Morehead State University - Raconteur Yearbook (Morehead, KY)

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The planetarium star ball is two feet in diameter with 1700 stars arranged . in proper order. Strunk shows a Brownie troop how the ball works. Planetarlum PHOTO BY: Jeff Colquhoun 2 5

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Star light, Star bright BY: Suzanne Smith The night sky as it appeared at Jesus, birth was seen again on Nov. 24, through Dec. 10. iiThe Star of Bethlehem , a presentation on the great star that marked the birthplace of the Christ child, was held in the univer- sity planetarium located in room 212 in Lappin Hall. After a brief survey of the late autumn - early winter sky, the show turned to the appearance of the star itself. Evidence tells us the star was first seen in approximately 8 BC. The Bible says that Jesus was born in the days of Herod the King. Before Herodis death, a lunar eclipse occurred on Mar. 13, 4 BC. Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem in order to be taxed. Taxes were collected only about every 20 years. According to an in- scription on a Roman pillar, only three great taxes took place during Caesar Augustusi reign, during which Jesus was born. One was in 28 B.C., many years before Herodls death, the second was in 8 BC. and the third in 14 A.D., several years after the death of Herod. After a tax was decreed, it took a long time for all the people to find out about it, then they had to travel to the town their family originated from to pay their taxes. So, it was at least 7 or 6 BC. when Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem. The presentation also tried to answer the question of what the star was. It sug- gested that it could have been a meteor. But a meteor would have been a familiar sight to the wise men who saw the star. An- other possibility was a comet, but none were recorded dur- ing these years and m a n y p e o p l e watched the skies, es- pecially Chinese astrologers. Also, everyone would have noticed a comet, not just the magi. The program also explored the idea of the star as a nova, or exploding star, but again, there were none recorded. A final possible solution was that the star was a planet. During this time three planets came together in the sky for a short time near the bright constellation of Pisces. The program also discussed the fact that Jesus was probably born in the spring. Shepherds, who visited the baby Jesus, nor- mally only stay with their flock during the spring, when the lambs are due. Also, early Christians celebrated Jesusi birth in the spring until Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Planetarium 24 ..m n -' 6666366 ia iiThe Star of Bethlehem,i program was presented by Steve Strunk, a sophomore earth science major from Morehead. He is a work-study for Dr. Jack Whidden. PHOTO BY? jefColquhoun empire. Then, the celebration of Christmas was changed to De- cember 25, the date of the pagan celebration of Saturnalia, a popular holiday among the Romans. Our custom of gift-giving comes from this pagan holiday. Steve Strunk, a sophomore earth science major from More- head, gave the presentation. He is the work-study for Dr. Jack Whidden, physics professor, who is in charge of the planetarium. Dr. Whidden tries to have a work-study each semester to help him with the planetarium. Dr. Whidden gives several presentations at the planetarium throughout the year. They include programs on the solar system, the search for extraterrestrial life, the origin and evolution of the universe, space exploration and the life and contributions of Albert Einstein to astronomy. The shows are presented through the use of slides, special motion projec- tors, which move beams of light across the ceiling of the planetar- ium, and a star ball. The ball is two feet in diame- ter and has 1700 stars arranged in their proper place to show the con- stellations. The light source for the ball is piped in from the projec- tor underneath ' 66 ' 666' ' 3 3 ' the ball. The ball can be rotated to show the daily m o t i o n of t h e earth and stars and can be manu- ally set to show any latitude. The programs are usually at tended by school groups, scout troops, parents from the commu- nity, and also uni- versity students. Dr. Whidden also uses the plan- etarium during his astronomy classes. He uses it to show students his various pro- grams, constellations, bright stars, the rotation of the earth and the seeming backward, or retrograde, motion of planets. Dr. Whidden built the planetarium in 1975 through a grant from the University. The ceiling is a dome which is held up by a series of 47 wooden arches. The surface of the ceiling is sections of quarter-inch wall board. People from the age of 10 to 50 have enj oyed the planetarium. It is not only for the serious astronomy student but also for the casual stargazer. .

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MSU-TV S:u.d.e.n:.s.tb. 2..qu a: BY.- Suzanne Smith Lights, camera, action! All found at MSU-TV. If you are interested in television itis the place to be. There is a wide variety of jobs students can do. Everything is student-run. Timothy Young, producer for MSU-TV, is there to deal with problems the stu- dents cannot handle. Students act as producers, directors, camera opera- tors, and hosts. On the studio floor they fill roles as audio operator, who controls all the sound, and V.T.R. operators. MSU-TV produces several television shows. Among them are Newscenter 12, which is a half-hour of news 26 R-TV students are not confined to work in their Ginger Hall studios. Senior Trey Runyon, from Louisville and TC. Young monitor the live coverage 0fthe Southern Arkansas football game in the control van outside Jayne Stadium. PHOTO BY: Kevin L. Goldy 3 CD 9 2 - -- -n-- -m- ----g - ---ua---- --uum - - - --h - --- - . m-wu- - w - - --- - - - - - ---w- - - ----- - - wuumug - - --- -- - - g-u-- - - - n - -- - - - ---.- - - - - - - -- - - - ---um a h - - --- - - - ----- h - - --- - - - ----- shown twice a week. They also air Childis Play, a show for children ages five to six. Reverb is a talk show. Stu- dent hosts interview different guests each week. The students write the scripts, choose the guests and tape the show themselves. The station also re-broadcasts National College Tele- vision, a syndicated feature show. Shows included in NCTV are The Golden Years of Television, which are re- runs from t. v. shows of the 50 s and 60 s and Audiophilia, a popular music program. We air a variety of programs and we,ve had good responses to all of them? said Young. .