We are so fortunate on Bainbridge Island to live in a community with its own planetarium, big telescope, beautiful artist-built sundial, and an astronomical association with members who can and do, monthly, explain to us what we see out there in vast space.
Frank Petrie, board member of the Battle Point Astronomical Association and project manager for the sundial is just one of those sky savvy guys who knows what’s out there and can share his knowledge with us.
In this podcast interview, Frank tells BCB host Channie Peters about the upcoming planetarium presentation at the Ritchie Observatory on Saturday January 9th at 7:30pm.
Frank will talk about the history, science and art of sundials, with slides, videos and the technology inside the observatory.
If you’ve never visited the planetarium, that is worth a visit and tour of the night sky represented in a dome-like screen on which accurate images of constellations, galaxies, planets, the moon and sun are projected on the concave surface to replicate what’s happening in the sky. The projection can zoom in and out, run time fast-forward or backwards to show how the sky changes through the course of a night or a year. It can project far into the future or look back to prehistoric times when the constellations looked different.
In addition to learning about how a sundial works, Dr. Erica Saint Clair will give a sundial-themed kids’ presentation with fun activities.
All this will be happening at the John Rudolph Planetarium in the Ritchie Observatory in Battle Point Park. Admission is free to members; for nonmembers, the suggested donation is $2/person or $5/family. The planetarium has limited seating – about 50 people – so come early to get a good seat.
Learn more at the website of the Battle Point Astronomical Association.
Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.