VBAS

All planetarium shows begin at 7:30pm.

Admission opens at 7:00pm; $5/adult, $3/student, 6 and under free.

Telescope viewing afterwards on clear nights

June 3 – The Magic Carpet Tour

We can use the star projector in the planetarium to pretend to fly anywhere on Earth – like a magic carpet! Gena Crook will demonstrate the motion of the stars across the sky at the equator, the north pole, and the southern hemisphere. We will also watch how the sun changes positions at these locations. You may be surprised if you haven’t actually been to the equator or the north pole in person! This program will put the star projector to work and allow us to see its unique educational capabilities.

Presented by Gena Crook

June 10 and 24 – The Universe is Trying to Kill You

Beyond the calamities that face us here on our planet, there are other forces in the universe that can do us in. Since our planet formed, it has been under constant threat of annihilation from both terrestrial and extraterrestrial influences. There are numerous terrestrial or natural events that can and do occur, such as hurricanes, volcanoes, and earthquakes, that have terrible outcomes. These disastrous terrestrial events pale in comparison to some of what lies out in the solar system and beyond that could cause our ultimate demise, such as giant meteors, comets, asteroids, exploding stars, and more. Join us as we take a somewhat lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek look at the dark shadow of doom that awaits us from within our solar system and the deep recesses of the universe. 

Presented by Jared Cassidy, VBAS Planetarium Director

June 17 – Hairy Stars

To our forebears, comets were the oddest things. They didn’t look like the stars, they didn’t wander like the planets, and they were often seen following or preceding the Sun in the evening or morning sky. It’s no wonder that they were often associated with doom and change! The word ‘comet’ comes from an ancient Greek word meaning ‘long haired’ and in this presentation, we’ll look at what we know about these hairy stars from observations and space probes and how comets could be the key to exploring our galaxy!

Presented by Alex Hall

The May meeting will be our Annual Meeting, where we elect new board members and vote on changes to the bylaws.

Bylaws

Bylaws changes were proposed by the Bylaws Committee, and approved by the Board of Directors, who recommends a vote of approval by the membership.

Or copy and paste this URL: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J6ysxclPQPsj1OJfS_jYItKWCCMZS38nRTD__4GuhtQ/edit?usp=sharing

Officer Elections in May

The following offices are up for election at our May 19th meeting (7:00 PM) and the nominating committee has found these candidates for office:

• Vice President: Joe Kutner
• Director of Facilities and Equipment: Tom Derington
• Director of Education and Programs: Alexandra Hall
• Treasurer: Eric Silkowski  (incumbent)
• Student Director: Greyden Kutner
  

Any member in good standing is eligible to be an officer. If you’re interested in running one of these positions, please contact Michael Buford at michaelcbuford[@]gmail.com

All planetarium shows begin at 7:30pm. Admission opens at 7:00pm. Telescope viewing afterwards on clear nights

March 4 – Huntsville’s Place in Space

As we prepare to go back to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, the importance that Huntsville played both back then and right now is something to remember. Join Michael Buford for a look through the history of Huntsville’s amazing contributions in aviation, its massive importance during the Space Race, as well as Huntsville’s place in space now and in the future!

Written and presented by Michael Buford

March 11 and 18 – The Real Death Star: Neutron Stars…with a helping of Nuclear Pasta

George Lucas gave us the fictional Death Star, but did you know the universe is full of real death stars? Neutron Stars, remnants of supernovas, are the real thing. They can produce beams of energy sweeping through space that can sterilize an entire planet. When first discovered as pulsars they were even thought to be aliens! Join us as we explore these extreme stars where ordinary matter is crushed into a very unappetizing dish called “Nuclear Pasta.”

Presented by Eric Silkowski

March 25 – Spring Skies

Around the time of the Spring Equinox, the early evening sees the brilliant stars of the winter night sky setting, and a slightly less dazzling collection of constellations take their place. But our place in space at this time of year allows us a view into the deepest parts of the Universe to see many intriguing treasures. Indeed, this is the time of year that amateur astronomers plan marathons to try to observe as many as possible! In our show, we will explore the spring constellations, some of the objects that you can discover among them, and learn how the motion of the Earth around the Sun and the position of the Sun in our Milky Way galaxy combine to provide our fascinating Spring Skies.

Written and presented by Alex Hall

And the seventh planet is…. ?

When our tiny bathroom was built along with our first observatory in 1956, you had to climb stairs to view the stars, so no-one really thought about having a toilet that could accommodate a wheelchair, a parent with a child, or anyone with any mobility difficulties. There were even plans for a much larger facility with classrooms, labs and more bathrooms! But then Von Braun and friends got a bit busy building a rocket to go to the Moon.

Nearly 70 years later, we reach over 5000 visitors a year with our weekly planetarium show, observing nights, events and outreach into our community.  But we still have that solitary toilet, down a narrow corridor, and the lines can get pretty long.

While the society usually finds receptive ears in its grant requests for new outreach equipment, servicing our vintage planetarium projector and purchasing telescope parts, we have struggled to find someone willing to help with a fundamental visitor comfort issue.

We usually bring in porta potties for large daytime events, but this is not a good permanent solution. They usually don’t have lights, and no HVAC either, which could be more than miserable in the freezing cold or humidity and heat. 

The nearest sewer line is at the RV park toilet block – a long, long way uphill of us. It is unclear whether we’d be allowed to install a new larger septic any more – that isn’t allowed for main residential construction on Monte Sano and we’re close to the edge of the outcropping which isn’t ideal for a leach field. 

We are seeking funds (likely ~$45,000) to install a semi-permanent toilet trailer, with an ADA stall and ramp and at least one additional stall – or a similar solution that solves our visitor needs. You’ve probably seen these kinds of trailers at events in our downtown or elsewhere. The City Parks and Rec even looked to see if it had anything, but nothing small enough was available. 

We have the water and power hookups, and we can afford regular pumping (although we’d love to get that sponsored too!)
It’s not a sexy ask, but everyone will benefit and having better toilets will allow us to increase the number of events we can do on site.
We will use any funds raised towards site preparations, materials, and facilities acquisition and – if we raise more than we need – we’ll use the funds for ongoing maintenance (pumping, toilet paper and the like!)
Of course, if anyone reading has a suitable ADA toilet trailer, or works for an RV shop or similar and wants to talk to us about building what we need – we’d be delighted to engage. also, if any planner, environmental health person or other suitably qualified professional wants to help us investigate the septic/sewer ideas, again, reach out.

“Can’t you rent a toilet trailer instead?”
We’re a non-profit with no credit history and no fixed income (other than planetarium shows). Rental agreements and financing agreements would require personal guarantees and that’s not something the volunteers want to sign up for (we love what we do, but there are limits!)

“Shouldn’t the Park provide the toilets?”
Our lease with the Park is very clear that we are responsible for the maintenance, upkeep and improvement of our facilities. They would be happy for us to improve things, but it won’t be on their dime.

“How long will it last?”
If we take care of it, and also provide some protection for it, then it should last a decade or more. That buys us a lot of time to figure out a solution that will last for the next 70 years!

“Will you sell stickers or T shirts?”
We’ve had some truly awesome crowdfunding ideas (I give a crap about VBAS…  VBAS, best place for a Full Moon.. and so on). We’re looking into that. If you want to help, reach out!

We’d like to thank the Huntsville Redditors, Fox54, and WLRH for talking about our needs and supporting us.