(?) Saturday, March 10, 2018, 3:00pm (?)
Big snowstorm coming mid-week! A foot of wet, heavy snow begins falling Wednesday, and won’t quit until at least Thursday evening. We could rush to clear the snow for a flashmob on the possibly clear Friday night, but Saturday night is expected to be too cloudy for a star party.
Why not skip planning a star party that appears doomed to be cancelled, and plan an accessible field trip instead? At the Southworth Planetarium in Portland, the stars always shine, on demand, regardless of the time or weather. After a show projecting the stars as they would currently be seen, if only we were outside on a night without clouds, we’d be shown “Journey to a Billion Suns,” a show detailing the European Space Agency’s GAIA project of accurately mapping all the stars in our sector of the galaxy, a virtual spaceflight from the comfort of padded chairs, with no winter clothes required. The show would be a matinee at 3:00pm. (There is no evening show.) By the time our car pools arrived, Portland’s streets and parking lots ought to be plowed. Dinner after (or lunch before?) would be at The Great Lost Bear, a nearby haunt of excellent food, fine beers, and moderate prices.
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VOTE — DOODLE POLL
This is by no means official yet! We are proposing this; it is not yet decided! If you would like for CMAS to arrange this trip to the planetarium, please respond to the Doodle poll at:
https://doodle.com/poll/2n2gbggys4vbd3ap
Based on the responses received, CMAS will either organize this event, or announce that it will not happen.
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DETAILS
Southworth Planetarium
70 Falmouth Street, Portland, Maine 04101
https://usm.maine.edu/planet/journey-billion-suns
207-780-4249
$6.50 – adults
$6.00 – children, seniors
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The Great Lost Bear
540 Forest Avenue, Portland, Maine 04101
http://www.greatlostbear.com
207-772-0300
