A Cosmos on the Ceiling Marek Kukula Enjoys a History of the Planetarium, That Mix of Science and Spectacle
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Visitors learn about the Moon at a planetarium in Jena, Germany. EDUCATION A cosmos on the ceiling Marek Kukula enjoys a history of the planetarium, that mix of science and spectacle. childhood visit to a planetarium can small to accommodate for the expansion of the Universe (Hubble be a defining moment, points out the recently discovered again), Karl Jansky’s early forays into radio William Firebrace at the beginning Uranus. (Eisinga’s wife, astronomy and Clyde Tombaugh’s detection Aof Star Theatre. A building that attempts Pietje, insisted that the of Pluto. both to model and explain the cosmos is mechanism include The planetarium concept also chimed often our first experience of the collision of storage for clothing with contemporary social and political MARTIN SCHUTT/GETTY science and entertainment. Star Theatre is a and crockery.) movements. In the Weimar Republic of cultural history rather than a scientific one, The modern plane- interwar Germany, these hinged on the civi- but inevitably pivots on science commu- tarium — a dome into lizing force of publicly accessible art, design nication. It offers fascinating insights into which a simulacrum Star Theatre: and science. Sadly, the Second World War how astronomy has, through planetariums, of the night sky is pro- The Story of the destroyed many planetariums from this first Planetarium evolved over the past century from a tool for jected — is a newer WILLIAM FIREBRACE German wave, which borrowed architectural education and personal improvement to a invention. The proto- Reaktion: 2018. elements from neoclassicism and Bauhaus. crowd-pleasing public spectacle. type appeared on the Moscow’s 1929 constructivist planetarium Firebrace, an architect and writer, sites the roof of the Carl Zeiss optical-instruments combined a proletarian ethos with revolu- spiritual origins of the planetarium in ancient factory in Jena, Germany, in 1924, devised tionary engineering: a paraboloid dome in Egypt, where the star-spangled body of sky by visionary engineer Walther Bauersfeld. reinforced concrete. During the cold war, goddess Nut was thought to arch over the Nile Known as the Sternentheater, or star theatre, the building became newly relevant as a Valley. Cosmic models also have a surpris- the structure used radical design: a central showcase for the Soviet Union’s mid-century ingly long technological prehistory, involv- multi-lensed projector and a lightweight triumphs in space (T. Radford Nature 525, ing astronomical clocks, walk-in revolving geodesic dome. 452–453; 2015). Along with promoting an globes and giant mechanical orreries, many It arrived at an exciting time for physics and egalitarian idea of space exploration as the astonishingly complex. In the late eighteenth astronomy. Albert Einstein’s general theory of destiny of the Soviet people, it was used to century, Dutch wool carder and amateur relativity and the discovery of galaxies outside familiarize cosmonauts with the constella- astronomer Eise Eisinga built an elaborate the Milky Way by Edwin Hubble were fresh tions and workings of the Solar System. working model of the Solar System in his in the public mind. Other breakthroughs Postwar superpower rivalries proved fertile living room, although the space proved too were around the corner, including evidence ground for a new wave of planetariums, in 172 | NATURE | VOL 552 | 14 DECEMBER©2017 M 2017ac millan Publishers Li mited, part of Spri nger Nature. All ri ghts reserved. ©2017 Mac millan Publishers Li mited, part of Spri nger Nature. All ri ghts reserved. BOOKS & ARTS COMMENT which the edifices again fulfilled ideological roles. In the United States, plutocrats were its main financiers. Their often eccentric build- Books in brief ings were inspired by the exuberant aesthetic of pulp sci-fi magazines. As Firebrace notes, A University Education US popular science was “linked to mass David Willetts OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS (2017) entertainment, to adventure, exploration and Worldwide, universities numbered just 500 after the Second World individual encounters with the unknown”. War; the tally is now 10,000. The most venerable handful are, like Philanthropist banker Charles Hayden California redwoods, “deep-rooted, long-lived, and with the power is said to have believed that “feeling the to shape an entire eco-system around them”. So declares David immensity of the sky and one’s own little- Willetts in this magisterial study of the institution. In it, Willetts, UK ness” should be accessible to all, although minister for universities and science from 2010 to 2014, explores Firebrace dryly points out that sense of the landscapes of research, scholarship and innovation; parses the size might also depend on socio-economic intricacies of policy; dives into the vexed question of fees; and gives status. The 1935 planetarium built in New related topics, from globalization to “edtech”, their due. York City in Hayden’s name featured Saturn- shaped light fittings and was crowned with a bronze dome that used soundproofing to Ten Great Ideas about Chance create the illusion of isolation in space. Persi Diaconis and Brian Skyrms PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS (2017) Britain came relatively late to the planetar- What are the odds that the Sun will ‘rise’ again tomorrow? Just ium party: the iconic London Planetarium because the phenomenon happens every day, can we be sure it will opened its doors only in 1958. Built in a style again? And, most importantly, can we quantify our confidence in described by Firebrace as “modest and but- that prediction? In ten engaging, profound and occasionally dense toned up”, it was attached to the Madame chapters, mathematician Persi Diaconis and logician Brian Skyrms Tussauds waxworks museum — an uneasy review pivotal points in the history of probability and statistics, conjunction that seems only slightly less unified by a central thread: the practical and philosophical pitfalls bizarre when one remembers that both were that lie in the very definition of chance. A volume that should be on in the business of simulation. (The planetar- every scientist’s reading list. ium ceased functioning as such in 2006.) Our era of space telescopes and robotic probes has coincided with a revolution in Another Science Is Possible: A Manifesto for Slow Science planetarium technology. Audiences are freed Isabelle Stengers (translated by Stephen Muecke) POLITY (2017) from a fixed vantage point on Earth. They can Sloppy, conformist, opportunistic and in thrall to a boom-and-bust now fly virtually across the Solar System and economy: a worrying proportion of research, argues philosopher beyond by way of a seamless mix of com- of science Isabelle Stengers, is little better than a rush job. Stengers puter-generated and real images provided by calls for scientists to remember that science is tightly twined with digital projection systems at, say, the Adler social concerns, and cannot vanquish global issues at speed, or alone. Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois, or the Peter Further, she argues that researchers need to participate in “public Harrison Planetarium in Greenwich, London. intelligence”: honest, coherent communication with a scientifically Firebrace laments the loss of the old- clued-up populace. Although convoluted at times, Stengers’s fashioned shows’ subtlety, but modern space slow-science manifesto is timely, trenchant and thoughtful. extravaganzas have helped to renew public interest in all things astronomical. Perhaps it is their resemblance to cinema and com- The Spaces Between Us puter games that has allowed them to prosper, Michael Graziano OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS (2018) even as museum displays are under pressure We walk through life in a bubble, asserts neuroscientist Michael to attract younger audiences. And one might Graziano. This personal buffer zone is “constantly switched on like argue that the modern planetarium can be a a force field” and monitored by networks of ‘peripersonal’ neurons. highly effective gateway to a deeper engage- Graziano’s detailed study splices early work on the phenomenon ment with science. (such as the ‘escape zone’ of fleeing prey) into accounts of research, We now understand that much of the including his own, that is now sketching in relevant brain machinery. cosmos is invisible, and our methods of Finally, he explores psychosocial aspects and, in a devastating investigating it no longer rely entirely on coda, reveals how dyspraxia compromises the ability to decode electro magnetic radiation. Star Theatre ends peripersonal space, with potentially explosive social consequences. by questioning the future role of the planetar- ium — an experience based on visible light — in a Universe of gravitational waves, dark Why You Eat What You Eat matter and dark energy. But it seems unlikely Rachel Herz W. W. NORTON (2017) that the winning mix of drama, technology, In this factual feast, neuroscientist Rachel Herz probes humanity’s design and science will go out of fashion any fiendishly complex relationship with food from the inside out. We time soon. As Firebrace concludes: “The learn that a fetus detects aromatic compounds from food its mother heavens are as full of light as ever.” ■ eats, paving the way for preference; that we eat less of snacks served in red dishes; and that olive oil’s aroma may help to control weight. Marek Kukula is public astronomer at the Herz also reveals how, on US election night 2016, a surge in deliveries Royal Observatory Greenwich in London. of ‘comfort’ foods such as pizza hit New York and other stricken pro- e-mail: [email protected] Hillary Clinton cities. An intimate look at food on the brain. Barbara Kiser ©2017 Mac millan Publishers Li mited, part of Spri nger Nature. All ri ghts reserved. ©2017 Mac millan Publishers Li mited, part of Spri nger Nature. Al14l ri g DECEMBERhts reserved. 2017 | VOL 552 | NATURE | 173 .