"The Planetarium Curator" by Owen Phairis

While visiting Southern California I decided to go visit a colleague who works at an observatory in the sleepy hamlet of Big Bear Lake high in the San Bernadino Mountains. We had a nice visit and I queried him about a nearby legendary 'Planetarium Projector Museum.' I was interested to find out whether it was either a myth or perhaps meerly a virtual museum. To my delight, my friend made a phone call and I was given directions where to find this mystical place, but I was also warned that the owner was a older cantankerous gentleman and did not like being disturbed, and disturbing him I would be!

I found what could only be described as a small warehouse with no signage or signs of life other than a few cars and trailers scattered about. I knocked on the door several times when a gruff older gentleman appeared. I tried to introduce myself "Hello, I am.." when I was rudely interupted. "I know who You are, I am 'THE CURATOR.' Why have you come to disturb my peace and solitude in this small portion of the Universe which I call my own?" he asked. It was obvious to me he wanted to be addressed as only 'The Curator' but his name was well known to me, as mine must have been to him. I explained that I had a deep interest in historic scientific instruments and relics from the past and was going to write an article or perhaps even a book on the subject. "Very well, since you are here, come in if you must and be quick about it." he blustered as he looked around to make sure no one else was watching.

The doorway led inside to what must have been the Curator's office, and also his work area. I noticed all kinds of electronic test equipment including signal generators, oscilloscopes, and even spectrum analyzers and several home made instruments finished in black wrinkle and gray hammertone paint. The largest instrument which immediately drew my attention in his office was a planetarium projector. "I see you have a 1950s Spitz A1, not many others could possibly have one of those rare projectors as the center piece in their office." I blurted out. At that point I thought I saw a twinkle in his eye at my recognition of this antique astronomical optical projection device, of course the sparkle in the Curator's eye could have been my imagination since I was excited that I was able to identify it. He went on to explain the origins of the projector and how he was able to attain such a wonderful instrument, also taking time to explain to me about the geo-centric earth, the astronmical triangle, and the basic operation of the instrument. He was also quick to throw in that he has a second A1 and also a Spitz A2, A3P, 373, 512 and others.

The Curator led me through a doorway and down a short hallway that was filled with optical benches, scientific instruments, and cameras. It then opened up to a large dim gray room with a high ceiling. The room seemed filled with what appeared to me to be many shadows of planetariums past. The Curator went over to what looked like a complex home made control panel and started throwing switches like he knew what he was doing. The room then filled with a rainbow of beautiful colored lights, illuminating what the Curator called the largest collection of planetarium projectors in the solar system, perhaps the Universe! "WOW! What an amazing sight to see, all these planetarium projectors together and all in one place." I expounded with a cheery glee, ignoring the faint smell of smoke from a possible electrical fire.

Seeing this wonderful and unique collection brought to mind my childhood and the many visits I made to the Hayden Planetarium where I saw my first Zeiss projector and attended my first planetarium show. To my amazement, I was once again standing and looking again at a Zeiss, among others. "Can you please tell me about your collection and also some details of a few of the individual projectors?" I asked.

"Very well." he retorted as he begun to tell me about 'Stella' the Spitz STP (Space Transit Planetarium) projector. "This magnificent projector is one of only 10 ever made by Spitz. This projector was purchased from The Gengras Planetarium at The Children's Museum in Connecticut and is affectionately known by the name of 'Stella.' She completed nearly 40 years of continuous service and educated over 1,000,000 people before being replaced by an all new digital planetarium system. She is capable of generating over 4,000 stars and all the visible planets. Some interesting facts about the STP projector include that it was the first commercial projector to have a third (yaw) axis and the very first to be analog computer controlled. It projects over 4,000 stars to magnitude +5.8 and all stars greater than 3.5 are projected using 260 separate lenses. It uses two 75 watt arc lamps for light sources for projection on a 40 to 65 foot dome. There are 10 analogs versus 7 as in the popular Spitz A3P. There is a separate analog for the Earth which was needed because this was the very first projector that would allow you to place the audience on the moon or other location in outer space. There are also two analogs for the sun (mean and true) which makes demonstrating the equation of time not only possible but also easier to visualize. Each instrument requires 43 motors, over 12 miles of electrical wiring and more than 6,000 electrical connections. Total package price installed was around $ 146,500 with a 40 foot dome back in 1963. This projector also has zooming earth and zooming moon projectors installed so during a planetarium program they could take visitors on a space flight and safely return." It became quickly obvious that the Curator knew his stuff, and that this was a whole lot more information than I could possibly digest or remember, I still smelled something burning.

I asked if he could please tell me a little about the large spherical projector that looks like the Death Star from Star Wars. "That is a Spitz Space Transit Simulator (STS) planetarium projector that came from the Reuben H. Fleet Planetarium located in Balboa Park, San Diego, California. This was the very first STS projector ever built by Spitz and first saw service in March 1973. It was in service for 25 years and it has 10,000 individual lenses to project the 10,000 stars on a 76 foot tilted dome. I believe it was one of only 3 built before Spitz moved on to their Voyager model which is a projector of similar design."

I gathered up my courage and was afraid to ask, but I asked anyway "Do any of these old projectors still work?" His answer was swift and direct "YES, of course! I suppose you want to see some stars?" He asked retorically as he turned his back to me, and all I could do was to nod affirmatively. He ordered me to take a seat which was an easy choice on my part as there was only one seat to take. I assume that it was the Curators seat that I was in as it was perfectly positioned to see all the action, if indeed there was any action to be seen.

The lights dimmed on the pseudo dome (which consisted of a 24 foot white nylon emergency parachute that once saved the Curator's life) and a red light front and center shimmered on a articulated robot named 'Copernicus' who came to life as the room filled with music. Driven by 12 air pistons and 8 DC servo motors, Copernicus said he was an NS3 robot built by 'US Robotics and Mechanical Men Incorporated.' I recognized this right away as an inside joke by the Curator as a take off from Issac Asimovs' famous science fiction book "I, ROBOT." I looked around half expecting to find Dr. Susan Calvin...

The stars began to shine as the Curator explained "We are starting with the Minolta Series IIB." He then turned up a variac and more stars filled the dome from a GOTO Venus projector. The third projector to be turned on was a GOTO S2 which also had the visible planets and these stars were in motion. The Curator then went over to a computer console and the Zeiss ZKP-3B came to life and added so many more stars. I could not believe I was seeing 4 planetarium projectors on and operating all at the same time. As the stars glided across the dome they seemed to twinkle or scintillate due to what I think was caused by the wrinkles in the parachute. The stars were so close I felt I could reach up and touch them, and I almost did. The constellation projectors were next, quickly followed by a meteor shower and then the aurora borealis. Suddenly the sun began to rise, it was dawn in the planetarium as the stars began to fade and the planetarium show was over as the smell of smoke grew even stronger.

The Curator was busy putting the projectors to sleep and throwing switches when there was a knocking at the door. The Curator asked me "Please go, tell the pests the planetarium is filled to capacity, tell them it is filled to suffication, or tell them the Museum is closed for renovation. Besides which, my lunch is burning!" I obeyed and rushed down the hallway, through the door to the outside to find out who was there. It must have been a run-a-way knock as there was no one outside. However, I did hear the door close and lock behind me, and I suddenly realized to my surprise that I had been had, and was not even given the chance to thank my host, The Curator. (www.planetariummuseum.org)

Planetarium Projector and Science Museum
www.PlanetariumMuseum.org
ophairis301[at]gmail.com
(909) 806-5698