"And a Star to Steer Her By," a new 30-minute planetarium feature, and "GPS: A New Constellation," an exhibit about the Global Positioning System (GPS), premiere together on Saturday, Oct. 17, at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum (Sixth Street and Independence Avenue, SW). The museum's Albert Einstein Planetarium show as well as the new exhibition help explain the celestial navigation techniques of ancient mariners and compare them to modern advances in satellite technology.
"And a Star to Steer Her By"
Narrated by Sir Alec Guinness, "And a Star to Steer Her By" presents an armchair tour of the Northern Hemisphere's celestial sphere, and a discussion of how mariners once depended upon the North Star to determine latitude and find their way. Photo and video montages allow visitors to witness the ill-fated Ernest Shackleton Antarctic expedition of 1914 -- and experience the heroic saga in which the crew's survival depended upon accurate navigation. The show then describes both natural navigation tools -- the sun, planets and stars -- and man-made navigation tools such as telescopes and precision-tuned clocks. "And a Star to Steer Her By" ends by introducing a new constellation of "artificial stars" that are now used to determine positions on Earth.
"GPS: A New Constellation"
GPS is a radio-navigation technology that uses satellites and ground equipment to determine position and time on Earth. The exhibit features models, photo images and GPS devices such as hand-held GPS receivers illustrating the dramatic impact GPS technology is having around the world.
The exhibition, displayed near the museum's planetarium, describes the history of this new technology, how it works, and how the technology is used.
The current GPS system has three basic components: ground stations which control the system, individual receivers carried by the users, and a "constellation" of 24 satellites. The technology is used in a wide variety of ways, from guiding motorists along highways with in-car navigation systems to operators of heavy equipment performing precision farming and construction; from surveying and mapping ground locations to navigating the direction of ships at sea and planes in the sky.
Both the planetarium program "And a Star to Steer Her By" and the exhibition "GPS: A New Constellation," are made possible through the generous support of a consortium of companies led by Trimble, a world leader in the emerging commercial markets for GPS satellite-based navigation, positioning and communication data products. The company, which was founded in 1978 and is located in Sunnyvale, Calif., holds more U.S. patents on GPS and related technology than any other organization.
"And a Star to Steer Her By" is presented daily in the Einstein Planetarium. General admission tickets are $3.75. The program's narration is offered in German, French, Japanese and Spanish. Open-captioning for the hearing-impaired and audio descriptions for the sight-impaired also are available.
The museum's Einstein Planetarium is one of the most technically sophisticated star theaters in the world. At its center, the Zeiss VIa planetarium instrument projects nearly 9,000 stars on a 70-foot dome, precisely simulating the motions of the sun, moon, stars and planets. Five video projectors and hundreds of special-effects projectors combine with the six-channel sound system to create an unforgettable multimedia experience.
The National Air and Space Museum is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Closed December 25) Admission is free.