September 2019 Journal of the International Planetarium Society - An inspired dome in Norway - Vol. 48, No. 3
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Online PDF: ISSN 233333-9063
Vol. 48, No. 3 September 2019
Journal of the International Planetarium Society
An inspired dome in Norway Page 55
Extreme Brightness Extreme Contrast Extreme Resolution Extreme Lifespan
“When I saw DomeX in person the image was so
close to perfection – it was so real, with very high
resolution and contrast. I was looking at the next
generation of planetarium technology. ”
-Jean-Francois Delorme
www.es.com/DomeX
Executive Editor
Sharon Shanks
484 Canterbury Ln
Boardman, Ohio 44512 USA
+1 330-783-9341
sharon.shanks@gmail.com
September 2019
Webmaster
Alan Gould
Lawrence Hall of Science Planetarium
Vol 48 No 3
University of California
Berkeley CA 94720-5200 USA
adgould@comcast.net
Advertising Coordinator
Articles
Dale Smith
(See Publications Committee on page 3) 10 Guest Editorial: The Planetarium: A chronicle
of the next 100 years Micky Remann
Membership
Individual: $65 one year; $100 two years 14 Statements from candidates for new board seats
Institutional: $250 first year; $125 annual renewal
Library Subscriptions: $50 one year; $90 two years
20 Illuminating our Audiences: Exploring What Engages
All amounts in US currency and Confuses Them Jean Creighton,
Direct membership requests and changes of
address to the Treasurer/Membership Chairman Danielle DeVasto
24 Fulldome cinema adds new perspectives on Nordic
Printed Back Issues of Planetarian
IPS Back Publications Repository Film Days Lübeck in Germany Ralph Heinsohn,
maintained by the Treasurer/Membership Chair Aase Roland Jacobsen, Carsten Skovgaard Andersen
(See contact information on next page)
28 A series of fortunate events leads to historic projector
Final Deadlines discovery
March: January 21
June: April 21 32 Rocket City takes off with world-class planetarium
September: July 21 Judith Rubin
December: October 21
38 Katherine Johnson’s legacy lives on Sharon Shanks
Associate Editors 40 A planetarium is reborn in Coschocton
Book Reviews April S. Whitt
Calendar Loris Ramponi David Hurd, C. Ron Derewecki
Cartoons Alexandre Cherman 44 Under the dome in Tahiti Régis Plichart
Classroom education Jack Northrup
Data to Dome Mark SubbaRao 55 A planetarium nestled in a Norwegian forest
Education Committee Jeanne Bishop 74 Atlas of the Starry Skies: Call for contributors
Humor April S. Whitt
Ron Walker 82 Tributes: Dr. Ludwig Meier
Immersive Media Carolyn Collins Petersen contents continue on next page…
International News Lars Petersen
Live interactive programs Karrie Berglund
Mobile news Susan Reynolds Button
Planetarium design/operations Tim Barry
Sound advice Jeff Bowen
Southern Hemisphere Haritina Mogoșanu
History/Years ago Tom Callen
Ron Walker
Index of Advertisers
American Museum of Natural History.......37
Ash Enterprises................................................ 59
On the Cover Audio Visual Imagineering........................... 29
BIG & Digital.................................................... 65
Bays Mountain Productions......................... 69
Artist’s vision of the new planetarium and visi- California Academy of Sciences................ 47
tor’s center for Solobservatorie, Norway’s Clark Planetarium............................................ 49
largest astronomical facility. Learn more on Digitalis Education Solutions....................... 31
page 55. ©Snøhetta/Plompmozes; used with Evans & Sutherland......... inside front cover,
permission. 42-43, 53
Fulldome Festival Brno.................................. 63
GOTO Inc...........................................................35
IPS 2020/Edmonton..........................................7
International Planetarium Society home page: Metaspace......................................................... 81
www.ips-planetarium.org Mirage 3D.............................................................9
Navitar..................................................................5
Planetarian home page: NSC Creative.................................................... 75
www.ips-planetarium.org/page/plntrn Ohira Tech/Megastar.... outside back cover
RSACosmos..........................inside back cover
Spitz, Inc....................................................... 41, 71
Spitz Creative Media............................... 23, 61
You Can Do Astronomy................................ 60
www.facebook.com/InternationalPlanetariumSociety ZEISS.................................................................... 13
twitter.com/IPS_Planetarium
Vol 48 No 3 September 2019 Planetarian 1
Off icers
September 2019
Vol 48 No 3 President
Mark SubbaRao
Adler Planetarium
Columns 1300 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60605 USA
+1 312-294-0348
6 Changes: Some big, some small Sharon Shanks msubbarao@adlerplanetarium.org
8 President’s Message:To promote and advance
Mark SubbaRao
46 IMERSA Matters: What we did on our summer vacation
Last President
Carolyn Collins Petersen Shawn Laatsch
48 From the Classdome: Surviving the summer of Apollo Emera Astronomy Center
167 Rangeley Road
Jack Northrup Orono, Maine 04469 USA
50 Seeking What Works: Make use of “The Value of shawn.laatsch@gmail.com
Education” document Jeanne Bishop
54 International News Lars Petersen
62 Data to Dome: Astrographics Mark SubbaRao
President Elect
64 41 South: There’s nothing like sharing the same space Kaoru Kimura
Haritina Mogoșanu Japan Science Foundation/Science
Museum
66 LIP Service: Trust is a two-way street Karrie Berglund 2-1 Kitanomaru-koen, Chiyoda-ku,
67 PARTYcles Alex Cherman Tokyo, Japan 102-0091
+81 3-3212-8506
68 Sound Advice: Upgrading and renovations: your Fax: +81 3 3212 8443
kaoru13ican@gmail.com
assignments Jeff Bowen
70 Tales from Dome Under: How permanent our work
Tom Callen
72 Mobile News: Perfection Susan Reynolds Button
Executive Secretary
76 Book Reviews April Whitt Patty Seaton
Howard B. Owens Science Center
Stargazing Under Surburban Skies
9601 Greenbelt Road
The American Museum of Natural History and How It Lanham, Maryland 20706 USA
+1 301-906-5990
Got That Way pxts13@yahoo.com
Climate of Hope
78 A Different Point of View: Dream big Ron Walker
80 Waxing New Sharon Shanks
Treasurer
New Geodesium albums Ann Bragg
Anderson Hancock Planetarium
Bowen announces conference scholarship
Marietta College
Successful IYL2015 kit available again 215 Fifth Street
Marietta, Ohio 45750 USA
New book about Napoleon’s comet +1 740-376-4589
83 Calendar of Events Loris Ramponi ann.bragg@marietta.edu
84 Last Light: A very special speaker April Whitt
Director of
Operations
Kristen Lepine Dos
Don’t miss these online features! •• New African Planetarium Society Santos
•• A tactile book of South American eclipses Managing Matters
IPS has launched an means of communication, 411 Richmond Street East, Suite 200
designed to keep you up to date between Planetari- July: https://www.ips-planetarium. Toronto, Ontario Canada M5A3S5
an issues and to make you aware of breaking issues. org/page/072019IPSNewsletter operations@ips-planetarium.org
In other words, it’s news that can’t wait. •• Toulouse conference proceedings available
It’s called The Communicator (a •• Meet your new membership chair
Payments of membership
take on the iconic communicators August: https://www.ips-planetarium. fees and advertising invoices
used on Star Trek), and is sent to all org/page/082019IPSNewsletter should be made to Ann Bragg
IPS members via email. •• Week in professional development exchange Membership fees also can be paid
Be sure to check out topics in the first three issues: program expands to Germany online on the IPS website
June: https://www.ips-planetarium. •• More adventures from our South American
org/page/062019IPSNewsletter traveling planetarian
2 Planetarian Vol 48 No 3 September 2019
Aff iliate Representatives
European/ Mediterranean Planetarium Rocky Mountain Planetarium Association
Association RMPA
EMP Michele Wistisen
Manos Kitsonas Casper Planetarium
Eugenides Planetarium 904 North Poplar Street
387 Syngrou Avenue Casper, Wyoming
APA ABP PLANed APLF AMPAC ASP APS 17564 P. Faliro 82601 USA
Athens, Greece +1 307-577-0310
+30 210 946 9674 michele_wistisen@natronaschools.org
+30 210 941 7372 fax
mak@eugenfound.edu.gr Russian Planetariums Association
RPA
Great Lakes Planetarium Association Yaroslav Gubchenko
BAP CASC CPS EMPA GLPA GPPA PlanIt GLPA Fulldome Film Society
Mike Smail PO Box 103
Adler Planetarium 60310 Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
1300 S Lake Shore Drive gubchenko@fulldomefilm.org
Chicago, Illinois 60612 USA www.apr.planetariums.ru
+1 312-294-0365
msmail@adlerplanetarium.org Society of the German-Speaking
www.glpa.org Planetariums
JPA MAPS NPA PPA RMPA RPA GDP GDP
Great Plains Planetarium Association Björn Voss
GPPA LWL-Museum für Naturkunde
Jack L. Northrup Westphalian State Museum
Sci-Tech Instructional Facilitator of Natural History
Omaha, Nebraska USA Sentruper Str. 285
jlnorthrup@fbx.com 48161 Münster Germany
SEPA SWAP +49-251-591-6026
Italian Association of Planetaria +49-251-591-6098 fax
IAP bjoern.voss@lwl.org
African Planetarium Association Association of Spanish Planetariums
Loris Ramponi www.gdp-planetarium.org
APA ASP
National Archive of Planetaria
Susan Murabana Owen Javier Armentia
c/o Centro Studi e Ricerche Southeastern Planetarium Association
The Travelling Telescope’s Nairobi Planetario de Pamplona
Serafino Zani SEPA
Planetarium Sancho Ramirez, 2
via Bosca 24, C.P. 104 John Hare
105 Riverside Lane off Riverside Drive E-31008 Pamplona Navarra Spain
I 25066 Lumezzane (Brescia) Italy Ash Enterprises
Nairobi, Kenya +34 948 260 004
+39 30 872 164 29 Riverside Drive, Apt 402
+254 722 218 267 +34 948 260 056
+39 30 872 545 fax Cocoa, Florida 32922 USA
smurabana@travellingtelescope.co.uk +34 948 261 919 fax
megrez58@gmail.com +1 941 730 3434
javarm@pamplonetario.org
osservatorio@serafinozani.it johnhare@earthlink.net
Association of Brazilian Planetariums www.planetarios.org
www.planetari.org www.sepadomes.org
ABP
Alexandre Cherman Australasian Planetarium Society
Japan Planetarium Association Southwestern Association of
Planetário do Rio de Janeiro APS
JPA Planetariums
R. Vice-Governador Shane Hengst
Sumito Hirota SWAP
Rubens Berardo, 100 University of New South Wales Physics
Kawasaki Science Museum Sarah Twidel
Rio de Janeiro RJ UNSW Australia
7-1-2 Masugata, Tama-ku Noble Planetarium
Brazil 22451-070 Sydney NSW 2052 Australia
Kawasaki, Kanagawa Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
+55 (21) 2088-0536 ext. 208 +61 (2) 9385 4053
214-0032 Japan 1600 Gendy Street
alexandre.cherman@ +61 (2) 9385 6060 fax
hirota@e23.jp Fort Worth, Texas 76107 USA
planetariodorio.com.br s.hengst@unsw.edu.au
planetarium.jp (817) 255 - 9409
www.planetarios.org.br www.aps-planetarium.org
stwidal@fwmsh.org
www.planetariodorio.com.br
Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society www.swapskies.org
British Association of Planetaria
MAPS
Association of Dutch-Speaking BAP
April Whitt
Planetariums Lee Pullen
Jim Cherry Memorial Planetarium
PLANed We The Curious
Fernbank Science Center
Jaap Vreeling One Millennium Square
Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA
Nova informatie centrum Bristol BS1 5DB
april.whitt@dekalbschoolsga.org
Science Park 904 United Kingdom
www.mapsplanetarium.org
1098 XH Amsterdam +44 (0)117 9157 221
+31 0 20 525 7480 lee.pullen@wethecurious.org
Nordic Planetarium Association
+31 0 20 525 7484 fax www.planetaria.org.uk
NPA
J.A.Vreeling@uva.nl
Aase Roland Jacobsen
www.astronomie.nl Canadian Association of Science Centres
The Science Museums
CASC
C.F. Moellers Alle 2
Association of French-Speaking Frank Florian
University of Aarhus
Planetariums TELUS World of Science
DK-8000 Aarhus C
APLF 11211 142 Street NW
Denmark
Milene Wèndling Edmonton, Alberta T5M 4A1 Canada
+45 87 15 54 15
Université de Strasbourg fflorian@twose.ca
aase.jacobsen@sm.au.dk
Jardin des Sciences www.canadiansciencecentres.ca
12 rue de l’Université
Pacific Planetarium Association
Strasbourg F-67000 France Chinese Planetarium Society
PPA
+33 (0)3 68 85 05 32 CPS
Benjamin Mendelsohn
+33 (0)3 68 85 04 88 fax Jin Zhu
West Valley Community College
milene.wendling@unistra.fr Beijing Planetarium
14000 Fruitvale Avenue
www.aplf-planetariums.org No. 138 Xizhimenwait Street
Saratoga, California
Beijing, 1000044
95070-5698 USA
Association of Mexican Planetariums P.R. China
+1 408-741-4018
AMPAC +86 10-5158-3311
+1 408-741-4072 fax
Ignacio Castro Pinal +86 10-5158-3312 fax
Benjamin.Mendelsohn@wvm.edu
Ave. San Bernabé, 723, Casa 7 jinzhu@bjp.org.cn
sites.csn.edu/planetarium/PPA
San Jerónimo Lídice, C.P. 10200
México City, D.F. México
+52 (55) 5500 0562
+52 (55) 5500 0583 fax
icastrop@hotmail.com
Vol 48 No 3 September 2019 Planetarian 3
Standing Committees
Awards Elections Membership
IPS Permanent Mailing Address
Manos Kitsonas, Chair Martin George, Chair Mike Murray, Chair
Eugenides Planetarium Launceston Planetarium Delta College Planetarium International Planetarium Society
387 Syngrou Avenue Queen Victoria Museum 100 Center Avenue c/o Ann Bragg, Treasurer
17564 P. Faliro Wellington Street Bay City, Michigan 48708 USA Marietta College
Athens, Greece Launceston Tasmania 7250 +1 989-667-2270 215 Fifth Street
+30 210 946 9674 Australia mikemurray@delta.edu Marietta, Ohio 45750 USA
+30 210 941 7372 fax +61 3 6323 3777
mak@eugenfound.edu.gr +61 3 6323 3776 fax Publications IPS Web Site:
Martin.George@qvmag.tas.gov.au Dale W. Smith, Chair www.ips-planetarium.org
Conference BGSU Planetarium
Current Officers Equity, Diversity and Inclusion 104 Overman Hall
Upcoming conference host, past Karla Peregrina. Chair Physics &Astronomy Department Contact the Treasurer for individual member address
conference host, any IPS member Cancun Planetarium Ka’ Yok’ Bowling Green State University changes and general circulation and billing ques-
appointed by the president ConsejoQuintanarroense de Ciencia y Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 USA tions. Addresses also may be changed online on the
Tecnología +1 419-372-8666 IPS Web Site.
Conference Host-2020 Av. Palenque s/n S.M.21 Mz. 5 CP 77505 +1 419-372-9938 fax
Alan Nursall, President and CEO Cancún, Quintana Roo, México dwsmith@bgsu.edu
Frank Florian, Director, Planetarium +1 52 (998) 883 95 57
and Space Sciences +1 52 (998) 201 15 18
Cathy Barton, Executive Assistant Professional Partners
11211—142 Street NW Finance
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5M 4A1 Current Officers
anursall@twose.ca
fflorian@twose.ca
cbarton@twose.ca
Ad Hoc Committees/Task Forces/Working Groups
Armand Spitz Immersive Audio Portable Planetariums
Planetarium Education Fund Charles Morrow Susan Reynolds Button, Chair
Finance Committee 1961 Roaring Brook Road Quarks to Clusters
Barton, Vermont 05822 USA 8793 Horseshoe Lane
Education Phone: +1-212-989-2400 Chittenango, New York 13037
Jeanne E. Bishop cm@cmorrow.com +1 315-687-5371
Planetarium Director sbuttonq2c@twcny.rr.com
Parkside Administration Building International Relations sbuttonq2c@gmail.com We are gathered together from all
24525 Hilliard Road Martin George, Chair
Westlake, Ohio 44145 USA Launceston Planetarium Science & Data corners of this globe, inspired by the
+1 440-871-5293 Queen Victoria Museum Visualization Task Force
+1 440-835-5572 fax Wellington Street Mark SubbaRao
world and the universe we inhabit.
jeanneebishop@wowway.com Launceston, Tasmania 7250 Adler Planetarium Our society draws its strength from
www.glpaweb.org Australia 1300 South Lake Shore Drive
Mail address: +61 3 6323 3777 Chicago, Illinois 60605 USA our predecessors and from the
3180 Oakwood Lane +61 3 6323 3776 fax +1 312-294-0348 wide diversity of our present
Westlake, Ohio 44145 USA Martin.George@qvmag.tas.gov.au msubbarao@adlerplanetarium.org
membership. Building on our past
Emerging Communities
Dave Weinrich
Planetarium Centennial Task Force
Björn Voss
Vision 2020 Initiative
Jon Elvert, Chair
heritage, we are inspired to dream
S250 State Road 35 S LWL-Museum für Naturkunde Baton Rouge, Louisiana of future accomplishments, working
Nelson, Wisconsin 54756 USA Westphalian State Museum Of Natural 70802 USA
dave.l.weinrich@gmail.com History jelvert1@gmail.com
together as a worldwide society.
Sentruper Str. 285
History 48161 Munster, Germany IPS President Dave Weinrich
John Hare, IPS Historian +49-251-591-6026
Ash Enterprises +49-251-591-6098 fax Welcome to the 2012
29 Riverside Drive, Apt 402 bjoern.voss@lwl.org IPS Conference
Cocoa, Florida 32922 USA Baton Rouge, Louisiana
+1 941 730 3434 Planetarium Design and Operations
johnhare@earthlink.net Ian McLennan
#404-1275 Haro Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 1G1 Canada
+1 604-681-4790 phone + fax
ian@ianmclennan.com
Planetarian (ISSN 0090-3213) is published quarterly by
ian.mclennan@gmail.com
the International Planetarium Society. ©2019 Inter-
www.ianmclennan.com
national Planetarium Society, Inc., all rights reserved.
Opinions expressed by authors are personal opinions
and are not necessarily the opinions of the Interna-
Guidelines for contributors eed if applicable and requested. in Planetarian (but not before the tional Planetarium Society, its officers, or agents.
•• Planetarian welcomes submis- •• Contributors agree that their printed version has been received by
sions of interest to the planetari- submission is their own original work members), contributors may post the Acceptance of advertisements, announcements, or
and has not appeared elsewhere in submission on a personal website, other material does not imply endorsement by the
um community. Preference is given
print or electronically, nor is not blog, or a website of general inter- International Planetarium Society, its officers, or
to articles that closely relate to the
being submitted simultaneously else- est as long as the following appears: agents.
philosophy, management, techni-
cal aspects, educational aspects, or where in print or electronically. If the Copyright 2013 (or appropriate
Note that photos may be enhanced digitally for print-
history of planetariums, and to ideas submission has appeared elsewhere year) International Planetarium
ability only, never for content.
that can readily be incorporated in print or electronically, permission Society; used with permission and
into planetarium shows. Authors are to re-print must be obtained and provide a link to the IPS. If in doubt,
The editor welcomes Letters to the Editor and items
responsible for obtaining all neces- a copy of this permission emailed contact the editor with questions. for consideration for publication.The editor reserves
sary copyright clearances, especial- to the Editor with the article. •• The Guidelines for Contributors the right to edit any manuscript to suit this publica-
ly for illustrations and photographs. •• Once accepted for publication, on the IPS website should be consult- tion’s needs.
•• Research articles dealing with the contributor also agrees that the ed before submitting an article.
educational aspects of the plan- copyright for original works not •• Potential advertisers are invited The online PDF version holds ISSN 2333-9063
etarium and other topics are appearing elsewhere is held by the to check the Advetising Guidelines
highly desirable and will be refer- International Planetarium Society. and Rate Sheet on the IPS website: Planetarian is part of the EBSCO research database.
Once a submission has appeared www.ips-planetarium.org/plntrn
4 Planetarian Vol 48 No 3 September 2019
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Vol 48 No 3 September 2019 Planetarian 5
In Front of the Console
Sharon Shanks
484 Canterbury Lane
Boardman, Ohio 44512 USA
+1 330-783-9341
sharon.shanks@gmail.com
Changes: Some big, some small
You’ll notice some changes as
soon as you open this issue of Plan-
etarian. I felt that the contents page
was becoming too crowded, and
also have wanted for a long time to
make the monthly columns easier
to find.
The solution: make the contents
span two pages. I hope you like
finding out the titles of the columns
and the additional details before
turning to those pages.
My tribute to Hidden Figures: the original cover of the book; the cover after the Hidden Figures movie was released;
Also pay attention to the “Don’t the version for younger readers; and Katherine Johnson’s autobiography, also for younger readers and just released.
miss these online features!” box on
page 2. I hope you’ve been getting
the IPS Communicator in your email for the past three months. It gives opened a dome up to non-astronomy content as part of the Nordic
us the chance to share news with you that either can’t wait for the next Film Days Lübeck and discovered a new audience eager for immersive
Planetarian issue or is vital enough to share immediately. media. This collaboration also led to the discovery of a rare star projec-
It also will contain stories that normally would be printed in these tor that was built in his home town.
pages, but are not. It’s web-only content that you do not want to miss! Huntsville, Alabama, is known widely by its nickname of “Rocket
Another small change (brought about by an anticipated big change) City.” The place in Rocket City with the rockets is the U.S. Space and
is on the Affiliate Representatives page. Rocket Center which, until recently, was lacking only a planetarium to
Congratulations to Susan Murbana Owen, the first representative for be the perfect space-related facility. (That is my opinion only, formed
the brand new African Planetarium Association. It is always an extreme after visiting there several years ago. I still have my glow-in-the-dark
pleasure to add another affiliate to the ranks of IPS, of course, but it socks from the gift shop.)
created a headache for me in terms of layout. I nudged and tweaked, You can imagine, then, that I was overjoyed to learn that its IMAX
resized pictures and text, and just couldn’t get it to flow nicely. My theater has been tranformed into a planetarium dome. Judith Rubin,
solution is on page 3. who keeps us up to date on the industry side of our profession, tells us
Before readers need a magnifying glass to see the page, I promise I about all the cutting-edge equipment the new INTUITIVE© Planetari-
will expand it, too, to two pages. um has to offer. Go to page 32 to start reading.
Speaking of expanding: that is coming very soon.
Thanks to IPS voters who approved changes to the by-laws and the Influences from the past, influences in the future
hard work of the Vision2020 initiative, the governing structure of IPS Both Jeanne Bishop (page 50) and Tom Callen (page 70) reflect on
is adding another layer, that of a board of directors, that is hoped to people and legacies in their columns. Jeanne remembers famous people
streamline and improve communication and how our organization she has met1 and how they influenced her, while Tom, seeking a plane-
functions. tarian’s legacy, wonders about permanence and all the people that we,
The first candidates for the nine board seats share information about as planetarians, have touched.
themselves and why they would like to represent their geographical I am pleased to welcome former Editor Jordan D. Marché II back to
regions starting on page 14. the pages of Planetarian. He uses his extensive knowledge about plan-
etariums to review the book The American Museum of Natural History
Imagining the future of the planetarium and How It Got That Way on page 76.
Micky Remann sees big changes ahead for the planetarium dome in Finally, I dusted off my reporter’s notebook and enjoyed a trip to
his guest editorial on page 10. I asked him to share his vision of the next Fairmont, West Virginia, located an easy drive south of Youngstown,
100 years of the planetarium as part of the upcoming celebration of the Ohio. I have been following news about Katherine Johnson since
first 100 years. Keep his visions in mind as you read the September 2119 reading the book Hidden Figures, and was thrilled to see another recog-
issue of Planetarian. nition of her by NASA, this time by renaming the Independent Verifi-
Another visionary, Ralph Heinsohn (in a story also written by Aase cation and Validation Facility in Fairmont in her honor.
Roland Jacobsen and Carsten Skovgaard Andersen), shares how he One of the highlights of the experience was not the politicians or
NASA officials; it was meeting Roy Lee Cooke, another West Virginian
Sharon Shanks has been Planetarian editor since Vol. 35 No. 3 (Septem- and one of the original Rocket Boys from Coalwood. I
ber 2006). She retired in 2015 from the Ward Beecher Planetarium at
1 For the sake of transparency, I must admit that I used my prior association with
Youngstown State University in Ohio, returning to her journalism roots
Ted Pedas, his family, and his cruise enterprise to find and get permission to use
after a pleasantly passionate career sharing the stars.
the photo that appears on page 51.
6 Planetarian Vol 48 No 3 September 2019
IPS 2020 Conference
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
June 18 to 25, 2020
Register today at
IPS2020.twose.ca
Think Big!
Become a Sponsor Today
Contact:
Daryl Zelinski
1.780.452.9100 ext 2346
dzelinski@twose.ca
IPS2020.twose.ca
Vol 48 No 3 September 2019 Planetarian 7
President’s Message Mark SubbaRao
Adler Planetarium
1300 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60605 USA
+1 312-294-0348
msubbarao@adlerplanetarium.org
To promote and advance
I like to think about the activities of IPS as roughly falling into Roça Sundy, the former cocoa plantation where Eddington performed
two categories: We work to promote planetariums both on a collec- his experiment, today is a high end resort, owned by “space tourist”
tive and an individual level. We also work to advance the planetari- Mark Shuttleworth. During Eddington@Sundy I had the opportunity
um, improving the start of the art of planetarium programming, and to give the presentation “100 years of the Planetarium.” During that
investigating new uses for our nearly presentation I pressed the
century-old immersive theaters. case for the development of
The last few months have been more planetariums in Africa,
busy for me, including trips to Africa and in particular one in Prín-
and Europe. I will write this month’s cipe.
President’s Message in the form of a Later at a dinner, and with
diary/travel journal. The purpose is to the assistance of Rosa Doran,
illustrate some of the ways that IPS is I had an excellent conversa-
working to promote and advance the tion with Prime Minister of
planetarium field. São Tomé and Príncipe Jorge
May 13, Paris France: I gave a Bom Jesus, and the governor
keynote presentation titled “Data to of the autonomous region
Dome” at the iVOA Interop meeting of Príncipe, António José
at the Paris Observatory. The iVOA is Cassandra. One hundred
the International Virtual Observato- years years after the Edding-
ry Alliance and is the group entrusted ton Experiment they want
with setting the data standards for the A visit to Ghana: From left, me, my wife Amanda, Jane Ashong, Jacob Ashong, the islands to become a labo-
and staff member Silver Bombay. I provided the photo.
astronomical community. The goal of ratory for science education
my talk was to inform this communi- and science tourism. We
ty of the progress our community has been making on data standards, talked about the role that a planetarium could play in realizing that
such as data2dome, and to push for greater coordination between the vision. At the celebration event on the anniversary, a small science
planetarium and research astronomy community. Many thanks to museum was dedicated and plans to add a planetarium to that space
Chenzhou Cui from the Chinese Virtual Observatory for helping to were announced as well.
arrange this presentation. May 31-June 2, Accra Ghana: On the way back home from Prínci-
May 21-25, Accra Ghana: Here I met with Jacob and Jane Ashong pe we stopped in Accra again. As many of you know, the Ghana Plan-
and the rest of the Ghana Planetarium staff. After a decade of collabo- etarium, the first digital planetarium in Africa, has been struggling to
ration (the Adler planetarium and the Ghana Planetarium were part- survive. There is now an exciting possibility to build a new Ghana
ners in the ATSC twinning program during the International Year of Planetarium in coordination with the University of Ghana Legon on
Astronomy in 2009, and the Ghana Planetarium is a regular participant the grounds of the Legon Botanical Gardens.
in the Kavli Domecasts), I was finally able to visit in person. One thing This location receives many more visitors, and a planetarium there
that made the visit extra special was that my wife, Amanda, was able would be able to serve both the hundred thousand visitors who come
to accompany me as well. She served in the US Peace Corp in Ghana 30 to the gardens as well as university students studying physics and
years ago and this was her first time back. astronomy. During this visit we met with the director of the gardens,
May 25: International Astronomical Union’s President Ewine van Kofi Boakye-Yiadom, and Professor Robert Kingsford-Adaboh,the
Dishoeck visited the Ghana Planetarium as well, giving a presentation acting dean of the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at the
under the dome. At the event were Chief Bortei-Doku of Nungua, Ron University of Ghana Legon.
Strikker, the ambassador of the Netherlands in Ghana, and many other June 22-23 Reykjavik Iceland: The IPS Council meeting was held
dignitaries. There were also students from a local astronomy club, as well as in Reykjavik. This was the last council meeting before we transition
students from the Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy program to our new governance model. At this meeting we had updates on the
who had just finished training at the radio telescope in Kuntunse. activities of the various committees and regional affiliates. We also
initiated a plan for finishing the work of Vision 2020 by the time of the
Exciting visit to Principe 2020 conference meeting in Edmonton. It was also at this meeting that
May 26-30, Príncipe: May 29 was the 100th anniversary of the the council selected St. Petersburg as the site of the 2022 IPS conference.
Eddington Experiment. By measuring the deflection of stars in the Our host for this meeting was the spectacular new Perlan: Wonders
Hyades during a total solar eclipse that passed over this small island, (Continues on page 19)
Arthur Stanley Eddington confirmed Einstein’s predictions. This was
arguably the most important scientific experiment of the last 100 years. IPS President Mark SubbaRao, among his many associations, also is the
To celebrate a week-long event called Eddington@Sundy was held. director of the Space Visualization Laboratory at the Adler Planetarium.
8 Planetarian Vol 48 No 3 September 2019LET’S CELEBRATE TOGETHER
50 % OFF
FOR THE APOLLO 11 UNTIL JULY 20TH
50TH ANNIVERSARY
Vol 48 No 3 September 2019 Planetarian 9Guest Editorial
The Planetarium: A chronicle of the next 100 years
Micky Remann
Professor for Immersive Media
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Weimar, Germany
The year is 2025
Jagger said “We call our album PlanET because we think it’s time to
When the Rolling Stones announced the release of their new album,
look around and see who’s in our cosmic neighborhood, and if they
PlanET, only 60 years after their hit “Satisfaction” had excited youth
will join in on our songs. Or vice versa.” He went on to explain why
of the day, the news caused a predictable stir in and beyond the enter-
St. Helena was the perfect place to do so, quoting author Edward O.
tainment world.
Wilson, who had once described that this lonely island as “one step
The big surprise was not so much the music, but the location where
removed from a satellite colony in space.”
it was presented: on the small South Atlantic island of St. Helena. The
With the opening of the gigantic MSG Sphere at the Venetian in Las
semi-eternal Rolling Stones were to perform their new songs in a super
Vegas in 2021 and the Rolling Stones PlanET show in the St. Helena
exclusive live concert within a floating 190-foot, LED-lined dome with
Dome in 2025, a major trend was set and immersive dome theatre
spectacular 360-degree visuals and spatial audio effects. The dome was
shows became mainstream. Extraordinary theatre and opera perfor-
built and installed specially for the occasion on a platform off the
mances migrated from their traditional venues to the new 360-degree,
harbor of Jamestown, St. Helena’s main city.
high-performance multimedia domes that popped up and flourished
Local authorities had given permission to the event under the condi-
everywhere, the most prominent being the La Scala Opera Sphere in
tion that the number of people from abroad would be no more than
Milan.
the number of regular dwellers in Jamestown, which was 629. Culling
The success of these shows superseded most of the programing in
a guest list to that limit was a nightmare for the Stones’ management
and caused irritation, bad feelings, even curses, from eager fans and
celebrities who found themselves excluded. As the crisis worsened,
someone came up with the idea to call planetariums around the
world to persuade them to stream the 360-degree live event in
their established dome theatres.
Tickets were sold out within minutes after the news
broke that the Rolling Stones’ PlanET concert could
also be watched in satellite shows in the plane-
tariums of San Francisco, Jena, Beijing, London,
Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, Berlin, Denver, Hamburg,
New York, and Cape Town. A couple of rogue
VR platforms bootlegged the event and made
it available to what they called the “Immer-
sive Underground” for a small Bitcoin dona-
tion.
On August 9, 2025, under a full moon, the
real Rolling Stones dressed in fantasy astro-
naut-theme suits, entered the stage in front
of the 629 chosen few at the St. Helena
Dome, and received ecstatic cheers there
and from hundreds of millions of addition-
al fans around the world observing their
holographic equals before them on virtual
planetarium stages as 3D avatars.
An exterior rendering of MSG Sphere at The Venetian in Las Vegas. The state-of-the-art venue will be
Addressing the remote hive audiences, Mick 366-ft tall and 516-ft wide. Courtesy: The Madison Square Garden Company
10 Planetarian Vol 48 No 3 September 2019conventional planetariums, much to the dismay of disgruntled science artists and free thinkers—including the crew tuning-in from the Inter-
teachers who felt that the classic mission of the planetarium was in national Space Station, as regulars. Planetariums were back in business
danger of being corrupted by too much pop and popcorn and that like never before and science was celebrated among entertainment in
something had to be done about it. peaceful co-existence.
2027 2032
After years of tiresome meetings and fruitless brainstorming sessions, Planetarium operators realized there was one key obstacle for true
an idea was put forward to the international planetarium communi- customer satisfaction that had never been properly addressed with
ty, which eventually ignited a new interest in the core domain and regards to the specifics of their venues: seating! Be it chairs, sofas, yoga
mission of these venues. The turning point came on March 20, 2027 at mats or bean bags, too many people still left the dome with a stiff neck
20:51 GMT, when the first edition of One Earth Moment was launched. or worse complaints, despite how awesome fulldome shows razzle
The project was based on a manifesto-like call for action that had been dazzled audiences in visual splendor.
circulated for some time. This is what it said: In another development, the burgeoning spa industry, in its quest to
create new relaxation thrills for their high-income clientele, came to
the conclusion that deep relaxation in thermals baths would best work
20 March 2027
when combined with deep immersive visuals surrounding people in
24-hour Equinox Domecast
the pool.
Worldwide … at a Planetarium near you!
When the first immersive Planetarium Spa with underwater sound
Speckled around the globe are domes and planetariums. Some are grand, and a 360-degree display cupola opened in a remote little spa town
some are small, and many have a lot in common, but mostly these planetar- in East Germany, enthused bathers couldn’t believe it took so long
iums operate disconnected from each other. to realize how obvious this was: Immersion, derived from the Latin
What if leading planetariums team up to highlight a network of insight
word for diving-in, clearly pointed to water as the natural medium for
and inspiration? A global web of venues with amazing shows to share, and
true stories to tell? immersive experiences! Chairs were no longer in the way, when one
The 24-hour Equinox Domecast could be that precious One Earth could float in and out of the 360-degree audiovisual compositions,
Moment: that migrating instance of balance when the sun crosses the plane reclined, with ease. Immersed in body-temperature saltwater, formerly
of the Earth’s equator, shaping night and day to be equally long, regardless
burdened bodies were transformed into weightless dolphins or astro-
of where on Earth it is observed.
Staging an equinox celebration across all borders and time zones is an nauts; high quality underwater sound was perceived dreamlike and
opportunity for planetariums to emphasize their mission, at the same time crystal-clear, with ears submerged.
promoting their potential with the use of new immersive technologies. The Floating effortlessly on the back, the eyes can be closed or open
experiences they offer are stunning, unique and specific to dome theatres, looking up to watch enticing visuals in the dome, which perfectly
which are not available elsewhere.
filled the field of view of a human suspended in water. People came
The equinox itself has long been occurring. Its steady tempo reminds us
of the dynamic rhythm of our planet and its place among the cosmos. and went to soak blissfully below jaw-dropping fulldome shows, with
One Earth Moment would be a simultaneous performance of immersive pristine 128k resolution and 480 fps frame rate.
programing at a circuit of domes sharing media coverage around the world.
The event will be run by people who care and communicate about relevant
issues in science, innovation, art, and life on earth. 2047
At each location the program starts 12 hours before and ends 12 hours
after the true equinox. Venues will host combined programming of live A relevant new arrival on the scene came with a startup originat-
performance and streaming of activities from other planetariums. Some ing in Gotenburg, Sveden, who designed the Venus Transit Domes,
programming will address local audiences, some will be shared and broad- soon to be franchised in many countries around the world. The Venus
cast among all.
Transit Domes used inflatable LED display units with rubbery skin,
Themes presented during the equinox event will be both popular and
instructive. Themes will introduce another level of attraction for venues to which could be flexibly scaled from a 3-meter minimum to 28-meter
participate: realtime dome-to-dome interactivity. maximum diameter—the actual size being regulated by air pressure
Additionally, leveraging cross-collateral media support would mean that driven by artificial intelligence (AI). The 360-degree display would grow
each dome multiplies the effort that all others make to promote it to local
and shrink according to needs, thus always matching the number of
clientele, sponsors and media. Joining forces in smart networks, One Earth
Moment teams will be able to prepare a rich program, excite the media, get people who came to see the show: mobile, modular, morphing venues.
the attention of celebrities and lure audiences into the dome that had little Presentations in the Venus Transit Domes invariably started with a
or misleading ideas...or no idea at all of what these places are about. scholarly discourse on the science of Venus transits and how astrono-
With high resolution immersive 360-degree display systems now estab- mers in the past had observed them. Since space travel takes time, even
lished in leading planetariums, it’s an exciting time to showcase how
for planets like Venus, it wouldn’t be until December 11 of 2117 before
entertaining the alternation of astronomy with avant-garde art and other
engaging programing is. The dome theatre is the place to witness the the next transit would be due. “So what do we do in the meantime,” the
paradigm shift from the flat, rectangular screen to a world of immersive, announcer’s voice asked, “here are some suggestions you might want
interactive, surrounding media experiences. This shift is not only redefin- to consider...” The programming that followed was described by people
ing contemporary media art, live performance, and science education, but
who watched it as either stimulating, sensual, controversial, notori-
also offers a chance to redefine the mindset in which we, the human race,
perceive our place on this global sphere, and how we may engage to shape ous, revolting, bizarre, or outright pornographic. Before the economy
its landscape. crashed, Venus Transit Domes Inc., also nicknamed “Red Light Domes,”
If the time for One Earth Moment has come, it will be big. Regarding their had been ranked high up in the list of the fastest growing Fortune 500
potential, planetariums and domes (and what’s possible inside them) is still companies.
underrated and under-promoted, and this project embarks to match their
capability. This endeavor would need a critical number of leaders willing to
move beyond the stand-alone existence of their domes, for this committed 2098
circuit to engage, connect, and act as one vibrant, shining web of venues.
Recovery from the crash was slow and painful. When a more opti-
The success of the inaugural One Earth Moment prompted follow- mistic outlook became fashionable again, a colorful consortium of
ups. Equinox celebrations were held twice a year, involving more and companies formed out of the remnants of the space industry. Planetar-
more planetariums, institutions, media, universities, technologists, (Continues on next page)
Vol 48 No 3 September 2019 Planetarian 11iums and the Rolling Stones teamed up again to launch the Space Allo- were now home to most of humanity. Surprisingly, life inside the
sphere, a true and full spherical venue hovering high above this rock, meta structures of Dometown was very close to what a media art and
in near-outer Earth’s orbit. It was serviced with regular shuttles from design student, Yikun Liu, had envisioned it in his master thesis at the
Singapore, Melbourne, Ulan Bator, Prague, and Rio de Janeiro. Immersive Media department of Bauhaus Universitat Weimar back in
The Allosphere was a solid, 58-meter entertainment sphere attached the year 2019. In Yikun Liu’s predominantly dystopian vision, gigantic
to the New International Space Station. The total absence of anything domes would be constructed to span across houses, cities, landscapes,
resembling chairs inside the sphere was seen as a great relief, since the creating a mostly virtual reality inside, separated from the mostly
audience was floating around freely in weightlessness: moving back uninhabitable outside world.
and forth, up and down within the full spherical content display, and “Now, imagine larger fulldome theatres are getting more common
around intermingling holograms. in the future.” Yikun Liu proposed. “It could eventually accommodate
Ushers were adorned in uniforms with aparati which appear to be a huge amount of people, becoming a quasi-leisure square, shopping
similar to children’s floating devices of the early 2010’s for soft protec- mall, walking street, a small residential neighborhood, and a whole lot
tion while maneuvering the space. It became mandatory they train to of other possibilities. At some point, people wouldn’t need to leave it.”
cater to those few spherical theater go-ers who suffer from “Allosphere The idea of a ‘Dometown’ has thus come to mind.
sickness.” The functionally designed ASB (Allosphere Sickness Bags) ‘RealCosmos Inc.’ is the company responsible for simulating and
were the most sought-after trophies for space tourists to bring back alternating day and night. They’ve grown to control the massive city-
home to Earth and proudly show-off to envious friends and family. wide domes covering contemporary towns, and go so far as to govern
Pioneering the concept for the Allosphere Space Theatre, Kelley starlight and sunshine. An artificial sun offers proposed necessary light
Francis, a long time professional designer of “immersivistas,” as such by day and peaceful, calming pale lights daple the dome with moon
environments were called in the industry, had mapped out the guide- and stars by pre-determined night. Therefore, an exact time of sunrise
lines for the genre of interactive zero-gravity immersive art installa- and sunset can be set and told.
tion shows: “Since the city-wide domes cover a great deal of physical and visual
A small array of mechanical characters powered by remote micro- real estate, they also project various useful information and govern-
controllers tend to the living fauna about the theatre, also contribut- ment news such as time of day (or night) and announcements. Previ-
ing to oxygenating the hovering entertainment space and monitoring ously projections didn’t go without the occasional word or slogans
humidity. These mechanical beings taught and tempt the plants to from sponsors, until the formation and implementation of the “Sky
release scent in tandem with creative programming of the content, Purity Act,” prohibiting this space for third-party advertisements and
contributing to the full multisensory experience which subdues the signage.
audience into varied moods and states while engaged with the enter- Special occasions like Christmas and New Years celebrate virtual fire-
tainment. works city-wide for all to adore and enjoy.”
Similar technology to what these intelligent bots use to cultivate the
nasal landscape is embedded in the costume of the audience members.
Various wearable devices cause various effects. Most are programmed 2119
to their special liking to emit smells, vibrations, and neuro-pulses when The editorial of the September 2119 issue of Planetarian is looking
triggered by the interactive theater. Some audience members even back at what had been said about the possible future of planetariums
embed devices that interact directly with their nervous system. These in a special guest editorial 100 years earlier: “Some of the scenarios our
provoke sensation, feelings of euphoria, fear (when desired for horror predecessors published in this magazine a hundred years ago,” the
experiences), or simply record the show to hard-wired (technologically editors concluded, “came pretty close to actual developments...others
modified) memory, to call upon and enjoy spherical picture moments were strikingly inaccurate—except for this one guest story, which, as
later. we all know by now, turned out to be one-hundred percent true.”
Visually, audience members appear to each other with overlaid The author wishes to thank Kelley Francis for helping with editing,
avatars of their choosing. Picture your friend Sarah, with semi-trans- style and the cultural direction of the “Allosphere Space Theatre.”
parent holographic armor in glistening purple with long blue hair and Thanks Yikun Liu for inventing “Dometown.” I
adornment of her design. Perhaps before the event she’s designed her
avatar to project large blue wings around her, or a long spiny red tail.
Micky Remann is a German-born media artist and producer of media
She and the other audience members suspended in this piece have a events. He is professor for Immersive Media at the Bauhaus-Universität
shifting pixelated landscape of fiction churning around them, as they Weimar, where he has been teaching the art of fulldome since 2007. In the
interact with actors and each-other to connect, explore, and enjoy this same year, Micky Remann initiated the FullDome Festival at the Zeiss-Plan-
physical/virtual mecca of interactive storytelling, in all its chaos and etarium Jena, which he continues to direct until today. The internation-
al festival showcases and awards innovative productions in the genre of
suspension. 360-degree audio-visual media and fulldome theatre performance.
Allosphere has taken the interactivity from major themed attrac- As the inventor of “Liquid Sound,” Micky Remann is also connected to
tions of the late 2000’s and equipped the audience with similar inter- another experience of immersion: floating in body temperature salt water,
activity, but suspended them within this fully spherical, weightless immersed in underwater sounds, lights and video images. The concept and
media technology of “Liquid Sound” is installed in three major Spa venues
pixel environment. They’ve pre-programmed embedded technology to
in Germany, operated by Toskanaworld, where it has become the key
craft costume to become one with the production, or to simply float attraction, featuring regular underwater live concerts, DJ nights, and an
along as passive plot bystanders in augmented style. Since the narra- annual all-night Liquid Sound Festival.
tors built this experience as a storyworld, rather than a rigid single plot As a travelling author, Remann also published articles, books, and trav-
line, there are endless fictional storylines for the floating movie-goers elogues; he hosts TV-Dome shows with the network Salve.tv; and he pres-
ents at scientific conferences and performs at cultural events. One of his
to explore, driven as much by the audience as they choose to partake. international media projects is the “Apolda World Bell Concert,” which
And partake in again and again, with fresh and compelling outcomes. connects sounds and stories of bells from around the world with music
via livestream.
Find out more at: www.fulldome-festival.de; www.liquidsound.com;
2109 www.apoldabells.com; www.salve.tv/tv/Salve/19734/Welcome-to-the-
TV-Dome:-Pedro-Zaz
Dometown was the label for huge, sphere-covered habitats that
12 Planetarian Vol 48 No 3 September 2019Make sure nothing escapes your audience. Background image: © NASA, ESA, M. Robberto ( STScI/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team ZEISS VELVET LED More Colors. More Sharpness. More Detail. ZEISS VELVET LED excels not only by brilliant images of highest contrast and outstanding depth of detail, but also by tried and approved ZEISS quality – from development to manufacturing to installation and servicing. VELVET LED features long-life LED illumination yielding improved imaging quality and an extended color space – from pure white to absolute black. The projected image boasts excellent resolution of both bright and extremely dark parts. That is why a 6k dome picture projected with VELVET LED may well look crisper than many an 8k image produced by other projectors, ensuring that hardly any mystery of the universe will escape the attention of your audiences. www.zeiss.com/planetariums Vol 48 No 3 September 2019 Planetarian 13
Statements from candidates
for new board seats
Susan Murabana Owen Sumito Hirota
Region: Africa Region: Asia
I am a planetarian and managing director of the I am honored to be nominated by the Japan Plan-
Travelling Telescope. etarium Association as a board member of IPS. This is
I started using a digital, mobile planetarium in a big chance for me to contribute for IPS and world
2013 and since then children and adults in Kenya planetarium community.
who had never experienced this virtual world have I have been working for planetariums since 1995,
now experienced it. I have been to many schools and and have been a member of IPS since 1996. I have
public spaces educating people about the wonders served as a representative of Japan Planetarium Asso-
of our universe. So far we have reached thousands ciation for IPS since 2017.
of students and hundreds of schools in Kenya and I studied physics at Tokyo Metropolitan Universi-
Tanzania and we are now in the process of complet- ty, and also completed a museum study course. My
ing our fixed dome in the heart of Nairobi. master’s degree in astronomy and science communi-
Susan Murabana Owen I have recently been elected as the president of cation is from Open University of Japan.
the newly-formed African Planetarium Association My career in the planetarium started at Kohtoh
(APA), and through this one of my aims is to encour- Children’s Hall Planetarium, Tokyo in 1995 as a plan-
age content creation from Africa to share with the etarium instructor. I moved to Discovery Park Yaizu
rest of the world. Planetarium, Shizuoka in 1997, and worked there for
One of the main points I want to emphasise is 17 years from the time that it opened.
how science—and particularly astronomy and space I have served as a curator of astronomy at Kawasa-
science—can inform us about the current state of our ki Municipal Science Museum since 2014. Also, I am a
planet, (the most obvious being satellite observa- member of the editorial staff of the Japan Council of
tions) and how, combined with engineering, it can Science Museums, and a member of steering commit-
lead to solutions and problem solving. We always tee of the Astronomical Consortium of Japan.
have a section in our show where we talk about the The main part of my work is live presentation. I
Apollo 8 ‘”Earthrise” photo and how this led to the make live shows every month. I am researching plan-
environmentalism movement. To encourage this etarium technology to make good use of its function
approach, we are building the frame of our new plan- and possibility for our shows.
etarium out of bamboo—a much greener alternative As a planetarian of Asia, I think it is very impor-
Sumito Hirota to the traditional, more energy intensive standard of tant to make a network among Asian planetarians
steel. because there are many planetariums, but there are
I want to see more of the emerging communities a few members of IPS. Furthermore, there are many
taking up leadership roles across the world because different languages and different cultures in Asia. We
there are a lot of interesting stories from these don’t know about planetariums in another country,
communities, which could help shape the future of even if it is next to own country. Therefore, I think a
The new board the IPS. growth in membership of IPS from Asia is one of the
structure will take effect Our planetarium was one of the main exhibits at most important issues.
with the first seating the second United Nations Environment Assembly If I become a board member of IPS, I will cooper-
of the board, which will UNEA meeting in Nairobi, where we had head of ate with the officers and other board members for
be in Edmonton at the states and other ministers visiting the planetarium. smooth management of IPS, and I will try to make
2020 IPS Conference. We had the director of UNEA, Dr. Mae Jemeson (first a network within the Asian planetarium communi-
African American female astronaut), Rakesh Shamar ty. I believe that exchanges among Asian planetari-
(first Indian astronaut) and Mark SubbaRao talk ans will be helpful for activities of planetarium in
about various topics related to climate change inside. the world. I will do my best to make the planetarium
We feel this had a great impact on all who came. community and IPS better.
Nominated by: African Planetarium Association Nominated by: Japan Planetarium Association
14 Planetarian Vol 48 No 3 September 2019You can also read
