Renaissance for the Vanderbilt Planetarium

By Tom Madigan

 

It has been 27 years since I had stepped into the Vanderbilt Planetarium’s console.  Back then it was a sad moment as I was performing my last public show.  I always knew this planetarium would hold a special place in my heart but the magnitude of that affection wasn’t known until I found myself there, again, 2 weeks ago, not having set foot inside that console since that last public performance and lecture 27 years earlier.  Things were different back then.  The political climate made it almost impossible for this world-class facility to flourish, but flourish it did for almost 20 years, first under the leadership of Jim Sharp then under Mark Levine.  There are certain realities that are inescapable even after 27 years.  As was the case back then and still is today, Suffolk County does not realize the Pearl of Great Price that they have in their hands.  The focus back then was on the Museum, not the planetarium.  While the Museum embodies a certain nostalgia, a place holder, if you will, for Long Island’s Gold Coast era, almost an anachronism, the planetarium was then and could still be today, the main attraction.  Back during what I would consider the high point of the planetarium’s first 20 years, during the mid 1970s to the early 1980s, the period of time I was there, it was, unequivocally, a world class facility, with a dedicated, world-class staff; from the Director, to the Education Director, to the Production staff, the talent was irreplaceable.  While most of those individuals who embodied that talent have moved on, their legacy lives on in the reputation of the institution.  There will always be one person or a small group of people with vision, individuals who recognize something’s or someone’s intrinsic value.

 

Enter Dave Bush.  Since the departure of that great staff back in the 1980s and 1990s there have been few people with the dedication and vision that Dave brings to the planetarium.  Dave is a one-man army; he produces the programs; he is the music director, the art director, the program director, the scheduler and the producer all wrapped up in one package; he answers the phone and maintains the website (http://www.vanderbiltmuseum.org/home.php?section=planetarium), all the while bringing an enthusiasm that was so much a part and parcel of the Vanderbilt Planetarium that I remember.  In speaking with a close friend, I had learned that Dave is trying to keep the venerable JHS Goto projector viable until a suitable replacement can be installed.  Although digital technology has come a long way, a digital sky projector is still no match for the accuracy and authenticity that an electro-mechanical sky projector provides.  As such, possible replacements will either come from Zeiss or Goto, both leaders in the industry and providers of superb, world-class sky projectors.  The Vanderbilt’s Goto projector, a machine that will turn 40 in a few short weeks and one that set the standard for Goto and others in the industry for accuracy and authenticity, was state of the art back in 1969.  After a brief email exchange, it was arranged that I would meet Dave at the planetarium and thus begin what I hope will be a renewed involvement at the Vanderbilt Planetarium on my part and a renaissance for this world-class facility.  Among the possibilities Dave and I discussed are course offerings in Astronomy and Telescope making.  A planetarium is uniquely suited to teaching the intricacies of celestial mechanics, the earth’s rotation, its orbital motion and how they affect our daily lives from the changing seasons to the precession of the equinoxes.

 

With all of his energy, dedication and vision, Dave is still only one person and needs our help.  The Planetarium is currently featuring “Star of Wonder”, the timeless story of the star of Bethlehem.  What was it? A comet; perhaps a supernova?  Following that and wringing in the New Year will be “One Small Step”, debuting on January 9^th.  Please visit the Planetarium’s website for show times and an updated schedule and make plans to take your family and friends to this once and future Star of Long Island’s North Shore, nestled in historic and scenic Centerport. 

 

What better way to open 2009, The International Year of Astronomy, than with new life blood for this flagship planetarium.  Let us not squander this opportunity; spread the word far and wide that the Vanderbilt Planetarium is back in business, better than ever with attractions for one and all, from a laser light show to a world-class production in the sky theater that appeals to the veteran astronomer and the novice alike.  Following the evening programs and weather permitting, public observing using the planetarium’s brand-new Meade 16” Advanced, Coma-free Cassegrain reflector are provided.

 

Tom Madigan, FRAS, AAS

Contributing Editor, The Custer Comment

NASA/ JPL Solar System Ambassador

Adjunct Professor of Astronomy and Physics, QCC, LIU

Adjunct Faculty, SCCC

Director, The Tupper Planetarium