PLANETARIAN Journal of the International Planetarium Society Vol. 29, No.3, September 2000 Articles 6 Sri Lankan Skies and Sir Arthur .................. T. C. Samaranayaka 8 "Davie Dragon and the Planets" (script) ................. Margie Walter Features 21 Reviews ...... ~ ............................................................... April S. Whitt 23 Gibbous Gazette ....................................................... James Hughes 27 Forum: Most Important Equipment? ......................... Steve Tidey 31 What's New ................................................................ Jim Manning 38 International News ..................................................... Lars Broman 44 President's Message ...................................................... Dale Smith 54 Jane's Corner ............................................................. Jane Hastings North America Welcomes a Brilliant NelN Character in Star ShOlNs: Zeiss Fiber Optics With the dawn of the new millenni­ improve the quality of Star Shows for um, visitors of the new planetariums in audiences of the Universarium. They are Oakland, CA and New York City will also offered with the Starmaster, the experience brilliant stars produced by medium planetarium. the Carl Zeiss Universarium fiber optics Quality at the highest level which systems, Invented by Carl Zeiss, the stars you can afford. appear in their natural tiny size, but We will be happy to inform you shine with extraordinary brilliance. about how Carl Zeiss can make sure thaI Come and see this absolute pinnacle you will experience a new experience of projections of stars. Fiber optic systems Star Shows. by Carl Zeiss are not only offered to Seeing Is Believing! Carl Zeiss Planetarium Division In the U.S.& Canada D - 07740 lena cOlltact Pearl Reilly: INS TFlLJf'v'1ENT Telephone: + 49-3641 -64 24 06 1-800-726-8805 Fax: + 49-3641-64 30 23 Fax: 1-504-764-7665 E-mail: planetarium @zeiss.de E·mail: [email protected] Interne!: http://www.zeiss.delplanetariums The Planetarian (ISN 0090-3213) is published quarterly by the International Planetarium Society. ©2000. International Planetarium Society. Inc .. all rights reserved. Opinions expressed e n by authors are personal opinions and are not necessarily the opinions of the International Plan­ etarium Society. its officers. or agents. Acceptance of advertisements. announcements. or other Vol. 29, No.3 material does not imply endorsement by the International Planetarium Society. its officers or agents. The Editor welcomes items for consideration for publication. Please consult (or request) September 2000 "Guidelines for Contributors" printed on page 56 in the September 1997 issue and posted at the web site. The Editor reserves the right to edit any manuscript to suit this publication's needs. Executive Editor John Mosley IN E F ERTISER Griffith Observatory 2800 E. Observatory Road Adler Planetarium ......................................................... .. Los Angeles, California 90027 USA Audio Visual Imagineering .......................................... (1) 323-664-1181 daytime phone (1) 323-663-4323 fax Calgary Science Centre .............................................. .. [email protected] Davis Planetarium .......................................................... Advertising ~'V""_"'-II."''''''''_'''' East Coast Control Systems ..................................... .. Sheri Barton Trbovich Evans &: Sutherland ........................................ cover The Clark Foundation PO Box 9007 Goto Optical Manufacturing ............................... Salt Lake City, UT 84109-0007 USA Learning Technologies, Inc. ......................................... (1) 801-725-2771 voice (1) 801-583-5522 fax Miami Space Transit Planetarium ............................... [email protected] Minneapolis Planetarium ............................................ .. Membership Minolta Corporation ................................................... .. Individual: $50 one year; $90 two years Pangolin Laser ...................................... .. Institutional: $200 first year; $100 annual renewal Library Subscriptions: $36 one year R. S. Automation ............................... .. cover Direct membership requests and changes ofaddress Seiler Instruments ............................. cover to the Treasurer /Membership Chairman; see next Sky-Skan, Inc .................................................................... page for address and contact information. Spitz, Inc ........................................................................... I. S. Job Information Service The IPS Job Information Service has moved to the World Wide Web. Please check the 'Jobs" page on the IPS web site: http://www.ips-planetarium.org. sociate s 1d:'c:"1I11oco of the flJU'71n.t.JTnnnn Available from: Lars Broman Richard McColman Charlene Oukes International News Planetechnica IPS Back Publications Repository Susan Reynolds Button Jim Strasenburgh Planetarium Mobile News Network What's New Rochester Museum & Science Center 657 East Avenue Jane G. Hastings Steve Tidey Rochester, NY 14607 Jane's Comer Forum Index James Hughes A cumulative index of major articles that have Gibbous Gazette appeared in the Planetarian from the first issue through the current issue is available on paper ($12 ppd) or disk ($5 ppd) from the Exec. Edi tor. A shortened copy is at the Planetarian web site. Final Deadlines International Planetarium Society WWW AA'-'.aAA ...... March: January 21 June: April21 http://www.ips-planetarium.org September: July 21 December: October 21 Planetarian journal WWW page: http://www.Griffi th0 bs.org/IPSPlanetarian.h tml Vol. 29, No.3, September 2000 Planetarian President Executive Secr4etlltrY turismo /3036/ cconvenciones. htm Dr. Dale W. Smith Lee Ann Hennig, Planetar1UI11 [email protected] BGSU Planetarium Thomas Jefferson High School Physics & Astronomy Dept. 6560 Braddock Road Historian/Photo-Archivist Bowling Green State University Alexandria. Virginia 22312 USA John Hare Bowling Green, OH 43403 USA (1) 703-750-8380 Ash Enterprises (1) 419-372-8666 (1) 703-750-5010 fax 3602 23rd Avenue West (1) 419-372-9938 fax [email protected] Bradenton. FlOrida 34205 USA [email protected] (1) 941-746-3522 TreasurerIMembership Chair (1) 941-750-9497 fax President Elect Shawn Laatsch [email protected] Martin Ratcliffe, Director, Arthur Storer Planetarium Theaters & Media Services 600 Dares Beach Road Publications Chair Exploration Place Prince Frederick. MD 20678 April Whitt 711 W Douglas, Suite 101 USA Fembank Science Center Wichita, KS, U.S.A. (1) 410-535-7339 156 Heaton Park Drive NE Bozeman, M()nl:an.a (1) 3162633373 [email protected] Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA (1) 3162674545 fax (1) 404-378-4314 ext 221 [email protected] IPS 2002 Conference Chair (1) 404-370-1336 fax lng. Gabriel Munoz Bedolla [email protected] Past President Director del Planetario "Lic. Thomas W. Kraupe Felipe Rivera" Elections Committee Chairman EuroPlaNet @ ART OF SKY Centro de Convenciones y Steven Mitch Rumfordstr.41 Exposidones de Morelia Benedum Natural Science D-80469 Muenchen (Munich) Av. Ventura Puente Y Center Gemlany Camelinas Oglebay Park 498921031531 58070 Morelia, Mich., Mexico Wheeling. WV 26003 USA 498921031532 fax +52 (43) 14-24-65 (1) 304-243-4034 [email protected] +52 (43) 14-84-80 fax (1) 304-243-4110 fax http://michoacan.gob.mx/ [email protected] Association of French-Speaking Middle Atlantic Planetarium. Society Southeastern PlanetlU'iw:n Planetariums Don Knapp John Hare Agnes Acker Dennis Simopoulos The Henry W. Ray SpeCial Experience Ash Ent,erplises Planetarium Strasbourg Eugenldes Planetarium Room 3602 West Unlverslte Louis Pasteur Syngrou Avenue-Arnfithea McDonald Elementary School Bradenton. Flonda 34205 USA Rue de L'Observatoire Athens. Greece 666 Reeves Lane (1) 941-746-3522 6700 Strasbourg. France (30) 1-941-1181 Warminster. PA 18974 (1) 941-750-9497 fax 33-388 212042 (30) 1-941-7372 fax (1) 215 441-6154 [email protected] 33-388212045 fax [email protected] (1) 215 441-6006 fax [email protected] [email protected] Great Lakes Planetarium Assoc. tarium.s Assoc. of Mexican Planetariums Susan Reynolds Nordic Planetarium Association Ignacio Castro Pinal Onondaga-Cortland-Madison Lars Broman Museo Technologtco C.F.E. B.O.C.E.S. Planetarium Broman Planetarium 52nd St. Apartado Postal 18-816 P.O. Box 4774 Ostra Hamngatan I Oklahoma OK 73111 USA CP 11870 Mexico City. D.F. Mexico Syracuse. New York 13221 USA S-791 71 Falun. Sweden (1) work (52) 5 5-16-13-57 (1) 315-433-2671 (46) 2310 177 (l) 405-424-5106 (52) 55-16-55-20 fax (1) 315-433-1530 fax (46) 2310 137 (fax) wayne.wyrtck@hotelca!.com [email protected] [email protected] Australasian Planetarium Society www2.nnn.se/cosmonova/tc-wnpa.html Peter Williamson. President Great Plains Planetarium Assoc. Dr. Alexander P. Lenin CanbelTa Planetmium Jack Dunn. Coordinator Pacific Planetarium AsI$ociatiion Republica! Planetarium Hawdon Place Mueller Planetarium' Jon Elvert 57/3 Krasnoarrneiskaia P.O. Box 207 213 Monill Hall Lane ESD Planetarium Kiev 252 005. Ukraine Dickson ACT 2602 University of Nebraska-Lincoln 2300 Leo Hams (744) 227-51-66 Lincoln. NE 68588-0375 Eugene. Oregon (744) 227-51-43 fax British Assoc. of Planetariums (1) 402-472-2641 (1) 541-461-8227 [email protected] Paul England (1) 402-472-8899 fax 0) 541-687-6459 fax Fort Victoria Planetarium [email protected] [email protected]'.us Fort Victoria Country Park http://www.efn.org/ -esd_plt/ Westhill Lane.