Mar 20

Written by: A'Lynne Robinson
3/20/2009 10:52 AM

Mid-March 2009: News and Events


Featured Planetarium Show

The International Space Station (ISS) is a unique laboratory that orbits our planet once every 90 minutes. Join Russian Commander Elena Ivanova and her crew in this fictional account about what life is like aboard the Space Station. Several "hands-on" activities are built into this show to help audiences learn about satellites, how to use a star chart, and determine when the Space Station or shuttle can be seen above your neighborhood.

Presentation of this program at the Hurst Planetarium was made possible through a grant from the Samuel Higby Camp Foundation. Please see the schedule below for our show times.


Thursday March 19 7:00 PM (Parkside Family Fun Night - Free Admission)
Sunday March 22 3:00 PM
Sunday April 5 3:00 PM

Admission:
$ 4.00 Adults
$ 3.00 K-12 Age Students & Senior Citizens
Free 5 Years Old and Younger


The Parkside Family Fun night has been scheduled as a cooperative teaching effort between the staff at the planetarium and the lead NASA Explorer School teachers from the Middle School at Parkside. The evening is a free event for anyone who would like to attend.

Sunday - March 29th: Ella Sharp Museum's Sugar & Shearing Day

The spring sky is filled with numerous bright stars, constellations, and other celestial wonders. Mark Reed, Jackson High School Astronomy Teacher and Planetarium Director will highlight some of the cool things that can be observed this spring during a free 20 minute tour under the planetarium dome between the hours of noon and 4 PM . Presentations of The Spring Skies Over Jackson are held annually each March to coincide with Ella Sharp Musuem's Sugar and Shearing Festival. Even thought the title of the talk is similar each year, Mark varies the program with interesting Astronomy tidbits, things you can see every spring, and highlights the things that you might check out during the spring of 2009 from your backyard.

12:00 PM to 4:00 PM - Sunday March 29th (Please note our last showing begins at 3:30 PM)

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2009: The International Year of Astronomy - Telescope Viewing in Jackson County

In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, several opportunities for telescope viewing will be made for the public between the planetarium, Jackson County Intermediate School Districts Camp McGregor Observatory, and the Amateur Astronomers of Jackson. A brief description of these events is give below.

Please keep in mind that the success of each of these events is largely dependent on the weather. Each event will start at dusk and will last approximately 2 hours. Since this is an outdoor activity, please dress accordingly. If the weather is unfavorable for viewing, the event will either be cancelled or another activity will be scheduled in its place. During March and April, observing sites will be outside at the Hurst Planetarium or at Camp McGregor near Crispell Lake.

Observers who are willing to drive out to Camp McGregor are in for a treat. Over the past three years, a lot of work has been put into updating the Observatory so that it can be accessed remotely via Internet. The Observatory is equipped with two very nice telescopes for both visual observation and imaging with a CCD camera. Opportunities for teachers and students are currently being planned. These include basic observatory operations for teachers, a student astronomy camp (August 16-19, 2009), and additional viewing opportunities for the public. This project has been in the works for several years and with warmer weather approaching, participants willing to make the drive can have a sneak preview into the observatories enhanced capabilities.

March 15: Hurst Planetarium
Ella Sharp Museum - Planetarium Parking Lot
From Dusk until about 9:30 PM
Unfavorable Weather: Activity Inside the Planetarium

March 22: Hurst Planetarium
Ella Sharp Museum Parking Lot
2 Hours - From Dusk until about 9:30 PM
Unfavorable Weather: Activity Inside the Planetarium

April 17: Camp McGregor Observatory
Camp McGregor 10380 Adams Road, Clark Lake 49234 (517)-529-0002
2 Hours- From Dusk until 10:30 PM
Unfavorable Weather: The Event is Cancelled

April 18: Camp McGregor Observatory
Camp McGregor 10380 Adams Road, Clark Lake 49234 (517)-529-0002
2 Hours- From Dusk until 10:30 PM
Unfavorable Weather: The Event is Cancelled

Click on the IYA Logo to find out more about the International Year of Astronomy and Astronomical Resources in Michigan
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The Hurst Planetarium Unveils Two NASA Prints

As part of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) celebration, the Hurst Planetarium joined 115 other institutions by unveiling two large prints that will be permanently displayed in our lobby courtesy of NASA. The Hurst Planetarium was one of six places selected in Michigan. Images of M101, a beautiful spiral galaxy appear in the large picture to the right that consists of three images. These images captured by the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and the Hubble Space Telescope collect light from different portions of the Electro-magnetic Spectrum. Examination of various types of electromagnetic energies allow scientists to better understand what is going on within a star system or galaxy. Visible light is like reading a short chapter from a book. If Astronomers can sample other wavelengths, then they have an opportunity to read other chapters thus understanding more of the story. For example, in the picture to the right, Mark explains that the dark brown dust lanes between the galactic arms contain cold, dense interstellar gas clouds that will likely collapse one day to give birth to new generations of stars. M101 is known as a star-burst galaxy because it has has a higher than average rate of star formation. The red portions of the picture to the far left show portions of the outer arm of the galaxy (near Mark's elbow) where new stars were recently born.

With the help of Dan Evans, Jackson Public School Superintendent, and Jackson High School's Barbara Baird-Pauli, two new images of M101 were unveiled on February 24th. before a group of Astronomy students and guests from the community. Later that evening, Mark Reed gave a brief talk about how an Earth-centered universe was widely accepted prior to the year 1609. He also talked about Hans Lippershey's invention of the telescope, the significance of Galileo's observations, and how multi-wavelength telescopes and technology has revolutionized our understanding of the Universe in the last 35 years. Afterward, the Amateur Astronomers of Jackson showcased some of the different types of telescopes that people commonly use in their backyard such as Dobsonians, Newtonian Reflectors, Schmidt-Cassegrain Systems, and Refractors. The evening concluded with a showing of More Than Meets the Eye, a planetarium show that explores with viewers what views can be seen with the naked eye, binoculars, or a small telescope.
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Please feel free to forward this newsletter to colleagues, relatives, and friends who may want to know about events at the Hurst Planetarium. The service Constant Contact is helping me prepare and deliver notices to you in a timely manner and with less effort than using traditional methods.
Thank you for your continued support of the Hurst Planetarium.

Astronomical Facts

William Hershel Discovers
Uranus on March 13, 1781.

Its rings were discovered
nearly 200 years later on
March 10, 1977.

Today, Uranus is believed to have
at least 27 moons. Most are
given names from the writings
of Shakespeare and Pope.

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