Planetarium Playhouse

What a beautiful way to start the Memorial Day Weekend! Last Saturday, May 26, was a perfect day. Not too hot, not too cold, just right for the debut of the huge, black, inflatable, portable planetarium. Originally scheduled at our Montauk Library's auditorium, the venue was changed to the Montauk Community Playhouse Center upon realizing that the gymnasium of the playhouse would have more room for the "igloo like" building to be placed in.

Knowing that this event would be another first to experience, something magical like the unveiling of our new Meade 20" RCX400 telescope last April 20, at the Montauk's Historic Third House, I decided to bring my whole family including my 97 year young Mom and a couple of friends for the first showing at 4 p.m. We were met by David Cohn, Director of Educational Projects Network, a non-profit Outreach and Consulting firm and his helpful, nine year old daughter Sabrina. Both are experts in bringing the planetarium to the people. We were even shown the regular size suitcase the building fit in and the air blower connected by a hose to keep the dome upright. That's what modern technology can do.

After looking for a folding chair for Mom and finding a regular, cafeteria chair instead, my husband and I could not figure out how to carry the bulky chair through the small opening of the planetarium entrance. Thanks to the smart and "way beyond her age" Sabrina, she figured out a "way to get the chair in by simply lifting one of the planetarium's side wall and sliding the chair through. Except for the four children on the floor and one adult, the rest of the audience, nine in total, sat on child-size plastic stools behind Mr. Cohn's projector and laptop computer. We were then reminded to be careful, not to step on the protruding lip of the nylon wall.

Mr. Cohn, who wore a flashlight gadget on his forehead to guide us in the dark room, turned his projector on and wowed us by showing what the stars actually look like that same day and what the sky will look like that evening.

Unfortunately, because of the cloudy skies, the Star Party could not take place at the Third House as originally planned. Mr. Cohn also superimposed the stars by outlining them with its corresponding familiar, horoscope signs. Gemini- the twins, Cancer-the crab, and Leo-the lion. He showed us Venus, the brightest planet. When one of the stargazers asked where Sirius was, Mr. Cohn explained that Sirius is a winter star and could not be seen presently since it is spring. As the audience faced south, Mr. Cohn showed us where the Big Dipper Constellation was. When asked where the Little Dipper was, Mr. Cohn made a minor adjustment on his laptop by turning the audience 180 degrees around. Now we were facing north so we could see the Little Dipper. This was accomplished by tracing a line from the two end stars of the Big Dipper to the Polaris star, which is the end star of the handle of the Little Dipper. To a novice stargazer like me, I forget that the stars are constantly in motion and I sometimes wonder why I can't find them.

Before we knew it, the half hour show was over. I am glad that the Montauk Observatory Group was persistent and succeeded in making our Montauk one of the best places to meet and be able to see the beautiful stars above!

See you at the next Star Party and don't forget to read your Star Party Etiquette by looking at http://www.montaukobservatory.com/ website.