So...why are you here?

I get asked that question a lot.

Well, okay, not really.  Most people are not so bold as to ask that question directly.  They tend to come at the idea with comments like "Oh...I had no idea there was a planetarium at this museum."  Or perhaps, "Wow, when did you guys build this?"  Or the ever-popular "How long has this been here?"

But the looks on their faces and the tone of their voices say "What's a space science thing doing at an animal museum?"

We do have a lot of animals.  They are awesome and amazing, and I completely understand why people love them, because I do too!  (personal favorites: the bobcat and the otters)  But the Virginia Living Museum is about more than just adorable animals.  We are a nature and science center.  We aim to showcase the natural wonders of Virginia - all of them.  Plants, animals, mountains, trees...and yes, even the sky.

More than this, we are hoping to inspire in our guests a passion for the world that surrounds them.  It's a world worth saving.  Not only the playful otters and the majestic bobcat, but also the brilliant stars of night, the delicate flowers, and so very much more.  And even more than this...none of what makes Virginia the incredible place it is exists separate from the planet on which we find ourselves.  And our wondrous Earth cannot exist without the solar system of which it is a part.  And that solar system resides in the Milky Way galaxy...an island universe within a vast cosmos...all of which makes up "our environment."  To understand our own little world, we must understand the universe.

We as humans like to compartmentalize things.  We categorize, sort, subdivide and organize.  This helps us to understand where we are in the universe, and to deal with the mundane aspects of daily life.  But we forget at our peril that we are all citizens of the cosmos.  Ask anyone who has had the great privilege to see the Earth from space.  They understand.

Our wonderful planet as seen from Apollo 17.  Courtesy NASA.

I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of 100,000 miles their outlook could be fundamentally changed. That all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument silenced. The tiny globe would continue to turn, serenely ignoring its subdivisions, presenting a unified façade that would cry out for unified understanding, for homogeneous treatment. The earth must become as it appears: blue and white, not capitalist or Communist; blue and white, not rich or poor; blue and white, not envious or envied.

— Michael Collins, Gemini 10 & Apollo 11 astronaut

That's why we're here.  To transport you, even for just 30 minutes or so, into the cosmos and show you just how precious and wonderful is your environment.

Until next time,
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

How to Have an Astronomical Vacation

It's easy!  Just look up!

Okay, I'll stop being a smart aleck.  But truly, it is easy to make any vacation astronomical...and looking up really is the key.

We're in vacation mode in my house these days.  Spring Break for my daughter's school is next week, and our family is spending that week in Disneyworld!  It was my Dad's favorite place to go with his granddaughter (and her parents could come too, as long as they didn't try to set any ground rules!), and being there always reminds me of him.  But what has this got to do with astronomy, you're thinking.

If you're already an astronomy buff, you probably know that the sky looks different depending on where you are on the surface of the Earth.  To many folks, this is an incredible revelation.  We don't often think about it, but where you are standing on the Earth can completely change your perspective.

I was asked once after a live sky show in the planetarium how many moons the Earth had.  Since the question came from an adult, I was a bit surprised.  But the lady asking seemed very sincere, so I told her that Earth has only one moon, with the rather unimpressive name The Moon.  She seemed disappointed and told me of her recent trip to Australia, where she saw a large, bright object in the sky, which she thought was the Moon at first.  But something about it didn't look right.  So she thought maybe the Earth had another moon, one that could only be seen from the Southern Hemisphere.

What she was seeing was the regular good ol' Moon...it was just upside-down.

She looked at me like I had 5 heads.

The Moon as seen from both hemispheres of the Earth.  Images of the Moon from Scientific American (left) and Wunderground (right).  Text and compositing by Kelly Herbst.

But think about it.  The Earth is a sphere, and wherever you go on it, you are standing on the outside of the sphere.  When you travel to the Southern Hemisphere, you have essentially turned yourself upside-down compared to when you are in the Northern Hemisphere.  So things you see in the sky will look upside-down to you!  The lady who had seen the upside-down Moon was amazed...and realized at that point that she had been seeing some familiar constellations, like Orion, upside-down too.

People standing on the Earth.  Notice that someone in the Southern Hemisphere would see things in the sky inverted from the way they would see them in the Norther Hemisphere.  Credit: Kelly Herbst

Now, in Florida, nothing will appear upside-down for us, or even substantially different.  Since we'll be further south than we are in Virginia, we'll see some things on the southern horizon that normally we don't, and the northern horizon will be a bit more hidden from our view.  But even that small change can be worth examining...after all, you never know just what you'll see when you take the time to look up.

So next time you're on vacation, whether near or far from home, spend an evening looking at the sky.  Sometimes a new perspective is just what you need.

Have a great Spring Break!
Carpe noctem!
Kelly