The Racquette

Issue date: 5/8/09 Section: College Life

Media Credit: Sara Fernandez Frank Revetta used Orion's Belt to point out some of the brightest stars in the sky.

Located in the Stowell basement, the Potsdam Planetarium provides a fun and interesting way to learn about astronomy. Dr. Frank Revetta, Geology Professor and Director of the Planetarium, was finally successful in acquiring the Planetarium in 1964 for a whopping $30,000. Revetta, who has just started giving shows to Potsdam students this year, says that "attendance has been good" and he plans to have a whole schedule of shows written up for next semester.

On Thursday, April 28, about twenty students were able to learn about the brightest stars in the sky and how to locate them by using constellations. Revetta, who was quick to let the students know that Polaris (the North Star) wasn't one of the brightest stars in the sky, informed the students that the brightest stars in the sky have a magnitude of one and that Polaris has a magnitude closer to two. Armed with a light pointer in the shape of an arrow, Revetta pointed out some of the familiar constellations like Orion the Hunter, and was able to use Orion's Belt to point out several of the brightest stars in the sky. By using the constellations, he made it very easy to point out the featured stars of the lecture instead of just moving from star to star with the pointer.

Seth Leizman, sophomore sociology major, said that "I learned a lot from the show, and now when I look up into the sky I'll be able to know exactly what I'm looking at." Besides just pointing out the stars and how to find them, Revetta also explained brief histories of the stars themselves and how they received the names that we call them by. It was interesting tid-bits like that which made the show an enjoyable way to learn about the stars.

Besides giving shows to Potsdam students, Revetta uses the planetarium to give shows to elementary school children, as well as preparing special shows for alumni weekends. These shows range from pointing out constellations in the summer and winter skies, the Zodiac constellations, as well as more informative lecture's like this week's, which was entitled "The Brightest Stars in the Sky."

Revetta plans to have all of next semester's shows on Thursday afternoons around 4 p.m.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools