Thesis written by
Richard H. Emmons
B.S. University of Southern California ,1946
M.A. Kent State University, 1950
Approved By
A. Stewart, Advisor
Robert White, Head, Department of
Education
Raymond M. Clark Dean of the
Graduate School
L Bowman, President
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The writer wishes to express his
appreciation for the cooperation of the students, faculty members, and
administrator of the Canton Division of Kent State University in the
planetarium project reported in this thesis.
He is grateful also for the encouragement
and assistance rendered by Dr. A.W. Stewart and Dr. L.L. Lowenstein who were
his advisors.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST
OF ILLUSTRATIONS....................................v
I.
INTRODUCTION..........................................1
II.
THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE
KENT
STATE UNIVERSITY CANTON PLANETARIUM.......................................13
The Group Meeting
The Projector Head
The Projector Mounting
The Planetarium Dome
The Auxiliary Projectors
Additions
III. THE PLANETARIUM'S UTILITY
AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL AID....50
IV. THE PLANETARIUM IN
SCHOOL-COMMUNITY RELATIONS.........57
V. SUMMARY AND
EVALUATION.................................65
APPENDIX
A................................................68
APPENDIX
B................................................92
BIBLIOGRAPHY..............................................94
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure
Page
1.
The Projector Head 18
2.
The Projector Mounting 23
3.
Erecting the Dome 30
4.
The Dome Supports 34
5.
A University Class Beneath the Dome 35
6.
The Sunset Bulb 37
7.
The Sunset Effect 38
8. Auxiliary
Projectors and Clamps
42
9.
The Portable Projector 44
10.
A Slide Projection on the Dome 46
11.
The Projector Adjusted for the North Pole 48
12.
The Projector Ready for Demonstration and Adjusted
for the Latitude of Canton 49
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
The project described in this
thesis was developed at the Canton Division of Kent State University during
part of a two‑month period, October and November, 1949. The Canton
Division of Kent State University was a temporary branch institution, created
to meet the problem of over‑crowding of students on the main Kent campus
in the years immediately following World War II. During its existence, from 1949 to 1950, it
accommodated from 600 to 900 students each quarter. While many of these students were veterans,
most were of normal junior college age from the Canton metropolitan area. Most of the classroom and office space was rented
from the Canton Board of Education and was located in the McKinley High School
Building at 800 North Market Avenue, in Canton. The building was shared by the high school
and the university, the high school retaining more than three‑fourths of
the used space. A large residence near‑by
was rented by the university after the first year and, as "The Union
Building," provided much‑needed additional office, classroom, and
lounge space. The Union Building
interjected something of a university atmosphere into what seemed to both
students and faculty, a high school situation.
The Academic offering at Kent State University Canton was limited to
lower division courses, i.e., those at the freshman and sophomore levels. In this respect the Canton Division was not
unlike a junior college. These courses
were offered on a full‑time day and evening basis, by instructors
responsible to both their respective department heads on the main campus and to
the resident Kent State University Canton director. The course in which the
planetarium project developed is listed in the Kent State University catalog
under the Department of Chemistry, and entitled, "Introduction to Physical
Science 162." It is a third quarter continuation of study in which the
principles of chemistry, physics, and astronomy are introduced by lecture and
demonstration, text study, and problem solving. Recitation and lecture periods total three
hours each week, and each course of the sequence of three courses carries three
quarter‑hours of university credit.
No laboratory work is provided and the courses are not applicable toward
a major or minor in either chemistry or physics. The sequence was intended as a terminal study
of physical science for students in the several colleges who would not otherwise
gain basic and desirable understandings and appreciations in this important
field. The content of the course,
"Introduction to Physical Science 162," at Kent State University Canton, consisted of
two broad units, astronomy and atomic physics, which are not entirely
unrelated. In order to understand the
production of energy in the sun and stars it is necessary to obtain some
insight into nuclear fusion; conversely, a student may enrich his understanding
and appreciation of nuclear fusion if he realizes that the processes involved
are currently taking place in the sun, making life possible on earth.
It was within the frame of
reference of this course at Kent State University Canton, and for the immediate
purpose of improving the presentation of the included study of astronomy, that
the planetarium project had its inception and completion. The dictionary1 defines a
planetarium as, "A model or representation of the planetary system,
especially one using projectors to display the movements of celestial bodies on
a hemispherical ceiling." The Kent
State University Canton planetarium was of the latter type. In the Western
Hemisphere there are six2 large planetaria using remarkable
projectors developed by the Zeiss Optical Company of Germany.
These projectors, valued at about $200,000
each, are capable of reproducing 9000 stars, the planets visible to the naked
eye, the moon and sun, their apparent motions in the sky, and many special
effects. The institutions possessing
these great instruments are: The Adler Planetarium,
in Chicago; the Hayden Planetarium, in New York City; the Fels Planetarium, in
Philadelphia; the Griffith Planetarium, in Los Angeles; the Buhl Planetarium,
in Pittsburgh; the Morehead Planetarium, at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. At these theaters of the stars, demonstrations
may be witnessed simultaneously by approximately five hundred people.
The audience is seated in concentric
circles about the projector, within a dome about 70 feet in diameter. One or two
programs are presented daily and are open to the public at a nominal admission
charge.3 A Projector of
moderate complexity, and valued at about $50,000 has been built by Mr. Frank D.
Korkosz, Director of the Seymour Planetarium, Museum of Natural History, at
Springfield, Massachusetts. Both Zeiss
and Korkosz projectors use lenses in producing images.
A small, efficient, and comparatively
inexpensive ($720) projector, developed by Mr. Armand Spitz and produced by
Science Associates of Philadelphia, has become popular in astronomical circles both here and abroad. The basic
principle involved in the Spitz projector is so simple that its origin is lost
in obscurity. Pin‑holes are made
in a light‑tight container in which a small bright source of light is
centrally located. The holes are distributed about the source of light in the
direction of the stars, and are of various sizes depending upon the relative
brightness of the stars.
The Spitz projector is made in the form of
a dodecagon. The well‑engineered mounting provides for the more important
adjustment and motions. Approximately $ 1,000 of auxiliary equipment is
available for use with Spitz projector, creating effects particularly useful in
the study of celestial navigation4.
Spitz projector are installed at the
following places.5
INTERNATIONAL
UNESCO Scientific Exhibition, in tour of
Latin America.
UNITED STATES GOVERNMEMT
United States Navel Academy, Annapolis,
Maryland
Aero Medical Research Laboratory, Naval
Base, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
United States Maritime Academy, Kings Point,
New York MUSEUMS
Boston Museum of Science, Boston,
Massachusetts Buffalo Museum of Science,
Buffalo, New York
Children's Museum of Science, Charleston,
West Virginia Everhart Museum,
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Fort Worth Children's Museum, Fort Worth,
Texas
Kansas City Museum, Kansas City,
Missouri
Maryland Academy of Science, Baltimore,
Maryland
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry,
Portland, Oregon
Stamford Museum, Stamford, Connecticut
EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS
Alderson‑Broaddus College, Philippi,
West Virginia
Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana
Calvert School, Baltimore, Maryland
Eastern Mennonite College, Harrisonburg,
Virginia
Friends Select School, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
Kansas State College, Manhattan, Kansas
Madison State College, Harrisonburg,
Virginia
Morgan State College, Baltimore, Maryland
Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Pennsylvania State College, State College,
Pennsylvania Phoenix Junior
College, Phoenix, Arizona
Rhode Island State College, Kingston, Rhode
Island
San Francisco City College, San Francisco
California Stanford University,
Palo Alto, California
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Minnesota
University of Philippines, Manila, Philippine
Islands
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras,
Puerto Rico
University of Southern California, Los
Angeles California University of
West Virginia, Morgantown, West Virginia
Wayne University, Detroit, Michigan
Western Michigan College, Kalamazoo,
Michigan
In addition to these thirty‑four
installations, there are others in Canada, Australia, Philippine Islands, and
one in Egypt. There are two more,
privately owned and operated, in Berkeley, California and Detroit,
Michigan. The fact that the Spitz
projector has been available only in the last few years makes this list of
installations impressive. The
concentration of two or more projectors in the same locality suggests the
readiness with which educators have seized the planetarium idea after
witnessing a demonstration.
No one at Kent State University Canton had
seen a Spitz projector. Yet knowledge
of the existence of the simple, effective instrument encouraged the writer to
investigate the possibilities of establishing a Kent State University Canton
planetarium. It was determined that the
purchase of a Spitz projector could not be financed.
In May, 1949 a field trip and magazine
article stimulated the Kent State University Canton planetarium idea. On May 1
more than fifty Kent State University Canton students and faculty members
voluntarily set aside the Sunday and traveled nearly two hundred miles, to
visit the nearest planetarium, ‑‑ the Buhl Planetarium at Pittsburgh. All
who participated felt that they had
had a pleasant and significant experience, well worth the time and money
expended. The demonstration required
about one hour and during this time only a few of the functions of the great
Zeiss projector were used and only a few of the introductory principles of
astronomy were presented. There was no opportunity for the audience to ask
questions. The writer, who
had previously visited the Fels planetarium
and the Griffith planetarium, regarded the lecture and demonstration as
excellent as any he had witnessed but agreed with certain others in attendance
that the great facilities there had not been used at the maximum educational
efficiency. This Difficulty seems inherent in such institutions having high
maintenance expenses partly defrayed by paid admissions. Patrons must be
induced to return. The programs must change periodically, as in all theaters,
while the ideal demonstration for the
adult novice is unchanging.
The visit had several results. first, the
writer saw clearly that a small
school planetarium might accomplish virtually as much as that accomplished by a
typical visit to a large planetarium. Second at Kent State University Canton
interest in astronomy in general, and in planetaria in particular, has been
aroused. Too much had been left unanswered and several students again visited
the Buhl Planetarium in the weeks following. The desirability of a Kent State
University Canton planetarium became apparent.
In a magazine received at the Kent State
University Canton
library
at this opportune time, there appeared a brief note, barely two hundred words
in length, describing a planetarium projector fashioned from simple materials
by Mr. William Calder of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Agnes Scott
College
in
Decatur, Georgia. The principle involved was the same used in the Spitz
projector, described earlier, except for the light‑tight container Mr.
Calder employed an aluminum globe. For all such projectors a hemispherical
screen is almost a necessity in order to avert objectionable distortion. Mr. Calder, with resourcefulness, used a war
surplus parachute as a screen, suspending it and holding it in approximate
hemispherical form by several hundred strings6
The little article established the fact
that a planetarium could be satisfactorily made, without much expense and
without special mechanical experience, if patience, directed effort and an
understanding of elementary astronomy were employed. The writer was convinced
that students would benefit if they were invited to assist in a planetarium
construction project. But as the academic year was then almost at an end
nothing was said or done about such a project until the University opened in
the fall.
Among the fifteen students enrolled in the
course, "Intro‑ duction to
Physical Science 162,” offered in the fall of 1949, there were several who had
participated in the field trip experience the previous spring, and who were
enthusiastic about the Buhl Planetarium.
They had taken a hobby interest in astronomy and this was a very
essential factor in the student participation in the Kent State University
Canton planetarium project. The writer,
as instructor of the course, could not reasonably have required his students to
undertake such a project as the time and effort involved were not in proportion
to the course credit. Furthermore, this
would have resulted in an undue and unintended emphasis on the single unit of
astronomy. Instead, the writer waited until the field trip was mentioned in
class. A discussion developed in
which the Buhl Planetarium was described by one of the students who had been
there. The advantage of such a device
in making clear the very principles we were then studying became apparent to
everyone in the small informal class. At
this point the writer mentioned that he believed a group of interested students
might help to provide Kent State University Canton with a planetarium. The matter would have ended there, so far as
the class was concerned, if it had not been for the response of the
students. Their questions were met
with the suggestion that those really interested arrange a time and place of meeting where
the problems involved might be considered. It was informally decided that the
voluntary meeting be held in the union building, Friday evening, October
13.
In addition to the writer the following
persons attended the meetings:
Richard Fritsche, Stanley Spring, Robert Zartmen,
Albert Totten, Harold Ludden, and Robert
Stano. The original group was joined a few days thereafter by other physical
science students, Theodus Cook and Gene Shackle. Walter Cunningham and Earl
Walters, of Canton, although not students, later furnished the writer with
outside engineering and material assistance on the projector's mounting at
modest remuneration. Mr. John Paulson, a former student of astronomy,
generously cooperated in the solution of the problem by providing a
hemispherical screen, and Mrs. Florence
Lewis, art instructor, and Mary Sabate
and Marilyn Colaner, students,
designed an produced a silhouette skyline of black paper which was then pasted
about the base of the dome to add to the realistic effect.
For their continuous cooperation during the
construction of the planetarium,
this group deserves much credit. Mr. C. M. Schindler, Director of Kent State
University, Canton, gave both approval
and encouragement without which the planetarium could not have been given location or placed in
use. And were it not for the generous
cooperation, often at the expense of personal
inconvenience, of several of the writer's colleagues on the Kent
State
University Canton faculty, the utility of the planetarium
would
have been greatly limited.
CHAPTER II
THE
DESION AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY CANTON
PLANETARIUM The
Group Meeting.
The
decision to undertake the construction of a planetarium to be used at the Canton Division of Kent
State University was reached during the voluntary meeting held October 13,
1949, and attended by the writer and
six of his students. At this meeting
the writer outlined the nature of the project and, by means of a prepared
punched cardboard and flashlight, demonstrated the simple principle by which
star images could be produced on the ceiling.
A general discussion followed concerning the necessity of a
hemispherical screen, the desired movements of the projector, the types of
materials to be used, the source of the materials and some details of the
design. The writer advised the group to
recognize and consider their time and resource limitations and to develop only
modest plans and to carry these to completion.
He proposed that the projector mounting be contrived from pipe fittings;
that movements be accomplished by hand turning; that illumination be of the
flashlight type, and that the hemispherical screen be made from wallpaper
supported by easily bent aluminum such as clothesline wire. The students present believed that with
their interest and resourcefulness they could develop a more ambitious design. At that time they were not able to specify
the details. It was decided
that the problem should be distributed according to individual interest or
further study. The writer was to
receive recommendations and, through personal conferences, coordinate all
activities on the project. Work
sessions were arranged as the design details were determined and the materials
secured. Mr. Richard Fritsche agreed to
study the problem of providing the hemispherical screen. Mr. Harold Ludden was particularly
interested in providing a better
projector mounting than the one suggested and offered to investigate the
possibility and cost of outside mechanical help. Mr.
Albert Totten volunteered to
work out the problem of lighting effects.
Altogether the meeting lasted two hours and ended in a spirit of
enthusiasm and determination.
The Design and Construction of the
Projector Head
For simplicity it was agreed that the
projector head consist of a twelve‑inch diameter terrestrial globe owned
by the writer, in which holes would be drilled according to the position and
brightness of the more conspicuous stars.
Stellar magnitudes of the first, second and third rank were considered
adequate for the purpose of portraying the constellations. Work sessions were arranged at the Union
Building and tools were provided by the writer. First, extensive experiments were conducted
by flashlight, various drills and cardboard, to assure the feasibility of this
globe. Drill sizes for the various stellar magnitudes had to be determined,
taking into account that many planetarium demonstrations might be given in the
daytime under conditions of incomplete darkness. The objective was to preserve realism in the
ratio of the intensity of starlight and skylight. A projection distance of six feet was used
in these quantitative experiments, according to design information obtained
from other project workers. The
experiments confirmed the belief that the proposed globe was satisfactory and that the optimum drill
sizes for the first three stellar magnitudes were, respectively, 3/32, 1/16,
and 1/32 inch diameter. The writer
pointed out that these experimental results were consistent with illumination
theory according to which the effective intensity of such small images is
proportional to the cross‑ sectional area of the beam of light. The students who were then studying
astronomy knew many of the
constellations from observations out‑of‑doors but this alone was
not enough to enable them to make an accurate planetarium projector. A catalog of stellar positions and
magnitudes was a necessary reference.
The writer selected and provided such a catalog7 and
explained how it could be used. In plotting
the stars on the globe the terrestrial longitude and latitude markings proved
indispensable. The difficulty was in
transforming coordinates from celestial to terrestrial spheres. Looking in upon the sphere, the universe had
to be turned inside out. The writer
developed the necessary conversion technique and explained this in detail to
the students. The right ascensions,
given in units of hours and minutes, had to be reexpressed in degrees, allowing
fifteen degrees per hour, one degree per four minutes. These results were to be subtracted from
three hundred sixty degrees before plotting as west longitude. Declinations,
given in conventional angular measure in degrees north or south of the celestial
equator, could be plotted directly as latitude.
It was suggested that the tedious work of
preparing the projector head be accomplished by the assembly line
technique. Accordingly, Mr. Robert
Zartman began the task of transforming coordinates; Mr. Robert Stano and Mr.
Albert Totten alternately plotted and checked; and Mr. Spring did the actual
drilling. For efficiency, stars were
selected in order of increasing right ascension within each magnitude. All of these above experiments and the
necessary organization were established during the first work session, plus the
plotting of twenty‑one stars of the first magnitude. After the fourth session all the stars of
the first three magnitudes were represented, and approximately one hundred stars of the
fourth magnitude were added with a needle to improve the constellation
outlines. The supporting base of the
terrestrial model, which had been left attached throughout this work, was then
sawed off, leaving large holes at each pole
(see fig. 1). A metal cap was
fixed over the hole at the north pole and the North Star was plotted and
drilled. A system of cardboard
reinforcements was discovered within the globe which would render the globe
useless as a projector. These were
twisted, torn, and removed through the hole at the south pole by wire probes
and long thin pliers. A
flashlight was inserted into the globe through the hole at the south pole. The room was then darkened and the first
projection was made against the walls and ceilings. In spite of the distortion caused by the
rectangular room, the effect seemed very encouraging. Then, one by one, the constellations were
examined and compared to a star atlas.8
A number of errors appeared; two of these
amounted to 180 degrees. The positions of twelve stars needed
refining. Rejected holes were covered
with dark friction tape. Many stars
were found to be too bright, or too faint.
This was discouraging in view of the precautions taken. Investigation showed that the flashlight bulb,
owing to the nature of its filament, was not radiating light of uniform
brilliancy in all directions, and
that a point source of light was desirable.
Various bulbs were tried and it was determined that a 6.2 volt 5‑cell
flashlight bulb was most satisfactory, and the globe was reworked to compensate
for the non‑uniformity of this bulb's radiation. Accordingly, holes that provided star images
which were too faint, were enlarged to proper size. Holes found to be too large were covered by
friction tape and pierced by a tapered needle to omit the appropriate amount of
light. The optional
properties of the pin‑hole became evident as the fainter stars at large angles from the
direction of the filament tended to appear as very small images of the filament.
This problem has gone unsolved, but has not rendered the projector
useless.
In the early projections it was noticed
that the star images were all of a single white color, whereas out‑of‑doors
many stars appear somewhat red. An
exaggerated reddening of certain stars was accomplished by fixing a red
transparent paper over their respective holes. The nebulae of Orion and Andromeda were
reproduced by fixing a clear cellulose tape over small holes in their
direction, diffusing the light in a realistic manner. The star cluster known as the Pleiades required six very small holes, very close
together, and was accomplished by drilling a large hole in the globe and
masking this by black paper in which the small holes were needled. Approximately sixty man‑hours
of work were required to bring the projector head to satisfactory
completion.
Design and Construction
of the Projector Mounting
A planetarium projector mounting must
provide for the apparent rotation of
the sky and be adjustable for various latitudes. It was first planned that a hand‑driven
mounting be contrived from simple pipe fittings. The details of this mounting were never
worked out but it as believed that a
small pipe axis could be attached to the to the projector head by means of a
flange and that wires could be run through this axis to provide electricity to
a flashlight bulb within the globe. In another planetarium‑building
project this method could possibly be
successfully developed. However, Mr.
Harold Ludden was confident that a more finished mounting could be obtained and
made inquiries in that regard. He
reported to the writer that two men, Mr. Walter Cunningham, a machinist, and
Mr. Earl Walters, an electrician, would, together, make an efficient motor‑driven
projector mounting for a modest fee if certain materials were supplied. The writer then agreed to purchase the
motor and transformer required and to pay the modest fee. Mr. Harold Ludden continued to act in
liaison, conferring with these contractors on the required functions of such a
mounting. The problem arose as
to which direction the axis should rotate.
The globe, as a terrestrial model, should rotate from west to east.
However, it was pointed out in
conversation with Mr. Ludden that for planetarium purposes the globe should be
made to turn the opposite, way, effecting the apparent east to west drift of
the stars. In Another conversation the size of the adapter flange for the
projector head was established. This size was held to a minimal value
consistent with strength, so as to interfere as little as possible with the
projection of stars in the southern hemisphere. In still another conference Mr.
Ludden was informed of the type of bulb for which the projector‑globe had
been adapted, and consequently the
type socket required. A later conference resulted in the addition of two
rheostats to control the brightness of the stars and the speed of their
rotation. The rheostats were donated by Mr. Richard Fritache. Contracting for the
projector mounting saved much time and
energy which could be applied towards the solution of other planetarium
problems and assured a better product than had at first been planned.
It is believed that a satisfactory
mounting could have been otherwise achieved but educational values were not
ultimately defeated in taking advantage of the outside help. The mounting was delivered
complete with an adapter ring which was fixed to the projector head by means of
four bolts. Large washers were placed on the bolts to prevent tearing of the
cardboard globe. Thus the projector
was completed by simply attaching the globe as one would put on a lampshade (see
figs. 1 and 2).
The Design and Construction of
Planetarium Dome
Mr. Richard Fritsche had
volunteered to investigate the problem of providing a hemispherical screen for
the projector. He considered fabricating such a dome with paper and aluminum
clothes‑line wire and had found the source and cost of such materials.
But he was alert for alternative and better solutions of the problem and sought
the advice of a former student at the Canton division, Mr. John Paulson of Justus,
Ohio, who had entered the business of fabricating astronomical observatory domes. Mr. Fritsche then
reported to the writer that Mr. Paul Paulson had available a $ 150, twelve foot
diameter, all‑aluminum, hemispherical dome, which was originally intended
for the top of a silo. Its surface
was rippled to add structural strength and there were wide grooves where each
adjacent pair of the nineteen sections were joined. The irregular surface, the small size, and
the cost of this dome, were discouraging. however, Mr. Fritsche felt that it
should be given further consideration.
As the conversation proceeded, the
proposition of using this
dome
appeared more feasible. First, if a larger dome was considered, a room could
not be found large enough to hold it. Mr. Fritsche suggested that the inner
surface might be covered with a paper to provide a smooth screen. It seemed
possible that Mr. Paulson might be willing to rent this dome and thus we might
have its use at low cost. It was decided To contact Mr. Paulson again.
At a second group meeting, late in
October, Mr. Paulson was present and had with him a section of the aluminum
dome. An experiment was conducted with this to determine if the complete dome
would be satisfactory. By means of the same punched cardboard and flashlight
used at the first meeting, star images were projected on and made to move
across the aluminum section. The results surprised everyone present. The
rippled surface of the aluminum caused negligible distortion and, in fact,
contributed somewhat to a realistic twinkling of the star images. The low reflectivity
of the aluminum was criticized and Mr. Fritsche suggested that it be painted a
flat white. A white paper held against the aluminum section confirmed that the
star images would appear considerably brighter if this was done. Attention was
next directed to the large grooves by which adjacent sections were joined. These were intolerable gaps in the otherwise
usable surface. The writer suggested that these might be filled by thin area of
plywood, wedged in tight. Mr. Fritsche countered with the simpler and better
suggestion that they be covered by a
wide white masking tape which he knew to be commercially available. It was also
pointed out that the aluminum dome would be fire‑proof whereas the only
alternative solution yet suggested was to use a paper‑covered skeleton of
wire. Mr. Paulson was then asked if he would set a rental price for the use of
the dome His offer to rent the dome
for the remainder of the academic year for fifteen dollars was accepted. The
problem of transporting the dome from Justus, Ohio was to be solved by the
group. Mr. Stanley Spring then volunteered to use his car and trailer for all
transportation necessary in completing the planetarium project. The informal
meeting then adjourned.
Accordingly, that week the dome rental was
requisitioned from the student activities fund and Mr. Spring and Mr. Ludden
brought the dome, in sections, to the Union Building. Through individual
contact it was arranged that the members of the project group assist in a trial
erection of the dome on a Thursday afternoon, November 3. The dome was set up
out‑of‑doors and carefully examined and measured. The need for a
supporting ring around the bottom edge was evident. fortunately Mr. Paulson made a surprise visit at this
time and agreed to purchase and furnish such a ring at no extra rental charge.
The dome was then disassembled and its sections taken to the basement of the
Union Building For painting and storage. In a few days Mr. Fritsche
submitted calculations and a
recommendation that the following materials be obtained: three quarts of
flat white paint, two quarts of paint thinner, three one‑hundred yard
rolls of two‑inch wide masking tape, four yellow pine boards one and one‑quarter
inches square and eight feet long, thirty feet of sash cord, four sash pulleys,
twelve clothesline hooks, twelve four‑inch corner braces, six dozen
number five three‑quarter‑inch screws, four one‑quarter by
two and one‑inch carriage bolts, and
eight one‑quarter inch washers. These items, with the exception of
the boards, were requisitioned from the student activities fund. The Writer was able to obtain the boards
without cost.
Mr. Theodus Cook, another student of
physical science, became interested
in the project at this point and asked if he could participate.
After consultation with the writer and Mr.
Fritsche he agreed to help paint and erect the dome. Together these two
students applied two coats of flat white paint to the inner surface of each of
the nineteen aluminum sections, working in a basement room at the Union
Building. The painting was
accomplished in six work sessions.
The problem of finding a location in
which to erect the dome began to assume importance. Various rooms at the union
building were measured and rejected. The writer then presented the problem to
Mr. C. M. Schindler, Director of the Canton Division. Mr. Schindler displayed
interest in the project but explained the impossibility of either setting aside
one of the class rooms for planetarium use or renting additional high school
space. The possibility of making the dome portable was discussed but this was
soon rejected as being extremely impracticable. The writer stated that he
believed the dome could be permanently installed in a class‑room in such
way as to interfere very little with other classes held in that room. Mr.
Schindler then suggested that the room in which the physical science
classes held be used for the
planetarium. This seems particularly desirable, provided the dimensions of the
room made the installation possible.
Accordingly this room was measured and the data carefully reviewed. A scale drawing showed that the dome would
fit between the overhead beam and chandeliers, and that its lower rim would be
six feet, six inches from the floor, allowing free movement for everyone throughout
the classroom. Mr. Schindler then granted approval for the installation. Thursday, November 24, was
set as the date for the installation work. The classroom was freed for the use
of the group after 2 P. M. Mr. Spring and Mr. Fritsche delivered the painted
dome sections and hardware materials
from the Union Building at this hour, and the writer brought the necessary tools.
Other project workers arrived to assist as their own class schedules permitted.
First, the dome sections were joined and bolted ( see fig. 8 ). This was done
with great efficiency and without
marring the painted surfaces as a result of the experience gained in the trial
erection three weeks prior. By 6 P. M. the dome was assembled and reinforced by
the iron ring about its lower edge. The same evening four wood uprights were
raised at quadrant points about the dome, in such positions as to interfere
least with traffic in the aisles and the view of the blackboards. These
uprights were held vertical by corner braces at their bases, reinforced by an
inconspicuous bolt into the adjacent desk. A sash pulley was secured at the top
of each of the uprights, through which sashcord was threaded. One end of the sashcord
was tied to the iron ring at the lower edge of the dome, the other was tied in
a loop and drawn over a large hook screwed in the upright. A second and similar
hook further up along the upright permitted a lowering of the dome to the eye
level of the audience for the demonstration. But this adjustment required the
coordinated effort of four people and was later abandoned as experience showed
there was little distortion by leaving the dome in the higher position, and
raising the projector instead. The latter arrangement made it possible for one
man to operate the planetarium and also resulted in better ventilation.
The installation work continued until
almost midnight. The workers were then rewarded by witnessing the first
demonstration of the planetarium. The other essential apparatus, the projector
and its mounting. had been completed earlier. The group was enthusiastic about
the results. Mr. Schindler telephone the writer during the evening to advise
that some sort of announcement be prepared for classes meeting in that room the
next day. He anticipated that other students might react unfavorably to the great change wrought
in a conventional classroom and thought
that an early statement of its purpose might improve its reception Accordingly a statement was prepared,
including a promise that an opportunity
for them to view a planetarium demonstration would be later arranged. The statement also carried a
warning that everyone use care in moving about the room and not to exert sudden
great force upon the structural members until further reinforcement could be
made. The group regarded
the installation, made according to design, as having too small a margin of
safety. The total weight of the dome, about 120 pounds, was distributed at
about 30 pounds per upright. Because of the angularity and undetermined strength
of the sashcords, the vibration in the system, the loss of strength due to holes
in the wood, they felt that structural failure might occur if any part of the system
were subjected to sudden shock. All concerned were agreed that the dome
supports should be reinforced at the earliest possible moment. The next day, Friday, November
25, the installation was inspected
hourly by the writer to determine whether any change toward instability was taking place. Students were asked not to sit directly
beneath the rim of the dome as a precaution against injury. The writer conferred with Mr. L. A.
Legory, Assistant Director of the Canton
Division, regarding the requisition of iron pipe and pipe fittings with which
to strengthen the support of the dome.
It also was Mr. Legory's opinion that the installation should possess a
large margin of safety and he felt that the additional expenditure of activity
fund money for this purpose was entirely justified. Various members of the project group were
then consulted regarding the design of the reinforcement. Measurements were made and a list of needed
materials was compiled. The writer then
secured these materials on a university account and brought them to the
classroom. Mr. Cook and Mr. Totten erected the four new iron pipe
supports within an hour and thus
rendered the installation permanently safe by the second day
in which classes met beneath the dome (see figs. 4 and 5).
Following a plan suggested by one of the
students at the first group meeting, the writer conferred with Mrs. Florence
Lewis, Instructor of Art at the Canton Division, regarding the production of a
black paper silhouette suggestive of a skyline and to be fixed to the lower
inside rim of the planetarium dome. Mrs. Lewis agreed to supervise the designing
and making of this skyline effect if the planetarium group would be responsible for attaching it to the
dome. The silhouette was to be
approximately 40 feet in length, corresponding to the circumference of the
twelve foot diameter dome, and was to vary between 6 and 10 inches in
height.
Mrs. Lewis then secured the voluntary
services of two of her students, Miss Mary Sabato and Miss Marilyn Colaner, and
purchased the necessary black paper with money provided by student members of
the project group. Within a few days
the silhouette was completed and delivered to the writer. Meanwhile Mr. Toten brought in
his recommendations on the design and
lighting effects. His plan, resulting from
experiments he had made at home, called for the installation of a red Christmas
tree bulb behind the silhouette at the east and west points of the dome's
rim. A small block of wood was to
hold the silhouette, by thumb tack, about one inch from the dome's surface at
each of these points and provide a mounting for the bulb's socket. The dome was to be wired externally for
these lights, the wires terminating in a three‑plug outlet. A three‑wire cable from a rheostat
on the operator's instrument panel was to feed controlled current into one or
the other of the two bulbs. The cable
was to be removed from the dome between demonstrations. Such a plan provided a red glow of
variable intensity in either east or west directions, simulating the rising or
setting sun. The plan was well made and
was approved without modification. Mr.
Totten purchased the cable wire and plugs with money provided by student
members of the group. The blocks and
small sockets were provided by the writer and the rheostat was given by Mr.
Fritsche. Mr. Totten brought his own tools and
made the electrical installation,
working alone one evening. By accident,
he found that by removing lines of red pigment from the Christmas tree bulbs
beautiful rays as of the rising or setting sun appeared (see figs, 6 and
7).
After the blocks were in place it was
possible to attach the silhouette and
this was done the following afternoon.
The work of adding this skyline effect was done by Mr. Zartman, Mr.
Shackle, Mr. Spring and Mr. Fritsche, of the project group, assisted by another
interested student, Miss Donna Foote.
THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
OF AUXILIARY PROJECTORS
From the very first, the problems of
reproducing the sun, moon, and
planets, which wander among the constellations, pressed for solution. A short‑sighted solution would have
been to drill new holes of
corresponding size in the constellation projector wherever desired and to cover
these holes with tape when no longer needed.
In time the constellation projector would have been riddled with such
holes and would have been divided into two hemispheres by the plane of the
ecliptic. It was suggested that a
cylindrical projector be added to the
main axis of the mounting and that this consist of a cardboard box, like these in which certain oat cereals
are sold. This projector was to be
provided with a separate source of light.
Holes along the edge of this box would then project the sun, moon, and
planets. Such a box could be replaced
at intervals with comparatively little work.
The writer experimented with such a projector in his home and found the
smaller radius of the projector required a smaller bulb filament than was
obtainable. If a larger disc was used
there would be unavoidable interference with the constellation projector and
some stars would be lost in a shadow. The
smallness of the planetarium dome required that the distance between the
projectors be minimized to prevent noticeable distortion. The writer here had occasion to demonstrate
to the students that the planes of great circles intersect at the center of the
sphere.
As a result of these considerations, the
writer searched for a new solution to the problem. It seemed to him that the drift of the sun,
moon and planets was as important to convey as any of their instantaneous
positions, and as this would require skillful control, it would be controlled
best by the hand of the operator. His
hand could be readily placed and moved to minimize distortion and shadow, and
thus effects could be coordinated with his lecture. Thus the writer came to the decision to
provide hand‑held auxiliary projectors. It required little thought to
design and make these projectors.
The writer secured small cardboard tubes, used as cores on which
oilcloth is rolled, from a downtown store.
In these he clipped flashlights of the pen size. Various diaphragms were made from soft‑drink
bottle caps (saved, with foresight, from an interlude at one of the groups work
sessions) corresponding to the various phases of the moon and the magnitudes of
the planets. The edge of a piece of friction
tape and the curved edge of a thumb
tack superimposed over round hole created
the illusions of the quarter and crescent moon. The sun itself required no diaphragm, and was dim enough to permit
the simultaneous projection of the background stars, ‑ a very desirable
feature in demonstrating the shift of the sun due to the earth's motion in
space. Eclipses were made possible by
skillful application of an opaque cover moved over the end of either the sun or
moon projector‑tube.
From this work emerged the design of the
optical pointer, by which the operator could focus attention on any particular
celestial object. An arrow‑shaped
hole was cut in another bottle cap, and another tube and clip‑type
flashlight was obtained. Considerable
care in the filing of the bottle cap was required to produce a neat arrow on
the sky (see fig. 8). This pointer was indispensable in all the subsequent planetarium demonstrations. This feature made the planetarium demonstration
superior to an out‑of‑door night session in which there is often
difficulty in pointing out objects. A goose‑neck desk lamp was fitted
with a large reflector and a 25‑watt blue bulb, wrapped in a mimeograph
stencil. This was connected to an
outlet on the projector base through a dimmer switch. The operator could then control the
intensity of the blue sky overhead by simply pulling a chain. It was important to adjust the reflector so
that no direct light fell upon the audience.
The black silhouette skyline deadened this pale light, as it also did
the star images, at the horizon.
Additions
The first demonstrations of the
planetarium, during the week of
December 1, 1949, were for the physical science students and faculty
members. While the programs were well
received, certain improvements were indicated.
A steel work table, with casters, owned by the University, was placed in
service to make the projector portable (see fig 9). As this table was about twelve inches too
low, a box was constructed to raise the projector to about the level of the
bottom edge of the dome. This box was
designed to include storage space for various items needed by the operator and
was wired to furnish a dim light. The
light was entirely shielded from the audience and the hemispherical screen. This light proved invaluable at times when
the operator found it necessary to refer to notes or technical and numerical
data not committed to memory, such as the ephemerides of planetary bodies9,
or to fine auxiliary projector tubes.
Improved images from the auxiliary
projector tubes were obtained after
taping the small flashlights to provide a smaller exit for the light. It was found possible to project
conventional slides on the hemispherical screen. University equipment included a film strip
of photographs taken at Mt. Wilson Observatory10, together with a
small film strip projector, and these were often used following the regular planetarium
demonstration to show the advantage of the telescope over the naked eye in
exploring space. Time did not
usually
permit projection of more than a choice few of the photographs, but these served
to stimulate interest, as evidenced by the flood of questions from the audience
( see fig. 10 ).
Several projector bulbs and 100
flashlights batteries were obtained through the university's activity fund, to
assure a supply of these expendable
items. During the several months in which the planetarium was used these items
were all consumed. On request, the
administration procured a small two‑faced sign which could be hung on the
classroom door. This sign alternately directed visitors to the planetarium and
announced that a demonstration was in progress and not to disturb. The excellent illusion of the
night sky which the planetarium afforded was comparable to that obtained
elsewhere in the large planetaria and encouraged the writer to extend the
similarity by the addition of the customary mood music. Accordingly, the
university's record player was pressed into service on occasions other then the
regular classroom demonstration, particularly when extra curricular and public
groups visited the planetarium. The maximum effect was achieved with the
record, "The stairway to the stars" rendered by Dick Liebert on the Wurlitzer
organ. This was played either as a
prelude to the commentary, while the twilight faded and the stars appeared,
or else as a postlude to the lecture while the drifting stars became lost in
the flush of dawn. The record player was equipped with a volume control which
the operator adjusted to levels appropriate to the expanding mood induced by
the illusion. The injection of this
form of art into the program definitely enriched the experience of the members
of the audience. Not only could they see the stars but could also seem to hear
the legendary music of the spheres and feel the sense of infinity and eternity
( see figs. 11 and 12 ).
Chapter III
UTILITY AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL
AID
The advantage of the planetarium as
an aid in presenting an astronomy unit
of study is obvious. Classes meeting in
daylight hours can there by become familiar with the changing aspect of the night sky (see appendix B). Furthermore, the sky for any hour of the
night, any night of any year, as seen from any point on the earth's surface can be quickly presented. The constellations are easily learned by means of the optical pointer. The operator can coordinate his lecture with the direct experience of the
individual. Thus student quickly and
easily achieve results which would otherwise require years of
observation and study. The
effects upon our perspective of the earth's rotation on its axis, of the earth's
revolution about the sun ,of the orbital motions of the moon and planets, of
travel across the surface of the earth, are made clear in a one‑hour
demonstration. The fact that the solar
system is organized in almost a single plane is forcibly brought out as planets are observed to
drift along the ecliptic. The lecturer
may comment upon the historical progress of our knowledge of astronomy; how observations were
successively interpreted until Copernicus
renounced the geocentric cosmogony. The
lecturer may also point out that the
planets, including the earth, were doubtless formed by a single process, since otherwise
their orbits would be inclined at random angles to one another. In the same hour the student observes
the yearly drift of the sun through the twelve constellations of the ecliptic,
changing its angular distance from the celestial poles and equator in what is
named declination. He sees the effect
this has upon the noon altitude of the sun, the hours of daylight, and the
seasonal warmth. Other techniques and observations can be introduced, such as
determining time or geographic location from observations of the celestial
bodies, and the daily eastward drift of
the moon with its consequent delayed rising and setting and change in
phase. And, by no means the least
important, the concept can be introduced of the earth's physical insignificance
in the galaxy of stars. The operator
can strive to bring out the sense of
infinite depth in what seems a spherical surface. This is
best done by calling attention to the
varied distances of stars which appear together in the sky. Demonstrations of this nature were given
in all of the writer's classes in "Introduction to the Physical Sciences
162," in accordance with the first purpose of the planetarium
project. But the utility of the planetarium was not confined to the physical
science courses. On occasion it
served as an instructional aid for related units in other courses as follows: On April 5, a class in
solid geometry studying the sphere, Mr.
E. T. Stapleford, instructor.
On April 12, a class in geography
studying the earth as a planet, Mr.
James A. Rinfer, instructor.
On April 17, a class in children's
literature studying mythology, Mrs.
Virginia Sullinger, instructor.
The following extra‑curricular groups also made visits to the planetarium in after school hours: The Dramatic Club sponsored by Mr. Michael
Dubets. The French Club sponsored by Dr.
Kether Grant. The Future Teachers of
America sponsored by Mrs. Helen Blue.
The German Club sponsored by Dr. Esther Grant. The Pre‑engineering Club sponsored by
Mr. A. A. Benedict. While the demonstration had little relation
to the purposes of the Dramatic Club,
the French or German Clubs, it nevertheless proved interesting to the members and was of
definite cultural value. The Pre‑
engineering Club and the Future Teachers of America group regarded the planetarium visit as having a direct relation to their
purposes, enriching their experiences, and integrating their previous knowledge
of the universe.
For each of these demonstrations
arrangements were made in
advance. Soon after the
planetarium was completed an invitation was extended to all faculty members by
Mr. C. M. Schindler, Director of the Canton Division, to visit the
planetarium and to determine whether their respective classes or extra‑curricular
groups might benefit in witnessing a
demonstration. As a result, the writer
held conferences with each of the
instructors named, in which the time and nature of each of the programs were discussed. The decisions reached were set forth in a memorandum by the writer. From this memorandum, outlines were developed which later served the writer in
his capacity as both operator and
lecturer, as key‑word reminders of concepts which were considered to be of interest to the group, and which
promised transfer of training. For
example, in preparation for the program for the solid gemetry class, Mr.
Stapleford and the writer developed the following outline:
Time
of demonstration: 3 p. m. Wednesday,
April 5, 1950 Class: Mathematics 123; Solid Geometry Instructor: Mr. E. T. Stapleford
I.
Earth as a sphere
A.
Projector is a model of earth B. Up, down, zenith, nadir
1. In line with earth's
radius at observer
2. Line along which gravitation acts
C.
Horizon
1. Plane tangent to earth at observer 2. Perpendicular to radius at observer 3. Slope in space changes with
rotation, travel
D.
Rotation of Earth
1. Axis determines poles, equator 2. Terrestrial coordinates
3. Cardinal points of compass 4. Meridian plane.
E. Revolution of Earth
1. Orbit forms plane of
ecliptic
2. Inclination of equator
and
ecliptic (intersecting planes) II. Sky as sphere
A. Dome is a model of sky above horizon B. Ribs of dome form parts of lines C. Area of sphere, hemi sphere, square degrees D. Celestial great circles
1. Celestial equator 2. Ecliptic
3. Galactic equator (Milky Way) 4. Horizon
E. Celestial coordinates
F. Celestial poles
G. Celestial small circles
H.
Spherical problems
1. Angular measurement
a. Pass around bubble
sextant
b. Measure latitude by
altitude
of North Star
2. Transfer of coordinates;
building
projector
3. Spherical triangle
a. Zenith ‑ pole ‑
star
b. Utility in navigation 4. Time
and the ephemerides III. Other enrichments
A. Bright star or big star?
1. Angular diameters depend upon
distance 2. Apparent brightness depends upon luminosity
and distance
3. Magnitude scale and base B. Distances determined by trigonometry 1.
Parallax depends upon base line and
distance
2. Various base lines used
C.
Sun is volumetric mean proportional between earth
and star Betelgeux
D.
Two pointer stars in Big Dipper determine line which extended intersects
north celestial
pole.
E.
Eclipses of sun, moon, and stars
1. Shadows of earth and moon from sun are right
cones
2. Shadows of moon from star is cylinder F. Planets always seen within zodiac. 1.
A zone, 14 degrees wide 2. Limited by great circles each 7 degrees from
ecliptic
G.
Velocity of stars
1.
Radial velocity discovered by
spectroscope
2. Proper or transverse velocity
measured
against celestial sphere
3. Resultant velocity by using Pythagorean
theorem
H.
Drift of Solar System among stars 1. Discovered by changing perspective 2.
Stars moving apart at solar apex 3. Stars closing together 180 degrees from solar
apex
I. Cause of Moon's phases
These outlines were studied just
before the demonstration and were only
occasionally consulted in the dim light available during the program. It was
not possible to prepare and use a complete
script for reading during a planetarium demonstration, since the
operator was otherwise occupied with the
projector controls. Tape recordings were
made of many of the planetarium lectures
and any one of these is available for auditioning, through
arrangement with the writer. Because of
its more general interest, the program given
the students of the course, " Children's literature " has been
transcribed and edited and is presented
in appendix A. This program was a
result of plans made in conference by Mrs. Sullinger and the writer.
All concerned were pleasantly surprised at
the amount of transfer material
available. It is probable that in other
situations other transfer possibilities would be discovered and used to
advantage.
Chapter IV
THE
PLANETARIUM IN SCHOOL‑COMMUNITY RELATIONS
The continued existence of higher than
secondary education facilities within
the city of Canton, Ohio depended upon the outcome of a municipal election held
February 28, 1950, for the approval of
bonds with which to found and operate Canton University. During this campaign the Canton Division of
Kent State University felt the necessity
of demonstrating to the public what educational and cultural values might
accrue to the community if it were to approve the establishment of the Canton
University. Few schools have had
greater incentive to convince the public of the value of their work than had
the Canton Division of Kent State University in this period. The planetarium was
completed about December 1, 1949, approximately three month before the election
and was then entirely unrelated. That it might serve the public and achieve
favorable recognition for higher education occurred to the administration and
to the writer early in the new year. It was decided to invite public school
classes and young peoples' groups to visit the planetarium. Accordingly, Mr.
Harold S. Vincent, superintendent of
public schools, and Mr. Ben F. Ahlschwede, director of elementary education,
were invited to witness a planetarium demonstration. Both gentlemen were favorably
impressed. Mr. Schindler then arranged
a schedule announcing times at which
the planetarium room could be made available for public school demonstrations,
and this was forwarded to the public
school administrators in a letter inviting their groups to arrange with the
writer for a demonstration. The
invitation was a sincere effort to make a contribution to the community and was
not withdrawn after the campaign ended in defeat of the university bond issue
on Feb. 28. To inform the general
public of the planetarium it was decided to invite a newspaper reporter to one
of the early public school demonstrations.
This was done, and a feature article describing the project appeared in a Sunday edition. The article was not documentary in accuracy, nevertheless it stimulated much
interest in the planetarium and many phone
calls were received from teachers and principals for a period of several weeks. Altogether thirty‑two public school
groups made field trips to the
university to see the planetarium. None
was disappointed. A list of the visiting
groups follows:
The tenth grade of Lincoln High School, Mr. Bigler, teacher.
The fourth grade of the North Canton
School, Miss Biralen, teacher
Two eighth grades of Lehman High
School, Miss Shirack, teacher.
The sixth grade of Washington School,
on January 20, Mrs. Sheehan, teacher, and Mr. Pettit,
student teacher. The
fifth grade of Washington School, on January 20, Miss Myers, teacher.
The seventh grade of Belle Stone
School, February 7, The
sixth grade of Summit School, February 7, Miss Greet, teacher
The fifth grade of Hartford School,
February 9, Miss Shaw, teacher
The sixth grade of Belle Stone School,
February 9, Miss Allmen, teacher
The fourth grade of Baxter School.
February 9, Miss Conrad, teacher, and
Mr. Sinden, student teacher. The sixth grade of
Hartford School, February 10, Miss
Switzgable, teacher.
The tenth grade of the Hartville
School, February 14. The
eighth grade of Belle Stone School, February 16, Miss Booher, teacher.
The eighth grade of Belle Stone School,
February 16, Miss Kendrick,
teacher.
The third grade of Belle Stone School,
February 17. The fifth
grade of Belle Stone School., February 21,
Miss Little, teacher.
The fifth grade of Belle Stone School.
February 21, Miss Murray,
teacher.
The eleventh grade of McKinley High
School, February 21, Miss Domer,
teacher.
The third grade of Belle Stone School,
February 23. The fourth
grade of Belle Stone School, February 23. The first grade of Belle Stone
School, February 23, Miss Reimer,
teacher.
The eighth grade of Allen School,
February 28, Mrs. Gravo,
teacher.
The eighth grade of Allen School,
February 28, Mr. Dowding, principal,
and Mr. Ferguson, teacher.
The second grade of Belle Stone School,
March 2, Miss Hopkins, teacher.
The sixth grade of Belden School, March
2,
Miss
Davis, teacher
The seventh grade of Belle Stone School,
March 7,
Mrs.
Wright, teacher.
The twelfth grade of McKinley High School,
March 9, Miss Galbredth,
teacher.
The fourth grade of Garfield School, March
14, Miss Dick, teacher.
The sixth grade of Clarendon School,
April 11, Mr. Sharp, student
teacher.
The fourth grade of Market School, April
18, Miss Waleska, teacher.
In addition to the above, the following
five young people groups attended
demonstrations.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer delivery boys of
Canton, March 6.
Boy Scout Troop Number Forty‑six of
Saint Peter's Catholic Church,
Canton, March 7.
The Brownie Girl Scouts of the First
Methodist Church, Canton, March
15.
The Brownie Girl Scouts of the First
Presbyterian Church, Canton, April
6.
Girl Scout Trop Number Twenty‑five
of the Edgefield School, April
18.
These lists give only those demonstrations
actually presented. There were some
last‑minute cancellations at times of inclement weather but these were
always re‑scheduled. The average
audience on these occasions was comprised of about thirty persons, the extremes
being seventeen and forty‑one.
Approximately eleven hundred young people are thus represented in the lists. Each demonstration required about forty minutes for presentation, ten
minutes preparation of the projector
and classroom and ten minutes to restore the classroom for
university use. A study was made of the aspects of the sky
on the date of each
demonstration. The
program for these demonstrations varied with the age level of the group, the evening sky on the
particular date, and the questions
asked by the group. Otherwise
the programs were fairly uniform and
always began with a welcome and an introduction describing the apparatus
and the illusion they were about to observe.
Attention was called to the directions along the horizon and the setting
sun in the west. The light faded while organ music was being
played, and the stars gradually
appeared just as they would appear after twilight on that date. After a few moments of silence the operator
began a commentary on the night sky, using the optical pointer to call
attention to the more prominent constellations, always including the Big
Dipper, the Big Bear, the Little Dipper, the North Star, Orion and his dog,
and the prominent planets. The older children were told of the
early observers who used their imaginations
to create the constellations.
Children of all ages were asked if they ever connected dots to form figures.
Since this was a common experience, the children quickly understood what was meant by forming
figures from the stars. The vast distances and sizes of some of the
objects were mentioned. The younger
children were asked if they could place a ladder against a star and climb to it. Invariably they said it would require
hundreds of years, which the operator
corrected to millions of years, amidst a chorus of "ohs." Stars and
planets were defined. Red stars
were explained as being only red‑hot
balls of gas, Whereas most such
balls of gas are white‑hot .
The projector was then allowed to
rotate and the operator announced the hour on that date which corresponded
with the appearance of the sky. The
visitors were reminded that this change in the appearance of the sky was due to
the rotation of the earth. Dawn began with a return of the music, and
the stars drifted and faded out of
sight. The operator remarked that the
stars were there all day long but the
sun outshone them.
While the writer questioned the
advisability of scheduling a first grade
visit to the planetarium he acquiesced upon the insistence of Miss
Lena Fowler, Principal of Belle Stone
School who was convinced, after seeing the planetarium, that every class in her
building should attend. The writer was
interested in the experiment and had his
own seven‑year‑old daughter attend that particular program. As
his daughter had not been given any previous training on the
subject, he felt her reaction might be
indicative of that of the group. Questioning revealed that she remembered and
understood the simplified lecture‑demonstration. As in many other demonstrations, the
operator tested this group for rapport by passing the optical pointer to several children, asking them to point out
the constellation just discussed. The
first graders were able to point out the Big Bear immediately, without further
coaching.
The programs ended with a projection of a
telescopic view of the moon's
surface, where attention was called to the grand canyon and rocky mountains of
our nearest neighbor in space. It was
remarked that some people satisfy their thirst for travel by studying the moon through their own telescopes from
their own backyards, and that many other objects in the sky also prove
interesting when viewed by
telescope. The groups were
invited to ask questions throughout the programs, but most questions were asked
toward the end of the demonstrations
after their curiosity had been aroused and they felt more at ease. The most frequently asked
questions were on the possibilities of
visiting the planets, whether people lived elsewhere in the universe, the nature of falling stars, and the cause
of the phases of the moon.
On one occasion the writer was convinced
the children under‑ stood an
astronomical concept better than an adult who was present. One teacher reacted violently to the
overwhelming magnitude of the subject
and expressed grave doubt as to the desirability of allowing young minds to dwell on this subject. The writer has observed children react favorably to astronomy, and he
believes that some adults find difficulty
in approaching this subject later in life when some erroneous attitudes have to be
unlearned.
Many of the groups supplemented their
visit to the planetarium with classroom
discussions of their observations. One
group presented an astronomy program in a school assembly. One principal reported over‑hearing a
fourth grade boy explaining red stars to a seventh grade boy after school
hours. The writer received one hundred
twenty letters from teachers and children who had attended these
demonstrations, thanking him for his time.
Some of the very young children drew pictures of the planetarium, and
their teachers forwarded those to the writer as evidence of their understanding
and interest.
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY AND EVALUATION
A small planetarium was designed and placed
in use at the Canton Division of Kent
State University through the efforts of small group of students coordinated by
the writer during the fall session, 1949.
These students acquired a mastery of the fundamental principles of
astronomy and a familiarity with the appearance
of the celestial sphere. Each
received a core experience in cooperation culminating in personal pride in the
successful completion of the
project. They found a sustained
satisfaction in the hobby interest they developed as shown by the fact that several
have since acquired astronomical
telescopes. Each has reported on the
interest friends have displayed in his
hobby. The writer continues to receive
requests from these former students to
meet with them to discuss astronomy or
to provide references from his home library on such subjects as the structure and evolution of the universe, the
nature of time, relativity, or the new
physics. The members of this group learned that these subjects are all related and soon recognized
that an increased understanding in these areas provides a broader perspective
on life and a more secure basis for
their personal philosophy.
The planetarium was used effectively
during the remainder of the academic
year in connection with related classroom work, extra curricular interests, and
for the benefit of public school children
of all grades in the Canton area.
Approximately fifteen hundred
persons witnessed at least one planetarium demonstration. The planetarium soon became widely known in
the community. Apparently each person
who witnessed a demonstration described it to others. The local newspaper regarded the
planetarium of sufficient public interest to devote several columns to
it in one of its Sunday editions. Many
requests for demonstrations had to be turned down because the classroom was
available for only a few fixed hours in a week and these times were often
scheduled more than a month in advance.
During its brief existence the planetarium made a substantial
contribution to the educational and cultural life of the community. From the many questions which
were asked during the demonstrations and from discussions which followed the
writer found that much interest in astronomy had been aroused and much
information successfully conveyed. There
was a surprising number of opportunities for transfer of learning into related
fields such as physics, mathematics, geography, navigation, engineering,
mythology, history, and philosophy. The writer believes there is warranted an
increase in the use of the planetarium as a visual aid in the educational
program. This is supported by the fact that the planetarium
makes conveniently available to
students certain significant observations which would not likely be otherwise made. In any school system where sufficient
interest prevails an enterprise such as
described herein could be developed and used to advantage. In another planetarium building project
there would undoubtedly be variations
and improvements. A point source of
light should be provided for the projector.
A larger and smoother
hemispherical screen is recommended.
The audience should be seated
in concentric circles about the projector and operator. Forced
ventilation should be provided.
Greater freedom in scheduling times of
group visits would increase the utility of the apparatus. The room
might better be used exclusively for the planetarium, permitting
permanent exhibitions of astronomical models, charts, photographs, instruments,
and references.
APPENDIX
TRANSCRIPT OF TAPE RECORDING OF AN ENTIRE LECTURE ‑
DEMONSTRATION
Mr.
Emmons: For the purpose of the
recording, this is April 17, 1950,
and this is Mrs. Sullinger's class in English 338. Mrs. Sullinger: The course is called "Children's
Literature." Mr. Emmons: Now if everyone is situated so they can see
the inner surface of our screen I'll
turn out the lights. As students of K.
S. U. C. you've known that we have
produced a planetarium in this room;
we've brought in a farmer's silo, piece by piece, put it together
and painted the inside white; we've
pasted black paper around the bottom,
cut so as to represent the skyline with trees and house, and over
here in the west, McKinley's
Monument, with the setting sun behind it.
Within a minute the twilight will fade, and the stars will come out just as they will be overhead in Canton tonight
about 8o'clock. Now there you have the sky as it appears over
Canton tonight. Since we
are at a latitude not radically different from that of the Biblical lands, we see the sky in much the
same way as they did over there some
centuries ago. Mrs. Sullinger and I were
talking before class about the
origin of the constellation names. I
believe that these constellations were invented by primitive people as the
result of their interest in legends and stories. Take yourself back thousands of years in time to the early people who lived in
Babylonia and lands thereabout. Many
of those people had occasion to stay outdoors at night. There
was no artificial light. You
recall the shepherds who watched the
stars at night to pass the time.
They had no way of entertaining them‑ selves other than to watch the show that
you are watching now; the sky overhead. It is not very surprising that they were
more interested in the sky than we
are today; if they had other diversions they might not have been as interested either. At that time the stars presented quite a challenging problem to them. They didn't understand what they were. There was no science of astronomy then;
instead, only the conjectures of
astrology. They regarded the stars a
part of their environment. They were interested in what they were, and
particularly in what they meant for
them. They thought that it should be
determined whether the stars were
friendly, or whether they should be afraid of them. So they watched the stars to gather any
clues they might of their nature, and
in place of valid answers to their questions, they filled in with their imaginations. We can understand how these people, filled
with the legends of their time, began to assemble
these stars into apparent groups and
to give them the names of their legendary heroes. That is probably how many of these constellations
originated. A constellation is a
group of stars. The stars of a constellation need not be
physically related but just in the
same general direction from us.
Most every person today knows the Big Dipper in the sky. If
you just follow this little arrow over here you can see the seven stars which make up the cup and handle of the
Big Dipper. Perhaps when you were a child you played a game of
connecting dots, drawing a line from
one dot to the next dot to form a figure.
If you do that with stars you can make some interesting patterns, and
the Big Dipper was invented a longtime ago as such a pattern. Now the stars of the Big Dipper are not the same distance from us;
they're not on the surface of the sky but they are great suns at different
distances out in that direction in
space. If you can be like
these primitive people and use your imaginations you can make many patterns in the sky, as
they did. One of the most interesting or convincing patterns is
that of the Big Bear. How many have heard of the Big Bear? Let's take a count. I'd say that nearly three fourths of the class has heard at
one time or another of the Big Bear
in the sky. Well, if you were to look
in the northeastern section of the
sky tonight, rather high up, you could find the Big Bear. Let me point it out for you. The Big Dipper, which you now know, can serve to identify this figure in the
sky, for the handle of the Big Dipper
is the tail of the Big Bear. These four
stars forming the handle of the Big Dipper form the tail of
our celestial bear. Now follow the arrow, and notice these stars
forming the hind legs and the two
hind paws of the bear. These three
stars in a triangle form his head
and his front legs run down to two front feet in this position. You have to lean backwards now to see him
upright. Here is his ear. He has a turned up nose. His back runs across here from the head to the tail. Here are the front legs, front feet, and
here are the hind legs and hind
feet. How many see it now? We have nearly all the class with us. The Big Bear is just one of the
constellations in the sky, and if
you look in the same direction tonight at 8 o'clock you can see it for
yourself, and you could point it out to others. Use a
flashlight with a powerful beam which reflects against the dust in
the air and serves as a pointer in
the sky. Now there is also
a little Bear in the sky. I can't
distinguish it myself and therefore I
can't show you, but it has some relation to
these stars in the Little Dipper.
Again, seven stars from a cup and
handle. The famous North Star is
right at the end of the Little Dipper.
The North Star can be found by taking the two pointers of the Big Dipper and allowing them to form a line
over to the North Star which is
always north of you wherever you travel in the northern hemisphere. The stars of the Little Dipper together
with others which are fainter, make
up the Little Bear in the sky. There is a story about the celestial bears. Mrs. Sullinger: We have been calling the Big Bear
"he" but the ancient people called the Big Bear a "she" and
her name was Callisto. Callisto, you
know, was one of the loves of Jupiter, one
of the many loves of Jupiter, one of the women who kept Juno constantly
in a quiver of excitement and jealousy.
Now Juno discovered that
Jupiter was having an affair with Callisto, and so for punishment of both Callisto and Jupiter she changed
Callisto into a bear. She said her beauty which had attracted him in
the first place should be gone. And poor Callisto fell down on all fours,
and her lovely white hands became
hairy paws, and her beautiful soft white body became the hairy body of a bear. And she was condemned to live in the
woods as a wild beast and to flee
from the hunters. She sometimes
almost forgot to flee from hunter,
forgetting that she was a bear and not a
human as she had been. And one
day, after she had been a bear for
many years, she saw a beautiful youth approaching through the
forest. Recognizing him as her own
son, she rose on her hind legs and went
to greet him and to enfold him to what we would call a big "bear
hug." But the youth, of course,
not recognizing his mother, drew a bow and
was just going to pierce her heart with an arrow when Jupiter,
seeing the predicament she was in,
took pity on her and on the son and changed
them both into constellations and set them in the sky as a great
bear and a little bear. Mr. Emmons: It might be of interest that they are very
nearly the same direction. Jupiter must
have recognized the closeness of the
mother and son to place them in the same portion of the sky so that
as the nights and years pass the mother, Callisto, is in protective
motion about the son, Arcus, as the sky seems to turn due to our turning Earth. Mrs. Sullinger: There is one part of the story that
accounts for that. After Jupiter had placed the two bears in
the sky, Juno was more angry than ever,
"Because now," she said, "I thought I had vengeance upon my rival, and look what has
happened; She is in the heavens,
and perhaps some day she will
displace me." So she went down to
the ocean gods, who were her
forebears, and she said to them, " Some‑ thing must be done to stop the arrogance
of this woman whom Jupiter has placed
in the sky. I want you to promise me
that you never allow her to enter
your waters." And so the ocean
gods promised. And although the other stars set into the
ocean, the Great Bear and the Little
Bear never set. but revolve constantly about the pole. Mr. Emmons: We have started our projector now. and you
can see that very motion. The Big Bear in its position in the sky
is changing. We have speeded up the apparent drift of the
stars 500 times. You wouldn’t see this rapid change out of
doors. But if you watched all night long, the Big Bear would
seem to cross over and come down in
the northwestern sky. It seems now
about five o'clock on an April
morning and the Big Bear has comedown in the north‑ western sky feet first, to stand erect on
the northern horizon. The Big Bear then rises in the northeast
without ever having disappeared. You
will notice that the apparent motion is centered about the North Star which sets as a hub of the great
wheel of the sky. The reason the North Star acts as such a hub is because the Earth's axis in space is constantly pointed toward that
star. Now there are some
other constellations that we might consider.
We'll stop the projector again to show the sky at eight o'clock
this evening. If you'd look in the northwestern sky at
that time you would see this figure
of six stars outlining a broken chair.
Here you see the seat of this
chair, and these two stars mark the bottoms of the legs. The back is broken at this point. The constellation of the broken chair was thought to be the throne of the
Queen Cassiopeia of Ethiopia. This
was the Queen's chair, or the Broken Chair, but is sometimes called an "M" or
"W". The King of Ethiopia
is beside Cassiopeia.
If you wish to remember this constellation,
Cepheus, remember it as a pentagon a child would draw to represent a
house. This star marks the top of the house, and these four stars
the walls. The daughter of Cepheus is
Andromeda, a constellation which
consists of long chains of
stars. These stars are part of
Andromeda. Andromeda was at one time bound in chains. Do you have the story, Mrs. Sullinger? Mrs. Sullinger: Yes.
Cassiopeia as a very beautiful woman,
and very vain of her beauty and by her vanity she so angered the
sea nymphs, who thought they excelled
her in beauty, that they sent a
horrible monster to ravage the coast that Cepheus, her husband,
ruled over. And
finally, the inroads of the monster became so great that Cepheus went to the oracle to ask what
could be done, and the oracle told
him the only thing that would appease the monster was the sacrifice of his daughter, Andromeda. So Andromeda insisted that she be sacrificed, against the will of her
father and mother, in order to placate
the monster and release the countryside from his ravages. So finally they took her and chained her on the
seacoast and withdrew to await his
coming. It so happened that Perseus was
flying home from another mission that he
had been on, carrying with him the head of Medusa, the gorgon, which had the
power of turning to stone anything that looked directly at it. And as he flew over the seacoast he saw
this beautiful maiden, chained and apparently
in terror, so he came down to discover
the trouble. No sooner had he landed
than here came the monster through the waves, rearing up his ugly head and
frightening all the people so that they withdrew even farther. But Perseus, flying towards him, held the
Medusa head in front of him and turned him to stone and so released Andromeda,
and Andromeda was given to him in
marriage. Was there any other character
in that group? Mr.
Emmons: Perseus was mentioned, and this
is the constellation Perseus. You'll
notice that Perseus looks like a Y in the sky. Here is one branch of the Y and here is
the other, and here is the main trunk
of the Y. This is a very interesting
constellation too, because one of its
stars, Algol, as thought by these primitive people to be the eye of some demon because it changed in
brightness from night to night. They
thought that the eye was winking at them.
It wasn't just the temporary twinkling that most of the stars undergo,
but instead it was a very methodical and rhythmic brightening and then dimming
of the stars. They did not understand
that. Now we know what is going on.
There is a dark star moving about this brighter one and at intervals
partially eclipses it, cutting off its light from us. But these primitive people, of course, had
no such understanding and they accounted
for the change of light by assuming Algol marked the eye of a
devil. Altogether the constellations
Perseus, Andromeda, Cepheus and Cassiopeia form the royal family in the
heavens. I suppose your imagination is
strenuously taxed. We need not apologize
for what these early people
believed. These constellations and
stories are of interest, if for no
other reason, because they have been handed down for thou‑ sands of years. There is a dragon in the sky and
it is rather easily seen. It is between the two Dippers. Here is the Big Dipper again. Here is the Little Dipper, as you look northeast. The dragon is a snake‑like monster
that winds between the two dippers. Here
is the end of the monster's tail, and it winds around the Little Dipper in this
fashion and bends back on itself to a head of four stars. This fourth star is just behind the tree; and you cannot see
it. If you look for it out of
doors tonight I'm sure you'll see
it. We don't have the
time for all the constellations but in the
southwestern sky there are
several which we would not want to miss. One of these is the constellation of
Orion, the hunter, and the others are
in nearly the same direction. This star
marks the head of the hunter, and
these two stars his shoulders. He has a
very vivid belt. I suppose if you look for this constellation out of
doors at night you will see his belt
first‑ three rather bright stars in a line. His knees are in these positions. There you have Orion, ‑‑head,
shoulders, belt and knees. From his
belt there hangs a sword‑‑ you can just barely see it. He
has an upraised left arm in which he holds a club. He is brandishing this club at the lowered head of Taurus,
the bull. Here is the bull. Here is his head and his fiery red
eye. Here are his horns, aimed at Orion.
Together Orion and Taurus seem to march across the sky as the Earth turns. The stars are not themselves moving. It is our horizon that changes. In twenty‑four hours the horizon turns
in a complete circle as the Earth rotates on its axis. On the back of the bull you have this little group of stars known
as the seven sisters, or the
Pleiades. There is a story about
them. The hunter Orion
has following him two dogs. The big
dog is right here. The eye of the dog is the brightest of all
stars, Sirius. This dog has a long snout and a longer neck
which runs down to a rather small
body. Here is his bright eye. Here is his long nose. Here is his long neck and his small body
and legs. There is a smaller dog
further east but I've never been able to make it out very
satisfactorily This star is the eye
of the smaller dog, and this other star also forms a part of it. These and others which are fainter in that
direction form a small dog, according
to the ancient people, and with the larger dog is following Orion and the bull. Mrs. Sullinger, do you have the story of these constellations? Mrs. Sullingor: Yes.
Orion is known as the mighty hunter of the heavens, because he was a mighty hunter
on earth, too. One day as he strolled through the forests with his
dog Sirius at his heels, he saw seven
beautiful maidens. He didn't know it at
the time but they were the Pleiades,
the daughters of Atlas, the giant who held the sky on his shoulders. And Orion was much attracted by the
beautiful girls, and immediately
began to run toward them and they, taking fright, ran from him.
But he kept pursuing them.
And such was his strength and
his speed that he overtook them and
just as he reached out to catch one,
she turned into a pigeon, and all seven of them became pigeons, and fled into the sky, and there the gods took
pity on them and changed them into
the constellations, the Pleiades. Mr.
Emmons: There they are. Mrs. Sullinger: One of them is very faint; she is so faint
she can't be seen. Actually you only see six of them ‑
don't you, Mr. Emmons? Mr.
Emmons: That's right. Mrs. Sullinger: The seventh one left her place because she
didn't want to behold the fall of
Troy. There are a number of stories
about Orion, but the only one we need
to concern ourselves with here is the
story of his death. He went on
after this encounter with the Pleiades
and met Artemis, or Diana, the goddess of the hunt, and who was a maiden, a virgin, who kept herself aloof
from men as suitors. But she and Orion became the greatest of
friends. And her brother, Apollo, I
believe it was, became frightened for fear that she would wed Orion and upset
all the tradition that had been established about her virginity and her aloofness
from men, and so he knew that he would have to plot some way to get rid of
Orion. One day Orion was swimming in the ocean, and his great head
was just above the waves, and Artemis
and Apollo were at some distance. So
Apollo said, "Sister, I know your aim is good, but there are some things
impossible to you. For instance, I'm
sure you couldn't hit with an arrow that
black speck out there on the ocean." And Artemis, to show that of course she could, drew her bow and pierced
the black speck which turned out to
be the head of Orion, and he was washed to her feet. So great was her grief that he, too, was
placed in the heavens as the mighty
hunter, with his dog Sirius following him.
And he is for‑ ever
pursuing the Pleiades, as I think Mr. Emmons will show you. Mr. Emmons: Yes, as the earth rotates from west to east,
you will notice the reverse effect in
the sky where the motion appears west‑
ward. Along about nine or ten
o'clock tonight the Pleiades will set
in the northwest, due to the fact this horizon is climbing relative
to the background of fixed
stars. Now Orion is sinking beneath
the horizon his head disappearing
last, as the story goes. We
have at the time of Orion's setting a new constellation appearing in the east which is of
interest to us here, and that is the
constellation of the Scorpion.
Notice this red star which forms the
heart of the Scorpion, and these two stars which outline the little
body of the Scorpion, and these three
stars which from the ends of his claws.
Let's stop the projector as the sky appears overhead tomorrow morning about four or five o'clock. If you were to go out of doors at that time in the south you would see the
Scorpion. On summer evenings this constellation will be positioned as
it is now, and if you recall the
pattern and look for it, you will see it then. The Scorpion is followed in its march across the sky by another
constellation, Sagittarius.
Sagittarius contains another little dipper, upside down. These four stars which form the cup of this inverted
dipper also may be thought of as
forming a Swiss hat, and this star which forms the end of that dipper's handle can be thought of as the
top star in a bow which is bent. Here's the entire bow of three stars which
is being held by this archer wearing
a Swiss hat, cocked up at an angle. How
there is an arrow across that
bow and it's directed at the scorpion. As the
time passes, the stars seem to drift as if the archer is pursuing
the scorpion and about to shoot it. I think, Mrs. Sullinger, you have the
mythology of those two
constellations. Mrs.
Sullinger: I don't know the mythology
of the scorpion but I can tell you a
little bit about the archer. When the
archer lived on earth his name was
Chiron and he was one of the wisest and best of all the centaurs. The centaurs, you know, are creatures that
are half horse and half man. And Chiron, I believe, was the one who
educated one of the heroes,
Hercules. But at the time that
Prometheus stole the fire from the gods, which story you will
read in your book, or have read, the
gods punished him by fastening him to a
rock and letting a vulture eat
away a part of his body, the liver, I believe, and every night it was restored and every day
the vulture ate again. But this time, Chiron, who was immortal and
could not die, had been struck by a
poisoned arrow from which he suffered greatly and he bounded through the world in his agony and
suffering from this arrow. So he asked the gods for full forgiveness for
Prometheus saying that he would be
glad to give his life as atonement for
the sin of Prometheus in order that
he might die. And so he was permitted
to die as far as earthly life is
concerned, but he was placed in the heavens as Sagittarius, the archer of the
heavens. Mr. Emmons: Now Sagittarius is just going down, as our
projector show, and that would be
seen outdoors later in the summer evening. There are other constellations
and as the mythologies of these are
not connected I would like to simply point them out quickly and then as time permits the mythology can be
given. This little constellation of four
stars in the figure of a diamond with a fifth star further south looks like a
kite with a tail. The boy scouts know
that constellations as job's coffin, and the astronomers through the ages have
called it Delphinus, the dolphin. Delphinus
also is visible high in the summer
evening sky. Another constellation
which is of interest is Pegasus, the
winged horse. These four stars form
one of the largest constellations to
be found anywhere in the sky. This is the "great square" of
Pegasus, and this star over here is a part of
the horse's head. His front legs extend westward at an
angle. Still another constellation is the constellation
of Hercules, which you would find in
the northwestern sky on a summer evening.
These four stars form the body
of Hercules, and the stars off from each corner form the limbs. Now we would like to hear the mythology for
the Dolphin, for Pegasus, and for Hercules,
Mrs. Sullinger. Mrs. Sullinger: We don't need to go into details because you
will read the story of Arion and the dolphin in your books; how the dolphin saved
him from drowning and brought him safely to land; how he charmed him with his
music, he riding on the back of the dolphin.
There are many ancient paintings and decorations that show the dolphins. The Hercules story is a long, long story,
much inter‑ woven with a great
many other stories in mythology. The
only part we need to be concerned
with is this: That Hercules was half a
god because Jupiter was his father. Of course Juno was very jealous of his mother, and very jealous of him and
plagued him all through life.
His death was exceedingly tragic.
I like to think of him as the
original superman for he accomplished many marvelous deeds. His wife feared that his love would go from her
to some other woman and she was offered by an enemy of his ‑‑ through
Juno's interception ‑‑ a robe, which if he put it on would assure
her of his love. So she gave him the
robe and he put it on but it was not any love potion at all; It was imbued with a deadly poison which
caused him such agony that he immediately set to work to build his funeral
pyre, and when it was built and the wood piled on, he threw himself on it and
was consumed. But because he was
already part a god, he was given a
place in the heavens.
Pegasus, the winged horse, plays a part in several legends. There is no legend particularly about him
except that by stamping his foot he
created the fountain which is called Hippocrene
. I
believe he himself came from the drops of blood from Medusa's head.
He was always associated with the Muses. Hippocrene because the fountain of the
Muses. Schiller, the German poet, we are told, tells the story of how a peasant
once managed to rope him and leap on
his back, when the horse immediately became so spirited that he was beyond control and mounted
into the heavens with him. I don't
know if that's the time he decided to stay in the heavens as a constellation, or not. Mr. Emmons: Let's stop before we go any farther with the
constellations for which we have their mythology and point out the Northern
Cross. These four stars in line form
the major axis and these three from the minor axis of the cross, a well
outlined constellation which is high in the summer sky and which about
Christmas time every year stands erect on the northwestern horizon in the early
evening. Here is the Northern Crown, a
little circlet of stars near
Hercules. Now let's allow time
to pass until one other constellation
rises which has a mythology of interest for us. That is the constellation Gemini.
It is rising now in the eastern sky.
The constellation Gemini consists of two parallel chains of
stars. You will notice that Gemini is not far north of Orion. Orion is rising now. We saw it in the west a little earlier and here it is again ‑‑
the belt, the sword, the head, the
shoulders, and the knees of Orion.
Could you tell us about the twins?
Mrs. Sullinger: The twins of the
sky are Caster and Pollux who were earth‑born brothers who loved each other
so dearly that when one of them was slain in battle the other petitioned the
gods to restore him. They weren't
able, of course, to restore him and so one story says that the remaining twin, Pollux, begged
that he might give his life in place
of Castor so that Castor could be restored and that Jupiter allowed one of them to live one day and
one the next. But there are other stories that say that Jupiter took
pity on them and placed them both
together in the fields of the sky, where they could always be happy together. Mr. Emmons: Thank you.
Well now our time is almost up.
I was wondering whether I
could surprise someone with a request to
point out one of these constellations.
I wonder how well you can
remember the patterns. Mr.
Cochran, would you mind pointing out
the Big Bear for us again? Take
the optical pointer. See if you
can recall the pattern of the Big
Bear in the sky.
Mr. Cochren: Choose the pattern by finding the Big
Dipper. Here's the handle to the Big Dipper, or the Bear's
tail. Follow the tail around to the cup of the Big Dipper which forms
part of the Bear's back, and higher
in the sky you come to the Bear's ear, then down to this turned‑ up nose, and then the feet run down over
here. Those are his front paws, and back here are his hind legs that
bend. It looks more or
less like the Bear is running.
Mr. Emmons: Yes, thank you. If you look in the northeastern sky in exactly the same relative direction we
have here in the dome to‑ night about eight o'clock you can see the
Bear for yourself. We haven't made any extra stars here in the
planetarium. Every point of light in this planetarium is
representative of a real star in space.
The stars may appear a little brighter in here than they do out of
doors. In the city you contend with
lights and haze and if you go out doors tonight maybe the stars will appear
only this bright and you'll have to look more intently to see the
outlines. But in here, of course, we
can brighten them to suit our
convenience. Out on the desert and in
those regions of the Bible where
people invented the constellations the stars did appear quite bright and clear and
they were more conscious of them than
we ordinarily are.
Well, this is the way the sky is overhead at Canton tonight. Are there any questions? Girl Student: Isn't there any folklore about the red
stars? I should think they would have thought they
were very different. Mrs.
Sullinger: Mars is one, isn't he? Mr. Emmons: Well, Mars is a planet which is red, and it
rises to‑ night just about
eight o'clock in this position. If you
look straight east tonight you
will see a very red object which is the planet Mars, one of the earth's neighbor worlds in
space. There are several other celestial objects that are red that you
have seen. They are distant stars, a million times farther than the
planet Mars or the sun. They are distant suns in space. A red star is only red hot, while most stars you see are white hot balls of
gas. The red stars are relatively cooler, but definitely not cold. A Girl Student: Could it mean that they are either going to
get hotter, or they are getting
cooler? Mr. Emmons: It could mean either, and we do know in each
case which. This star is going to grow brighter and hotter
as millions of years elapse. And there
are other stars in the sky which are faint red stars known as red dwarfs, which have
passed through their life cycle and
which are in the process now of burning out as embers. A Girl Student: Then in the Bible times that star in Orion
would have been red. Mr. Emmons: It would have been, yes. In the three or four thousand years that have elapsed there haven't been
any significant changes in the sky. For example, the stars of the Big Dipper are
moving rapidly. This star is speeding
this way at the rate of fifty miles a second.
That's over a million miles a
day. And this other star is moving
also; it is moving In the opposite
direction at about a million miles every day. But those stars are so very far away in
space that in one hundred thou‑
sand years the Big Dipper will just be barely out of shape. Throughout your lifetime these constellations will
appear as they do now. If you trouble to learn these patterns today you
will know them in your old age. No matter where you go in the world they
appear as old friends. There are
about fifty. The constellations are of
interest especially to children. If you people are going to teach you might
trouble to go out of doors and learn
these constellations. References on the
subject are available in
libraries. If you learn these
constellations you will have
something which the children will appreciate.
Now if there are no other
questions, I believe we'll conclude.
Mrs. Sullinger: Mr. Emmons, I
believe we all want to thank you for
showing this to us, and I am sure that as we study the mythological characters that have been named here in
the heavens, they will take on new
meaning and new significance for us. I
am sure that children will find especial
delight in being able to identify old story friends in the skies.
So thank you for what you have done for us this afternoon. Mr. Emmons: You are quite welcome. Our daylight is coming upon us, the stars are fading out, and
we'll have a brilliant sunrise in the
east to conclude the show.
Applause ( While the class was
adjourning the operator was asked about the
Southern Cross, and if it were visible from Florida. By an adjustment of the projector it was
quickly demonstrated that this was possible.
A student asked then about learning additional constellations for navigating in the southern
hemisphere, and it was brought out
that navigation in all parts of the world could be taught more
effectively and efficiently in a planetarium.)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.
"Planetarium" Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 5th edition.
2.
Marshall, Roy K., "The Morehead Planetarium" Sky and Telescope 8
(August 1949) p. 243.
3.
"Museums" World Almanac and Book of Facts for 1947
4.
Letter from David m. Ludlum, sales manager, Science Associates, Philadelphia,
Pa. May 12, 1949.
5.
Science Associates Advertisement, Sky and Telescope 9. (November 1949)
p. 14.
6.
Calder, William A., "A Homemade Planetarium" Sky and Telescope 8 (May
1949) p. 181.
7.
"The Brightest Stars" The Observer's Handbook for 1949 ed/
C.A. Chant (Toronto: University of Toronto Press:1948) p. 64-71.
8.
Webb, H.B. Webb's Atlas of the Stars 2nd ed. (lithographed).
9.
U.S. Naval Observatory, American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac, 1950
(Washington Government Printing Office,1948)
10.
Mt. Wilson Observatory Filmstrip, Astronomy ("Science Series";
Chicago: Society for Visual Education,1936