What I have in mind is a brief planetarium show, then we'll watch some anime. John from VBAS will be running the big telescope, and one of us will take people on a tour around the other buildings, so people can go out and look at stuff outside if they don't want to watch anime the whole time. Plus, I'm planning a nice, long break in the anime at some point, so the anime watchers also have time to go outside and see everything.
I may or may not be able get someone else to help me with doing the planetarium show. I'm checked out on running the planetarium equipment, so I can do it by myself if necessary. I need to do some research to find out Japanese constellation names, and some stories about them, so I can talk about them in addition to the standard Western names. I can use some help on that front. As for the shows, the most appropriate theme (and one that we estabished before the previous Plank died) will be shows set in deep space, and shows with a strong "going into space" theme. I have purchased Voices of a Distant Star to show there (it should show up from Amazon by then), and we'll show anything else y'all can think of.
What they have:
The planetarium has:
- The star projector itself.
- Two VGA projectors that can display the same computer screen on two sides of the dome -- with convenient connectors at the console on the south side of the dome.
- A good 4-speaker sound system, also with convenient hook-up on the console.
- A bunch of comfy old bench seats, so y'all can spread out and lounge around.
- Funky acoustics, so you can whisper to somebody on the opposite side of the dome from you, and they'll hear it.
- A five (?) foot diameter spherical chalkboard, so people can write or draw stuff.
They also have a 16 inch telescope. Crowd-pleaser planet Jupiter will be easily visible, along with various cool deep-sky objects. Unfortunately, Saturn is too low in the sky to see right now, but Jupiter is easy. John also knows of several faint fuzzies that he can show, things like galaxies, globular clusters, and planetary nebulae.
How to get there:
The planetarium is located inside Monte Sano State Park. Here are the official instructions to get there. Here are mine...
There is a way to get to the park via Governor's Drive, but it involves a left turn from a busy, hilly street that scares the crap out of me. For that reason, the way I usually go is via Pratt Avenue. From UAH, drive east (toward Memorial Parkway), and keep going straight past Memorial, past Five Points, and keep going "straight" as you wind up the mountain. You will hit an intersection with a weird jog in the road, and a stop sign. Keep going (mostly) straight a little further, until you see a cross-road, with a wooden Monte Sano State Park sign pointing left. Turn left onto that road, then keep going straight, and into the park. The park entrance has an honor-booth for paying the park fees, but you won't have to pay. If someone happens to be manning the booth, tell that person you're going to a VBAS event. (Per an agreement with the park, people doing VBAS activities aren't expected to pay park admission.) Drive straight for a little while, then when you see the fork in the road, take it. (Thank you, Yogi Berra!) But seriously, take the left side of the fork in the road. Drive until you almost can't drive any further, then the sign for the Von Braun Planetarium is on the left, across the road from a scenic overlook. Turn into the driveway to the left, past the gate. Park in the grassy area to the left of the road. There will be a path to the right, which you'll walk down to get to the planetarium.
Planetarium/Telescope Etiquette: (Also known as "how not to get a beating at VBAS".
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To enjoy both a planetarium and a telescope as much as possible, keeping your night vision is crucial. Your pupils need about 15 minutes of relative darkness, away from bright lights, to give you full night vision. Red lights are mostly OK, however.
That is why you should park in the grassy area up the hill, and not near the planetarium itelf, so headlights coming and going don't ruin the night vision of folks who want to look through the telescope. If you bring a white flashlight, use it sparingly, and always aim it at the ground, away from people's eyes. I know the Pokémon addiction is strong, but please don't open your DSes or cell phones during the actual planetarium show, and definitely don't try to use flash photography. The flash photography thing really has happened before, and all you get out of it is a nice shot of the white dome, and a mob of half-blind, angry people groping their murderous way toward you.
If you get there late, and the planetarium show is already in progress, please wait until it's over to enter the planetarium. If enough people are late, and they ask nicely enough, we may do another show so they can see.
