Is it something in the stars here?
A strange planetary pull, perhaps, that makes metro Atlanta the center of a unique astronomical universe?
Even the likelier, more down-to-earth explanation — the one that says that an area bursting at the seams with techno-savvy residents and institutions of higher learning is prone to be home to oodles of high level observatories and planetariums — doesn’t entirely account for the wide variety of star turn events taking place at many of them these next few weeks.
Maybe it has something to do with Tuesday being the vernal equinox?
Now more commonly known as the first day of spring, the equinox (that is, the date each year when the length of day and night is nearly exactly equal) was revered as a time of rebirth in many ancient cultures and traditions.
Some chose to mark it with festivals and services. Others — gulp — with human sacrifices.
The plan is much more civilized later this week at the Bradley Observatory at Agnes Scott College in Decatur: a piano and violin duet featuring works by Beethoven, Fauré and Saint-Saëns, followed by a planetarium show and telescope viewing (weather permitting).
“To me, it’s a connection to the very old recognition that these days are special,” Agnes Scott associate professor of physics and astronomy Chris De Pree said about Friday night’s William A. Calder Spring Equinox Concert. “It’s a nice time to pause and take note of that.”
It’s also a very adult approach to something that’s frequently — and mistakenly — thought to be the exclusive purview of kids. That class trip to the planetarium or observatory might have been the highlight of every school year when we were young. But there’s no reason we should have to give all that up just because we’ve matured.
“You’re instantly a kid again when you look through a telescope,” points out Joe Schulman, director of marketing at the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville.
With that in mind, we’ve hunted down a galaxy of options for getting your grownup stargazing on at area institutions during this unofficial “equinox season” and the rest of the year.
Look, up in the sky: O. Wayne Rollins Planetarium, Maxwell Center, Young Harris College, 1 College St., Young Harris. Separate observatory about a mile and a half from campus near the scenic overlook at the Brasstown Valley Resort. www.yhc.edu, 1-800-241-3754.
Star power: A Chronos Space Simulator star projector that uses high-speed, computer-calculated positioning that can “set” the sky for any time in the past, present or future under the 40-foot-diameter planetarium dome. At the observatory, a Schmidt Casse-grain telescope housed 2,000 feet up Brasstown Bald Mountain in a 15-foot dome.
Why it stands out: “The skies are a lot darker in this part of the state because of the relative lack of light pollution,” said Steve Morgan, planetarium director and an instructor of astronomy at the college. “All of that manmade light that’s associated with a large city, unfortunately that just shines up into the night sky and makes the sky itself not really dark. In a place like Atlanta, you can see big stars, but you lose a lot of faint stars. On a clear night here in the mountains, you can see the Milky Way.”
Get a good look: Thirty times a year, the planetarium hosts Friday “Public Nights,” featuring presentations on topics as basic as identifying planets and stars over North Georgia to more esoteric subjects like the history of telescopes. Immediately afterward, if the skies are clear, the observatory is opened up for attendees to get some hands-on” telescope action. The good news: Maps are provided to the observatory site. The bad news: “You want an observatory [temperature] as close to what the outside air is,” said Morgan, explaining it’s all about keeping condensation off the telescope optics. “So there’s no heat there in the winter and no air conditioning in the summer.”
Hail, equinox! This Friday night and March 30 at 7 and 8 p.m., the planetarium will play host to a “cosmic concert” featuring spinning stars, flashing lights and other “transportive” images on the dome set to a soundtrack of Led Zeppelin hits. It’s plain fun, said Morgan, who makes no apologies for celebrating the coming of spring this way: “The rest of the year, we do run educational programs here, but these cosmic concerts are just pure entertainment,” he said. “The music surrounds you, the images and visuals surround you. It’s like these virtual worlds that you visit. In a way, you’re spirited away to another world.”
Maybe that’s why the cosmic concert comes with a sensible safety warning. The show is “not recommended for those who may have conditions that could be aggravated by this experience” of “loud music, flashing lights, spinning stars and other effects.”
Look, up in the sky: Bradley Observatory and Delafield Planetarium, Agnes Scott College, 141 E. College Ave., Decatur. www.agnesscott.edu/academics/bradleyobservatory, 404-471-6000.
Star power: The 30-inch Lewis H. Beck telescope housed inside the large dome atop the observatory is one of the largest in metro Atlanta. The planetarium seats 70, and there’s also a darkroom, student computer lab and a 100-seat lecture hall in the building.
Why it stands out: Talk about exploring new universes: The observatory and planetarium have both been on campus since 1949.
As a member since 2005 of the 10-school Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (the only women’s college in the prestigious group), students and faculty now have access to two additional reseach-level telescopes at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile and Kitt Peak in Arizona, allowing for simultaneous viewing of clear night skies in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Get a good look: Each year, eight open houses organized along a theme are held Friday nights. This year’s “Return of the Alumnae” series has featured former students who’ve gone on to post-graduate study or careers in research discussing everything from supernovas to designing multimodal displays for NASA.
Each talk is followed by a planetarium show and observatory tour in which the telescope is opened up for use. This year’s series runs through May.
Hail, equinox! The William A. Calder Spring Equinox Concert, featuring violinist Danijela Zezelj-Gualdi, and pianist Paolo Gualdi takes place at 8 p.m. Friday, followed by a planetarium show, telescope viewing and refreshments. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Contact cdepree@agnesscott.edu for additional information.
Look, up in the sky: Georgia Tech Observatory, Howey Physics Building, 800 Atlantic Drive, Atlanta. www.astronomy.ga tech.edu, 404-385-8133 (observatory).
Star power: A Meade 16-inch aperture Schmidt-Casse-grain telescope situated atop a computer-controlled equatorial mount. Instead of being situated under a typical dome, the 5-year-old observatory is atop the physics building, with a roof that rolls back on tracks to create a large, flat opening. There’s no planetarium at Tech.
Why it stands out: Location, location, location. And generous public access. Just past the enclosed area containing the telescope, a doorway leads to an open air observation deck that affords a breathtaking, naked eye view of the Atlanta skyline and beyond. Back inside, the 600-square foot space can accommodate large groups of as many as 40 people at the same time. What better way to excite people (or re-excite them) to the whole notion of astronomical observation, Georgia Tech observatory director James R. Sowell says. “When you build a research telescope, you want it in the best location to get a clear view of the sky, and it doesn’t matter how hard it is to get to,” Sowell explained. “When you build a public access telescope, you want it easy to get to.”
Get a good look: Public Night takes place for three hours once or twice each month, weather permitting. Sowell can use the telescope (which also features an onboard digital camera capable of capturing and printing out distant images) to point out specific objects in the night sky or assist others in doing so. The thrill of first-hand observation can’t be beat. “Everyone always wants to show me their cellphone app that supposedly shows where a constellation is,” Sowell laughed. “I say, ‘Why don’t you look in our telescope and see it for yourself?’ ” (Note: The observatory lacks handicap access and requires climbing several flights of stairs).
Hail, equinox! The next Public Night is from 8 to 11 p.m. March 29, and it promises to be a colorful event. That’s because the focus will be on two of the brightest natural objects in the night sky, Venus and the moon, along with Mars.
Look, up in the sky: Tellus Planetarium and Observatory, Tellus Science Museum, 100 Tellus Drive, Cartersville. www.tellusmuseum.org, 770-606-5700.
Star power: The observatory boasts both a 20-inch telescope for viewing the night sky and a seismograph capable of detecting earthquakes around the world. During live shows in the planetarium, that particular day’s night sky can be projected for display.
Why it stands out: Unlike in many academic institutions, this planetarium is open for business daily and features a full lineup of 45-minute shows beginning at 10 a.m. on weekdays and 10:45 a.m. on weekends and holidays. It costs $3 to enter the planetarium, in addition to the usual museum admission fee (reduced rates are available to museum members). Tours of the observatory are available during special events, such as lectures and Family Science Nights.
Get a good look: Late Night at Tellus is a monthly event open to museum members that offers access to the observatory and telescope for five hours.
The monthly Tellus Lecture Series is geared toward adults, with the next two — “A Night on Astronomy” (April 12) and former NASA astronaut Story Musgrave’s “Experiences with the Hubble Telescope” (May 11) — specifically aimed at stargazers.
Hail, equinox! (Give or take a month.) On April 28, there’ll be a 12-hour celebration of National Astronomy Day beginning at 10 a.m. Along with tours and demonstrations, the observatory telescope will have a special filter affording visitors a unique opportunity to directly observe the sun and sky during the day. Additional telescopes will be set up on the Tellus lawn, and at 9 p.m. an astronomer will conduct a live “star walk” pointing out major constellations visible to the naked eye in the night sky. Free for members; nonmembers pay the usual museum admission fee.
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