Steve (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} hsvscifiguy) wrote in ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} haasol,@ 2008-07-20 22:16:00 |
|
HAAS Planetarium Night 2008
It's that time of year again. The 2008 HAAS Planetarium Night Extra will be held at the Von Braun Astronomical Society's planetarium, on Friday, August 22nd at 7 PM.
Like last year, I will present a planetarium show about Japanese star stories, then we will look through the telescope and watch space-themed anime. Unlike last year, (a) I will have more official help from other VBAS folks, and (b) I will create a PowerPoint version of my talk last year, that I hope will be more fun. I also hope we will actually have some clear skies to see through the telescope.
VBAS volunteers will be running the big telescope(s), and we will take people on a tour around the other buildings, so people can go out and look at stuff outside if they don't want to watch anime the whole time. Plus, I'm planning a nice, long break in the anime at some point, so the anime watchers also have time to go outside and see everything.
It looks like I'll have help doing the planetarium show this year. As for the shows, the most appropriate theme (and one that we established before the previous Plank died) will be shows set in deep space, and shows with a strong "going into space" theme.
What they have:
The planetarium has:
They also have a 16 inch telescope. Assuming the clouds cooperate, crowd-pleaser planet Jupiter will be easily visible, along with various cool deep-sky objects. I'm sure the VBAS volunteers have several faint fuzzies that they can show, things like galaxies, globular clusters, and planetary nebulae.
How to get there:
The planetarium is located inside Monte Sano State Park. Here are the official instructions to get there. Here are mine...
There is a way to get to the park via Governor's Drive, but it involves a left turn from a busy, hilly street that scares the crap out of me. For that reason, the way I usually go is via Pratt Avenue. From UAH, drive east (toward Memorial Parkway), and keep going straight past Memorial, past Five Points, and keep going "straight" as you wind up the mountain. You will hit an intersection with a weird jog in the road, and a stop sign. Keep going (mostly) straight a little further, until you see a cross-road, with a wooden Monte Sano State Park sign pointing left. Turn left onto that road, then keep going straight, and into the park. The park entrance has an honor-booth for paying the park fees, but you won't have to pay. If someone happens to be manning the booth, tell that person you're going to a VBAS event. (Per an agreement with the park, people doing VBAS activities aren't expected to pay park admission.) Drive straight for a little while, then when you see the fork in the road, take it. (Thank you, Yogi Berra!) But seriously, take the left side of the fork in the road. Drive until you almost can't drive any further, then the sign for the Von Braun Planetarium is on the left, across the road from a scenic overlook. Turn into the driveway to the left, past the gate. Park in the grassy area to the left of the road. There will be a path to the right, which you'll walk down to get to the planetarium.
Planetarium/Telescope Etiquette: (Also known as "how not to get a beating at VBAS".)
To enjoy both a planetarium and a telescope as much as possible, keeping your night vision is crucial. Your pupils need about 15 minutes of relative darkness, away from bright lights, to give you full night vision. Red lights are mostly OK, however.
That is why you should park in the grassy area up the hill, and not near the planetarium itself, so headlights coming and going won't ruin the night vision of folks who want to look through the telescope. If you bring a white flashlight, use it sparingly, and always aim it at the ground, away from people's eyes. I know the gaming addiction is strong, but please don't open your DSes or cell phones during the actual planetarium show, and definitely don't try to use flash photography. The flash photography thing really has happened before, and all you get out of it is a nice shot of the white dome, and a mob of half-blind, angry people groping their murderous way toward you. If you get there late, and the planetarium show is already in progress, please wait until it's over to enter the planetarium. If enough people are late, and they ask nicely enough, we may do another show so they can see.
It's that time of year again. The 2008 HAAS Planetarium Night Extra will be held at the Von Braun Astronomical Society's planetarium, on Friday, August 22nd at 7 PM.
Like last year, I will present a planetarium show about Japanese star stories, then we will look through the telescope and watch space-themed anime. Unlike last year, (a) I will have more official help from other VBAS folks, and (b) I will create a PowerPoint version of my talk last year, that I hope will be more fun. I also hope we will actually have some clear skies to see through the telescope.
VBAS volunteers will be running the big telescope(s), and we will take people on a tour around the other buildings, so people can go out and look at stuff outside if they don't want to watch anime the whole time. Plus, I'm planning a nice, long break in the anime at some point, so the anime watchers also have time to go outside and see everything.
It looks like I'll have help doing the planetarium show this year. As for the shows, the most appropriate theme (and one that we established before the previous Plank died) will be shows set in deep space, and shows with a strong "going into space" theme.
What they have:
The planetarium has:
- The star projector itself.
- Two VGA projectors that can display the same computer screen on two sides of the dome -- with convenient connectors at the console on the south side of the dome.
- A good 4-speaker sound system, also with convenient hook-up on the console.
- A bunch of comfy old bench seats, so y'all can spread out and lounge around.
- Funky acoustics, so you can whisper to somebody on the opposite side of the dome from you, and they'll hear it.
- A five (?) foot diameter spherical chalkboard, so people can write or draw stuff.
They also have a 16 inch telescope. Assuming the clouds cooperate, crowd-pleaser planet Jupiter will be easily visible, along with various cool deep-sky objects. I'm sure the VBAS volunteers have several faint fuzzies that they can show, things like galaxies, globular clusters, and planetary nebulae.
How to get there:
The planetarium is located inside Monte Sano State Park. Here are the official instructions to get there. Here are mine...
There is a way to get to the park via Governor's Drive, but it involves a left turn from a busy, hilly street that scares the crap out of me. For that reason, the way I usually go is via Pratt Avenue. From UAH, drive east (toward Memorial Parkway), and keep going straight past Memorial, past Five Points, and keep going "straight" as you wind up the mountain. You will hit an intersection with a weird jog in the road, and a stop sign. Keep going (mostly) straight a little further, until you see a cross-road, with a wooden Monte Sano State Park sign pointing left. Turn left onto that road, then keep going straight, and into the park. The park entrance has an honor-booth for paying the park fees, but you won't have to pay. If someone happens to be manning the booth, tell that person you're going to a VBAS event. (Per an agreement with the park, people doing VBAS activities aren't expected to pay park admission.) Drive straight for a little while, then when you see the fork in the road, take it. (Thank you, Yogi Berra!) But seriously, take the left side of the fork in the road. Drive until you almost can't drive any further, then the sign for the Von Braun Planetarium is on the left, across the road from a scenic overlook. Turn into the driveway to the left, past the gate. Park in the grassy area to the left of the road. There will be a path to the right, which you'll walk down to get to the planetarium.
Planetarium/Telescope Etiquette: (Also known as "how not to get a beating at VBAS".)
To enjoy both a planetarium and a telescope as much as possible, keeping your night vision is crucial. Your pupils need about 15 minutes of relative darkness, away from bright lights, to give you full night vision. Red lights are mostly OK, however.
That is why you should park in the grassy area up the hill, and not near the planetarium itself, so headlights coming and going won't ruin the night vision of folks who want to look through the telescope. If you bring a white flashlight, use it sparingly, and always aim it at the ground, away from people's eyes. I know the gaming addiction is strong, but please don't open your DSes or cell phones during the actual planetarium show, and definitely don't try to use flash photography. The flash photography thing really has happened before, and all you get out of it is a nice shot of the white dome, and a mob of half-blind, angry people groping their murderous way toward you. If you get there late, and the planetarium show is already in progress, please wait until it's over to enter the planetarium. If enough people are late, and they ask nicely enough, we may do another show so they can see.
