Friends of the Marie Drake Planetarium Newsletter | January 23, 2020
Upcoming Events
Miss Leavitt's Stars Unlock
the Universe
Wed. Jan 29 - 6:45 pm to 8:00 pm
Valley Library

How far away are the stars?  In a time when women did the laborious and detailed tasks of analyzing the photographic images of stars, Henrietta Leavitt observed a pattern in the brightening and dimming of certain stars she analyzed. What did she find? The result was a powerful tool, now known as Leavitt's Law, which helps us answer this question. 

Free presentation by Rosemary Walling and Dave Hanson. It is suitable for older teenagers and adults, but all are welcome.
This presentation will enhance your experience of the play Silent Sky (see below), but may be enjoyed independently.

On Sunday, Jan. 26th at 3 pm, Rosemary and Dave will give a shortened version of this talk before the play for ticket holders. After the play (at about 6 pm) they will also participate in a free Community Conversation.

Perseverance poster
Perseverance Theatre is presenting a play about Ms. Leavitt - Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson through Feb. 2nd. Ticket prices vary.

"She changed the way we see the stars."

"The year is 1900 and the world abounds with curiosity about what lies beyond the clouds. When Henrietta is given the opportunity to work at the Harvard Observatory mapping the stars, she leaves home to follow her dreams of scientific exploration. But when she arrives, she learns that she won’t even be allowed to touch Harvard’s telescope – the Great Refractor."
~ from website

Don't miss Dave's astrophotography images and other displays in the lobby and "black box" room.

Learn more on Perseverance FB page which also has photos of the production.
Curiosity Unleashed
STEM Coalition’s Annual event
K-5 Families
Monday, January 27
5 pm to 7 pm at TMHS

This year, they are partnering with the Juneau School District’s Artful Teaching program to offer an evening focused on STEAM with two special 30-min arts presentations for families.

The planetarium will have a table with an astronomy activity and some free handouts.

Bring your astronomy questions.

What is STEAM?

Science
Technology
Engineering
Art
Math
Juneau's Night Sky

Friday, Jan. 31st
7 pm to 8 pm
Often night sky books are written for latitudes in the lower 48. What can you see here in Juneau with your naked eye? What more opens up with binoculars or telescopes?
This is part of the Mendenhall Glacier's free Fireside Chat program. 

From 6 pm to 7 pm, the planetarium will set up telescope(s) outside for viewing the sky if weather permits. You can check the home page of this website to see if telescope event is canceled due to observing conditions.

This free all ages presentation is by Rosemary Walling and Dave Hanson. Dave will share some of his astrophotography.
Please get a seat in the auditorium before you come out to view the sky. Seating is limited and will fill quickly.

Talk will be repeated at the planetarium in February. Date TBA.
Call Steve at 500-2941 if you have questions about any event.
News
We have purchased a new Digitarium custom Lambda Digitalis Projection System. It arrived at the end of December. We are are in the process of learning to use it. There is lots to learn so we appreciate your patience.

We are excited to continue our long tradition of offering free astronomy programming with this powerful new tool.  

We are aiming for a Grand Public Opening for our new system in March. This will be proceeded by a pre-launch event for major donors.
Article in Aloft Magazine
Last October three staff from the museum of flight in Seattle came to Juneau and did astronomy shows with their digital projector for the public and 3rd to 5th graders. Educator Natalie wrote an article about their experience here.

Photo is of Natalie and Rosemary Walling who bumped into each other at Digitalis training in Hawaii last month.
Feel free to contact us you have questions, comments, ideas, praise or constructive suggestions for improvement.

Let me know what you would like to see in these newsletters and FB posts.

Wishing you clear skies,

Cristina Della Rosa
Board President and Newsletter Editor
Don't forget to Like Us on Facebook.
We are fundraising for training expenses. We plan to attend the Live Interactive Planetarium System (LIPS) meeting this July.