The 'Overhead Projector' Shown here is the Zeiss STARMASTER -- what the Adler Planetarium hopes to replace its current 40-year-old planetarium projector with. The current model, a Zeiss Model VI, is a Frankenstein of parts that are no longer manufactured. Credit: Courtesy Zeiss Planetariums
The scoop: Senator John McCain has chided Senator Barack Obama's support for a new Adler Planetarium projector in Chicago, Ill. during the Presidential Debates. What gives? I'm an astrophysicist who has spent my career working with planetariums, so I was startled to hear Senator John McCain take a swipe at planetariums in last night's debate. McCain attacked Senator Barack Obama for supporting a request for "$3 million for an overhead projector at the planetarium in Chicago, Illinois." The earmark he was referring to: a new planetarium projector for the Adler Planetarium's Sky Theater. The request for federal funds was made to a bi-partisan group of Illinois legislators and was ultimately turned down. Coincidentally, I had been operating the current so-called "overhead projector" at the Adler days before, when I was trying to show a class of college astronomy students how Mars moves relative to the stars. Trying to steer the 40-year-old Zeiss projector around the modern universe was like trying to race a vintage Mercedes in the Indy 500. It just won't go. Modern astronomy and visualization technology have progressed exponentially since the current projector was installed. The ability of a planetarium to share the discoveries of modern astrophysicists depends on the technical capabilities of its theatres and projectors. If the Adler is going to continue to be one of the country's leading science educators, it needs a new projector. Astronomy, more than many other sciences, has the ability to awe and inspire. Throughout my career, I've met dozens of scientists who credit a planetarium experience for their vocation. In fact, John Grunsfeld, NASA's chief scientist, was one of those inspired by the Adler Planetarium. When the ability to share the latest scientific discoveries is confined to the few, the many suffer. We're being asked to think globally, but we are chastised for aspiring to see the big picture. When the first Adler projector was installed in 1930, the country was in another "great depression." But that didn't stop the founders. They knew the sky was not the limit -- it was only the beginning. Today is another time when we need the ideas and methods of science to help us solve the problems that face us all: the energy crisis, climate change, hunger and disease. It will be our children who will inevitably take up the banner from us. How will they do this if they don't have the stars to inspire and guide them? The logo for Senator John McCain's campaign has a star in the middle. I wonder what his guide star is? It can't be the same one that ten million children have seen at the Adler Planetarium. Why should anyone want their star to dim? Senator McCain needs to reconsider his dismissal of "planetariums and other such foolishness," or he is likely to be seen as the Scrooge of modern science. Jim Sweitzer, Ph.D., is an astrophysicist and the principal of Science Communications Consultants, a firm that advises on the start-up and renovation of planetariums and science museums. He teaches astronomy at Columbia College, Chicago. The views expressed are the author's alone and do not represent the official position of the Discovery Channel. Article posted October 8, 2008. Got something to say? E-mail your questions, comments or concerns to discoveryspace@discovery.com. |
advertisement
Need More Space? Get it Here!
|
