Earth hypothesis); in Victoria, host’s on- and off-camera narration synced at the University of Victoria and the up remarkably well to the previously record- Herzberg Institute; and in Vancouver with ed English host, even coming in shorter in researchers from the University of British some sections, unusual for French vs. English Columbia and Simon Fraser University. narration. That demon proved not to be as French interviews were arranged by the formidable as we had feared. As a result, Montréal Planétarium and conducted in future shows will use lively on-camera tal- Montréal with scientists from the Canadian The show answered the question so ent—it makes any documentary much more Space Agency, the Université de Montréal, often asked of all astronomers, “Do accessible, friendly, and fun. and McGill University. you believe in life in outer space?” You might think the French version need The hours of videotape were edited down The program was also produced in French, as Seuls dans l’Univers, and only be a good translation of the English to several MTV-style interview montages served as one of the highlights of the script. Not so. There are cultural differences that punctuate the show, with each expert th Montréal Planétarium’s 40 anniver- adding just a choice “sound bite” phrase or sary celebration. to deal with, even within the same country.

18 Planetarian December 2006 comment, sometimes just a word. We want- Nevertheless, installing the ed to include real people in the show, and show in our theatres went well have them present the diversity of opinions, and the end result looked and pro and con, about the prospects for alien sounded great in our domes. life. Yet we wanted to avoid dull “talking If we were to do it all again heads.” We think the final mix did that, for a show as complex as Is adding energy and pace to the show, as well Anybody Out There, we would as putting a face on the science, balancing want to employ additional fact and fiction, and providing evidence and staff or contracted expertise to opinion. handle more of the production The work of selecting scientists who research and co-ordination. would be good on-camera and the logistics Even so, we feel by pooling the of arranging for all the interviews added in-house resources we already another level of complexity to the show. have we can carry off a show Some experts spoke only in English, for production of excellent quali- example, and some also in French for the ty for much less than the cost French version of the show—but the extra of hiring an outside produc- work was worth it. tion company to do it all. Costs for immersive video Tracking Down the Tracks shows for the new projection Soundtrack production was contracted to technologies will be high, and Canadian composer Donovan Reimer. In getting good shows for an addition to original compositions for the affordable price will be critical. show, Donovan tracked down the rights to Unlike institutional IMAX the- “alien theme” pop music from the past few atres, which have no produc- decades. The soundtrack made use of clips tion expertise on staff and from such classics as Sheb Wooley’s The have to pay high prices for Purple People Eater, The B-52’s Planet Claire, independent film companies Tommy James’ I Think We’re Alone Now, to produce suitable shows, the Moody Blues’ I Know You’re Out There planetariums are populated The potentially technical and jargon-laden subject Somewhere, as well as themes from The X- with skilled and talented proof extremophile life was dealt with by creating duction staff. But we need to cartoons of lovable extreme-loving cellular crea- Files, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The tures, like this acidophile who also happens to Thing and My Favorite Martian. learn from each other to devel- speak French. This was the first time we employed a op the skills required by the soundtrack made largely of “needle-drop” new medium of immersive video. time in years, keeping the parent museum music, as this was the first time we had the happy. budget to pay for it. The result was a sound- Learning From Each Other In our case, a consortium worked because track that has become an attraction on its The two joint projects we’ve done to date, each of our four facilities had, over the years, own, generating lots of positive comments though conventional video and slide shows, independently developed expertise in a key from the audience. People liked hearing began that process. Working together has area of show production. This was done music they knew. Music carries a lot of emo- taught us all a lot about new techniques and without any form of coordination, almost tional baggage, and this show took advan- programming styles. Working with col- by chance. But the result was an almost per- tage of that. We all feel it was the best sound- leagues from the planetarium field, as fect blend of skills among the four facilities. track we’ve run in a long time. opposed to independent writers or produc- Working well together will become increas- But—chasing down the sync and master- tion companies whose main experience is ingly important as more planetariums look ing rights to all the music was an enormous with TV and film, creates opportunities to for high-quality productions. task we likely would not take on again for learn how to use our theatre differently. A production consortium is a practical that many selections. It can take weeks of For example, when the show premiered in and affordable method for the creation of hunting to find the right person in the music Montréal, comments of “that’s the best plan- content for all planetariums, especially new biz chain of command with the authority to etarium show I’ve seen in years” were heard digital theatres with their need for many ani- grant you the rights you need for just one in conversations all over the office. Having a mators and new media artists. A consortium piece, let alone a dozen. Hiring more people host appear on video was never done before is one answer to the legitimate concern of to do the job would not have helped—you in Montréal. It was a shock to audiences at managers considering upgrading their the- simply can’t find the person you need or get first, but most of the regular patrons got used atres: can we afford the shows? While our a firm commitment and price quote from to it. The technique will certainly become a money-raising experience may be uniquely anyone you do locate. new tradition, replacing the conventional Canadian, the process of establishing a pro- voice-over where possible. duction consortium to address the need for What Did We Learn? In Winnipeg, people also liked the use of a affordable show content is not. After the steep learning curve of The visible host, despite the fact the technique In the end we like the dynamics and trust Quest for Origins, our latest production went works less well in a theatre with concentric we’ve established among our facilities after much more smoothly, despite a few snags seating. But overall, audiences found the two productions. But the bottom line is encountered along the way (such as continu- show to be fast-paced, smart and with inter- money, and money comes to us easiest if we ing technical incompatibilities between Mac esting topics. As a result, attendance in act as a group and distribute the production and Windows QuickTime files). Winnipeg was above projections for the first process.

December 2006 Planetarian 19 CLARK PLANETARIUM ORIGINAL FULL DOME VIDEO CONTENT

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clarkplanetarium.org/distribution • 801-456-4949 Justification of a Planetarium Torvald Hessel, Director Friends of the Austin Planetarium 9517 Old McNeil Road Austin, Texas 78758 USA [email protected] / www.AustinPlanetarium.org

Austin, Texas USA has a population of needed, and/or expansions are requested, a correlation to the use of planetariums, we about 670,000 and currently is the largest you will have to justify your request—or can make that strong suggestion to support city in the United States without a planetari- even the existence of your planetarium. In our case. um. In 2003 the Friends of the Austin our case, the data were not just nice to have— FOTAP was chosen to participate in an Planetarium (FOTAP) was formed with the they were absolutely crucial to our success. undergraduate project by the McComb’s goal of building a first class planetarium in In order to convince elected officials and School of Business at the University of Texas Austin. Several previous attempts to build a other key people, you must be well prepared. at Austin.1 Four students researched the edu- planetarium in the city had all ended in fail- You will have to provide the facts they are cational benefits of a planetarium. The dis- ure. looking for, not just the data that has your covered that several publications exist that The fact that Austin does not have a plan- interest. Clearly, as planetarium profession- address this issue, and four references stand etarium is very surprising because it is home als, it is our job to show a problem exists, that out: of the University of Texas at Austin, famous for its world-renowned astronomy program and the McDonald Observatory. It is often As planetarium professionals, we all know called the “silicon valley” of the south the benefits of a planetarium and see because Dell Computer, Advanced Micro them on a daily basis: it inspires, edu- Devices, IBM, Samsung, Applied Materials, cates, and brings culture to a city or and more all have large offices and factories here. Despite its highly technological work- region. However, these statements are force, Austin also does not have any sci- unquantifiable and are not unique to a ence/astronomy related museum. (There is planetarium. An aquarium or zoo, for the Austin Children’s Museum, but this facility is focused towards the pre-school level example, can make the exact same state- and is very limited in its science scope.) ments. So what exactly are the educational benefits of a planetarium? What does a The Need for Credibility Torvald Hessel In its first two years, FOTAP’s primary goal planetarium add to a city that no other was to establish itself and create credibility facility can? This article addresses these issues, and provides with the public. One problem was (and still several avenues to justify a planetarium. is) that people in the Austin area lack understanding about planetariums. A lot of people do not know what a planetarium is, and it actually are the elected officials (if applica- • A study of programs offered at the most have not visited one. In order to obtain ble) who have the problem, and you have Houston Museum of Natural Science for their support for a planetarium or science the solution to this problem. Therefore, the Houston schools documented that, in associ- center, influential administrators and educa- data we were looking for had to address ation with a hands-on science lab, a planetar- tors must be informed and convinced of the these key points. ium program increased student understand- substantial positive impacts such a facility ing of related topics by 24% and resulted in would have for the community. To do this, Highlighting Educational Benefits an 11% increase in the students’ interest in hard data supporting our opinion that Standardized testing continues to gain in science as a career. (Sumners, 2000)2 Austin was missing something crucial was popularity and testing results are publicly • In a study of 471 sixth graders on plane- needed. available. For the US, a website like tary motion, a planetarium proved superior To find these “hard data” we contacted www.just4kids.org is a treasure-trove of to classroom instruction in teaching stu- and visited many planetariums, both nation- information. Using this website, we were dents to use space-time relationships, infer ally and internationally. Unfortunately, we able to compare local school districts with planetary motion, recall astronomy informa- found that the data are largely unavailable. school districts that have many planetari- tion, and apply astronomy concepts. This makes some sense; after a planetarium is ums in their vicinity. In our case we used the (Hayward, 1976)3 established the discussion whether or not it Dallas, Texas area schools, because there are • In a worldwide survey of over 750 teach- is needed becomes academic. However, 12 planetariums in the Dallas-Fort Worth ers who used a planetarium in their instruc- every planetarium professional should be area. As we had hoped, the test scores in tion, nearly 92% agreed that it helped make able to sum up the key benefits of their facil- earth sciences for fifth grade children were their students enthusiastic about science. ity with supporting figures. When budgets significantly better (>4%) than the Austin Kratzer, 1997)4 change, upgrades to existing equipment are school district. Although this is not proof of • Trips to a planetarium or science muse-

December 2006 Planetarian 21 um are memorable. Over 80% of graduating tional labs for student hands-on experiments um. We have grown from a $5 million pro- college students recall specifics of trips they would enable them to perform their teach- ject to a potentially $60-80 million facility at made to planetariums in the first, second, or ing responsibilities better or easier. a premier downtown location. third grade. (Rennie & McClafferty, 1995)5 • Nearly 85% felt it is necessary to build a Even with all the data we have collected, The first bullet proved to be especially planetarium in Austin, and over 91% felt it is we are sure that there is much more avail- helpful with convincing politicians and uni- necessary to build a science museum. able. We hope the ideas and results described versity administrators of the need for a plan- • Fully 94.9% of the teachers surveyed felt in this article give the reader some new ideas. etarium. To potentially improve science that having hands-on science experiments, All documents referenced in this article have education with a double digit number is such as those available at the proposed plan- been made available on www.AustinPlanet- quite an achievement. The 11% increase in etarium and science museum, were “very arium.org/IPS . You will be able to find the interest in science as a career potentially valuable” for a results in more students going to a universi- student’s ty. Therefore, for university recruitment pur- learning expe- poses a planetarium is very beneficial. Of rience. course, many ways exist to shape and use • Of the this data depending on the person or institu- more than 200 tion you are trying to convince of your need educators sur- for a planetarium. veyed, nearly 90% would Gathering Your Own Hard Data “definitely” or Although we found some research detail- “probably” ing the benefit of a planetarium, the data are take their stu- still limited. In our case, we were very fortu- dents to the nate that the Sumners study was local. This planetarium as made for a stronger argument. Seek out local part of their data first, and then move outward as neces- curriculum. sary. In addition We also developed our own survey with to capturing strategically designed questions. The survey quantifiable data in this survey, we also gave complete McComb’s School of Business was aimed at third- to eighth-grade science science educators an opportunity to give study, the survey of science teachers, and teachers or classroom teachers who teach sci- comments. Some of these have proven very marketing documents created using this ence as part of the curriculum. There were 13 helpful. For example: data. Additionally, we have set up a discus- questions and nearly all asked for responses “It (a science museum) would promote sion forum where you can post your com- on a Leikert scale (e.g., “You have enough interest in science for young people who ments and remarks, or post any data you resources within the community to support never got exposed to scientific knowledge, would like to share with us and the IPS com- you in teaching astronomy or related topics: especially for low socio-economically disad- munity. Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, vantaged children. These kids need it the Strongly Disagree). The survey was anony- most. The chance of their families taking References mous and used for statistical purposes to them to Ft. Worth or the Houston Science 1 Burk, Brenton, and Courtney Rountree, Lisa evaluate the demand for a planetarium and Museum is zero.” (an elementary science Vincent and Laura Vincent, “Friends of other science infrastructure (such as a muse- teacher) the Austin Planetarium,” University of um) among the educators who would most “[Student] TAKS (Texas Assessment of Texas independent research project, 2005 likely use it. Because we already had endorse- Knowledge and Skills) scores are just an indi- 2 Sumners, Carolyn, “Quantification of stu- ments from the highest representatives in cator of what we have known all along. You dent learning in the museum, planetari- the educational system, we had access to have to provide meaningful, relevant experi- um, and IMAX theatre,” pp. 42-46, 15th mailing lists and addresses. Consequently, we ences for students to develop the deep International Planetarium Society received more then 250 surveys back, creat- understanding needed to retain information Conference Proceedings, Montreal, 2000 ing a very significant argument from local from year to year. We do not have enough 3 Hayward, Robert R., “The developing and educators. Some of the survey results are list- resources to do that!” (elementary science field testing of an instrument using the ed below: teacher) planetarium to evaluate the attainment of • Less than half (46%) of all local educators “It is such a unique experience, the the concept of annual motion,” presented surveyed felt that they had adequate instruction and learning are unforgettable! I at the 49th annual meeting of the resources and support for astronomy and still remember going to a planetarium as an National Association for Research in space science instruction in the classroom to elementary school student where I grew up! Science Teaching, San Francisco, 1976 help them fulfill the science Texas Essential And it instilled an interest in astronomy 4 Kratzer, Gary D., “A survey of educators' per- Knowledge & Skills (TEKS) requirements in throughout my education.” (first grade ceptions concerning the impact of the this area. teacher) STARLAB planetarium on teaching and • Two-thirds (66.7%) felt they did not have learning,” McNeese State Univ. indepen- adequate resources and support for science A Successful Conclusion dent research project, 1997 instruction in the community (museums, We were able to present data to politicians 5 Rennie, Leonie J., and Terence McClafferty, laboratories, etc., where students could per- and other elected officials that they can "Using visits to interactive science and form experiments) to help them fulfill the understand and remember. This was highly technology centers, museums, aquaria, science TEKS requirements. successful and culminated in the result that and zoos to promote learning in science," • Over 88% of the educators surveyed FOTAP now has four choices for a location Journal of Science Teacher Education, 6 agreed that having a planetarium with addi- to build a planetarium with a science muse- (4): 175-185, 1995

22 Planetarian December 2006

FromFrom thethe

Astronomy in the K-8 Core Curriculum: A Survey of State Requirements Nationwide

by Stacy Palen Director, Ott Planetarium [email protected] AmyJo Proctor Assistant Director, Ott Planetarium [email protected] Weber State University 3850 University Circle Ogden, Utah 84408 USA

In 1996, the National Research Council another with respect to astronomy content? equivalent (hereafter referred to generally as (NRC) published the National Science Core • Are the same topics being taught at the DoEd) between January 2006 and June 2006. Standards (NRC 1996), a potential starting same level in most states? We gathered data for 48 states and the point for the development of state core cur- • How similar are the core concepts to District of Columbia (Iowa’s standards are ricula in the sciences. The implementation those recommended by the National not published online, and Michigan’s stan- of these core standards has varied from state Research Council? dards were undergoing revision). Shortly to state, both in content and in timing, with individual states making decisions about not only what should be covered in K–12 educa- We have compiled the K–8 core standards in astronomy for tion but also when students are prepared to 48 states and the District of Columbia. Astronomy coverage in tackle specific scientific concepts. state curricula varies broadly from state to state, both in quan- This state-to-state variation makes prepa- ration of curriculum materials difficult for tity and in content. Comparing these core standards between large organizations hoping to have national states and with the National Research Council (NRC) astrono- impact. These organizations often fall back my core standards gives interesting information for outreach to the NRC core standards to determine the intersection of their materials with the con- professionals building curriculum materials for national distri- tent goals of teachers. However, how the bution. Although the NRC standards provide a solid starting individual state core standards compare with point for curriculum development, most states expand their the NRC standards is unclear. To find out, we have compiled the astronomy standards for astronomy coverage beyond the NRC topics. most of the nation, searching the published state science standards for astronomy content. Gathering Data - State Core into the research, we decided to limit our- We had several questions that wanted to Standards selves to grades K–8, leaving grades 9–12 for a answer: Data were gathered from the Web sites of later time. • Are state core curricula similar to one individual state departments of education or In all cases, we assumed that the published online data from the states’ DoEds were current. This may or may not be true, but Reprinted with permission from Astronomy Education Review, Issue 1, Volume 5:23-35, 2006 because these standards often vary from year Received: 07/27/06, Revised: 08/01/06, Posted: 08/28/06 to year (consider the well-known case of © 2006, Stacy Palen. Copyright assigned to Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. Kansas), a “snapshot” of the state standards is The latest (eighth) issue of Astronomy Education Review, the web-based journal/magazine for every- probably the best one can do. one involved in astronomy education and outreach, can be found at http://aer.noao.edu. AER actively For the first 15 states, we kept a list of the solicits interesting papers and articles on all aspects of space science education and outreach. AER is topics covered and the grade level in which particularly interested in increasing the number of papers relating to education outside the formal they were taught. This allowed us to build a classroom. The site gets between 150,000 and 200,000 hits per month from 91 different countries. Editors are Sidney Wolff and Andrew Fraknoi. matrix of topics versus state (see Table 1). Further states were added to this matrix. 24 Planetarian December 2006 When necessary, new topic columns were American Association for the Advancement The Sun is many thousands of times closer added. In total, 45 astronomy topics of vary- of Science) has derived “benchmarks” for sci- to the Earth than any other star. Light from ing specificity are covered in grades K–8. ence literacy. In general, benchmarks are the Sun takes a few minutes to reach the more detailed than standards and can be Earth, but light from the next nearest star Gathering Data - National thought of as “drilling down” into the con- takes a few years to arrive. The trip to that Content Standards tent to a more detailed level. Here, for conve- star would take the fastest rocket thousands The NRC standards are available online nience, we list the astronomy-related bench- of years. Some distant galaxies are so far (http://newton.nap.edu/html/nses) or in marks (Project 2061 1993) and, where possi- away that their light takes several billion book form (NRC 1996). These standards are ble, identify them with an NRC content years to reach Earth. People on Earth, there- conveniently grouped, varying from general standard, in parentheses. fore, see them as they were that long ago in science standards (e.g., critical thinking, the past. mathematical reasoning) to specific content AAAS Kindergarten - Grade 2 Nine planets of very different sizes, com- standards (e.g., “the Earth goes around the There are more stars in the sky than any- position, and surface features move around Sun”). We limited ourselves to content stan- one can easily count, but they are not scat- the Sun in nearly circular orbits. Some plan- dards, which compare most easily with the tered evenly, and they are not all the same in ets have a great variety of moons and even state standards. The NRC standards are divid- brightness or color. (I) flat rings of rock and ice particles orbiting ed into K–4 and 5–8 grades. For the reader’s The Sun can be seen only in the daytime, around them. Some of these planets and convenience, we reproduce the astronomy but the Moon can be seen sometimes at moons show evidence of geologic activity. content of these standards here: night and sometimes during the day. The The Earth is orbited by one moon, many Sun, Moon, and stars all appear to move artificial satellites, and debris. (IV) Kindergarten - Grade 4 slowly across the sky. (III) Large numbers of chunks of rock orbit the I) The Sun, Moon, stars, clouds, birds, and The Moon looks a little different every Sun. Some of those that the Earth meets in airplanes all have properties, locations, and day but looks the same again about every its yearly orbit around the Sun glow and dis- movements that can be observed and four weeks. (III) integrate from friction as they plunge described. The Sun warms the land, air, and water. (II) through the atmosphere—and sometimes II) The Sun provides the light and heat impact the ground. Other chunks of rocks necessary to maintain the temperature of AAAS Grade 3 - Grade 8 mixed with ice have long off-center orbits the Earth. The patterns of stars in the sky stay the that carry them close to the Sun, where the III) Objects in the sky have patterns of same, although they appear to move across Sun’s radiation (of light and particles) boils movement. The Sun, for example, appears to the sky nightly, and different stars can be off frozen material from their surfaces and move across the sky in the same way every seen in different seasons. (III) pushes it into a long, illuminated tail. (IV) day, but its path changes slowly over the sea- Telescopes magnify the appearance of We live on a relatively small planet, the sons. The Moon moves across the sky on a some distant objects in the sky, including third from the Sun in the only system of daily basis much like the Sun. The observ- the Moon and the planets. The number of planets definitely known to exist (although able shape of the Moon changes from day to stars that can be seen through telescopes is other similar systems may be discovered in day in a cycle that lasts about a month. dramatically greater than can be seen by the the universe). (IV, although this benchmark unaided eye. obviously requires modification to accom- Grade 4 - Grade 8 Planets change their positions against the modate the discovery of extrasolar planets.) IV) The Earth is the third planet from the background of stars (V, although not explic- Everything on or anywhere near the Earth Sun in a system that includes the Moon, the itly) is pulled toward Earth’s center by gravita- Sun, eight other planets and their moons, The Earth is one of several planets that tional force. (VI) and smaller objects, such as asteroids and orbit the Sun, and the Moon orbits the Earth. Because the Earth turns daily on an axis comets. The Sun, an average star, is the cen- (IV) that is tilted relative to the plane of the tral and largest body in the solar system. Stars are like the Sun, some being smaller Earth’s yearly orbit around the Sun, sunlight V) Most objects in the solar system are in and some larger, but so far away that they falls more intensely on different parts of regular and predictable motion. Those look like points of light. (IV, implicitly, “The Earth during the year. The difference in heat- motions explain such phenomena as the Sun, an average star. . . “) ing of Earth’s surface produces the planet’s day, the year, the phases of the Moon, and Like all planets and stars, the Earth is seasons and weather patterns. (III or V) eclipses. approximately spherical in shape. The rota- The Moon’s orbit around Earth once in VI) Gravity is the force that keeps planets tion of the Earth on its axis every 24 hours about 28 days changes what part of the in orbit around the Sun and governs the rest produces the night-and-day cycle. To people of the motion in the solar system. Gravity on Earth, this turning of the planet makes it (Please see Requirements on page 31) alone holds us to the Earth’s surface and seem as though the Sun, Moon, planets and explains the phenomena of the tides. stars are orbiting the earth once a day. (V) Table 1 (on next five pages): VII) The Sun is the major source of energy Astronomy core standards across the for phenomena on the Earth’s surface, such AAAS Grade 6 - Grade 8 nation. Each column contains the topic title and the grades in which it as growth of plants, winds, ocean currents, The Sun is a medium-sized star located is taught for each state. For the read- and the water cycle. Seasons result from vari- near the edge of a disk-shaped galaxy of stars, ers’ convenience, the total number of topics in each state is tabulated in ations in the amount of the Sun’s energy hit- part of which can be seen as a glowing band the left-most row, and the number of ting the surface due to the tilt of the Earth’s of light that spans the sky on a very clear states teaching each topic is tabulat- rotation on its axis and the length of the day. night. The universe contains many billions ed in the bottom row. Table is available in Excel format of galaxies, and each galaxy contains many at:aer.noao.edu/cgi-bin/ Gathering Data- The AAAS Core billions of stars. To the naked eye, even the article.pl?id=204; links to state stan- Curriculum Benchmarks closest of these galaxies is no more than a dards web sites also can be found with the article. Similarly, Project 2061 (a project of the dim, fuzzy spot. December 2006 Planetarian 25 Table 1. Astronomy core standards across the nation. Each column contains the topic title and the grades in which it is taught for convenience, the total number of topics in each state is tabulated in the left-most row, whereas the number of states teaching each row. The Web sites from which this information was obtained are given in the appendix.

Earth and Sun,moon,stars, # topics in Objects in moon are Sun “moves” appear to move Earth's tilt/ this state State sky round Rotation Revolution in sky East to West seasons 26 Alabama K--1 3 4 3,5 13 Alaska 3,4,5 5 5 5 5 5 21 Arizona 1 5 5 1 5 7 20 Arkansas 1 2,3 2,3 K 4--8 14 California 3 3 18 Colorado K--4 K--4 5--8 K--4 11 Connecticut 5 5 1 24 Delaware K--3 K--3 K--3 K--3 K--3 4--5 6--8 16 Florida 3--5 K--2 K--2 K--2 K--2 3--5 25 Georgia K 4 4 2 4,6 17 Hawaii K 4 4 2 2 8 16 Idaho 3 3 3 3 3 25 Illinois K-3 K-3 K-3 K-3 K-3 4--6 19 Indiana 3 5 3,4 3 3 3 6 18 Kansas K-2 3 3 5--7 15 Kentucky K--4 K--4 K--8 24 Louisiana K,2 35 3,5 3 5 4,8 16 Maine 3--4 K--4 K--2 5--8 7 Maryland K 2 2 18 Massachusetts 3--5 3--5 3--5 3--5 6--8 24 Minnesota 1 3 3 4 3,8 27 Mississippi K K 5 5 5,6,7 38 Missouri K-2 K-2 K--2 K--2 K-2 K-2 3--4,5--8 26 Montana K--4 K--4 K--4 K--4 K--4 K--4 5--8 20 Nebraska K--1 K--1 2--4 2--4 K--1 2--4 5--8 24 Nevada K--2 K--2 3--5 3--5 K--2 K-5 3--5 19 New Hampshire K---6 K--6 K--6 K--6 K--6 K--6 K--6 19 New Jersey K--2 K--4 K--4 K--4 K--4 K--4 5--8 32 New Mexico K,2 K K,1 1 5,6 20 New York K--8 K--8 K--4 K--8 5--8 20 North Carolina 6 6 3 6 18 North Dakota 2,6 5 8 12 Ohio K--2 6--8 13 Oklahoma 1--2 7 7 21 Oregon K--8 4 4,5 4,5 2,4 6--8 23 Pennsylvania 5--7 K--7 5--7 K--4 22 Rhode Island K--2 3--5 3--5 3--5 K--5 6--8 22 South Carolina 1,4 8 8 1 1 4,8 24 South Dakota 1 4 3,4 3,8 23 Tennessee K--3 5 5 K--3 4 6 14 Texas 7 13 Utah 3333 6 14 Vermont K--4 5--8 20 Virginia 1,4,6 6 4 4,6 13 Washington 3--5 K-2 3--5 18 West Virginia K--1 2 3 1 2,6--8 18 Wisconsin K--4 5--8 5--8 K--4 K--4 K--4,5--8 11 Wyoming K--4 5--8 5--8 K--4 District of 16 Columbia 3 553 3 5

number of states 35 15 36 38 32 37 46

26 Planetarian December 2006 Gravitational Culture attraction/- Earth-Sun Earth's Star related to orbit/- distances/s Earth's orbit Solar/lunar Moon/- position in map/const- North objects in Newton's olstice properties Moon phases eclipse tides solar system ellations Star night sky laws Alabama 3,4,7 1--3 7 5,7 3 3,8 3,5,7 Alaska Arizona 7 5 7 7 7 7 5 Arkansas 6 4 5 8 California 3 3 3 5 Colorado 5--8 K--4 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 Connecticut 8 5 8 Delaware 4--5 6--8 6--8 6--8 6--8 4--5 6--8 Florida 3--5 3--5 Georgia 4 4,6 2 2 6 Hawaii 8 3 5 2,3 Idaho 3 8 3 8 8 Illinois 7,8 K--3 4--6 7,8 7,8 4--6 7,8 Indiana 3 3,6 6 5 Kansas 5--7 5--7 5--7 5--7 5--7 Kentucky 5--7 K--8 5--7 5--7 5--7 5--7 Louisiana 8 4 4 4,8 8 5 5 8 Maine K--4 3--4 3--4 5--8 Maryland 2 Massachusetts 6--8 3--5 3--5,6--8 6--8 6--8 3--5 6--8 Minnesota 3,8 8 8 8 8 4 8 Mississippi 7 4,7,8 2,5,6,7 6,7 5 4 3,4 Missouri 5--8 K--2,5--8 3--4,5--8 3--4,5--8 5--8 3--4,5--8 3--8 3,4 5--8 Montana 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 Nebraska 5--8 2--8 2--4,5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 Nevada 3--5 K--2;6--8 6--8 3--5 6--8 New Hampshire K--6 K--6 7--10 7--10 K--6 New Jersey 5--8 K--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 K--4 New Mexico 6 6 1,2,6 6 6 3,7 3,4 8 New York 5--8 K--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 North Carolina 3 3,6 6 6 6 North Dakota 5,8 8 8 8 Ohio 3--8 6--8 6--8 6--8 3--5 6--8 Oklahoma 5,7 7 7 5,7 Oregon K--8 2,6--8 K--8 3,6--8 Pennsylvania K--4 K--4 K--4 K--4 5--7 5--7 Rhode Island 3--5 K--2;6--8 K--5 3--8 South Carolina 1,4,8 1,4,8 8 8 4 8 South Dakota 4,6,8 3,4,8 8 8 3 4,5,8 8 Tennessee 4,6 K--5 4,6 6 5,6 Texas 5 7 5 Utah 3 3,6 6 Vermont K--4 5--8 Virginia 4,8 3,6 K-8 4,6 6 6 Washington 6--8 3--5 6--8 3--5 West Virginia 3,4,6,8 2--3,6 8 6--8 4 Wisconsin 5--8 K--4 K--4 5--8 Wyoming 5--8 5--8 5--8 District of Columbia 3558

number of states 10 46 46 28 25 33 23 1 3 32

December 2006 Planetarian 27 Time from History of sky/time Asteroids, Inner/outer Astronomy zones comets, planet (geocentric reasoning (Big meteoroids, Earth- Planets/- characteristics vs. Dipper Sun meteors, asteroid Moon solar (including heliocentric) clock/sundial) Properties Aurora meteorites history Properties system Earth) Alabama 4,7 4,8 4,7 2--4 6--7 Alaska 4 5 5 6,7 Arizona 7 5 7 5 5,7 Arkansas 6 5--6 3 4,6 California 3,5,8 8 3,8 5 8 Colorado K--4 K--8 K--8 5--8 Connecticut 8 8 5 8 Delaware 4--8 4--5 6--8 6--8 Florida 3--5 3--5 3--5 6--8 Georgia 2,4 6 4,6 4 Hawaii 5,8 8 5 8 Idaho 3 3,8 4 8 Illinois K--3,7,8 7,8 K--3,7,8 4--6 7,8 Indiana 3 8 3,4 6 6 Kansas 5--7 5--7 5--7 5--7 5--7 Kentucky K--7 5--7 5--7 5--7 5--7 5--7 Louisiana 2,4,5 5 4,5 3 5,8 Maine K--4 5--8 3--4 3--8 Maryland 2 2 Massachusetts 3--5 3--8 3--5 6--8 Minnesota 3,8 3,8 3 3,8 Mississippi 2,4,7,8 4,8 2 4,8

Missouri 3--4 K-2 5--8 K-2 3--4,5--8 K-8 Montana K--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 Nebraska K--4 K--4 5--8 5--8 Nevada 3--5 3--5 3--5 6--8 New Hampshire 1--10 K--6 K--8 7--10 7--10 New Jersey K--8 K--8 K--4 5--8 New Mexico K,1,2,6,7 6 1,6 3 3,6 New York 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 North Carolina 6 3,6 6 6 3 6 North Dakota 5,6,8 6 5,8 4,6 5,8 Ohio 6--8 6--8 6--8 Oklahoma 5,7 7 5,7 5,7 7 Oregon 6--8 6--8 K--8 5--8 6--8 Pennsylvania 5--8 K--4 5--7 K--4 K--7 5--8 Rhode Island 3--5 3--8 6--8 3--5 3--5 6--8 South Carolina 4,8 1,4,8 8 4,8 4 4,8 8 South Dakota 4,6,8 6,8 4,6,8 2,4--6,8 4,5,8 Tennessee 6 4,6 4,6 4,6 K--4 5,6 Texas 3,5 6 5 3,6 5 Utah 3 3 6 Vermont 5--8 K--8 K--4 K--8 5--8 Virginia 1,4,8 6 4,8 6 6,8 Washington 6--8 6--8 6--8 6--8 6--8 West Virginia 3,4,6,8 3,4,6,8 3;4,7 6--8 Wisconsin 5--8 5--8 5--8 Wyoming 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 District of Columbia 8558

number of states 5 3 48 2 27 1 48 45 44

28 Planetarian December 2006 Solar Origin and Universe Space Technology system evolution of motion/- Radiating exploration/- resulting from location universe Organization expansion/- vs telescopes/- space Deep sky within and solar of known Doppler Reflecting live in exploration- objects Galaxies galaxy system universe effect bodies space? history Alabama 5,8 5,8 8 3--5,8 Alaska Arizona 7 7 5 Arkansas 8 8 8 5--8 California 8 Colorado 5--8 K--4 Connecticut 5 Delaware 6--8 6--8 Florida 6--8 6--8 Georgia 6 6 6 6 6 Hawaii 8 8 5 Idaho 8 8 Illinois 7,8 7,8 4--6 Indiana 7 Kansas 5--7 Kentucky Louisiana 4,5,8 8 Maine 5--8 Maryland Massachusetts 6--8 6--8 Minnesota 8 8 8 8 4 Mississippi 8 8 8 8 7 7 4 Missouri 8 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8, 3--4,5--8 Montana 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8, 5--8 Nebraska 2--4 Nevada 6--8 6--8 6--8 New Hampshire New Jersey 5--8, 5--8 New Mexico 6 5,6 5,6 5,6 8 8 3,4,5 New York K--8 K-8 North Carolina 6 6 6 6 North Dakota 8 8 8 Ohio 6--8 Oklahoma Oregon 6--8 6--8 4,6--8 Pennsylvania 5--8 8 5--8, Rhode Island 6--8 6--8 3--5 6--8 South Carolina 4 South Dakota 8 6 8 Tennessee 6 66 Texas 8 8 8 6 Utah 6 Vermont 5--8 5--8 5--8 Virginia K-8 K-8 6 Washington West Virginia 8 7,8 Wisconsin 5--8 5--8 Wyoming District of Columbia

number of states 5 22 14 13 19 9 3 18 14

December 2006 Planetarian 29 Types of data collecting Evidence for telescopes big bang - Fusion as Spec- Current and how they cosmic stellar Distance of troscopy of technology/ are used (x- background, Star cycle/- H-R energy stars/- stars Distances careers ray, infra) red shift properties Diagram source brightness (elements) in space Light year Alabama 5,8 8 8 8 4 8 Alaska 876 Arizona Arkansas 5--8 8 5--8 California 88 Colorado 5--8 5--8 Connecticut Delaware 4--5 6--8 6--8 6--8 Florida 6--8 6--8 Georgia 4,6 4,6 6 4 4 6 Hawaii Idaho Illinois 7,8 7,8 7,8 7,8 Indiana 5,7 7 Kansas 5--7 5--7 5--7 Kentucky Louisiana 8 8 8 Maine 5--8 5--8 5--8 Maryland 2 Massachusetts Minnesota 4,8 8 8 Mississippi 3,8 7 4 8 Missouri 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 5--8 Montana 5--8 5--8 K--4 Nebraska 5--8 Nevada 6--8 3--5 3--5 3--5 6--8 New Hampshire 7--10 K--8 New Jersey New Mexico 6 6 6 2,8 6,8 5,8 8 New York K--8 K--8 5--8 North Carolina 6 North Dakota 8 8 2 Ohio Oklahoma 1,6 Oregon 6--8 3,4 6--8 Pennsylvania 8 5--8 8 8 Rhode Island 3--5 6--8 South Carolina 4 8 South Dakota 8 8 8 8 8 Tennessee 6 K--4 6 Texas 8 Utah 6 Vermont 5--8 5--8 Virginia K-8 K-8 Washington 6--8 West Virginia 8 7 Wisconsin 5--8 5--8 5--8 Wyoming District of Columbia 88 number of states 13 7 10 24 14 13 9 7 18 5

30 Planetarian December 2006 (Requirements, continued from page 25) Moon is lighted by the Sun and how much of that part can be seen from Earth—the phases of the Moon. (V) The Sun’s gravitational pull holds Earth and other planets in their orbits, just as the planet’s gravitational pull keeps their moons in orbits around them. (VI) In this study, we concentrate on comparing the state core standards with the NRC core standards for three reasons. First, nearly all states had published curricula at the core standard level of detail. Second, although benchmarks exist in most states, the level of detail involved makes a comparison between different sets of curricula pro- hibitively difficult. Third, the NRC core standards and the AAAS benchmarks are quite congruent, with only 3 of the 19 benchmarks Figure 1. The number of states with a given number of topics in their core curricu- not covered in the NRC core standards. The lum. The average number is 19, the maximum is 38, and the minimum is 7. Graphic by authors. exceptions can be summarized as covering telescopes, the size of the universe, and the structure of the universe. Table 2. The popularity of Astronomy Topics in the States’ Cores Generalizing the States’ Results The number of astronomy standards N Topics taught in a given state varies from a low of 7 in Maryland to a high of 38 in Missouri. The Earth’s orbital properties; Sun properties; Moon properties; Earth N>=45 average number is 19. Figure 1 shows the dis- tilt/seasons; Moon phases; planets/solar system tribution of the number of topics taught. The popularity of topics is given in Table 2. 40<=N<=44 Inner/outer planet characteristics The six most popular topics are taught in more than 45 states. These topics are proba- Sun, Moon, stars appear to move east to west; objects in the sky; rota- bly not a surprise, covering primarily the 35<=N<=39 tion; revolution Earth-Moon-Sun system and the solar system. A geographical comparison of the number Sun “moves in the sky; Earth’s position in the solar system; gravitational 30<=N<=34 of astronomy topics per state (see Figure 2) attraction/Newton’s laws shows no correlation with political (i.e., “red- blue”) maps. This may indicate that the local 25<=N<=29 Solar/lunar eclipse; Moon/tides; asteroids/comets/meteors politics of the electorate has little influence on the amount of astronomy taught in a 20<=N<=24 Star cycle/properties; star maps/constellations; galaxies given state. Nor is there an obvious correlation with latitude, population density, good observing weather, or dark skies. Organization of known universe; Earth/Moon are round; distances in 15<=N<=19 space; space exploration/telescopes/live in space Comparing the NRC and the States’ Results Solar system location in galaxy; H-R diagram; fusion/stellar energy We compared the states’ content stan- source; Earth/Sun distance/solstice; origin and evolution of universe and dards with the wording of the NRC stan- 10<=N<=14 solar system; technology from space exploration; current dards and concluded that 15 of the 45 topics technology/careers; evidence for Big Bang covered in the states were part of the NRC core. This is a bit subjective because the Distance of stars/brightness; spectroscopy of stars/elements; universe wording varies greatly from state to state. motion/expansion/Doppler effect; types of telescopes (X-ray, IR); histo- Table 3 summarizes these data. The age at 5<=N<=9 ry of astronomy/geocentric versus heliocentric models; light year; deep which the topics are taught agrees with the sky objects recommendations of the NRC. In addition, most of these 15 topics are among the 15 North star; culture related to objects in the night sky; aurorae; Earth- most commonly taught, suggesting that N<=4 asteroid history; time from sky/Big Dipper clock; radiating/reflecting most states include most of the NRC stan- bodies dards and add to them to build their individ- Note: N, in the first column, is the number of states teaching the topics listed in the sec- ualized core standards. ond column. Bolded topics are those that are similar to the topics in the NRC core cur- Two topics from the NRC core standards riculum. are rare in the state standards: the connec-

December 2006 Planetarian 31 tion between the Moon and tides, and prop- states teaching all topics is erties of stars. Although gravitational attrac- 946. Table 3. The 15 topics that are similar to tion (as the cause for orbital motions) is those in the NRC core. These topics are list- taught in 32 states, the relationship between Using this metric, the ed in order of their frequency among states. the Moon and the tides (gravity as the sole standards are 52% Keplerian, The average grade in which they are taught explanation for tides) is taught in only 25 23% solar system, and 25% compares directly with the NRC suggetions. states. A study of the properties of stars universe. Without making (which we consider implicit in the statement any judgments about the that the Sun is an average star) is covered in depth or value of a particu- Number of Average NRC Topic only half the states, although it could be lar topic, we note that the states Grade Suggestions argued that 32 states cover some kind of stel- astronomy learned by stu- lar astronomy topic (star cycle/properties, H- dents nationwide is heavily Sun properties 48 5 5-8 R diagram, fusion, or spectroscopy). weighted toward orbital Curriculum developers are wise in using mechanics of the Earth- the NRC standards as a jumping-off point for Moon-Sun system. Moon properties 48 5 K-4, 5-8 curriculum development. However, it must be noted that none of the topics is covered Conclusion in all states, and only seven are covered in The primary take-away Earth’s tilt/seasons 46 6 5-8 more than 80% of states. message of this study is that Most of these topics, both in the state cur- the NRC science standards ricula and the NRC core, are focused on in astronomy are a great Moon phases 46 5 K-4, 5-8 Keplerian astronomy—orbital motions of the starting place for curricu- Earth and Moon and their consequences. It lum developers who wish to could be argued that a focus on this phe- address at least some of the Planets 45 5 5-8 nomenological level detracts from a deeper topics that are covered in conceptual understanding for students. One every state. Most teachers, Inner/outer planet 44 7 5-8 must be careful about drawing too strong a however, are required to characteristics conclusion from this, however, because we teach several topics in addi- have limited this study to the core content tion to, or instead of, these Revolution 38 4 K-4, 5-8 standards; we are examining only the “facts.” topics. We suspect that these More general goals, such as developing con- are likely to be the topics ceptual understanding or critical thinking, with which the teachers Sun, Moon, stars may be embedded further down the curricu- themselves struggle most appear to move 37 3 K-4 lum chain—at the benchmark level, or at the and therefore deserve a east to west level of texts or activities. focused effort by groups developing curriculum tools Contrasting the NRC and the for K–8 teachers. Rotation 36 4 K-4, 5-8 States’ Standards Secondarily, the K–8 cur- As expected from the pure numbers of riculum is dominated by topics, the states’ standards are more general Keplerian astronomy. The Objects in the sky 35 2 K-4 than the NRC standards and cover a broader relative importance of range of topics. Keplerian versus modern Earth’s position in 33 5 5-8 None of the NRC standards includes mod- astronomy is a matter for the solar system ern astronomical content. The states have debate among the commu- attempted to include more recent advances. nity at the college introduc- Gravitational From stellar astronomy (taught in various tory level (see a review of attraction/Newton’ 32 7 5-8 incarnations in 32 states) to galaxies (22 the discussion by Jay s laws states) to the origin of the solar system (13 Pasachoff 2002). Perhaps states), modern astronomy is making inroads this debate needs to be into the K–8 educational system. Only 19 extended to the precollege Sun “moves” in sky 32 2 K-4 (42%) of the 45 aggregate state standards are level as well. Keplerian astronomy. A further 7 (16%) are Future work involves solar system topics (which, of course can be extending this study to Eclipses 28 6 5-8 quite modern!). This leaves 19 (42%) of the grades 9–12, which is a bit of topics to cover the rest of the universe. But a challenge. High school the raw numbers do not quite tell us what courses tend to be topical— Moon/tides 25 7 5-8 we want to know. Instead, we consider the students are learning the weighted percentage, which tells us how “big three” of science: biolo- commonly a particular field of study is gy, chemistry, and physics—and Earth and ferent curriculum than other students. taught. For the Keplerian topics, for example: space sciences are often not part of the It would be interesting to know what pro- statewide curriculum. In addition, the devia- fessional astronomers think are the most W(%) = (sum of all states teaching tion between students becomes much wider important topics for K–8 students. Several Keplerian topics)/(sum of all states at this late period in their schooling; honors studies related to Astronomy 101 have been teaching all topics) where the sum of all or college-bound students study a very dif- undertaken (Brissenden et al. 1999; Partridge

32 Planetarian December 2006 & Greenstein 2002), but the question of what students should know in K–8 has not been explicitly addressed. Finally, it is unclear how the core curriculum standards translate into the actual learning experience of students in individual classrooms in each state. Having a topic in the core does not mean that it is being taught in the classroom. Assessment of whether the core is being learned most often occurs in the form of standardized tests administered to students at intervals. Particularly in this era of “no child left behind,” this type of assessment functions as a stick for teachers: Teach the concepts or else. We would like to know what the carrot looks like: how are teachers being encouraged to include these topics in their classrooms and to seek innovative and interesting ways to teach them?

References Figure 2. The number of astronomy topics taught in each state. Lighter red means Brissenden, G., Duncan, D. K., Greenfield, J. L., more astronomy, while darker red means less astronomy. This map shows no correlation between political affiliation and amount of astronomy content, or any and Slater, T. F. 1999, “A Survey of Learning geograpnic correlation. Each state seems to go its own way, with no regard for the Goals for Introductory Astronomy weather outside. Graphic by the authors Courses,” Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 31, 937. National Research Council 1996, National Science Education Standards, Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Partridge, B., & Greenstein, G. 2002, “Report on a Workshop for Astronomy Department Leaders,” American Astronomical Society, www.aas.org/education/publications/workshop101.html. Pasachoff, J. 2002, “What Should College Students Learn?: Phases and Seasons? Is Less More or Is Less Less?” Astronomy Education Review, 1, 124. aer.noao.edu/cgi- bin/article.pl?id=13. Project 2061 1993, Benchmarks for Science Literacy, New York: Oxford University Press.

December 2006 Planetarian 33 The “Planet” Decision

Martin George, Curator Launceston Planetarium Queen Victoria Museum Wellington Street Launceston, Tasmania Australia [email protected]

It was the decision of the year, as far as including several that rival Pluto in diameter Committee was applauded for giving up her astronomy goes. It certainly generated quite and even one that exceeds it. It became clear chance to speak in order to give the general a reaction around the world, with a good that Pluto was merely one of the largest of a membership more time to have its say. number of “'Pluto supporters” complaining large group of similar objects. The overriding physical principles used in about it. But the International Astronomical The very fact that Pluto had long been the definition are: a planet must be in orbit Union’s decision on the definition around the Sun; it must be in of what makes a “planet,” howev- hydrostatic equilibrium; and it has er, was a long time coming and … the International Astronomical Union’s cleared the neighbourhood around needed to be done. decision on the definition of what makes a its orbit. The atmosphere was rather Let’s take these in turn. tense on that Thursday afternoon, “planet,” however, was a long time com- 2006 August 24, at the 26th ing and needed to be done. A Planet Orbits the Sun General Assembly in Prague, as a “In orbit around the Sun” is quite large gathering of IAU members clear. If the body is a satellite of a sat in the Chamber Hall of the Prague classified as a planet was initially in its planet—even if, like some large satellites, Conference Centre. Television cameras were favour. Even as recent as the first week of the they would be considered to be planets in rolling, and reporters were chasing people IAU General Assembly, the proposed planet their own right if they were in an indepen- for interviews both before and after the vote. definition retained Pluto as a planet. Many dent orbit—they are not considered to be At the appropriate moment, the motion people felt, however, that this was to a large planets. What I found a little disappointing to accept the resolution was put to the mem- extent based on an emotional attachment to here is that “the Sun” was used instead of “a bership and, with hands raised showing hun- Pluto rather than proper science. star.” The entire definition applies only to dreds of yellow voting cards, Pluto’s fate was There were three preliminary discussion our solar system. I’ll return to that point sealed. The IAU finally had a definition of sessions before the vote. Many people were later. “planet.” very vocal about the situation, and at one “Hydrostatic equilibrium” basically means point a member of the Planet Definition that the object has enough self-gravity to Pluto’s Been a Problem We are, of course, all aware of the problem that has faced astronomers for some time now. Pluto was classified as a planet after its discovery in 1930 but, in those early years, little was known about it. Textbooks, even as recently as the 1960s, quoted Pluto’s estimated diameter as up to half that of Earth’s. We now know quite differently. With the discovery of Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, in 1977, it became quickly clear that Pluto’s mass was well under one per cent that of Earth’s. Subsequent occultation observations, especially, have pinned down Pluto’s diameter to be about 2300 kilometres. The Two Faces of Pluto: Pluto also has been difficult to resolve in images. These pictures, of opposite hemispheres, were taken by the European Space Agency’s Faint Object Camera Even more significantly, since the aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. The picture was taken in blue light when Pluto was early 1990s astronomers have dis- 4.8 billion km (3 billion mi) away. Credit: Alan Stern, Southwest Research Institute; Marc Buie, Lowell Observatory; NASA and ESA; from the National Space Science Data Center. covered many more Pluto-type objects orbiting beyond Neptune,

34 Planetarian December 2006 overcome “rigid body forces”—that is, it is spherical, or nearly spherical. Of course, planets do exhibit oblateness due to their rotation, with Saturn the prime example. When questioned about this, Richard Binzel replied that the definition would be “applied intelligently.” A sensible answer, with which nobody would argue.

Clears the Neighborhood? The other criterion, relating to clearing the neighbourhood around its orbit, seems rather less well-defined. The meaning here is that the body is massive enough to have a strong influence in its region. At one point amongst the several drafts of the resolution, the words that were used were “domi- IAU members hold up their voting cards to define “planet.” It was at this moment that Pluto nant object in its local population ceased to be classified as a planet. Photo by Martin George zone.” Although this is no longer part of the definition, it is a quite descriptive one and may have been and indeed it will apply to other objects, of objects—that is, objects beyond Neptune better left in. Even so, I still did not feel that once their “roundness” has been established. that are clearly different from asteroids, the “dominant object” concept was suffi- Although at this stage we do not have proof although that wording was not included in ciently clear, and wrote to the Planet that 2003 UB313 is round, it is a reasonable the definition. This resolution was passed, Definition Committee suggesting that this assumption, based on its calculated diameter. but a subsequent resolution to describe this be better defined. It was after this that they All other objects are now to be referred to class of objects—i.e. dwarf planets beyond came up with the neighbourhood-clearing collectively as “Small Solar System Bodies.” Neptune —as “plutonian objects” narrowly concept. but the words “comet,” “asteroid,” and so on, failed to gain acceptance. I had argued at an An example of an objection to the neigh- can still be used. earlier meeting strongly in favour of this bourhood-clearing concept is that Jupiter Whatever the arguments about the char- after it had been suggested by another IAU has certainly not cleared its member. However, the failed res- orbit, as it is well known that olution means that currently, the Trojan asteroids exist at the there is no name for this class of L4 and L5 points, 60 degrees objects, and the IAU will now ahead and behind Jupiter. With However, the failed resolution means that cur- need to work to come up with a any object, however, these rently, there is no name for this (new) class name. points of gravitational stability of objects, and the IAU will now need to work exist, and if we were to exclude Definition Is a Bit Narrow planets on that basis, we would to come up with a name. Back to the issue of the defini- have very few planets. tion applying only to our solar Another argument that has been put forward against the system: I felt quite strongly that it should not. After all, we are “clearing the neighbourhood” idea is that acteristics that are used to define the mean- quite freely using the term “planet” when under this definition, Neptune could possi- ing of “planet,” there is an important foot- describing extrasolar planets, and I think bly not be considered a planet, as Pluto’s note to the resolution. The footnote simply that by excluding planets around other stars orbit crosses it. That is true, but Pluto is not states “The eight planets are: Mercury, Venus, from the definition, the IAU is still some- by any means in the same or a similar orbit Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and what behind the times. to that of Neptune. Its orbit is in a 3:2 reso- Neptune.” It can’t be more straightforward I therefore wrote to the Planet Definition nance with Neptune, as is obvious simply by than that, and indeed, one speaker com- Committee with my concerns, but there was examining a table showing their orbital peri- mented light-heartedly that perhaps the def- no resulting change in the proposed defini- ods. inition should just be the footnote and noth- tion. The Committee, including IAU Again, I think we should apply this criteri- ing else at all. This raised quite a number of President Ron Ekers, was quite adamant that on “intelligently.” laughs from the assembly—and even a short applause from a few! the definition should not apply to stars “Dwarf Planet” Defined Soon after the resolution was passed, a res- other than our Sun, and that is the way it The resolution also includes another defi- olution to insert the word “classical” before remained. nition. An object that has not cleared the the word “planets” in the footnote was As a result of this, there is no IAU defini- neighbourhood around its orbit is called a defeated. tion of a planet around another star. I hope “dwarf planet.” This term now applies to The next resolution was to recognise that, that this will change when the IAU meets Pluto, Ceres, 2003 UB313 (now named Eris), as a dwarf planet, Pluto is one of a new class again in Brazil in 2009, if not before.

35 Planetarian December 2006

Chinese Student, Swedish University, Research in Germany: Report from Armand Spitz Scholarship Recipient

Lars Broman Dalarna University SE 791 88 Falun, Sweden

Since 2004, students at Dalarna University in Sweden who study in vious scholarship studies have been published in the Planetarian the master's program in Science Communication have been awarded (December 2004 and December 2006). scholarships from IPS' Armand Spitz Fund for Planetarium Education. This year, one scholarship has been awarded so far, to Yang Yu To be eligible for a scholarship, the student should do fieldwork in a from China. A second scholarship was awarded in November. The IPS planetarium and write a thesis on a subject related to planetariums. Council has graciously decided to continue the awards and give two Two scholarships have been awarded annually, and reports from pre- more scholarships in 2007. Here follows Yu's account of his project. Exploring New Possibilities of New Generation Planetariums: Qualitative and Quantitative Study in Mediendom, Kiel, Germany by Yang Yu

Reason, Aim, and Process used in my research include questionnaires, Currently, both old and new planetariums interviews, and internal data analysis. are facing one common issue: how to deal Firstly, I scheduled my whole research with the fast pace of change in technology plan. From the beginning of May until mid- while satisfying their audiences and provid- July was data collecting time, when I ing education. On the one hand, refreshing arranged for questionnaires. The second half technologies seem to be emerging continu- of July was for key personnel interviews and ously; on the other hand, some new con- professional person interviews (director and cepts, such as “interdisciplinary combina- producer of Mediendom, and one university tion,” and “digital theater” are thought to be Art lecturer). potential future routes, but many of these Questionnaires were divided into three Master student Yang Yu outside the ideas are still only on paper or in the experi- groups according to different backgrounds building where science communica- mental phase for them. and motivations: a T-group (teaching staffs), tion is taught at Dalarna University. During my practice and fieldwork time at P-group (public show visitors), and C-group Photo by Lars Broman. Mediendom, I got the chance to witness, (local planetarium club members). Starting are interested in more and more topics, and experience, and comprehend some practical in mid-July, I focused on both internal data to fulfill them correspondingly, the scale of applications of new performance models analysis and collected data summation; actu- modalities, dimensions, and performance that combine avant-courier conceptions, up- ally, these two works supplemented each materials in an innovative planetarium like to-date and refreshing technologies, artistry, other very well. I completed my last stage of Mediendom should be flexible. and public educational in one. internship and research work in Mediendom Coexistence and Imbibitions: success of Meanwhile, I tried to identify the facility’s in mid-August. Mediendom: Live performances, such as success and insufficiencies or hidden trou- From my studies, some major issues have planetarium dancing with motion capture bles in order to supply more experiences for emerged, as has a trend in the development (React) technologies and starry sky live con- both new generation and upgrading plane- of new generation planetariums. I will con- cert in Wolfburg Planetarium, could be tariums. One important goal for me is to ana- tinue to analyze these results and finish my regarded as first-fruits of the “digital theatre” lyze collected data from my investigation thesis. concept. The planetarium utilizes numerous and to orient the development trend of techniques and media to express subjects, futures planetariums. Development trend and features and takes advantage of its immersive envi- In the internship period in Mediendom, I investigation: ronment. Meanwhile, it offered an got the opportunities to do both internal From Singleness to multiplicity: Quest- extremely data analysis work and planetarium develop- ionnaire research indicated that planetarium ment trend studies. Methods that have been audiences have broadening interests. They (Please see Student on page 56.) December 2006 Planetarian 38 December 2006 Planetarian 39 of the human race, first-hand and increasing- Jim Manning Forum ly in real time. No need for the vicarious Space Telescope Science Institute imaginings of what it would have been like 3700 San Martin Drive to look over Galileo’s shoulder or argue with Baltimore, Maryland USA 21218 Percival Lowell about his canals, or freeze our bums off on Mt. Wilson helping Edwin Hubble expose those critical plates that would reveal the spiral nebulae as separate If I had a time machine and could go back “island universes.” All we’ve had to do is pay in time whenever I choose, I’d certainly attention while the universe is revealed all zoom back to Ptolemy’s period and try to around us as never—never—before. convince him that the Sun is really at the Think about what we’ve experienced … centre of the universe, and not Earth. That watching dumfounded as ghostly humans would save us 16 centuries of Dark Ages try- bounced around on the Moon on that hot ing to fit a square geocentric peg into a July night in 1969 … or as Viking 1 revealed round heliocentric hole. Imagine where we its foot planted in the Martian soil, photo- would be in terms of scientific understand- graphic line by line…the first ever image ing of the inner workings of the universe if from the surface of Mars—that gray dawn in we had not stumbled on that block for so 1976 … or as Voyager 2 presented the unex- long! pected, mottled face of Neptune’s Triton in Pierre Chastenay the wee hours of a memorable night in 1989 Astronomer, Senior Producer, Astronomy Steve Tidey … or as Pathfinder improbably bounced to a Educator rocky Martian landscape in 1997, or as its Planetarium de Montreal 58 Prince Avenue, heftier sisters did so several years later to 1000 rue Saint-Jacques Southend, Essex, SS2 6NN new alien vistas, and that remarkable “hole- Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3C 1G7 in-one” crater landing that put Martian England bedrock literally within reach … or as NEAR [email protected] cozied up to asteroid Eros a few weeks after the true start of the new millennium … or Without question, I feel that the most fas- Oh, there you are. I wondered where my while the Huygens probe beamed back surre- cinating time period in astronomy is reader was… al snapshots from the sludgy surface of between 1670 and 1690. If my history This issue’s column is coming to you from Saturn’s Titan in the chilly winter of 2005 … research is correct, a number of events con- the Thanks For Helping Me Out Department or as Deep Impact whacked Comet Tempel 1 verged in this time period and it is only in of Forum Towers. Until a few days ago I had a good one just two summers ago. The list is retrospect that their importance is revealed. a very limited mailbag of responses to the nearly endless. As I often tell students or In 1679 Isaac Newton was lecturing about topic for discussion this time round. But you audiences or just general passers-by, we’re his optics experiments. His friend Edmund know what? I just thought to myself, “Hey, privileged to live at an amazing time—a time Halley recorded observations of a comet that the solar cycle is at the minimum, so this col- when we’re matched the umn is in parity with it!” But then I had a seeing, for the characteris- mini surge of contributions, so I thank first time in For me, this is an absolute no-brainer. tics of anoth- everybody below for taking the time to put all of history, The answer is “Now.” er seen 76 down their thoughts on this topic: what the years earlier solar system (and later). A As space educators we know a fair bit is really like. few years about the history of humanity’s steady Not to mention what (caution: obligatory later Newton penned Philosophiae Naturalis growth in knowledge about the heavens name-drop) the Hubble Space Telescope, its Principa Mathemateca expanding on over thousands of years. So if you could pick sister orbiting instruments, and ground- Kepler’s pioneering work in mathematics. In a historical period to watch various astro- based technology powered by clever scien- 1675 the Royal Greenwich Observatory was nomical discoveries being made, which one tist and engineering brains have done over founded, laying the groundwork for many would it be and why? the years to open up the wider universe— of today’s navigational standards. making black holes and other planetary sys- Meanwhile, the great Polish observer I emailed Jim Manning a time machine, tems real, discovering exoplanets hand-over- Johannes Hevelius was painstakingly illus- but he declined to use it. Here’s why. fist, nailing down the age of the universe, trating his measurements of the stars, creat- stumbling across mysteries like dark matter ing one of the world’s great artistic master- and dark energy, getting ever closer to pieces. Published in 1690 shortly after he glimpsing the earliest detectable stages of the died, the 56 engraved copper plates pre- For me, this is an absolute no-brainer. The universe. Not to mention revealing the sheer served a set of constellation drawings that answer is “Now.” Or, if we want to go histori- beauty and elegance of a universe finely make the skies appear to come alive with his cal, the last 50 years or so—the “Space Age.” tuned to the simple, powerful laws that gov- imaginative characters. In other words, what I and all those whose ern its behaviour. It truly boggles. I can imagine watching these great men as teeth are as long as mine have been living for First times only happen once. And we’ve they work, meticulously recording and eval- most of our lives. Because we have been been there more times than we can count. uating, driven by a passion for discovery and watching astronomical discoveries being Who could want for more? Just point me a yearning to understand the world around made at a pace unprecedented in the history toward tomorrow’s next jaw-dropping first … them.

40 Planetarian December 2006 Dan Neafus Priestly, Charles Messier, and many others. (by then, a well documented conclusion that Gates Planetarium Manager John Young came nearly 300 years too late for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science Audio Visual Producer “heretic” prophecies of Giordano Bruno). 2001 Colorado Boulevard Reuben H. Fleet Science Center The time that produced millions of tiny Denver, Colorado USA 80205 PO Box 33303 photographic plates containing the spectra San Diego, California USA 92163 of millions of stars, all compiled in cata- logues that we still use today. The stars beautifully classified in the Hertzsprung-Russell I am most interested by the earliest sky diagram, another monument of human watchers. Sky myths are common to all cul- Yes, thousands of years of accumulated intellect. tures so we know how important the sky knowledge. There were the early cosmolo- This was also the time of Hertz, who con- was to pre-historic people, but why was this? gies trying to explain the movements in the cluded by experiment that radio waves, heat, It was probably studied for practical purpos- sky. There were the turbulent times after the and light are the same kind of energy, a comes, religious purposes, and maybe just for dark clouds of the middle ages in Europe, bination of electricity and magnetism. The entertainment. which painfully marked the origin of mod- time of Maxwell, who postulated mathemat- It’s very tempting to portray these early ern science. Then, the discoveries from our ically the behaviour of such electromagnetic sky watchers as superstitious barbarians. technological epoch, with accurate and pow- energy. The time of the discovery of radioac- However I think this is very wrong. We only erful telescopes, instruments and computers, tivity... subatomic particles .... giant tele- need to look at the cultural sophistication of culminating, so far, with the Hubble Space scopes that penetrated the heavens as never some modern day “primitive” cultures to Telescope. I find the second half of the 19th before. The foundations of astrophysics, rela- know that this is a false view. Even myths century a golden era of scientific and intel- tivity and cosmology that eventually would such as the Sun being swallowed by a dragon lectual achievement, where different show our origin and place in the universe. during a solar eclipse are a first attempt at branches of natural philosophy converged Dr. Francisco Diego describing the universe in an analytical way. in an almost magical way, laying the founda- CosmicSky Productions I like to think of these people as the scien- tions of modern astrophysics and cosmolo- www.cosmicsky.co.uk tists, however unsci- entific their ideas may seem to us I am most interested by the earliest sky watchers. today. Sky myths are common to all cultures so we know The subject for discussion in Of course people how important the sky was to pre-historic people, but the next column will be: “looked up at the sky in ignorance,” but so why was this? It was probably studied for practical The release of new, tradition- do we! Even the purposes, religious purposes, and maybe just for al, slide-based planetarium astronomers among entertainment. shows is clearly on the decline, us do it, let alone the as is the production of slide pro- general public. I think jectors. Nobody expects (or this is an important wants) them both to wither and point to get across: we’ve learned so much gy. For the first time, it was possible to mea- die, of course, but to what extent should this about the universe and yet it is still a uni- sure the distances to stars. The philosopher trend be fought against? Is it simply part of verse full of mysteries, both at the frontiers concluded that they were so far away that the natural evolution of the profession? Can of knowledge and on a fundamental level. humanity would never know their nature. we expect to see a time, no matter how long Maybe these days we’ve got a better under- Yet, scientists found a path by following the it takes, when new slide and digital shows standing of how much we don’t know. As we colours in the rainbow. Dmitri Mendeleev can exist together in the profession in com- learn more and more about our place in the established a method to classify the chemi- fortable numbers? The numbers of domes cosmos, we shouldn’t forget who laid the cal elements and produced one of the main converting to digital world-wide will even- foundations . monuments of the human intellect, the peri- tually plateau out, of course, but how will John Morgan odic table. He anticipated empty spaces, the demand for slide-based shows have (former planetarian at Thinktank, reserved to chemical elements yet to be dis- coped with the transition by then? Birmingham, UK) covered. Instituto di Radioastronomia Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen filled I’ll be as happy as a kitten playing with a Bologna, Italy a lot of those spaces, after using small prisms ball of wool if you could send me your and telescopes in their laboratory to observe thoughts on this topic by the deadline of the spectra of burning salts. The same tech- January 9, 2007, written on the jersey worn nique applied to the stars and Sun gave the by Wayne Gretzky on the night in 1993 If I could pick one period in history to answer to the philosopher and went much when he scored his world record 1802nd watch, it would have to be the time when further. It was the time of Darwin and natu- point in the NHL, beating Gordie Howie’s the Royal Society was established, and Isaac ral selection as a way of explaining the legendary record. What’s that you say? You Newton was alive. I would like to observe observed fact of biological evolution. don’t have access to the jersey? Fine, just meetings of the Royal Society between 1660 Huggins and Miller put all this together in email me your piece. and 1750. There were so many discoveries of a seminal paper to the Royal Society, describ- all kinds. Members of the Royal Society ing the observed chemistry of the universe included Sir Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke, as the very same of our planet and of our Edmund Halley, Robert Boyle, Walter Pope, own bodies, predicting a multitude of worlds Edmond Halley, Samuel Pepys, Joseph similar to ours “amongst the hosts of stars”

December 2006 Planetarian 41 and StarLab working with Mobile News the Department of Education,” by Janice Harvey and Peter Michaud, Gemini Observatory, Hilo, Hawaii, USA “MEGASTAR, Which Revolutionized the View of Planetariums in Japan” by Yurina Otaki and Takayuki Ohira, Tokyo, Japan

About Mythology Papers of special interest to folks who want to know more about mythology: Takayuki Ohira shows off his latest creation, HOME- “Australian Aboriginal STAR, an optical planetarium for household use. Photo by Susan Button Skies,” by Paul Curnow, Adelaide Planetarium, Australia “Native Brazilian Skies” by Alexandre Cherman and Fernando Vieira, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil “Skylore From Planet Susan Reynolds Button Earth” by Dayle Brown, Pegasus Productions, Quarks to Clusters Mishawaka, Indiana USA, 8793 Horseshoe Lane who also presented the workshop “Storytelling Chittenango, New York Under the Stars.”

13037 USA Alexander Cherman Other Workshops (left) inspired us to (1) 315-687-5371 I presented two work- investigate native sto- shops: “Portable ries in our regions (1) 315-432-4523 (fax) before they all disap- Planetariums: Let’s Go pear; while Paul [email protected] Digital?” and “From Curnow (above) helped Southern Skies to Italy with us look at how a number of Aborig-inal STARLAB” along with Loris groups viewed the What an awesome experience it was to Ramponi, Osservatorio nightly waltz of stars spend some time “down under!” Highlights above. Photos by Susan Serafino Zani, Brescia, Italy Button included the unique southern skies, scenery, “The Inside of the Sphere: animals, food, hospitality, “footie” Teaching Earth Science in a (Australian football), and especially working Dome” and “The Interactive Portable Digital have returned to northern New South Wales and visiting with colleagues. We worked Theatre” by Patricia Reiff, Rice University, at Byron Bay, encouraged by what we learnt hard, laughed, and enjoyed learning from Houston, Texas USA; Carolyn Sumners, from our experiences. We have put together each other while our conference hosts coor- Houston Museum of Natural Science, USA; some words you may like to publish togeth- dinated and facilitated every event with and Kerry Handron, Carnegie Museum of er with some pictures. apparent ease. Thank you so much Tanya Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, “This year’s conference in Melbourne was Hill, Martin Bush, and all others on the Local USA. really an event that was not to be missed for Organizing Committee and Steering “The portable inflatable digital theatre: 3- us. We were excited about meeting so many Committee for providing such an amazing year progress report” by Carolyn Sumners planetarians and seeing all the latest technol- IPS Conference! Read the proceedings for a and Patricia Reiff ogy even though our little traveling STAR- wealth of information of interest to us all. “SkyTellers: the once and future space sci- LAB is from a different generation. The There are too many to list them all here, but ence educators,” by Lynn Moroney and Starry Night Planetarium visits schools in I have picked some specific papers and work- Becky Nelson, Lunar and Planetary Institute, the Byron Bay, about 150 km south of shops of interest to portable planetarium Houston, Texas, USA Brisbane, some of which have less than 60 directors. students and have the show in the local vil- News From New Friends lage hall. We call ourselves the “Cosmic Some Papers Here is some news from some new friends Couple” and provide entertainment, educa- “Gemini StarLabs” by Antonieta Garcia, and colleagues, Marie and Philip, from tion and inspiration in our shows, which Gemini South Observatory, Cerro Pachon Australia. include the southern starfield, the constella- (La Serena), Chile They wrote, “It was great to meet you and tions, and special presentations using a lap- “Gemini Observatory, Imiloa Planetarium, all the fellow planetarians in Melbourne. We top and video projector. We even have our

42 Planetarian December 2006 own space mascots, Kylie the Kangaroo Fourth European Meeting and Bruce the Koala, fully equipped with Marian Vidovenec and I are currently Australian flags, space suits, and survival making plans for the Fourth European kits. Bruce has his own constellation close Meeting of Portable Planetaria in Europe. to the south celestial pole! At this time we plan to organize this “We have an upbeat song about the meeting for early in September of 2007 in Sun, complete with words and images, Bratislava, Slovakia. There is a direct con- and presentations on the solar system, nection with the Vienna airport (60 km), aboriginal sky stories, aliens, and the and several European cities have a good Milky Way. Even kindies and senior direct flying connection with Bratislava´s physics students have their own show. airport. We also provide pre-show resources and Please email Marian (email: marianvi- lots of photos of the class groups. Some dovenec@orangemail) or me for com- children even get one of our special home ments, to express interest, and get on our made zodiac chocolates as prizes. mailing list. “Having two of us certainly provides a different dimension. We also provide Portable Planetarium Project schools with telescope viewing, night sky Ricardo Páez recently wrote to express tours and even rocket launching. The his frustration about selecting the appro- dark environment of the optical projector priate projector for a new project he is Marie Whealing and Philip Hood at IPS. coupled with the excitement of entering Photo provided by Philip Hood planning. In light of recent discussions the entrance tube into the bubble is about this and education/entertainment unique and cannot be matched by the issues, I find his approach interesting: newer domes and projectors, besides which public. She is trained in STARLAB setup, take “Dear Sirs members of the IPS Ad Hoc it is not really financially viable to upgrade. down and maintenance. She regularly trav- Committees, Portable Planetarium The FiberArc projector would definitely be els to all of the main islands of Hawaii to Committee: an improvement. We love the new technol- work with communities and public schools. “Sorry for interfere in your time, but I ogy but believe our friendly, interactive, and She currently offers six different programs in think that you are the best resources to con- fun approach to the shows more than com- STARLAB, all of which she had a role in sult my doubts. My name is Ricardo Salamé, pensates. developing. from Caracas, Venezuela, South America. “I was impressed by the new spherical mir- Carolyn says, “I am looking forward to (For more about Ricardo, check out ror projection (Mirrordome), even though bringing an exotic and diverse view of the http://www.hq.nasa.gov/ shows would eventually move away from skies to the students of Italy by sharing the office/pao/History/alsj/salame. just being about astronomy,” says Philip, culture of Hawaii and the Pacific.” html) I am writing to you because I am seek- who provides the technical support. From You can contact Carolyn to talk about her ing to open new enterprise on my country. I the conference we made lots of new con- experience and I am sure you will be want to buy a portable planetarium, and tacts, were amazed by the full dome shows inspired to apply for this exciting adventure start teaching astronomy in schools and uni- but still feel we have so much to offer with too! versities, also targeting the shopping malls our traveling STARLAB. The motivation is to Contact information for Carolyn Kaichi, and private sector events. enjoy what you do and see the excitement Planetarium Manager, Bishop Museum, 1525 “My approach to the business is simple: and enjoyment reflected in your audience.” Bernice St., Honolulu, HI 96817 USA; phone: teach astronomy to special interest groups, Contact information: Marie Whealing and (1) 808-847-8203; email: ckaichi@bishopmu- and give shows that are entertaining to the Philip Hood (Starry Night Planetarium, 6 seum.org general public (especially the children) with Aldinga Court, Ocean Shores, NSW 2483 See the Planetarians’ Calendar of Events a combination of good science. This worked Australia; email: www.starrynight.com.au; on page 64 for deadline for “A Week in Italy.” for me when I worked for the phone: +61 (2) 66802448 Humboldt Planetarium and in my local radio astronomy show. “A Week in Italy” I want that the people have fun, Winner but also learn something with- As I write this column, out letting them knowing that Carolyn Kaichi is making final they are learning astronomy. plans and will travel as this This formula helps me in the year’s American in Italy contest past to popularize the science.” winner to Brescia. She and Loris He expresses his frustration Ramponi will work together to about choosing a projector. “I am bring exciting STARLAB experi- feeling the same way, when I was ences to Italian students who doing the research in buying my are studying English. new Nikon of film, or to buy a Carolyn has been working new Nikon digital system.” with STARLAB for over five I am sure he would appreciate years at the Bishop Museum, some input from you about how Honolulu, Hawaii, USA and has you decided which system to worked with all age groups, Entertainment, education and inspiration in combination choose and if you are happy put happy faces on Marie and Ocean Shores School children. from pre-school to the general Photo courtesy Philip Hood with your decision. Please com-

December 2006 Planetarian 43 municate with him: Presentations for those with Limited Color the caffeine- and nervousness-related oscilla- Ricardo Salamé Páez (email: lm11orion Vision” (http://employees.oneonta.edu/ tions that some experience.” @cantv.net) pencehe/MMtutorial6.html) mentions lasers Contact Information: Ryan Wyatt, Science and color blindness only at the very end of Visualizer, Rose Center for Earth & Space, Planetarium Pet Peeves the page, it’s worth reading for other infor- American Museum of Natural History, 79th Ryan Wyatt recently shared a list of his mation, including things such as links to Street at Central Park West, New York, NY pet peeves and I was particularly delighted tables of safe web colors for color-deficient 10024 USA; homepage: http://research. to see his tips on using a pointer. I feel his viewers. amnh.org/users/wyatt/; email: ideas bear repeating. “Of course, this is only a serious concern [email protected]; phone: 1 (212) 313 7747 He wrote: for those of us newbies who tend to use Thank you for these reminders, Ryan! “Pointer Pointers—I’ve noticed a tendency those lightweight laser pointers (and particu- Another trick I learned is that of starting at on the part of many planetarium presenters larly for me, given my caffeine intake). the zenith to orient your audience, and then to get (as Jim Beaber wrote on DOME-L) There’s nothin’ like an old-fashioned, twen- slowly moving to the object you wish to “herky-jerky” with a pointer, especially a ty-pound ‘green arrow’ pointer to slow you highlight. There is another small detail to laser pointer. It flits around the dome too down! In fact, my earliest presentations keep in mind: “persistence of vision,” which quickly for the eye to follow, and because relied on the Spitz pointer at the Houston dictates selective and slow use of a pointer. domes tend to have a fair bit of real estate, Museum of Natural Science’s Burke-Baker The retina of the human eye seems to retain even a seasoned planetarian can have a hard Planetarium, and I do believe they benefited an image for a brief time. Viewers, especially time tracking a pointer’s position. I know I from the heft and (quite frankly) ticklishness young children, experience seeing a “trail” of do it, too: getting wrapped up in presenting, of the aged device. A nice slow fade-up fol- light behind your pointer sometimes for sev- one often forgets to consider all the needs of lowed by a gentle arc across the dome… It eral seconds. So if you have heard a young one’s audience. But planetarians should keep was impossible to move it too quickly, at audience gasp loudly at what does not seem pointer etiquette in mind when presenting. least not without hurting oneself, and who to be an appropriate moment…you may “Also, the color of many laser pointers can deny the inestimable pleasure of rotat- have made a laser show all over the dome causes problems for some color-blind people, ing the arrow to match its direction of that only they notice! which is another reason to take things slow- motion? If nothing else, it seems that a Signing Off ly. Although an article on “User-Friendly pointer with more heft could help dampen

44 Planetarian December 2006 December 2006 Planetarian 45 rized by subject, and then answered by If you make presentations to children, this Reviews experts in related fields? Well, look no fur- book is a valuable reference; it not only pro- ther. vides answers to intriguing questions, but Kids to Space: A Space Traveler’s Guide is a also offers an insight into what kids wonder wonderful resource for anyone who edu- about and how they think. cates the public (especially children) about Accompanying the book is a CD filled the future of manned space flight and the with over 1,000 drawings and illustrations beauty of our Universe. The concept for this submitted by children and put together in project originated in January 2003, when Dr. PowerPoint format. The amazing artwork Buzz Aldrin, who wrote the book’s forward, assembled here offers a kids’-eye view of approached the author with the idea of what it would be like to live and travel in establishing an educational outreach for space. This added feature is a perfect visual to children focused on the space effort. The run in a freestanding kiosk or display that outreach became Global Space Travelers, will draw the attention of your visitors. and this book is one of its first steps toward It’s an old saying, yet undeniable: children involving children in the exploration of are our future. In the book’s prologue, Sir space. Arthur C. Clark writes, “It’s hard for me to The questions that form the basis for this realize that nobody under the age of 30 alive book were submitted by students ages 3 to 18 today was even born when Neil Armstrong from across the United States and Canada. took that ‘one small step’ onto to the moon They are arranged into 94 chapters that and changed history forever.” This book cover everything from bathing and going to aims to bridge the gap between us and our the bathroom in space to rocket technology, future by fueling the imagination and won- alien life, and black holes. One of the book’s der of a new generation about the beauty April S. Whitt subtle beauties is that complex ideas and and wonder of space exploration. It could Fernbank Science Center theories are explained in basic terms. not have come at a better time. Even though the answers come from 156 Heaton Park Drive NE astrophysicists, engineers, astronauts, and Rocket Science in the Second Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA other renowned experts, they are written in Millennium a manner that, well, even I can understand. Alfred J. Zaehringer with Steve Whitfield, [email protected] And the answers do make for enjoyable read- 2004, ISBN1-894959-09-4, US $20.95 ing. Not only do you get such basic informa- A mix of history and the future for this tion as 93 million miles being the distance to issue, dear readers. A generous publisher Reviewed by Bruce L. Dietrich, Wyomissing, the Sun, but you also get from Derek shares volumes about training astronauts, Pennsylvania, USA Webber, Washington DC director of the price of rocket science, and what the Spaceport Associates, that the Sun “is so far next generation of space travelers wonders In Rocket Science in the Second that even light takes eight minutes to cover about. Millennium, Alfred J. Zaehringer reveals that the distance. In fact, when we see the Sun, we Thanks to our reviewers: Bruce Dietrich, he coined the term “rocket science” in 1947. are seeing it eight minutes ago. Imagine! It David Ritchey, and Steve Tidey. At that time he used the phrase to encom- may not be there now.” In answering how Become one of those famous few! If you’d pass all of the branches of modern science, we go to the bathroom in space, former like a free book to review, contact me at the astronaut William Pogue actually explains email address above. Excellent reviewers are the differences between going “number one” always welcome. and “number two.” All four of this edition’s books are from Many space science books have a tenden- Apogee Books, C.G. Publishing, 1440 cy to become quite technical and can be Grahams Lane Unit #2, Burlington, Ontario, understood and enjoyed only by a rather L7S 1W3 Canada. narrow audience. Even the “armchair astronomer” can find it difficult to fully Kids to Space: A Space Traveler’s Guide If you make presentations to chil- Lonnie Jones Schorer and America’s School dren, this book is a valuable refer- Children, 2006, ISBN 1-894959-42-6, US ence; it not only provides answers $29.95, CND $33.95, UK £19.95 to intriguing questions, but also Reviewed by David Ritchey, James S. offers an insight into what kids McDonnell Planetarium, Saint Louis Science wonder about and how they think. Center, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

Wouldn’t it be great to know every con- comprehend much of what is written about ceivable question a child might have regard- our universe. It is quite refreshing to see a ing astronomy and space travel? Wouldn’t it comprehensive effort aimed at such a large be even better if all of those questions were audience, for this book appeals not only to compiled into an easy-to-read book, catego- kids, but also to the adults who teach them.

46 Planetarian December 2006 technology, and engineering devoted to had better be ready to pay, and pay, and wise unsung work that happened in the rocketry and space flight. Today, what has pay!” background, away from the world’s cameras, sometimes become a rude metaphor He observes that because rockets propel which was collectively essential to getting includes any complex and intellectually only small payloads and truly economical the Mercury and Gemini astronauts into demanding activity, and by extension, its reusable launch systems don’t yet exist, a orbit and the Apollo astronauts to the Moon. practitioners must be highly intelligent. strategy based on long-term affordability Earthbound Astronauts (1971, by Bernie Lay) Now Zaehringer has written a brief history must be developed. Several proposals for is one of the finest examples of that type of of rocketry and space sci- book. ence for the layman. But, unfortunately, in this During his World War II Rocket Science begins with a 32-page history of instance I was disappointed US Army Service, rocketry, from eleventh century Chinese fireworks to find that there was very little that was new to me in Zaehringer became through the German A-series of military weapons intrigued with the very these pages. The writing is weapons of which he was (A4-V2) and the Cold War Space Race. Easy lessons perfectly good (if a little dry the target. Ultimately, in Newton, basic physics, and thermochemistry and too textbook-like for a after a stint at the dominate the second chapter prior to his piece d’ wide audience), but the University of Michigan, he material covered is largely followed his interest in resistance, “Rocket Science Economics.” well known to people in our rocketry with sufficient profession who have seen avidity to become chief and read Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff, read some of the other similar test engineer for the best-known American future space transportation using a limited books, or seen films over the years that show rocket manufacturer, the Thiokol number of future technologies are outlined. Corporation. This promising book remains so. Side by detail of the stringent training the astronauts Rocket Science begins with a 32-page his- side with truncated and trivialized political had to endure. Co-author Dr. Chambers was tory of rocketry, from eleventh century history there are many fine historic pho- a key player and innovator in the design of Chinese fireworks through the German A- tographs, charts, and drawings; however, the astronauts’ training regime at the series of military weapons (A4-V2) and the these often don’t seem to line up with the Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory in Cold War Space Race. Easy lessons in text. A strictly edited second edition would Warminster, Pennsylvania. Newton, basic physics, and thermochem- be well worth the effort. But the book does contain some interest- istry dominate the second chapter prior to ing bits of information here and there, and I his piece d’ resistance, “Rocket Science Getting Off the Planet: feel sure that you will probably not have Economics.” seen before many of the dozens of interest- Training Astronauts ing pictures that accompany the text. The In an attempt to disabuse readers of any Mary Jane Chambers and Dr. Randall M. best one is the lower picture on the book’s political or historic naiveté, he undertakes a Chambers, 2006, ISBN 1-894959-20-5, US cover, which shows an astronaut strung up simple economic analysis, concluding that $18.95, CDN $23.95, UK £ 12.95 the only payoffs from space are “informa- at a 90-degree angle to practice walking in tion, communication, weather, and Earth Reviewed by Steve Tidey, 58 Prince Avenue, simulated 1/6th lunar gravity. surveillance,” Zaehringer says. “Everything Southend, Essex, England Amongst some of the peculiarities you’ll else just costs. To play the space game, you learn here are: had better pay the piper. Space is no place I usually love books such as this, which • before monkeys were chosen to precede for the poor; if you want to go there, you give the reader an insight into all the other- Alan Shepherd into space, flight surgeons

December 2006 Planetarian 47 seriously considered sending up pigs and read similar books, I can recommend it as a NASA, which tries to be can-do but seems bears (huh!); good buy, with its insights into the amazing hidebound by so many things in the mod- • a senior Air Force officer suggested train- things that early astronauts had to do to ern world that didn’t exist back then. So it ing monkeys to fly combat planes (the same ensure they were fit to travel beyond the was useful to read here a quote from Wally full size ones human pilots fly!) in prepara- atmosphere into what, at the time, was a Schirra in which he says, “I don’t know if tion for going into space (he was quickly completely unknown environment. NASA could handle a von Braun today. They retired early, surprise, surprise); are so bureaucratic. In my day we had an • to keep the weight of the spacecraft The Real Space Cowboys inspired can-do agency. We had a president who was committed. We had Jim Webb who down, an ill-fated proposal was made early Ed Buckbee and Wally Schirra, 2005, ISBN 1- could sweet talk the Hill and the White in the Mercury program’s development to 894959-21-3, US $29.95, CND $36.95, UK £17.95 incorporate edible clothes and equipment House, and we had von Braun to sell the program.” (hey, my nose isn’t growing longer, so all this Reviewed by Steve Tidey, 58 Prince Avenue, The slogan around the NASA offices in stuff must be true); Southend, Essex, England • and, at least in the early days of the those days was “Late to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise!” And, boy, did Mercury program, visiting reporters had no Many of us have read books about the they ever. The book’s text is quite inspiring, idea what to ask the scientists because they Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs writ- and one gets a real sense of remarkable peo- knew hardly anything about the subject of ten by either the astronauts or by some ple exploring a new scientific and technical going into space, and the scientists had no other insider, but this book has a unique frontier with great enthusiasm, feeling their idea what to say to the reporters as they angle: one of its co-authors, Ed Buckbee, way almost in the dark much of the time. became NASA’s They were all the right people in the right A fair amount of the book is given over to dis- public affairs offi- place at the right time. cussions of the human centrifuge that was cer at the Marshall Spaceflight Center Some of the astronauts’ hang-ups are famously used by the early astronauts. Dr. soon after develop- explored, one being their extreme irritation Chambers headed up the team of scientists ment of the with being compared with the monkeys and engineers who designed and built it, so Mercury program that preceded them into orbit. Shepard is began. He stayed quoted saying, “I get a little tired of checking he felt it incumbent upon himself to test the with NASA every simulator and capsule seat for primate equipment on himself . . . through to the late poop before I climb in.” Er, yes, quite… 1990s, by which The Mercury astronauts often relieved the weren’t sure what the reporters knew and time he had become the prime mover tension of training by playing a “gotcha” on didn’t know, so the early news conferences behind the development of Space Camp at each other. This normally involved practical were brief, awkward, damp squibs, to say the the Kennedy Space Center. I found it inter- jokes that embarrassed a colleague in public. least. esting to read the PR department’s view of Many of these are spread throughout the A fair amount of the book is given over to many of the well known events that book, and one gets a clear sense that the discussions of the human centrifuge that occurred during NASA’s glory days of the camaraderie that this helped build between was famously used by the early astronauts. 1960s. the original seven astronauts welded them Dr. Chambers headed up the team of scien- On this point we’re treated to some amus- together into lifelong buddies. And there are tists and engineers who designed and built it, ing anecdotes, such as finding out that many quotes, some from as recently as 2004, so he felt it incumbent upon himself to test whenever the for- the equipment on himself a great many eign press visited times before subjecting the astronauts to the the Marshall or So this is a fine book. There are lots of little high G forces. He wanted to know from first- Kennedy centers, insights I’d not come across in other publica- hand experience what they were going to they all assumed tions, and the many astronaut interviews bring experience, so he could gauge the equip- Werner von Braun was head of NASA, ment’s usefulness. It was therefore interest- to life areas of the text which would otherwise as he was getting ing to read his exploits as he and his col- have been rather ho-hum without the addition all the glory in the leagues took dozens of rides on the cen- media! This irritat- of knowing what the guys in the capsules trifuge over nine months, to test how many ed his bosses, and thought . . . Gs the human body can take and what the eventually they best angle to sit at was. Upside down, right stopped inviting angles to the main physical forces, etc. This von Braun to take part in press conferences. which show that that closeness is still as was one of the few places where the book And there was a constant battle between the strong as ever. really came alive for me. press office and the Mercury astronauts to Buckbee’s association with Space Camp So, in conclusion, I would say that if make one of their fold available for press takes over in the latter chapters, as he you’re a space educator with the average interviews and pictures almost every day. A describes how it grew from an idea suggested amount of knowledge about astronauts and compromise was reached in which Al by von Braun in the early 1970s. Buckbee cer- their training that we in the profession tend Shepard would nominate one astronaut to tainly has a fair-sized ego, as he features in to pick up automatically over the years, you be made available (or “sacrificed,” as he put probably half of the many interesting pic- will probably gain by simply flicking it) for a short time just once a week to satisfy tures that accompany the text (or, more like- through the book in a shop, appreciating the the press. ly, they’re from his own collection). It’s clear pictures and learning a few interesting facts I always find it useful to contrast the can- that he admired Al Shepard perhaps the here and there in the text. But if you’re Joe do ethos of NASA in the 1960s (which comes Public who has never seen astronaut films or across in this type of book) with the current (Please see Reviews on page 56)

48 Planetarian December 2006

source of “instrumentalities and tools” used General Counsel in the creation of copyrightable work, where the work took place (employer’s workplace ture or other audiovisual work, as a or the alleged employee’s own place of busi- translation, as a supplementary work, as ness), the nature of payment (regular salary a compilation, as an instructional text, payments versus payment on a per-project as a test, as answer material for a test, or basis), the ability of the alleged employee to as an atlas, if the parties expressly agree hire assistants and other staff, and the tax sta- in a written instrument signed by them tus of the alleged employee. that the work shall be considered a Even after establishing an employer- work made for hire. employee relationship, copyright only vests in the employer if the work undertaken by Section 201 of the Copyright Act, the sec- the employee falls within the scope of the tion that deals with copyright ownership, employment relationship. This analysis is reads: somewhat more straightforward, but still Works made for hire. In the case of a work raises issues. Generally, something falls with- made for hire, the employer or other per- in the scope of the employment relationship son for whom the work was prepared is if it is of the nature and type of work general- considered the author for purposes of ly performed by the employee. Although the [copyright law], and, unless the parties have expressly agreed otherwise in a writ- Even after establishing an employer- ten instrument signed by employee relationship, copyright only Christopher S. Reed them, owns all of the rights vests in the employer if the work comprised in the copyright. CSR Media, LLC undertaken by the employee falls within 12106 West 75th Lane A plain-English reading of the scope of the employment relation- these two sections together ship. Arvada, Colorado suggests that copyright in 80005-5306 USA works prepared by an employ- 1-720-236-3006 phone ee, for an employer, within the scope of the court will look to employers’ job descrip- employment relationship, vests in the tions when determining whether certain 1-760-466-6440 employer. Though it seems relatively work falls within the scope of employment, [email protected] straightforward, these two sections have they are not, by themselves, determinative. given rise to a substantial amount of litiga- The issue comes up with some frequency in the education community, when teachers Readers of my previous columns and arti- tion, arguing over what constitutes an prepare instructional materials in which the cles will recall a concept in copyright law employment relationship, what constitutes school or school system later attempts to called “work made for hire,” which essential- activity within the scope of employment, claim ownership. The prevailing view in ly alters the general rule that the creator of a and a host of other issues. such a situation is unless the employer copyrightable work is automatically the copyright owner. Because planetarium Works Prepared in an specifically requested the creation of such shows are often assembled with pieces from Employment Relationship materials and provides unique resources to many different creators, sorting out who The first question frequently raised by the the employee to create such materials, the owns what rights can become complicated, work made for hire (WMFH) doctrine is what work was not prepared within the scope of depending on the relationship of the parties constitutes an employment relationship. In employment and copyright will be held by engaged in the creation. This quarter’s col- 1989 the Supreme Court had the opportuni- the employee. umn brings a look at some of the dynamics ty to set forth specific guidelines for deter- Applying these two concepts simultane- of a “work made for hire” relationship. mining when an employer-employee rela- ously, it is clear that copyright in works pre- tionship exists, as opposed to an indepen- pared by an employee within the scope of an “Work Made for Hire” Defined dent contractor relationship, in Community employment relationship with an employer The concept of a “work made for hire” for Creative Nonviolence v. Reid, 490 U.S. is held by the employer, absent an agree- comes directly from the Copyright Act itself, 730 (1989). Rather than develop new rules for ment to the contrary. The corollary, then, is where the relevant portion of the definitions the copyright context, the Court opted to that works prepared by an independent con- section, 17 U.S.C. § 101, reads: simply apply generally applicable factors tractor, even at the specific direction of the A “work made for hire” is: used across various fields of law. person or entity commissioning the work, is a work prepared by an employee within In determining whether a party is an held by the independent contractor, unless the scope of his or her employment; or employee or independent contractor, courts other arrangements are made. a work specially ordered or commis- consider the degree of control that the sioned for use as a contribution to a col- employer had over the alleged employee, the Works Prepared Outside of an lective work, as a part of a motion pic- degree of skill involved in the work, the Employment Relationship As established above, works prepared out- General Counsel is intended to serve as a source of general information on legal issues side of an employment relationship are of interest to the planetarium community. Planetarians seeking information on how owned by the creator. This even includes the principles discussed in a General Counsel column apply to their own circumstances should seek the advice of their own attorneys. cases when a work is specially commissioned

50 Planetarian December 2006 by someone; unless a specific arrangement is a result of the creation of a work of author- erwise. Although this fact is unlikely to hin- reached regarding the underlying copyright, ship. der your own use of the work under your such rights are owned by the creator, regard- Strong, well written agreements will own dome, it may raise significant barriers less of who paid for the work or the circum- include language to cover both potential should you desire to repurpose the produc- stances giving rise to the creation of the cases, including both a statement that if the tion or distribute it to other facilities. work. work qualifies as a WMFH, it is to be treated To combat this potential problem, care In developing the Copyright Act, though, as such, with copyright vesting in the com- should be taken to include the appropriate Congress recognized that there are some language in agreements instances where third-party, non-employee Perhaps the most clear-cut example is an with third party service contributions to copyrightable works are so individual hired by a planetarium to work as providers. The average frequent, that it was advisable to allow par- planetarium show ties to easily transfer ownership of the copy- a program producer. would likely be consid- right from the creator to the commissioning ered a “motion picture party. missioning party, and a statement that if the or other audiovisual work,” thereby qualify- To qualify for WMFH treatment, absent work does not qualify for WMFH treatment, ing the work to be done by the contractor to an employment relationship, a work must that the creator transfers and assigns all of its be treated a WMFH if the parties opt to do so. fall into one of the nine categories set forth right, title, and interest in the work to the Although circumstances vary widely and in the statute: a work specially ordered or commissioning party. the precise language should be drafted by an commissioned for use as a contribution to a attorney after reviewing your specific situa- collective work, as a part of a motion picture The Practical Impact tion, a typical contract for creative services or other audiovisual work, as a translation, as With the legal framework firmly in place, should include a description of the project a supplementary work, as a compilation, as we can consider some situations that appear and recite the fact that the results will be an instructional text, as a test, as answer in a planetarium context on a nearly daily included in a planetarium show which con- material for a test, or as an atlas. basis. stitutes an “audiovisual work” under § 101 of Once it is established that the work quali- Perhaps the most clear-cut example is an the Copyright Act. The agreement should fies for WMFH treatment, the parties must individual hired by a planetarium to work as further provide that the parties agree the agree that the work will be treated as a a program producer. The copyright to any work will be treated as a WMFH and that WMFH and that the copyright will vest in planetarium shows, programming elements, copyright will vest in the planetarium. As a the commissioning party. The courts dis- or related material would be held by the backup, a short form assignment is also agree as to the timing of this writing, specifi- planetarium and not the employee. advisable in case it is later held that the work cally whether it must be signed before the However, if the employee were to write a did not qualify for WMFH treatment. work is created, but sound legal practice is to manual on planetari- include the WMFH provision in the same um show design, or written document that provides for the perhaps contribute to working relationship between the parties a professional publica- and have it signed before any work begins. tion such as the Planetarian or a “Forcing” A Work Made for Hire regional planetarium It is extremely common for contracts society newsletter, relating to the creation of copyrightable such work would like- work to include a clause that essentially says ly fall outside the everything created under the contract will scope of employment, be considered a work made for hire and and the employee copyright will vest in the commissioning would own the copy- party. Unless the work is one of the nine cat- rights. egories set forth in 17 U.S.C. § 101, however, Where the WMFH this language will be ineffective. doctrine becomes Put differently, unless the work was pre- more involved is pared within the scope of an employer- when a planetarium employee relationship, or the work at issue makes use of third par- falls into one of the nine categories in 17 ties to prepare ele- U.S.C. § 101 and the parties agreed to consider ments that get folded it a work made for hire at the time the con- into a unified produc- tract was entered into, then the work cannot tion. A typical plane- possibly be a work made for hire, even if the tarium production parties say so in the contract. might include contri- So how can one acquire rights in a work butions from outside prepared by a third party if it does not quali- artists, composers, fy for WMFH treatment? The answer is scriptwriters, and what lawyers often call a “short form assign- other creative profes- ment,” which essentially amounts to a state- sionals, all of whom ment that the creator grants to the commis- retain the rights in sioning party all of its rights, titles, and inter- their creations unless ests in the intellectual property that arises as the contracts say oth-

December 2006 Planetarian 51 Defining Pluto President’s Message Since the most recent issue of the Planetarian was printed, one of the most and charted the eastern Australian coast, controversial decisions in astronomy has Cook was making good use of the “lunar dis- been made—the IAU decision on the defini- tance” method of calculating time, and it tion of a planet in our solar system which, as was only on subsequent voyages that he had we all know, excludes Pluto from the “planet a chronometer. Cook’s voyages, and those of club.” Dome-L has seen a great deal of discus- several others, are an important part of sion about this and it’s interesting to see all Australian history, and the navigation meth- of the points of view. One problem is that ods of so many explorers were associated the planet definition applies only to our with the problem of finding longitude. Solar System. I felt that it could have been Naturally, I spoke extensively of the impor- widened, and have much more to say about tance of astronomy in solving the problem. this in an article appearing on page 34 in this I am mentioning this because as I was edition of the Planetarian. I feel that, for sev- making the two-hour journey home, I was eral reasons, the matter is far from over. No reflecting on all of the things we do as plane- doubt there will be further debates, especial- tarians, as I had done after participating in ly before and during the next General the Pluto occultation observation that I Assembly of the IAU, which takes place in mentioned in the previous issue. At IPS con- Brazil in 2009. ferences, especially, I often find myself dis- Speaking of the IAU, the public perception cussing this important and very rewarding of the 2006 General Assembly in Prague aspect of our work. So many of us do much seems to be that it was all about Pluto. This more than the activities that we perform in was, of course, far from the truth. There were our domes and in our associated astronomy two weeks of papers and activities covering Martin George, Curator and space exhibits; there are many outreach the entire spectrum of astronomical topics. Launceston Planetarium activities which we are called upon to do. In During the Assembly, I presented the 2006 some cases we become involved with the Grote Reber medal for lifetime innovative Queen Victoria Museum media, appearing on radio and television contributions to radio astronomy to Mrs. Wellington Street programmes. We also present talks and lec- Crys Mills, who was accepting the medal on tures to groups, both in lec- Launceston, Tasmania ture rooms associated with Australia our planetariums and at more +61 (3) 63233777 remote locations. +61 (3) 63233776 fax It’s All Part of Being a [email protected] Planetarian And, of course, many of us take telescopes out into the Firstly, congratulations to Sharon Shanks field to entertain groups of for a wonderful edition of the Planetarian in people with a wide variety of September and for her continued wonderful interests who simply want the work in producing this issue. Just after excitement of looking Sharon had reached the final stage of pro- through a telescope at the duction of the September issue, I met with night sky. her in Ohio to discuss the journal and I look One of my favourite activi- forward to Sharon being editor for many, ties of this type is to take a many issues! telescope to Camp Quality, Once again, do remember that this is your which is a weekend, or some- journal, and Sharon welcomes contributions times week-long, camp for Children at Camp Quality in Tasmania enjoying their views through a telescope, guided by Launceston from members around the world. children with cancer. It’s a Planetarium volunteer Peter Daalder looking on very rewarding experience to (behind the woman in blue). Photo by Martin George Navigating the Continent see the children’s eyes light up Recently, I presented a talk to a group of when they see us arriving, and very interested people in Hobart, Tasmania. to witness their excitement when they first behalf of her husband, Bernard Mills, who As part of a special week called Map Week, I see craters on the Moon or the rings of established the famous Mills Cross radio tele- had been invited to speak about the longi- Saturn. Peter Daalder, a valued planetarium scope west of Sydney. tude problem and its relevance to Australia. volunteer here in Launceston, accompanies Significantly, I met with quite a few peo- In the late eighteenth century, the first me on these trips, which see us heading to a ple there who were very interested in the maps were being drawn of the east coast of location a long way from the city lights to a planetarium field, and at a meeting of IAU the Australian continent, and its most place where the Milky Way decorates the Commission 46—Astronomy Education and famous explorer in those early days was sky so beautifully. Development—I agreed to work towards Captain James Cook. On the voyage during To me, it’s all part of being a planetarian. closer ties between the IAU and the IPS. which he observed the 1769 transit of Venus On to a topic that has everyone talking. Outgoing Commission 46 Chair Jay

52 Planetarian December 2006 Full Dome Video Committee DefiningAmerican Astronomical Pluto Society’s IYA com- President’s MessageSince the IPS conference in Melbourne, I mittee,Since to the appoint most an recent IPS representative issue of the on have had several discussions with Ryan Planetarianthis committee.was I amprinted, delighted one toof announcethe most Wyattand charted about the theeastern Full Australian Dome Videocoast, controversialthat Jon Elvert, decisions past president in astronomy and chair has of Committee,Cook was making in light good of the use fact of the that “lunar Ed Lantz dis- beenthe IPS made—the Outreach IAU Committee, decision on has the accepted defini- steppedtance” method down as of chair calculating of that time, committee and it tionthis role.of a planet in our solar system which, as severalwas only months on subsequent ago. As a voyagesresult of that this heI have had we all know, excludes Pluto from the “planet appointeda chronometer. Ryan Cook’s as chair voyages, and look and forward those toof club.”Universe Dome-L in hasthe seen Classroom a great deal of discus- seeingseveral how others, the IPS are deals an importantwith the issues part sur- of sionIn aboutOctober, this theand IPS it’s wasinteresting approached to see byall roundingAustralian fulldome history, and video the and navigation how our meth- plan- ofAnna the Hurstpoints of of the view. Astronomical One problem Society is that of etariumods of so domes many are explorers increasingly were beingassociated used the Pacificplanet indefinition relation appliesto their onlypublication to our forwith that the purpose. problem of finding longitude. Solarthe “Universe System. I infelt the that Classroom.” it could have You been will Naturally,We planetarians I spoke extensively have discussed of the this impor- issue widened,remember and that have in the much past more we have to say included about fortance so of long; astronomy as those in solvingwho know the problem. me well thishard in copies an article of this appearing excellent on publicationpage 34 in this in wouldI am realise, mentioning I am very this keen because to ensure as I thatwas editionthe mailouts of the Planetarian of the Planetarian.. I feel that, for I wassev- planetariumsmaking the two-hour retain their journey astronomy home, Icon- was eraldelighted reasons, to thelearn matter that theis far publication from over. hasNo Martin George presenting the 2006 tent.reflecting In light on allof ofthis, the especially, things we the do asviews plane- of doubtbeen reinstated there will and be furtheris currently debates, available especial- on Grote Reber Medal to Crys Mills, wife Ryantarians, and as theI had rest done of the after committee participating will bein lythe before internet and at www.astrosociety.org/uitc.during the next General of Bernard Mills. Photo by Dr. Ken Issue number 69 contains a wealth of infor- Kellerman verythe Pluto important occultation and I look observation forward to seeingthat I Assembly of the IAU, which takes place in thementioned results inof the the previous continued issue. work At IPS of con- the Brazilmation in about2009. Mercury, with special refer- Committee.ferences, especially, I often find myself dis- enceSpeaking to the of November the IAU, the transit public of perception Mercury Pasachoff was particularly keen to see this cussingYou willthis importantrecall that and in very my rewardingprevious of(which the 2006will, of General course, Assemblyhave occurred in Prague before cooperation develop and as part of the President’saspect of our Message work. SoI mentioned many of us a newdo much idea seemsyou read to thisbe that edition it was of theall aboutPlanetarian Pluto.). This Commission I intend to see that this impor- thatmore was than introduced the activities at the that IPS we conference perform in was,At of the course, time far of from writing the truth.this President’sThere were tant relationship is maintained, working Melbourne.our domes and Planetarians in our associated around astronomythe world twoMessage, weeks the of aim papers of the and ASP activities is not necessarily covering closely, of course, with IPS Outreach Chair Martin George, Curator whoand space are not exhibits; IPS members there are could many become outreach IPS theto produce entire spectrum hard copies of astronomical in the future, topics. but to Jon Elvert. involve the IPS. In early October I called Launceston Planetarium Associates,activities which receiving we are IPS called News uponelectronically. to do. In During the Assembly, I presented the 2006 Bysome the cases time weyou become receive involvedthis edition with of the GroteAnna andReber had medal a very for pleasant lifetime conversation innovative Prague:Queen City Victoria of History Museum Planetarianmedia, appearing, we hope on to radio have and this television system in contributionswith her about to radio the “Universeastronomy toin Mrs.the PragueWellington was a wonderful Street place for the IAU place,programmes. and I lookWe also forward present to talks seeing and how lec- CrysClassroom,” Mills, who which was included accepting a thediscussion medal onof General Assembly. It was held in the Prague manytures topeople groups, join bothus in thisin lec- way. the possibility of contributions by the IPS. ConventionLaunceston, Centre, only Tasmania two or three metro ture rooms associated with We also intend to have a link to that publi- stops from the Australiacentre of the old town. There Internationalour planetariums Yearand at ofmore Astronomy cation from our website. is plenty to see that is of interest to remoteI am surelocations. that you are all aware that 2009 By the time you read this, I will have seen astronomers+61 in (3)Prague, 63233777 including, especially, will be the International Year of Astronomy. many of you at the Great Lakes Planetarian the astronomical+61 (3) 63233776 clock that is justfax off one ItIt’s was All declared Part ofas suchBeing by athe International Association conference in Merrillville, corner of the town square. In addition, there Astronomical Union at its 2003 General Indiana, USA. I’m sure that I shall have plen- [email protected] Planetarian is the Klementium, which includes a tower AssemblyAnd, of course,in Sydney, many Australia. of us The year ty to say about this event in the March issue, that was used for astronomical observations. 2009take telescopes was chosen out because into the it is the 400th when I write as past president. In addition, I StrollingFirstly, through congratulations the streets to not Sharon far from Shanks the anniversaryfield to entertain of Galileo’s groups first of astronomical shall also have been to the Brazilian Charlesfor a wonderful Bridge, editionone passes of the Kepler’s Planetarian apart-in usepeople of the with telescope. a wide varietyThe IPS ofwas approached ment.September The list and goes for on!her continued wonderful recentlyinterests whoby Dr. simply Timothy want Slater, the chair of the work in producing this issue. Just after excitement of looking Sharon had reached the final stage of pro- through a telescope at the duction of the September issue, I met with night sky. her in Ohio to discuss the journal and I look One of my favourite activi- forward to Sharon being editor for many, ties of this type is to take a many issues! telescope to Camp Quality, Once again, do remember that this is your which is a weekend, or some- journal, and Sharon welcomes contributions times week-long, camp for Children at Camp Quality in Tasmania enjoying their views through a telescope, guided by Launceston from members around the world. children with cancer. It’s a Planetarium volunteer Peter Daalder looking on very rewarding experience to (behind the woman in blue). Photo by Martin George Navigating the Continent see the children’s eyes light up Recently, I presented a talk to a group of when they see us arriving, and very interested people in Hobart, Tasmania. to witness their excitement when they first behalf of her husband, Bernard Mills, who As part of a special week called Map Week, I see craters on the Moon or the rings of established the famous Mills Cross radio tele- had been invited to speak about the longi- Saturn. Peter Daalder, a valued planetarium scope west of Sydney. tude problem and its relevance to Australia. volunteer here in Launceston, accompanies Significantly, I met with quite a few peo- In the late eighteenth century, the first me on these trips, which see us heading to a ple there who were very interested in the maps were being drawn of the east coast of location a long way from the city lights to a planetarium field, and at a meeting of IAU the Australian continent, and its most place where the Milky Way decorates the Commission 46—Astronomy Education and famous explorer in those early days was sky so beautifully. Development—I agreed to work towards Captain James Cook. On the voyage during To me, it’s all part of being a planetarian. closer ties between the IAU and the IPS. which he observed the 1769 transit of Venus On to a topic that has everyone talking. Outgoing Commission 46 Chair Jay

December 2006 Planetarian 53

sion. There is a juried reward for the best Digital Frontiers planetarium script, but there is not an IPS award for excellence in things like theater tal wares in recent years. Clearly the full- design or technological innovation. dome medium was born within the plane- Showcasing and supporting successful inno- tarium community and has largely been vators recognizes those who are truly bene- nurtured by innovative planetarians who fiting the profession, and raises the bar for are eager to enter the digital age. others. At the same time, “next big thing” demon- 3) Timing. The equipment that planetari- strations have dominated dome time at most ans have traditionally used to work their planetarium conferences, leaving some tradi- magic—star projectors, slide projectors, spe- tional planetarians feeling left out. The “my cial effects, and audio systems—has not been starball is bigger than your starball” divide subject to fundamental changes in decades. seems to have shifted in the minds of some The substantive market changes wrought by into one of digital haves and have-nots. Of digital projection have primarily occurred in course, those of us who have lived in both the past four or five years with the refine- worlds know how powerful a simulated ment of real-time digital planetarium capa- night sky can be as a storytelling device—a bilities that reproduce (and sometimes sur- power that digital systems have yet to fully pass) traditional star projector motions. In tap with their limited contrast and resolu- this time period, IPS has had three confer- tion. Digital producers and storytellers have ences. Fulldomer’s have commented that much to learn from traditional planetarium this is too infrequent, considering the pace Ed Lantz arts. that these technologies are developing. They Visual Bandwidth, Inc. want a professional society that provides 1290 Baltimore Pike, Supporting Digital dedicated international support and leader- If you take an honest look at the issues ship for the rapidly growing digital dome Suite 111 raised by the fulldome community, you see medium. Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania that they are driven by legitimate This shared desire for planetariums to offer 19317 USA needs, concerns, meaningful programming could be the com- [email protected] and visions that deserve a support- mon ground needed to redefine the mission of While there’s been a flurry of passionate ive and under- planetariums and embrace a larger agenda. discussions on the Dome-L email list trig- standing profes- gered by the recent IAU re-classification of sional society. IPS Pluto as a dwarf planet, those who frequent has been meeting Ryan Wyatt’s fulldome.org list have been the needs of a niche profession focused on 4) Infrastructure and financial support. IPS witness to a flurry of equally passionate—and astronomy education, so it is not surprising is a volunteer organization without a paid in some respects, extraordinary—discussions that support is currently lacking in areas that staff. This vastly reduces the level of support about digital domes, the future of planetari- will be crucial for nurturing fulldome into that is possible from this organization. The ums, and the future role of IPS. maturity. A number of long-time IPS mem- fulldome community could benefit from an bers and officers recognize the unique chal- actively managed website, a newsletter, a Expanding the Dome lenges of supporting the digital dome com- serious standards effort, etc. These things can Interestingly, the “fulldome” medium (as munity, and are making an effort to rise to be funded by grants, but even this requires a our community has affectionately dubbed these challenges. Here’s a few of the issues dedicated staffer or secretariat to support the it) has attracted a great deal of interest from that have been raised: writing and administration of a grant. artists, filmmakers, educators, engineers, and 1) Inclusiveness. Vendors are traditionally other professionals with roots outside of the not part of the organizational core of IPS. Diversity and Commonality planetarium profession. These individuals However, the vendors are the ones who have 5) Diversity of programming. By defini- question why so many versatile “virtual real- created and driven the new digital technolo- tion, the planetarium is a kinetic diorama of ity theaters” should be dedicated to astrono- gies and they remain integral to advancing the celestial sphere portrayed from a geocen- my topics alone. Some have even questioned the profession. Indeed, there can be issues tric eyepoint. The fulldome community is the appropriateness of IPS as the organiza- with corporate rivalries and bias, but they exploring a wide range of programming tion to lead professional advancement of the are not fundamentally unlike institutional across the arts and sciences, and they seek an rapidly growing fulldome community. They rivalries and bias. Well-run professional soci- expanded definition of the planetarium. In a point out that IPS’s support programs and eties do not tolerate overt favoritism or com- recent email list discussion there seemed to membership are deeply rooted in the tradi- mercialism from anyone. Inclusiveness be agreement that planetariums should tion of astronomy education—not technolo- means support for technical exchange, stan- stand for “meaningful media,” programming gy, filmmaking, virtual reality, or art. dards development, and other activities that that uplifts, enlightens, educates, or other- Others point out that there would be no reach out and support the larger community wise transforms visitors in a positive way. fulldome medium if not for pioneering plan- of stakeholders. There was general consensus between plane- etarians and institutions, and the support of 2) Recognition of technical innovation. tarians and the fulldome community that IPS alongside the many regional chapters IPS needs a program to recognize or reward media entertainment of an expressly com- who have welcomed vendors and their digi- technological advancement in the profes- mercial nature—such as IMAX’s recent foray

December 2006 Planetarian 55 into Hollywood films—was not their prima- examine what a planetarium is, what it maximize the positive, educational, and cul- ry interest. This shared desire for planetari- could be, and how IPS can assist in this natu- turally enriching use of this new medium ums to offer meaningful programming ral evolution of the dome. By taking a leader- and will position the organization for could be the common ground needed to ship role in the digital revolution, IPS can renewed growth and a bright future. redefine the mission of planetariums and embrace a larger agenda. important trend for future planetariums. 6) Image. When school planetariums are (Student, continued from page xx) The important trends that seem to be seen as classrooms dedicated to astronomy, emerging are well-designed and continually- they must compete with all the other arts Meanwhile, it offered an extremely wide improving innovation, holistic foresight, and sciences for survival. Astronomy is no range of subjects and interests: “rainforest” and detailed and individual schemes for pro- longer a leading educational objective for combined the rainforest and starry sky (biol- grams. I, of course, will continue my schools, resulting in school planetarium clos- ogy astronomy) in one show, "Magellan” research. I think my study will be very help- ings in recent years. Public planetariums fixed historical events and ancient astrono- ful for all upgrading and new generation have also struggled to attract visitors and my in another, for which they received planetariums and their direction of growth have suffered closings. Some fulldome mostly positive feedback. These phenomena in the future. enthusiasts feel that the prevailing public showed us that importing fresh elements Acknowledgement: I unfeignedly and perception of planetariums could limit the into planetariums renews vital force and gratefully acknowledge the grant from the success of the new fulldome facilities. brings higher quality effects into the pro- Armand Spitz Fund for Planetarium Indeed, many large public institutions have grams. The coexistence of such areas as pub- Education that helped finance my “develop- changed their name in an attempt to relic education, enjoyable subjects, and real- ment trend study” in Germany and master brand the traditional planetarium, i.e. time news, among others, would be one studies in Sweden. Cyberdome, Imaginarium, or Virtuarium. This image issue needs to be addressed. nauts, who read eulogies for Shepard. 7) Inertia. Perhaps the biggest concern that (Reviews, continued from page 44) So this is a fine book. There are lots of little the fulldome community has expressed is insights I’d not come across in other publica- the difficulty of changing years of inertia tions, and the many astronaut interviews most, as Shepard gets the lion’s share of the within the planetarium community. Should bring to life areas of the text which would book’s attention. And that’s not just because fulldomers try to re-invent IPS to meet their otherwise have been rather ho-hum without he made the first sub-orbital flight. No, he unique needs? Will they be granted suffi- the addition of knowing what the guys in clearly epitomised the type of character that cient autonomy to evolve the medium? the capsules thought about various topics NASA was looking for as the first person to Can IPS deal with rapid change? It has been and concerns. It’s another fascinating brave sitting on a rocket that could have suggested that IPS’s Full Dome Video reminder of what a marvelous achievement blown up. The closing chapter has a moving Committee, now lead by Ryan Wyatt, be the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs account of Shepard’s and his wife’s ashes granted a degree of autonomy similar the were, and it makes one hope that we can find being spread over the Pacific from two US Association for Computing Machinery’s spe- such worthy people again as the modern day cial interest groups including SIGGRAPH, Navy helicopters, and this is preceded by Orion program to the Moon and Mars gets ACM’s special interest group (SIG) for com- quotes from the surviving Mercury astro- off the ground. puter graphics (GRAPH). A fulldome SIG within IPS would support issues that are president. Jon’s own role as past president is uniquely digital in nature (i.e. standards, pro- (President, continued from page 49) now, however, drawing to a close, bringing duction issues, show distribution, etc.). to an end his six years as an officer. Association of Planetaria conference in Jon has been a magnificent leader and Recognizing the Importance Vitoria, Brazil, about which I also hope there ambassador for our society. In particular, he The officers of IPS recognize the impor- will be plenty to report. I have been very has done some very fine work with our com- tance of fulldome to the planetarium profes- keen to expand the horizons of the IPS, and mittees and their structure. He initiated the sion and have expressed a desire to nurture South America is a part of the world in concept of formal memoranda of under- this growing community. Discussions with which I would very much like to see an affil- standing between the IPS and other organisa- Martin George, Shawn Laatsch, Jon Elvert, iate. I have had a good deal of communications. He also began what I hope is a perma- and other IPS officers have affirmed this. tion with Alexandre Cherman in Rio de nent feature of our Society: an IPS update Candidates for IPS president elect have Janeiro on this matter and I am optimistic DVD from the president to be shown at reached out to the fulldome community for that such an affiliate may eventuate in the regional meetings and conferences. Several feedback and to offer support. If the energy near future. months ago I invited Jon to be the new chair and momentum of the fulldome communi- As my term as president draws to a close, of our Outreach Committee, and am delight- ty is embraced and supported, it will revital- I’d like to thank all of you for your support. ed that he accepted this position. ize IPS and the planetarium community as a It has been a great pleasure and honour to I am sure that I speak for all IPS members whole. At the same time, it must be recog- have been involved with the IPS in this way. in thanking Jon for his wonderful work for nized that IPS has many duties and support- I have especially enjoyed working with the the society! ing the digital planetarium is but one of other officers: Susan Button, Jon Elvert, Lee As the New Year begins, Susan Button will them. IPS must continue to support the full Ann Hennig, and Shawn Laatsch. Their work become IPS president, and I am looking for- spectrum of planetariums, from portable to in support of the IPS has been wonderful. ward very much to working with her during classroom to public institutions, whether At the time of writing, the election for my term as past president. I wish Susan well digital or optomechanical. president-elect had not taken place. Susan, and am sure that, through her leadership, the Times of change bring challenges and Lee Ann, and Shawn will continue as officers, IPS will continue to go from strength to opportunities alike. Now is a good time to re- of course, as I shall in my new role as past strength.

56 Planetarian December 2006

explorers, like the Hubble Space Telescope International News and Hipparchos, are mapping the stars. Plenty of time is offered to visitors to enjoy Subramanian for your contributions. Special the Zeiss ZKPR/B starry sky. Since the thanks are due to Loris Ramponi, loris@colib- reopening of the planetarium in March rionline.it, who contributes the Calendar of 2002, ten shows have been produced, eight Events. You are welcome back with new of which are still regularly shown. For infor- reports, and I look forward to contributions mation, go to www.beisbroek.be or contact from other Associations as well. Upcoming Eddy Pirotte, [email protected]. deadlines are 1 January 2007 for Planetarian The Europlanetarium in Genk, Belgium, is of March 2006 and 1 April for June 2007. being transformed to serve as the gateway to Hoge Kempen, the new national park. The Association of Dutch-Speaking entire building is being facelifted. Office and Planetariums other spaces will get a complete new look. At the October meeting of the association Changes can be witnessed on a daily basis in of Dutch Speaking Planetariums at the Eise and around the Europlanetarium. For more Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker—which information, go to www.europlanetarium.be houses the oldest planetarium system in the or contact Chris Janssen, chris@europlanetar- world (1781)—the installation of one of the ium.com. newest planetarium systems was announced. The Artis Planetarium in Amsterdam is going digital. Two of the latest Sony SR projectors mounted with specially-developed Lars Broman lenses will bring Sky-Skan’s Digital Sky 2 into the 20-m dome. This will be the first install- Dalarna University ment of this projection system in Europe SE 791 88 Falun, Sweden since its first demonstration at the IPS +46 2310 177 Conference in Melbourne. The Artis Planetarium will show three [email protected] fulldome shows: Origins of Life by Mirage www.sciencecommunication.se 3D, Sky-Skan’s Infinity Express and the children's program Kaluoka'hina, The Enchanted Go back in time to the 1990 IPS Reef by Softmachine. The planetarium also Conference at the Boundless Planetarium in will switch two of their analog programs to Borlänge, Sweden, where Mariana Back's digital. For education purposes, the planetari- planetarium version of Harry Martinson's um staff will develop interactive modules Aniara was shown to the international pub- for different school groups at different levels. lic for the first time. During the final Artis has a zoo and aquarium, botanical evening, Aniara was also the theme of a gardens, zoological museum and geological Space Ballet Performance. museum in addition to its planetarium. This The year after, John Hare, then at Bishop unique combination meets Artis' primary Planetarium in Bradenton, Florida USA, objective of offering educational material Location of the 2006 ADSP members. that deals with our planet Earth as a unique Courtesy of the Brussels Planet- made his own Aniara planetarium show arium, Gert Smet with original music by Jon Serrie. As a com- place in the Universe to broad segments of plement to Hare's show, Aadu Ott and I the population. The new planetarium will wrote the essay Aniara: On a Space Epic and therefore not only provide astronomy in the After a successful event in 2005, the its author; our essay was later published in dome, but also use the new system as a medi- European Commission again supported Planetarian No. 2, 1998. um to show these different science facets. European Researchers’ Night, which offered This fall, a great deal of attention in The whole planetarium facility will get an thirty events in 21 European countries, all Sweden has been paid to Martinson, since 12 upgrade, including new exhibition space. To held on 22 September 2006. These special October was the 50-year anniversary of the get this all done, the Artis Planetarium will events gave the general public, young and original publishing of the Aniara cycle of be closed from January until 26 April 2007, old, interested in science or just wanting to poems. For those readers who would like to which will be the grand opening of the new find out more, the opportunity to find out make or remake acquaintance with Aniara, Planetarium. For more information, go to about the fun of science. In Brussels, the the 1998 article is available in full at www.artis.nl/main.php?pagina=paginas/t/pl planetarium of the Royal Observatory of http://www.ips-planetarium.org/planetari- anetarium or contact Michel Hommel, hom- Belgium gave the public the opportunity to an/articles/aniara.html. [email protected]. talk with scientists about their research and The International News column is depen- Beisbroek Planetarium in Bruges, Belgium, its influence on every day life. Science@work dent on contributions from IPS Affiliate had the première of its newest show early in initiated little experiments with children, Associations all over the world. Many thanks July 2006. The show, Op reis met de sterren like build and launch your own rocket, to Agnès Acker, Karl von Ahnen, Bart (Voyage with Stars), tells how early explorers make moon craters, and find the right con- Benjamin, Ignacio Castro, Pierre Chastenay, such as Vasco da Gama and Captain Cook, stellation. Alex Delivorias, Tom Mason, André Milis, used the movements of the heavens to find Outdoors, there was a baseball-type game Donna Pierce, Loris Ramponi, and Gopinath their way across oceans, and how the newest called “Play with the universe,” where the

58 Planetarian December 2006 Advance in digital Diameter Opening equipment New Equipment planetariums in Ville/Location (basically) France. (m) year System year Current system Table by Lionel Ruiz Paris, la Villette 21 1986 OM* (S) 2006 D* 6 VP (RSA) and Daniel Audeon.

Pleumeur-Bodou 20 1988 OM (Z) 1998 D 6 VP Key to System: OM=optomecanic Paris, Palais Découverte 15 1937 OM (Z) 1997 OM (Z) D=digital Toulouse 15 1997 D fisheye vectoriel (D) 2005 Z=Zeiss S=Spitz Vaulx en Velin 15 1995 D fisheye vectoriel (D) 2006 D 6VP (D) SS=Sky-Skan Montpellier 15 2002 D fisheye vectoriel (D) + D 6 VP (D) RSA=RSAcosmos G=GOTO Rennes 14 2006 D 6 VP (SS) D=Digistar/- Villeneuve d’Ascq 14 1996 OM (RSA) Evans&Sutherland d=Digitalis Poitiers 12 1992 OM (S) Speaking Planetariums, a St Etienne 12 1997 OM (RSA) 2002 D 6 VP (RSA) forum focused on the La Hague 10 1999 OM (Z) strong advances in digital planetariums the past few Epinal 10 2002 OM (RSA) years (see the table by Dijon 10 2005 OM (RSA) Lionel Ruiz and Daniel Audeon). Two major prob- Cappelle la Grande 9 1989 OM (RSA) lems were identified: (1) Le Bourget 8,2 1984 OM (Z) 2000 OM (RSA) The production of immersive video shows is very Nantes 8 1981 OM (Z) 2005 D 5 VP (RSA) expensive and time con- Nîmes 8 1982 OM (Z) suming, so it seems interesting for well-equipped Strasbourg 8 1982 OM (S) digital theatres to produce Nançay 7 1997 OM (RSA) high-quality shows for distribution to interested Reims 6 1979 OM (Z) planetariums at a relatively low cost. A working group Châtellerault 6 1991 OM (jide) was created in this perspec- Marseille 6 2001 OM (RSA) 2005 D fisheye coul (d) tive (Toulouse, Saint- Etienne, Bruxelles), lead by Montredon Labessonnié 5,4 1993 OM (G) Jean-Philippe Mercier, Aix-en-Provence 5 2002 OM (RSA) director of the Montpellier Planetarium, with the dis- Belfort 5 1982 OM (G) tribution service being Bourbon Lancy 5 1993 OM (G) done by APLF. (2) Technology improve- public had to traverse the universe by are statues of Galileo, Kepler, Nicolas ment is quickly increasing for digital tools, answering questions. In the dome, a futuris- Copernicus, Tycho Brahe and Edwin Hubble. but is stationary for classical optical instru- tic “Space Weather” report was presented, For information, go to www.planetariumrot- ments, despite the fact that most people explaining how events on Earth are influ- terdam.nl or contact Ad Los, [email protected]. agree that optical projection allows for the enced by the space weather. Links: highest quality of stars (contrast, brightness http://ec.europa.eu/research/researchersineu- Association of French-Speaking and resolution of the stellar images). This is a rope/events/event_2216_en.htm, and Planetariums problem for those projecting to build a new www.nachtvandeonderzoekers.be. For fur- A new training project started in January planetarium and want a very nice sky pro- ther information, go to www.planetarium.be 2006 is going well, the Association of French- jection; it is very difficult to find a good and or contact André Milis, [email protected]. Speaking Planetarium reports. After a series not too expensive solution. French speaking In the Planetarium Ridderkerk, Rotterdam, of lectures in Strasbourg and Paris, the 12 par- planetarians are waiting for an optical pro- The Netherlands, a new Mirage 3D show will ticipants worked during five nights in July at jector with digital environment, a mixed have its world première on 13 January 2007. the 0.8-m, 1.2-m and 1.5-m telescopes of the solution built together by two companies On 13 January, the observatory will be Haute-Provence Observatory, where they each having a specific expertise. opened as well. The observatory's 4-m dome learned the practice of professional astro- will be equipped with a 15-cm Zeiss telescope nomical tools (spectrophotometry and digi- Association of Mexican and a 50-cm (20 inch) Newtonian telescope. tal images analysis), improving their knowl- Planetariums The dome is “carried” by statues of the four edge of emission-line objects. See also The XXXV AMPAC Annual Meeting was seasons, and circled by bronze statues of www.obspm.fr/~webufe/beatep. (Picture on set to be held in November at the Arcadio Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Christiaan page 60) Poveda Ricalde Planetarium in Merida, Huygens, and Carl Zeiss. Inside the building During the 22nd Colloquium of French Yucatan. New planetariums are being con-

December 2006 Planetarian 59 sidered as part of major municipal works in Northern Ireland the cities of Celaya, Guanajuato, and Space Office (NISO). Tapachula, Chiapas; time will tell if these Armagh Planetarium's enterprises are given the necessary support. business manager, At the time of writing, the University of Robert Hill, was cho- Sonora, DIF-US astronomy area, was organiz- sen by Yorkshire ing an observation camp for the solar transit Forward/Space of Mercury on 8 November with most of Connections to write Sonora’s planetariums participating by live and design space sci- telecast via internet. The DIF-US has also cre- ence and astronomy ated a special document in Spanish for inter- curriculum content ested astronomy groups and planetariums for the Curriculum titled Nuestro Sistema Solar: Un Nuevo Council and Concepto para Educadores (Our Solar Education Authority System: A New Concept for Educators). This (CCEA) of Northern document is free of charge and can be Ireland. accessed at http://cosmos.astrouson.mx/ Further evidence of Educación/constell/ElSistemaSolar.pdf Armagh's return to form was its recent British Associations of success at the annual The participants in this summer’s telescope training pro- Planetariums Digistar Users' Group ject in France in front of the 2-m telescope of the Observatoire de Haute-Provence. Photo Daniel Audéon, Finally, after six years of closure, the conference held at Nantes. world-famous Armagh Planetarium re- Evans & Sutherland's opened its doors in August 2006 after a headquarters in Salt Lake City in September tions. Most of it is below ground level, apart major renovation program. Armagh is 2006. Digital Theatre Manager Julie from a cone that is visible from within the known throughout the industry for being Thompson won first place in the Digistar 3 observatory grounds. Former Senior the first planetarium to successfully inte- demonstration category. This is the second Astronomer Dr. Robin Catchpole chose the grate video imagery into star shows. The time that Thompson has taken first prize in shape, which is aligned with the celestial new Evans and Sutherland Digistar 3 projec- this contest for work produced at Armagh north pole, equator, and zenith. When the tor sees this technology come of age with its Planetarium. (For more DUG results, see page planetarium opens in May 2007 as part of reopening. Armagh broke all previous 70). the £15 million Time and Space Project, it monthly attendance records in its 38-year After being open only nine months, will be London’s largest centre dedicated to history, achieving almost 17,000 visitors, Thinktank's small 70-seat planetarium astronomy education and outreach. which is over 1% of Northern Ireland's popu- passed the 50,000 visitor mark in mid- lation, within the first four weeks! Other September 2006. Presenter-led shows, deliv- exciting news is that Armagh Planetarium ered from the front of the theatre, continue Canadian Association of Science has been selected to develop the new to elicit the most positive visitor feedback. Centres In August 2006, the UK Visitor Attraction The Montréal Planetarium is still awaiting Quality Assurance Service reported: "The a decision by the provincial and federal gov- planetarium, with its personal style of pre- ernments regarding the funding of its project sentation instead of the normal audio style, to relocate the facility near Montréal’s was excellent both in its overall presentation Olympic Stadium, Biodôme, Botanical and the degree of interpretation provided to Garden, and Insectarium, which are all in the meet the needs of a very mixed audience in east end of the city. The new building's func- terms of ages and interest levels. The fact tional and technical program is also being that the presenter was in full control of the revised to ensure that it meets the needs of a displays and could rerun and fast forward if state-of-the-art full-dome video planetarium. needed to emphasize links and answer ques- Meanwhile, the planetarium was in the tions, was a very strong feature. The short midst of preparing a new show, The Exotic handout leaflet available at the end also Universe, set to open in November. Black summarized the key seasonal features men- holes, quasars, gamma ray bursts, super- tioned. Overall, this was an excellent experi- novae—our universe is full of objects with ence in its own right as a standalone feature surprising and sometimes unsettling proper- and greatly added to the overall memorabili- ties. The Exotic Universe, written and pro- ty of the Thinktank experience." duced by Louie Bernstein, will help visitors Construction of the new Peter Harrison discover an unexpected cosmos. The show is Planetarium at the Royal Observatory, designed for knowledgeable teenage (12 Greenwich is nearing completion. After years and older) and adult audiences. For overcoming some novel engineering chal- information, contact Pierre Chastenay at lenges, a giant set of bronze cladding plates [email protected]. were lowered and welded into position this The Planetarium at the Manitoba The exterior of the new Peter summer. The new 115-seat facility will have Museum in Winnipeg continues to run the Harrison Planetarium with bronze state-of-the-art projection equipment and popular Is Anybody Out There? show, col- cladding in place. Courtesy of National Maritime Museum. commitment to live astronomy presenta- laboratively produced by Canada's planetari-

60 Planetarian December 2006 um community (see story on page 16). Also their parents in Stars for Starters. The pro- important constellations that adorn the in production is a new show about Pluto and gram takes the audience on a trip through night sky, highlighting the myths behind the outer solar system, scheduled to open in the solar system, starting with a stop on their names, and presenting their main stars early 2007. An exhibit and show to celebrate Venus (where it is so hot that all of the pop- as well as some of the most spectacular deep the 50th anniversary of the first artificial corn Harold brought along in the spaceship sky objects they contain. This production is satellite—Sputnik 1—is in production for the pops to fill up the entire planetarium dome). intended to be a daily introduction before summer and fall of 2007. For info, contact The program ends with a landing on Pluto. the main show, which, as of the beginning of Scott Young at scyoung@manitobamuse- Research and development has begun on a October, includes Denver's production Black um.ca. new public planetarium show on Native Sky Holes: the Other Side of Infinity. In October, the TELUS World of Science in Lore. Assisting in the production of this The celebrations for the 50th Anniversary Calgary opened a new wing of the science show is Aboriginal Liaison and Education of the Eugenides Foundation continues at centre featuring a “Creative Kids Museum.” Coordinator Margaret Grenier. The daughter full swing. In October 2006 the New In the new gallery the emphasis is on hands- of the chief of the Gitksan House of Eugenides Planetarium in Athens released its on exhibits and activities with the theme of Dakhumhast, Margaret is the artistic director own version of Black Holes, along with an arts and creativity. With an already loyal of the Dancers of Damelahamid, who have enrichment guide. This show uncovers the audience of kids and families at the Calgary the goal of revising and furthering the cross- life-and-death activities governing the for- facility, this new attraction is bound to boost cultural acceptance of their heritage within mation of these enigmatic objects that lurk attendance even further, up from what has the greater community, and fostering a in space, starting in the nuclear furnaces of already proven to be record high levels in greater understanding of the richness of the giant stars to their eventual collapse and the past two to three years. First Nations culture. For information, con- destruction under their own gravity, thus In September, Calgary's Discovery Dome tact: Erik Koelemeyer at ekoeleme@hrma- making some of the most violent phenome- theatre received an upgraded IWERKS pro- cmillanspacecentre.com. na that have shaped our universe. In the projector head to replace the aging 8 perf/70mm cess, the latest information that present-day Pioneer film projector that has served the science has uncovered about these extreme theatre well for ten years. Despite the phenomena is examined, as well as the vari- prospect of all-dome video projection, 8/70 ous ways that we can detect their hidden films remain the main fare in the Discovery "lairs." Dome and will likely continue to be so for Also at the Eugenides Foundation in another three to four years at least, until an Athens, the European Science immersive video system is installed that can Communication Network of 17 Universities be fed with a good supply of titles to serve an ESConet conducted a workshop in audience hungry for new shows and chang- September to train young planetary ing programs. With the recent closure of one researchers to communicate their science. of the city's IMAX theatres (and the minimal Some trainees explored the possibility of schedule of true IMAX films at the city's using a planetarium for presenting current other commercial theatre), the Discovery research, and they did it so well that Dome has become Calgary's only venue for Planetarium Director Dionysios Simopoulos screening giant-screen films. However, plane- offered them employment right then! tarium shows continue to be offered, most notably the recent nationally-produced Is Great Lakes Planetarium Anybody Out There? and a newly-updated Association and refreshed version of the perennial chil- Illinois. Stephanie Gove has been appoint- dren's favourite, In My Backyard, originally ed as the new director of the Waubonsie produced in Calgary in the early 1990s. For Valley High School Planetarium, part of the information, contact Alan Dyer at Indian Prairie Community School District in [email protected]. Aurora, Illinois. Gove is a recent graduate of The lid goes onto the planetarium at Current show production activity at the the College of San Mateo. The new Bradley University and Peoria's Lakeview H.R. MacMillan Planetarium in Vancouver is hybrid GOTO Chronos/ E&S D3SP2 Museum Planetarium. should be installed soon. Courtesy of centered on two shows for the youngest Darryl Stanford. Story on page 63. This fall, the William M. Staerkel audiences. Little Dippers, a show which was Planetarium at Parkland College in initially developed in the 1990’s, has been Champaign presented their own produc- upgraded to conform to the needs of the European/Mediterranean tions of Autumn Prairie Skies and Stellar new school curriculum. The program intro- Planetarium Association Extremes. In December, the planetarium staff duces the simple concepts of orbits and plan- At the end of October 2006, the planetari- will team up with two members of the local etary rotation. Children are shown how um of the Thessaloniki Science Center and storytelling guild for an hour of storytelling Earth travels around the Sun to make up a Technology Museum will complete its sec- under the stars. The staff also plans to bring year, as well as how the Earth's rotation ond year of operation since its inauguration, back their five week Backyard Astronomy makes for the daylight and night-time por- and already has established a great reputa- workshop and add a new one that provides tions of the day. The program then takes tion as a primary attraction in the dissemina- helpful hints for a science fair project. young children on a tour through the night tion of science and technology in northern The Lakeview Museum Planetarium held sky, pointing out the major constellations, Greece. The staff there has just finished a its 12th annual Interplanetary Bicycle Ride the Big and Little dippers, and the North Star. show titled A Journey to the Stars, their first in August. This year, 150 space travelers jour- On the public show side, “Harold the Talking in-house planetarium show. This 10-minute, neyed between the planets in Peoria's com- Star Projector” entertains both children and real time show guides its viewers to the most munity solar system. Over 2,300 riders have

December 2006 Planetarian 61 participated in this annual ride since it first Digistar II system. began. Fall programming at At the Strickler Planetarium on the cam- the Kalamazoo Valley pus of Olivet Nazarene University in Museum Planetarium Bourbonnais, Supernova 2005cs was included ASI: Baseline, observed during the summer by student a locally produced worker Ryan Alexander. Alexander was show that explores the awarded a research grant to observe the cosmic distance ladder apparent magnitude of this supernova in to determine the loca- M51. This research was a continuation of his tion of a star that was research from last summer, when the super- blown away. The nova was first discovered. museum's temporary The Cernan Earth and Space Center on the exhibit Brain will be campus of Triton College in River Grove supplemented with continues to offer its Skywatcher's Guide the planetarium show mini-show series paired with its current Journey Into the Earth and sky show. For children, the Cernan Living Cell. Center will bring back its own Zip! Zoom! Sadly, this is the last Whiz! program, while laser audiences now update for the Ensign enjoy its many laser light shows rendered by Planetarium at the a new laser tube. Crestwood School Indiana. Dayle Brown received a grant District, Dearborn from the Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) to Heights. The glue and write/illustrate/publish the third book in the the glitter were still series, Skylore from Planet Earth, Stories drying from two fun- from Around the World...Milky Way. It is filled weeks of Astro due for completion in the summer of 2007. Camp when director The Galileo planetarium of National Park Foreste Casentinesi. Photo by Gruppo Astrofili Aretini. Alan Pareis, Director of the E.C. Carrie Zaitz closed the Schouweiler Memorial Planetarium at the doors for the last University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne, time—at least for now. Zaitz will return to workshop about new planetarium activities attended the 2006 Contemporary the classroom to earn her teaching certifica- in Italy in September. The organizing com- Laboratory Experiences in Astronomy tion. mittee included Gabriele Catanzaro, (CLEA) workshop at Gettysburg College and A historic change in governance came to Giangiacomo Gandolfi, Stefano Giovanardi, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory the Public Museum of Grand Rapids and its and Gianluca Masi, Rome Planetarium; in Green Bank, West Virginia. Targeted to Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium on July 1, Attilio Ferrari, ApritiCielo Planetarium, college astronomy instructors, CLEA is an when the 150-year-old institution became a Turin University; Paola Rossi, Turin annual program developed and operated by semi-independent, non-profit cultural insti- Astronomical Observatory/INAF; and Gettysburg College in partnership with the tution rather than a division of the City of Vincenzo Vomero, Rome Planetarium and National Science Foundation. Grand Rapids. The city retains ownership of Science museums of Rome municipality. Michigan. The Cranbrook Institute of the buildings, its furnishings, and all of the More information from www2.comune. Science Planetarium in Bloomfield Hills is historic collections, but the museum will roma.it/planetario/workshop.htm. updating their existing programs to fit the now be run by an independent board The XXI National Meeting of Italian plan- capabilities of their new Digistar 3. In charged with overseeing operations and etariums was held in October in Ravenna. November, they presented their first in- securing the required funding. The staff of During the meeting a number of issues were house Digistar 3 production, a holiday- the Dassault Systèmes Planetarium in Detroit addressed: problems concerning the manage- themed entertainment show titled Holiday is producing their next show kit, which is ment of planetariums by Vittorio Magic. In October, Cranbrook welcomed based on the book Bad Astronomy by Dr. Mascellani, Modena Planetarium; experi- Vatican astronomer Brother Guy Philip Plait. It will explore topics such as ences about the teaching of astronomy by Consolmagno, who discussed the ramifica- UFOs, astrology, the Apollo moon hoax, and Francesco Moser, Trento Natural Science tions of the IAU's decision on Pluto's status. alien abductions. Staff members John Potts Museum, Angela Turricchia, Bologna The Henry Ford Community College in and John Schroer continue to write and pre- Planetarium, and Alessandra Zanazzi, City of Dearborn recently ran an updated version of sent a series of Excellent Experiments for Science, Naples; and news about Milan their fall star talk The Road Not Taken. Detroit's PBS-TV affiliate. The fall observing Planetarium and a report on the IPS This fall, Abrams Planetarium in East season began with the 10th Annual Conference in Melbourne by Fabio Peri. Lansing brought back the classic show The Astronomy on the Beach, a large public star Loris Ramponi presented a report on the Last Question, based on the story by Isaac party sponsored by the Dassault and French planetarium meeting and the inter- Asimov. The show returned for the 50th Cranbrook planetariums and all seven of national calendar of planetarium events, and anniversary of the publishing of the original Southeastern Michigan's amateur astronomy a report from the Rome workshop was pre- short story. The Kingman Museum in Battle clubs. sented by Vincenzo Vomero, Planetarium Creek finished its first phase of renovations and Astronomy Museum of Rome. and has begun to remodel the planetarium Italian Planetaria's Friends Other planetarium experiences were by moving their geology exhibit into a new Association described by Marco Cattelan, Museum of exhibit area. The staff is also working to con- Rome Planetarium and the National Sky and Earth; S.G. Persiceto and Francesca vert several of their old shows to their Association of Science Museum organized a Manenti, Planetarium of Natural History of

62 Planetarian December 2006 schools. It contin- was very pleased that many colleagues after- ues to be used in wards congratulated me for the award. many Italian cities. (Picture, page 62) Pacific Planetarium Association There has been, and still is, a lot of remod- Nordic eling going on in the Pacific Planetarium Planetarium Association region. A number of facilities Association have reopened, but among the facilities still As was men- closed are two of the largest planetariums: tioned in this col- the Morrison in San Francisco and the umn in the Griffith in Los Angeles (although the Griffith September issue of is scheduled to re-open very soon). Two the Planetarian, slightly smaller facilities at De Anza College Iceland has its first and the College of San Mateo also remain planetarium. The closed. owner of this At the De Anza College, Karl von Ahnen mobile planetari- states that the planetarium project is about Iceland's first planetarium and its owner Snævarr um is Snævarr mid-way to completion. The floor is back Guðmundsson. Photo by Heiða Helgadóttir. Guðmundsson, an together with a new elevator pit. A new amateur light-lock wall and projection booth walls Livorno; and Eleonora Sani, Arcetri Florence astronomer and astrophotographer, are in place, but there is no projection dome. Planetarium. An open discussion was coordi- Icelandic mountain guide, writer, and pho- On the outside, the biggest change has been nated by Mario Cavedon, Franco Gabici and tographer. Some of his beautiful works can the exterior dome roof. Instead of a faded, Gianluca Ranzini. Among the manufactur- be seen on his website www.snaevarr.com. peeling red, it is now a deep blue. (See picture ers, Christophe Bertier, St. Etienne, France His first book published was about the high- on page 61) presented the RSA new technologies for est mountain region in Iceland, Oraefajokull, Alan Gould reports that Lawrence Hall of planetariums and Glenn Smith, Sky-Skan, and explains some historical remarks of Science in Berkeley, California acquired a presented the Definiti Twin Projector exploration and mountaineering on the two projector Digital Sky full-dome system System. Iceland's highest volcano and its glaciers. His from Sky-Skan this past August. They are The Italian planetarium model Galileo, for second book focused on the night sky, busily mastering the system and adapting many years used inside the famous Museum stargazing, and telescopic observation, from audience participation programs to utilize northern latitudes like Iceland. the full dome system. The planetarium consists of a Digital If your planetarium or museum is doing or Starlab system and a Go-Dome. planning to do astronomy programs that Guðmundsson says that it is a big personal involve families, you may want to check out financial risk to do this, but is still accept- the materials and ideas developed by the able. His goal is to travel between elementary Family ASTRO project at the non-profit and high schools and give lectures to chil- Astronomical Society of the Pacific. dren, teenagers, and everybody else interest- Produced with a grant from the National ed in the night sky and the wonders there. Science Foundation over a period of four He plans to go all around the island, to every years, the materials are first tested by select- school or group that requests such visits. ed groups of teachers and astronomers who Secondly, he will give lectures in Reykjavik work with them. They are available to any- Zoo & Family Park, which hosts a science one in the astronomy education field. See center for children and adults. There he the web site at www.astrosociety.org/educa- plans to give talks about the night sky, con- tion/family.htm. stellations, and planets, and to demonstrate how to observe them and where. Planetarium Society of India Only about 300,000 people live in Iceland. The President of the Planetarium Society A stationary planetarium has been planned of India, Prof. R. Subramanian, attended the there for more than two decades, but has Melbourne Conference of the IPS. In his never been realized. report to members of PSI he related that the Lars Broman with the IPS Service Award that he was given during IPS council has decided once more to give Melbourne conference was a great success. IPS'2006 in Melbourne. Photo by John two scholarships from Armand Spitz Fund A series of lectures and talks has been con- Hare. for Planetarium Education to two science ducted at the M.P.Birla Planetarium in communication master students, to be Kolkatta. Topics included solar and lunar of History of Science of Florence, has been awarded in 2007. This year, one student has eclipses and the reorganization of the solar donated to the national park of Foreste so far received a scholarship, Yang Yu from system. The Secretary of PSI, Prof. Gopinath Casentinesi Monte Falterona and Campigna China. Another student will be awarded the Subramanian, visited the office of the Thai in Arezzo. It is the only planetarium in Italy second 2006 scholarship later in the fall. Yu's Astronomical Society in Bangkok and managed by a national park, aided with col- preliminary results from this project appear briefed them on activities of the IPS. The laboration with the amateur astronomer in a story on page 38. Society had just conducted a nationwide group of Arezzo. Italian planetarium Galileo I had the honor of being one of four plane- quiz on astronomy and has brought out an is a manual model, built in the past in tarians who were given the prestigious IPS impressive book that has Thai translations Florence and produced mainly for nautical Service Award. I was much honored and also for most astronomical terms. December 2006 Planetarian 63 One among the various activities was making their own rockets. Students created colorful rockets from soft-drink bottles. These plastic bottles were filled with some water and then by air using an air-pump until the air pressure inside increased sub- stantially. A latch was released and the rocket propelled in the air much to the delight of the students.

Southwestern Association of Planetariums In September, 200 SWAP delegates at the Western Alliance of Planetariums Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska, elected for their new board the following: as president, Donna C. Pierce, Highland Park Planetarium, Dallas, Texas, [email protected]; as vice- president, Michael Hibbs, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, Texas, hibbs@tarleton.edu; as secretary/treasurer, Jim McConnell, Richardson Independent School District Planetarium, Dallas, Texas, [email protected]; as IPS representative, Tony Butterfield, Houston Museum of Natural Science, [email protected]; and, as members-at-large, Chuck Rau, Central Texas College Planetarium, Killeen, Texas, Students at the Ratchaborikanukroh School camp prepare to launch their rocket. [email protected] and Gerardo Perez, In the background in red under the shade of the umbrella is Ajarn Supapan, Head of the English program. Photo by Ms. Pay. Texas A&M International University, Laredo, Texas, [email protected]. Wilgus The Ratchaborikanukroh School, where the Ratchaburi province. Students had Burton, Garland Independent School District Subramanian works as a science faculty opportunities at rock climbing and shooting Planetarium, Garland, Texas, was named as member, has conducted a two-day camp at exercises, and were exposed to the sciences associate editor of the Great Western the Burachat Army Base in Khao Krued in and many questions related to astronomy. Observer ([email protected]).

Planetarians’ Calendar of Events

2007 [email protected], www.ogle- Conference, The Franklin Institute, 18 March. International Day of bay-resort.com/goodzoo/planetarium Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Planetariums. www.planetaritaliani.it .htm www.astc.org May. Meeting of Association of French- 13-16 October. Association of Science- Speaking Planetariums (APLF), Marseille, Technology Centers (ASTC) Annual Deadlines for “A Week in Italy” Aix en Provence, St. Michel l’Obser- Conference, California Science Center, 31 December 2006, planetarians from the vatoire, France. [email protected], Los Angeles, California, USA. Southern Hemisphere www.aplf-planetariums.org www.astc.org 15 April 2007, planetarians from the United 31 May-2 June. European collaborative for 2008 States science, industry and technology exhi- January. Nordic Planetarium Conference, 31 August 2007, planetarians from France bitions (ECSITE) Annual Conference in Jaermuseet, Stavanger, Norway. Host 30 September 2007, planetarians from Spain Lisbon, Portugal. www.ecsite.net Ivar Nakken, [email protected]. For more information on the “Week in 20-22 September. Western Alliance 15-20 June. 19th International Planetarium Italy, go to: Conference (all planetariums west of Society Conference, Adler Planetarium, www.astrofilibresciani.it/Planetari/ the Mississippi River), Fairbanks, Alaska. Chicago. Week_in_Italy/-Week_Italy.htm Contact: Gail Chaid [email protected] 15-19 June. 5th Science Centre World 9-13 October. Triple Conjunction Planet- Congress, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. IPS Scriptwriting Contest arium Conference with the Mid- 22-26 July, Southeastern Planetarium Eugenides Foundation Scriptwriting Atlantic Planetarium Society (MAPS), Association (SEPA) annual conference, Contest; for information about the next South Eastern Planetarium Association The Lafayette Natural History Museum deadline, contact [email protected] (SEPA), and Great Lakes Planetarium & Planetarium, Lafayette, Louisianna, Association (GLPA). Host: Benedum USA. Contact: dhostetter@lafayette For corrections and new informatio for Planetarium, Benedum Natural Science gov.net. the Calendar of Events, please send a mes- Center, Oglebay Resort, Wheeling, West 18-21 October. Association of Science- sage to Loris Ramponi at info@serafin Virginia USA. Contact: Steve Mitch, Technology Centers (ASTC) Annual ozani.it

64 Planetarian December 2006 December 2006 Planetarian 65 shops, superheroes, UFOs, and wax museums. Gibbous Gazette In the words of a popular song, “If loving you is wrong, I don’t want to be right!” Leonard Nimoy to do a voice over for our Someone who probably understands my planetarium show The Search for Life in the love of all things space related is John Sisson Universe back in 1999. With all of the vari- (Science Library, University of California at ous shows out there that have employed Irvine), who operates a website called Space voice talent from current and former Star Art in Children’s Books at http://dreamsof Trek actors, I thought that some of you space.nfshost.com. John writes that he grew might enjoy a report on the auction. I tried up next door to the Jet Propulsion Lab in to get as close to the actual auction as possi- Pasadena, California USA back in the 1960’s. ble: the official auction website. With over His website has a great collection of scanned 4000 items in 1000 lots, I thought I could at images from some of the books that proba- least get a glimpse of all of this incredible his- bly inspired quite a few future space explor- tory. ers, artists, scientists, and engineers from 1883 to 1974. Click around on John’s site and send Not Much Online him an email, [email protected], to let him Typically auction houses have at least know if you have a similar collection of thumbnail images on their sites and I have space books. I wonder how many of you appreciated seeing images of the actual items have similar guilty pleasures. Take some pic- before. To my surprise, none of the lots were tures of your space-themed collections (or pictured and there were only about a dozen others) and send them to me and I’ll feature promotion images. I guess this was to ensure them in upcoming editions of the “Gibbous that the $60, two-volume printed auction Gazette.” But for now let’s send… catalog (or a $500 limited edition catalog James P. Hughes with lost footage DVD) would be purchased Our Congratulations… … to Eugenides Foundation in Athens, Planetarium Producer by fans. After a world-wide highlights tour, with a Greece on the occasion of its 50th Henry Buhl, Jr. Planetarium live web stream of the event on the History Anniversary! The New Eugenides Planet- & Observatory Channel’s website, and with online virtual arium played host to anniversary events and bidding, the auction was set to take the col- launched its new digital show Black Holes in Carnegie Science Center lecting community “Where no one has gone Space. This 40-minute original program One Allegheny Avenue before”! After three days of frenetic finagling, explores the life cycle of stars and the pro- the collection had sold for over twice its esti- cesses leading to the formation of these mys- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania mated value. Wow. I could have kicked terious gravitational enigmas. Founded 15212 USA myself for not getting in on the action. through the generosity of national benefac- tor Eugene Eugenides, the Eugenides (1) 412-237-3348 My adoration was put in quick context when I picked up a used copy of the small Foundation is an independent organization (1) 412-237-3395 fax (yet exhaustive) The Encyclopedia of Guilty whose mission is to support the enhance- hughesj@ Pleasures by Sam carnegiesciencecenter.org Stall, Lou Harry and Julia I first saw the announcement a few Spalding. Pub- months ago in the “Fine Arts and Leisure” lished in 2004, section of The New York Times. Christie’s in the encyclopedia New York, USA was holding an auction of has three illustra- Star Trek props and production items from tions on its cover: the archives of 40 years of the TV programs Leonard Nimoy and movies. I thought to myself, “How cool (as Spock), a Big would it be to go and at least see the preview Mac, and Pamela display and get a close up look at these gen- Anderson. The uine relics of sci-fi history?” Needless to say, book lists about I didn’t fly off to NYC, as I was eyeball deep 1001 other things into the installation of our new DigitalSky 2 that are supposed system from Sky-Skan, Inc. that opened the to make us feel week before the auction. guilty for loving Just imagining the heated volley of the them: not only auction paddles left my head in a whirl. I ABBA, Doctor never was a huge “fan” of the show in the Who, Lava “fanatic” sense of the word, but still, I do Lamps, Pac-Man, have a great appreciation for what Gene and Walt Disney Roddenberry created with his sci-fi soap World, but also Manos Kitsonas, Technical Director of the Eugenides opera. I guess that I officially joined the ranks laser shows, Planetarium, pilots the console. Photo courtesy of Steve Savage, of adoring fans when I first tracked down museum gift Sky-Skan, Inc.

66 Planetarian December 2006 ment of scientific, technological and techni- out’ about the fantastic things a well Gabriel drove the 300 km from Morelia to cal education of Greek youth and to pro- designed robot can show us. Thanks too, to Mexico City to collect me, and it was a great mote science and technology to the wider the CICLOPS Imaging Team, and to Carolyn pleasure to visit his planetarium and the city public. Through its innovative planetarium Porco, for telling the continuing story so itself, especially with Gabriel showing me programs, interactive science exhibits, edu- well. Of course, thanks also go to the CHARM around. Although the planned 2002 IPS cational scholarships, awards programs Telecon team, for the explanations and Conference in (including the Eugenides Script Writing updates as the new discoveries keep piling Morelia did not Contest), extensive publications, and scien- on!” come to fruition, tific library, the Foundation is set to start a Ken is director of the planetarium, and Gabriel was always new chapter in its already impressive histo- also is a JPL/NASA Solar System Educator very keen on the ry! and Ambassador. possibility of a … to Michael Narlock and wife on the future IPS birth of their new baby on September 27, Our Condolences to… Conference or IPS 2006. The new father is head of Astronomy … the friends and family of John Holmes, Council meeting at the Cranbrook Institute of Science who recently passed away. Friend and col- being held there Planetarium in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, league Ray Worthy posted the news recently one day. USA. Michael’s wife started going into labor on Dome-L: “I have just been informed of the “Gabriel was a the evening before he was planning to fly to death of my friend John Holmes, who made good friend of us Salt Lake City for the Digistar User’s Group such wonderful projectors. We in the mobile all and I am sure Gabriel Muñoz Conference. Mike cancelled his plans to be at dome world knew him as a joyful man, full that many of us DUG, but did submit a demo, “Wizards in of stories after dinner, but he was more, have quite fond Photo by Martin George Winter,” that won second place in the D3 much more than that. He was a skilled memories of him. category. instrument maker and inventor. You, who One of mine is that he would always remem- … to the other winners of the Digistar know about astronomical things will appre- ber to offer me one of his chillies, as he knew User’s Group Demo Awards! (See page 69) ciate the level of his accomplishments when I liked them so much! I shall miss him great- … on the occasion of the ninth anniver- I tell you that, at one time, he was the only ly. “ sary of the Cassini/Huygens Probes! This person who was allowed to dismantle the … the friends and family of Allan Bishop, Dome-L post by Ken Brandt of the Robeson Harrison chronometers in Greenwich; those who died in August in Westlake, Ohio USA. Planetarium and Science Center, Lumberton, wonderful chronometers which solved the From IPS President-Elect Susan Button: North Carolina USA nicely sums up the sen- problem of the finding of longitude. Yours “One of our small dome colleagues and past timents of a lot of planetarians: sadly, Ray Worthy.” IPS president, Jeanne Bishop, tragically and “Going through my show setup this … the friends and family of Gabriel Muñoz unexpectedly lost her husband Allan to can- morning, I just realized—October 5 is the in Mexico. From IPS President Martin cer this past August. I am sure many of you ninth anniversary of Cassini “leaving port,” George: “Gabriel was a big supporter and know Jeanne well as she is an impressive departing for Saturn and environs there- Fellow of the IPS and had represented force in our planetarium world. Allan retired, abouts! Well done, Cassini and Huygens AMPAC—the Association of Mexican in 2005, from the NASA Glenn (formerly crew—keep up the fantastic results! And a Planetariums—on many occasions. He was Lewis) Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio special planetarian thank you to Bill Gutsch, director of the Morelia Planetarium over a where he worked as an engineer, coordinat- (Brian Sullivan) and the Ringworld/- period of over 30 years, and was a former ing research efforts between multiple depart- Ringworld2 team... you have provided us president of the International Planetarium ments. He was a delightful and kind man. My countless (although perhaps Jane Jones, Alice Directors' Congress (IPDC). husband and I will miss talking with him at Wessen, and Shannon can give us a ballpark “On one occasion, in 2003, I had the plea- GLPA meetings. Jeanne’s email is: number here) opportunities to ‘get the word sure of meeting with Gabriel in Morelia. [email protected].”

Deep inside the Star Axis sculpture (left); the Star Axis is aligned (right) with the North Star, Polaris. The sculpture also is created to reveal other Earth/star alignments. Photos courtesy of Charles Ross

December 2006 Planetarian 67 … the friends and family of John architectural spaces since the early Seaton, who unexpectedly passed 1970’s. away on October 26 at the too early age of 40. His wife, Patty Seaton, is Digging in Ireland president of the Mid-Atlantic Humankind has been digging into Planetarium Society and director of the Earth for a long time. Visit the the H.B. Owens Science Center at website http://www.knowth.com to Prince George's County Public get a great online tour of some of the Schools in Maryland. Megalithic Passage Tombs of Ireland! From Patty, in a posting on Dome- There are lots of great images of the L: “I know that most of you knew tombs and plenty of info to quell me rather than him, but he was a your desire for archeoastronomy strong supporter of my work in the between trips out into the trenches. field, even though astronomy was not really his interest. He would let And Digging in Kansas me drag him to every planetarium As she planned for a new exhibit within the vicinity of where we on comets, meteors, and asteroids, Dr. traveled, and gladly watched our Carolyn Sumners, senior director of young daughter on weekends when astronomy at the Houston Museum I had to work. of Natural Science, Houston, Texas, “So, if I seem a little on the sad USA wanted to apply the latest scien- side when I see you next, you will tific techniques to the process of dig- understand why. Thanks for being Above: Dr. Carolyn Sumner (far right, top) documents ging up a buried meteorite to maxi- my friends and family, because I will the radar mapping of the hyperbolic shape trapped mize the data collected. First she col- be leaning on you in the future.” in the Kansas soil. Below: excavation crew loosens laborated with the Brenham the pallasite meteorite on October 15, 2006. Both pho- Memorial tributes can be made to tos by Tom Casey, Home Run Pictures, and courtesy Meteorite Company to find a suitable the American Diabetes Association of the Houston Museum of Natural History meteorite. In a wheat field just east of (Baltimore Chapter), 3120 Lord Greensburg, Kansas, USA Steve Baltimore Drive, Suite 106, Arnold identified a buried metallic Baltimore, Maryland USA 21244. object using a custom-designed large … The friends and family of loop metal detector, but he had no William "Bill" Hill, the founding way to tell if the object was a buried director of the Waubonsie Valley meteorite, tractor part, pipe, or barrel. High School Planetarium, in Aurora, Dr. Sumners then asked Dr. Essam Illinois, USA, who died in June. In Heggy of the Lunar and Planetary 1974, Hill became the chair of the Institute in Houston to provide tech- science department of the then-new niques for mapping this buried object high school, where he supervised using ground-penetrating radar. Dr. the construction and opening of the Heggy’s research has focused on the planetarium. identification of subsurface struc- tures on Earth as he develops and Can You Dig It? tests a ground-penetrating radar sys- Artist Charles Ross has been dig- tem that may someday be used on ging—literally—to create a sculpture Mars. “Although Kansas is not Mars, that he calls the Star Axis. First con- multiple frequency, polarized and ceived in 1971, this monumental art- cross-polarized ground-penetrating work is being constructed on a mesa radar mapping should still identify a in New Mexico, USA. At its outside foot size iron-rich meteorite buried in dimensions, Star Axis will be 11 sto- loose ground soil,” said Heggy. ries high and 1/10th of a mile across In October, Dr. Heggy’s radar (528 feet, or about 161 meters). Ross showed a clear hyperbolic shape, 4 ft has created what he calls “an architectonic person donation is requested. Donations for (1.2 m) below the surface—the signature of a earth/star sculpture (that) is precisely aligned Star Axis are being received by the College of bulky elliptical object. With multiple-fre- with Earth’s axis, which now points toward Santa Fe, a nonprofit educational organiza- quency scanning using different radar anten- our North Star, Polaris.” Star Axis is a naked tion. They only ask that you give plenty of nas, he estimated the size and depth of the eye observatory that offers an intimate expe- advance notice and that you be flexible object and provided the parameters for dig- rience of how Earth’s environment extends regarding the exact time and day you would ging. The museum sent a field team of arche- into the space of the stars. Though still under like to visit. ologists and geologists to collect and sample construction and generally closed to the When Star Axis is complete, it will be soils and to gather other data buried with public, occasional visitors are allowed onto open to the public by reservation. For more the rock. After two days of digging, the team the site during the summer months. If you information, visit http://www.staraxis.org. revealed a rare meteorite called a pallasite, are interested in seeing the site, please tele- Here you can also view some of Charles’s seen for the first time after being buried for phone Lake McTigue, College of Santa Fe Art solar spectrum light sculptures that he has thousands of years. Department, at (1) 505-473-6500. A $50 per been commissioned to create for a variety of Stratigraphic layers promise new knowl-

68 Planetarian December 2006 The attendee’s of the Spitz Digital Institute on the lawn at Chadd’s Ford. Photo courtesy of Spitz Inc.

installation for sale. It while trying to keep his tail out of trouble! has 24 movable seats in The third Chirpie show should be complete Top: Largest 12, two-seat pods, that’s this spring.” oriented pallasite on display synchronized via a For details, contact Davin at dlateau@ in the lobby of computer to a 70 mm exploration.org. the CyberDome Iwerks Quatro projector at Exploration Place. that runs special simula- Continuing Education Left: Chirpie tor films from Iwerks- Spitz Inc. recently held its latest Digital flies again in his all new Simex. Everything Institute at the Spitz facility at Chadds Ford, adventures next works great, and Pennsylvania, USA. The purpose of the spring from the although Iwerk’s sup- Digital Institute is to introduce teachers and CyberDome in Wichita! Both port for the actual pro- planetarians who are new to digital astrono- images courtesy jector these days is lim- my education a chance to sharpen their Exploration ited, there is still a large skills. Taking part in instruction included Place library of films out Herb Koller and Pedro Braganca of Starry there for these motion Night Canada in Toronto; Phil Sadler rides. We’re going to from Learning Technologies Inc.; and John edge on exactly when the meteorite hit convert that theater into exhibit space. Stoke and Dr. Frank Summers from the Space Earth; soil compaction conditions may give “We also created an astronomy exhibit Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public an indication of its direction of impact. Its gallery in our theater entrance. I’ve been Outreach. Instructors from Spitz include shape and external condition may tell how working with the Brenham Meteorite Joyce Towne, Scott Huggins, and David it entered the atmosphere. Organic materials Company to create a new Kansas meteorite Millard. buried under the meteorite may provide exhibit featuring over 2,500 pounds of mete- Over 30 planetarium professionals attend- additional evidence of the date of impact, orites! Five specimens of recently unearthed ed this year’s Digital Institute. Dates for next and its composition may explain its origin Brenham meteorites from central Kansas, year’s program can be obtained from Scott inside an asteroid, perhaps billions of years some never seen by the public before, are on Huggins, director of Marketing at ago. According to Dr. Sumners, “this mete- display for viewing—and touching! Featured [email protected]. orite is definitely talking and we are listen- is the ‘main mass,’ the current record holder ing carefully!” as the world’s largest flight-oriented pallasite Did you know… at over 1,400 pounds. It made a huge interna- … that The Coca-Cola Space Science “Digging” at CyberDome tional news splash when it was unearthed Center in Columbus, Georgia, USA has And since we’re digging around in Kansas last year! obtained exclusive rights to produce the first and it is an IPS conference year, let’s visit the “On the show front, we’re currently in ever Dr. Seuss fulldome planetarium show? site of a previous IPS Conference and check production on Chirpie 3, the third install- The program will be based on the book in to see how things are going at the ment of our very popular fulldome Chirpie There’s No Place Like Space, written by Tish CyberDome at Exploration Place in Wichita! series for pre-school and kindergarten-aged Rabe and illustrated faithfully in the style of Davin Flateau, director of Theaters and kids. Chirpie is a mischievous little bird who Dr. Seuss by Aristides Ruiz, in which the ven- Media Services, is also digging around for has taken kids on a tour of the sky, the sea- erable Cat in the Hat takes Sally and Conrad someone to buy their Iwerks Turbo Tour sons, and Earth in our first two Chirpie on an adventurous trip through the solar sys- motion ride installation, digging his new shows. tem. Now in the preproduction stage, meteorite exhibit, and digging into their “In this third show, Chirpie takes his long- Omnisphere Director Lance Tank newest children’s show production. “We’re anticipated trip into outer space, visiting the ersley recently asked fulldome planetarium offering our Iwerks Turbo Tour motion ride Moon and planets, making new friends, directors and managers to take a short online

December 2006 Planetarian 69 survey to get feedback to help in planning this exciting new show. You can email Lance for more details at [email protected]. … that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (part of the US Department of Commerce) has a dramatic teaching tool in their Science On A Sphere® exhibit technology? It’s almost like fulldome video in reverse! Science On a Sphere (SOS) is a room-sized, global display system Left: Anton Vamplew from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, UK (left) and Greg Andrews from that uses computers and video projectors to the SciPort Discovery Center in Shreveport, Louisiana USA; Right: Julie Thompson and Dr. Tom display planetary data onto a 6-ft (1.8 m) Mason from Armagh Plaentarium in Armagh, Ireland, at the DUG conference. All photos by Marty diameter sphere, like a giant animated Sisam and courtesy of the Digistar Users Group globe. NOAA researchers have developed SOS as an educational tool to help illustrate Digistar Users Group earth system science to people of all ages. The Digistar Users Group (DUG), an independent group of professionals who own and Animated images of atmospheric storms, use Digistar technology, held its annual conference at Evans & Sutherland’s facilities in climate change, and ocean temperature can Salt Lake City, Utah USA, in September. More than 70 registered, making this the largest be shown on the sphere in a large display conference in DUG history. setting, allowing viewers to move around Salt Lake City’s Clark Planetarium hosted activities the first evening, presenting their the display. latest full-dome show, Black Holes, narrated by John de Lancie of Star Trek fame. E&S and SOS is available to any institution and is Mirage 3D both premiered programs: Mystery of the Christmas Star, a full-dome show currently in operation at a number of facili- available for the holiday season, by E&S; and Origins of Life, a story of the beginning and ties in the United States. NOAA has been development of life on Earth, by Mirage 3D. Starlight Productions closed the evening using SOS to support educational initiatives, with a live performance by recording artist Jonathan McEuen, who played guitar and primarily in informal education venues sang to real-time and playback full-dome video perfectly synced to his music. such as science centers and museums. SOS is In addition to demonstrations of cutting-edge technology (including the E&S Laser, the built from standard hardware components new Sony SXRD, and DLP projectors), the highlight of the conference was the annual and off-the-shelf PC’s, video projectors, DUG Awards. DUG members presented samples of their latest work for both Digistar II wires, and a sphere. When installed in a and Digistar 3, and the entries are entered into the DUG Library to be available free-of- room, the sphere is suspended from above charge to all members. and surrounded at the corners of the room Digistar II submissions were: Santa Snork, George & Oatmeal, etc. from Jennifer by four video projectors; all of the display Horvatin from Longway Planetarium in Flint, Michigan USA; 3D Face, Mr. Rogers, etc. by computers are controlled centrally by a John French from Abrams Planetarium, Chicago, Illinois USA; Beyond the Solar System fifth computer. Data is pulled from a disk, by Jason Heaton from the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, Dayton, Ohio USA; and manipulated, re-projected, and synchro- Haunted Castle by Eric nized back onto the sphere. Schreur from the Universal You can find previews of stills and Theater and Planetarium, movies for this product and for your other Kalamazoo, Michigan USA. teaching needs at http://sos.noaa. Digistar 3 submissions: gov/gallery. For more information about Awesome Universe & Sack by the NOAA Science On a Sphere®, contact Piyush Pandey from Nehru William B. Bendel, NOAA Global Systems Planetarium, Bombay, India; Division, Boulder, Colorado, USA; phone (1) Cosmic Jukebox & Eye Candy 303-497-6708; or email Bill at by Steve Cooper from the [email protected]. Science Center of Iowa, Des … that Marc Taylor from the Andrus Moines; Armagh Story by Planetarium at the Hudson River Museum Julie Thompson from Armagh Attendees at the DUG conference in Salt Lake in Yonkers, New York USA is looking for Planetarium, Armagh, Ireland ; City, Utah USA demonstrate safe solar viewing some fresh approaches to “Science Gallery” Wizards in Winter & Best while looking at the Sun (at sunspots, we hope). design? How many times have you said, “I Christmas by Michael Narlock love my planetarium lobby!” If this is the from Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan USA; Floating case, send your design ideas to Marc at Constellations & Solstice Suns by Dan Spence from Northern Kentucky University; [email protected], and while you’re at it, Highland Heights, Kentucky USA; Nightwalk (Beta Test) by John Zinck from Boonshoft send some pictures along to me and I’ll Museum of Discovery; Star Hopping Buttons by Krissie Cook from Santa Barbara showcase your exhibit, lobby, or demo ideas Community College, California, USA; Enter the Sandman from Don Harrington, right here in print! Discovery Center, Amarillo, Texas, USA; and Raising Alexandria & Decoding Maya from … that the astronomy-loving folks at the Infovision. University of Chicago/Kavli Institute of The winners were: Julie Thompson, first place in Digistar 3, and Michael Narlock, sec- Cosmological Physics/Adler Planetarium & ond; in the Digistar II category, John French took first and Eric Schreur took second. Astronomy Museum collaboration, COS- Seminars throughout the conference were presented by Gary Senn from the University MUS, has created 3-D side-by-side stereo of South Carolina-Aiken; Matt Mascheri from Adler Planetarium; Bruce Thatcher from images and interactives? They are primarily Starlight Productions; and Michael Daut, Stan Pitcher, Fred Orrell, Boyd Whiting, Kevin (See Gibbous on page 71) Scott, and Lynn Buchanan, all from E&S.

70 Planetarian December 2006 Dimitrie Olenici of Suceava Planetarium in [email protected]. Romania, stopped by to catch their new … Jeffrey L. Smith will retire from the State show The Greatest Wonders of the Universe. Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, Dimitrie seems to be very interested in pen- Pennsylvania USA after 39 years of service to dulum experiments. Visit his website at the museum’s Planetarium. Jeff oversaw the http://www.allais.info/priorartdocs/olenici. installation of a SciDome fulldome planetari- htm. um system from Spitz in 2005. Jeff will ease … that The Zula Patrol-Under the Weather into retirement and would like to keep in fulldome planetarium show is in develop- touch with other planetarians. You can con- ment at Spitz, Inc.? The Zula Patrol is a pop- tact by mail at 351 New Bloomfield Road, ular animated TV series currently airing on Duncannon, Pennsylvania USA 17020 or by Public Broadcasting Service affiliates around email at [email protected]. the USA. Spitz Creative Media is working in … BCC Planetarium and Observatory at conjunction with the show’s producers, Zula Brevard Community College in Cocoa, USA, to bring the show to a fulldome theater Florida, USA has a treasure chest full of plan- near you. The program is scheduled to pre- etarium equipment that it would like to sell. miere next summer at the Adler Planetarium I’m not sure how fast this equipment will get in Chicago, Illinois USA. The show is targeted grabbed up, but Chuck Greenwood, plane- for younger viewers (pre-kindergarten to tarium engineer, recently posted the follow- third and fourth grade) and their families. ing info at Dome-L: “We now have permis- The fulldome show will complement a trav- sion to unload some old stuff. I know there eling exhibit under development by were people interested in our special effects— The Zula Patrol will star in their ThinkWell. For more information on the now is the time to get them. We’ve got own full dome children’s planetari- series, educational outreach activities, muse- roughly 65 projectors, with a value in the um show next summer! Photo courtesy of Spitz Inc. um exhibit and more, visit www.thezulapa- tens of thousands. We’d be happy to get an trol.com. To learn more about the fulldome average of $100 each for them.” You can look (Gibbous, continued from page 70) project, visit http://www.spitzinc.com/full- over an online list of the items for sale at dome_shows/index.html. http://www.brevardcc.edu/planet/sale. You designed for the “GeoWall” (see can contact Chuck if you see something http://geowall.geo.lsa.umich.edu), a science People (and Equipment and your dome can’t live without at visualization tool for earth science and Websites) on the Move [email protected]. research. COSMUS also has 2-D movies and … Alexandra Barnett will resign her post as … And speaking of vintage planetarium interactives. Topics include a fly through of the chief executive officer of the Cabot equipment for sale, John Hare of Ash the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, surface of Mars, Space and Science Center in Enterprises has also revealed ultra high energy cosmic ray showers, and Oakland, California, USA at the recently that he has an exten- the black hole at the center of the galaxy, end of 2006. Alex stated per- sive inventory of used Talent and all can be previewed at sonal reasons when she wrote projectors, single-shot slide pro- http://astro.uchicago.edu/cosmus/proj recently of the news to Dome- jectors, and many other used ects.html. The best part is all visualizations Ler’s. Alex shares that she has special effects. You can contact are free—COSMUS only asks to be credited. found the love of her life and his associate Eric Melenbrink, Stop by their website and take time out to plans to shorten a long com- e.melenbrink@ contact Randy Landsberg, director of mute by joining her husband- att.net in the Richmond, Education and Outreach for the Kavli to-be closer to his home about Virginia USA office of Ash Institute and the Department of Astronomy 90 minutes away. She plans to Enterprises for inventory & Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, stay involved with Cabot, Alexandra Barnett descriptions and prices. 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois however, as she is deeply com- … If you’re like me and you USA 60637; phone (1) 773-702-7783; or email mitted to current and future rely on your favorites button, him at [email protected]. projects that are already underway. Alex has then you need the following News from the … that the weekend staff at the New provided the following email addresses so Nessies! Mark Petersen reports that the web Detroit Science Center’s Dassault Systèmes friends and colleagues can stay in touch after address “lochness.com” has gone to a site at Planetarium had an unexpected out-of-town the first of next year: alexbarnett@sbcglob- Loch Ness in Scotland and the new web site planetarian visitor recently? While in the al.net. If you have a creative/consul- for Loch Ness Productions is changing to Detroit, Michigan USA area visiting relatives, ting need, contact her at lochnessproductions.com.

enhanced by this technology. If we can’t astronomy in particular. We’re influencing (Editor, continued from page 4) afford all-dome, we can still teach with the the children who will become the scientists let’s allow them to do its job and move on. traditional programs—or with just a star proof the future, who will be making the dis- All these questions and changes—just some jector. If we have the ability to teach—and coveries that allow technology to grow – so of the few facing our community—have to the capability, no matter how simple or necessary for our world to progress and our be examined under one light, however: edu- advanced—we’re doing our jobs. We’re doing society to grow. cation. Isn’t that what it comes down to— this so there will be others to take our places Kids will be kids. They’ll always be fasci- our ability to teach? We can teach without and continue the job of educating children nated by the stars. Let’s give the stars to fulldome, but our ability to do so is and the public about science in general and them the best way we can.

December 2006 Planetarian 71 first night of observing at the Anglo- stays home. “I would not do well in the jun- Last Light Australian Observatory, soon after his arrival gle,” he said. “I’m too big, I’m clumsy, and I from England. The sky was clear, the slit was get hungry often.” open and Mr. Malin was getting the tele- There are not many sky stories from peo- scope ready for the observing session. ple who live in a rainforest. You can’t see the Happening to glance out of the slit, he sud- sky. There is a lot of knowledge about the denly noticed huge clouds rising in the sky. seasons, however. There are two, he said: In a panic, he rang up the technicians, rain, and lots of rain. The river is to your exclaiming that it was about to rain. waist or the river is to your neck. The techs all burst into hysterical laugh- We had a delightful speaker for the confer- ter. The “clouds” were the Sagittarius region ence dinner. Professor Fred Watson is of the Milky Way. Astronomer-in-Charge of the Anglo- Rob Landis showed some excellent anima- Australian Observatory (AAO) at Siding tion sequences featuring the International Spring. (His book Stargazer—The Life and Space Station during his keynote speech. He Times of the Telescope was reviewed in the noted that the Service Module section of the March 2006 Planetarian.) His talk was titled ISS has the only toilet on station. “So if you “Astronomers Behaving Badly,” which he dock the Soyuz here, and enter station began with “Don’t worry about turning off through this hatch, it really is “first door on your mobile phones. I don’t care,” and the right.” responded to an audience member with “I Dr. John Storey talked about Antarctica— love being heckled, but: you don’t get your not just cold, but cool! There are some dessert until I’ve finished.” April S. Whitt research sites on the continent, several of When showing us images of the AAO Fernbank Science Center them with the name “dome” followed by a dome, he pointed to his thinning hair and 156 Heaton Park Drive NE letter designation: Dome A, Dome F, etc. As noted the similarity between the dome and he was describing the various sites, from the his head. “When the rest of my hair falls out, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA row behind me a voice whispered, “Hey! which will be soon,” he said, “I’m going to [email protected] There’s no Dome L!” have a little walkway tattooed round my When I mentioned that later, Sally Goff head.” What a wonderful conference! What gra- noted that cious hosts! What perfect weather! IPS 2006: the site let- Under the Southern Skies rates among my ter designa- top three conferences ever. I’m guessing that tion reflects many of us read Steve Tidey’s description on the name of Dome-L of the jaw-dropping-gorgeous night something. sky we observed from Heathcote. Add excel- Dome F is lent speakers, great ideas from fellow plane- for Fuji, for tarians, generous vendor support and near- example. magical new technology, and this was one Sally sug- great meeting. Many thanks to Dr. Tanya gested that Hill and her incredible staff for welcoming Rob travel us so warmly. to Antar- And feeding us so well! Faced with a long ctica, and table of delicious-looking luncheon, I real- create Dome ized that I didn’t know what some of the L for Landis! dishes were. When I asked about it, Andrew Dr. Storey Buckingham, just ahead of me in line said, “I described Presidents past, present and future (left to right) Jim Manning, shall translate. Salad, salad rolls, meat pies.” the ice cores Thomas Kraupe, Martin George, Jon Elvert, Dale Smith, Martin Thank heaven for helpful colleagues. that have Ratcliffe, and (front) Susan Button. At one of the dinners in the historic been drilled Pumping Station at Scienceworks, we man- from the Antarctic ice. Atmospheric nuclear Describing images of nebulae: “The hydro- aged to collect most of the past presidents of tests show up in those core layers, which he gen atoms get excited and when they get the Society (a task akin to herding referred to as “site testing with nuclear excited they do what humans do when they Schrodinger cats) for a group photograph. weapons.” get excited. They glow pink.” Alexandre Cherman from the Rio de Near the end of his talk, he asked David Overheard in Melbourne: Janeiro Planetarium presented some native Malin, “Did they offer you a knighthood During that dark-night-sky tour, Tanya Brazilian sky stories. As a PhD physicist, he when you left England, David? They sure mentioned that the conference planners said, he adopts the “quantum physics” never offered me one.” were not sure about that part of the program. approach to collecting sky stories from To which David Malin replied, “I got a pair They couldn’t believe that 300 people would native cultures: “The less I interfere, the bet- of pajamas.” actually want to be walking around outside ter it goes.” The conference program book notes that at night in the dark. When he hears of linguists or anthropolo- Professor Watson “has an asteroid named David Malin’s opening lecture shared gists about to travel into the rainforest to after him (5691 Fredwatson), but says that if “Images of Science” with us. Terrance visit indigenous peoples, he asks them “to it hits the Earth it won’t be his fault.” Murtaugh later told a story about David’s please ask the people about the sky” and he 72 Planetarian December 2006

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