Part of the American Museum of Natural History
The Rose Center for Earth and Space
is a part of the
American Museum of Natural History
in
New York City
. The Center's complete name is
The Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space
. The main entrance is located on the northern side of the museum on
81st Street
near
Central Park West
in
Manhattan
's
Upper West Side
. Completed in 2000, it includes the new
Hayden Planetarium
, the original of which was opened in 1935 and closed in 1997.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
is its first and, to date
[update]
, only director.
History
[
edit
]
Hayden Planetarium, circa 1935?45
The center is an extensive reworking of the former Hayden Planetarium, whose first projector, dedicated in 1935, had 2 successors previous to the current one.
The original Hayden Planetarium was founded in 1933 with a donation by banker and philanthropist
Charles Hayden
of
Hayden, Stone & Co.
In 1935, the Hayden Planetarium, designed by architects
Trowbridge & Livingston
, opened, after its construction was funded by a $650,000 loan from the
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
and a $150,000 donation from Charles Hayden. Its mission was to give the public "a more lively and sincere appreciation of the magnitude of the universe... and for the wonderful things which are daily occurring in the universe."
[1]
Joseph M. Chamberlain
, hired as an assistant curator in 1952, became Chairman of the Planetarium in 1956.
[2]
In 1960, a
Zeiss Mark IV projector
was installed, followed by a Zeiss Mark VI projector and new seats in 1993.
In January 1997, the original Hayden Planetarium was closed and demolished. In August 1999, a new, customized Zeiss Mark IX projector was installed, accompanied by a digital dome projection system that provides a
3-D visualization
of the universe based on images generated in real time by a
Silicon Graphics
supercomputer.
On February 19, 2000, the $210 million Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space, containing the new Hayden Planetarium,
[3]
opened to the public. The Rose Center is named after
two members
of the Rose family, and was designed by
James Polshek
and Todd H. Schliemann of Polshek Partnership Architects with the exhibition design by
Ralph Appelbaum Associates
. The Museum's garden was designed by Seattle based landscape architecture firm
Gustafson
, Guthrie,
Nichol
.
Tom Hanks
provided the voice-over for the first planetarium show during the opening of the new Rose Center for Earth & Space in the Hayden Planetarium in 2000. Since then such celebrities as
Whoopi Goldberg
,
Robert Redford
,
Harrison Ford
,
Liam Neeson
and
Maya Angelou
have been featured.
Design
[
edit
]
Back to front: the Hayden Sphere, the Heilbrun Cosmic Pathway, and the Scales of the Universe exhibit.
Close-up of the Scales of the Universe exhibit.
Hayden Sphere at night.
The Hayden Sphere with the winding Cosmic Pathway helix.
Designed by Polshek and Todd Schliemann, the building consists of a six-story high glass cube enclosing the 87-foot (27 m) illuminated Hayden Sphere, which appears to float, although it is actually supported by truss work. Polshek has referred to this work as a "cosmic cathedral".
[4]
The Rose Center and its adjacent plaza are both located on the north face of the Museum; the Center encloses 333,500 square feet (30,980 m
2
; 3.098 ha) of research, education, and exhibition spaces, in addition to the Hayden Planetarium. Also located in the facility is the Department of
Astrophysics
, the newest academic research department in the Museum. Furthermore, Polshek designed the 1,800-square-foot (170 m
2
) Weston Pavilion, a 43-foot (13 m) high transparent structure of "water white" glass along the Museum's west facade. This structure, a small companion piece to the Rose Center, offers a new entry way to the Museum, as well as opening further exhibition space for astronomically-related objects. The planetarium's original magazine,
The Sky
, merged with another journal,
The Telescope
, to become the leading astronomy magazine
Sky & Telescope
.
[5]
Exclusion of Pluto as a planet
[
edit
]
The exhibits highlight human connection to the cosmos along with the scale and properties of the
observable universe
itself. The new Rose Center opened on 19 February 2000 with a model of only eight planets, excluding
Pluto
, when there had not been a scientific consensus
whether it is a planet or not
, and much of the American public thought of it as the ninth planet. On 22 January 2001, almost a year later, the
New York Times
reported it on its front page and led to much media attention and public controversy.
[6]
Hayden Planetarium
[
edit
]
The
Hayden Planetarium
(often called "The Hayden Sphere" or "The Great Sphere") has, since 2000, been one of the two main attractions within the Rose Center. It was established by the State of New York in 1933, some of the funding coming from philanthropist
Charles Hayden
.
[7]
The top half of the Hayden Sphere houses the Star Theater, which uses high-resolution
fulldome video
to project "space shows" based on scientific visualization of current astrophysical data, in addition to a customized
Zeiss
Star Projector
system replicating an accurate night sky as seen from Earth.
[8]
The Big Bang Theater occupies the bottom half of the Hayden Sphere. Utilizing a screen that measures 36 feet (11 m) in diameter over an 8-foot-deep (2.4 m) bowl, a four-minute program depicts
the birth of the universe
, with narration by
Liam Neeson
. The Big Bang Theater serves as an introduction to the Heilbrun Cosmic Pathway, a spiral which wraps around the sphere, connecting the second and first floors of the Rose Center. The cosmic pathway provides a timeline of the universe's history from the Big Bang to the present day. The Heilbrun Cosmic Pathway is one of the most popular exhibits in the Rose Center, which opened February 19, 2000.
[9]
The Hayden Planetarium offers a number of public presentations and prerecorded shows.
[10]
[11]
Arthur Ross Terrace
[
edit
]
The Arthur Ross Terrace is adjacent to the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and built over the new parking garage on 81st Street. This rooftop plaza is designed to be a stage set that celebrates both astronomy and Earth's natural history, as well as an outdoor gathering place for museum visitors. Renowned landscape architect
Kathryn Gustafson
formed the concept for the Terrace after seeing an illustration of shadows cast by a lunar eclipse. A terrace covering 47,000 square feet (4,400 m
2
; 0.44 ha)
[12]
was designed by landscape architects
Charles Morris Anderson
and
Kathryn Gustafson
; the latter received the
American Society of Landscape Architects
(ASLA) Design Merit Award in 2003.
[13]
Exhibits and shows
[
edit
]
As of 2019
[update]
, five shows have premiered in the theater. The first show,
Passport to the Universe
, opened with the new theater and features the voice of
Tom Hanks
as a guide along a voyage from
Earth
to the edge of the
observable universe
.
The Search for Life: Are We Alone?
debuted in 2002, with narration by
Harrison Ford
describing the possibilities of
extraterrestrial life
. Opened in 2006 and narrated by
Robert Redford
,
Cosmic Collisions
examines the role that impacts have played in shaping the universe?including visualizations of Earth's
magnetosphere
,
the formation of the Moon
, and
the meteorite impact
that contributed to the end of the age of dinosaurs.
Journey to the Stars
, narrated by
Whoopi Goldberg
, premiered on, July 4, 2009, featuring extraordinary images from telescopes on the ground and in space and stunning, never-before-seen visualizations of physics-based simulations.
Dark Universe
, narrated by
Neil deGrasse Tyson
, premiered on November 2, 2013.
Worlds Beyond Earth
narrated by
Lupita Nyong'o
, premiered on March 24, 2021.
[14]
It tells the story of the dynamic worlds that share our solar system and the unique conditions that make life on Earth possible.
Other exhibits can be found outside the sphere. The Gottesman Hall of the Planet Earth has displays that illustrate the Earth's geological history and weather patterns. The Cullman Hall of the Universe focuses on topics ranging from planets to stars, life on other worlds to current cosmology. The Scales of the Universe exhibit makes comparisons between the size of the Hayden Sphere and other objects in the universe presented at appropriate relative scale. There is also a photographic exhibit about the Apollo Moon landings. The photographs are throughout the first floor level of the Rose Center.
The British playwright,
Stephen Laughton
, is the current writer-in-residence.
In popular culture
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Gray, Christopher (August 16, 1996).
"A Remnant of the 1930s, and Its Sky, Will Fall"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
March 18,
2009
.
- ^
Martin, Douglas (December 11, 2011).
"Joseph Chamberlain, 88, Dies; Brought the Stars a Bit Closer"
.
New York Times
. Retrieved
December 19,
2011
.
- ^
Goldberger, Paul
(January 17, 2000).
"Stairway to the Stars"
.
The New Yorker
. Retrieved
March 3,
2009
.
- ^
Glancey, Jonathan
(May 8, 2000).
"A cosmic cathedral on 81st Street"
.
The Guardian
. London
. Retrieved
March 18,
2009
.
- ^
"Hayden Planetarium: Astrophysics Brought to Life"
.
www.amnh.org
.
- ^
deGrasse Tyson, Neil
(February 2, 2001).
"Astronomer Responds to Pluto-Not-a-Planet Claim"
.
Space.com
. Retrieved
July 17,
2013
.
Later this article is compiled into
deGrasse Tyson, Neil
(2009). "Appendix E: Official Media Response from the Author Regarding the Rose Center's Exhibit Treatment of Pluto".
The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet
.
- ^
"History of the Hayden Planetarium"
. Archived from the original on March 6, 2006
. Retrieved
December 8,
2014
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
Accessed 2008-02-19
- ^
"Heavenly Tools of the Trade"
.
New York Daily News
. December 6, 1999
. Retrieved
June 15,
2024
.
- ^
"Timeline: The History of the American Museum of Natural History"
. Archived from
the original
on March 10, 2009
. Retrieved
March 3,
2009
.
- ^
Schwartz, John (March 9, 2018).
"At the Hayden Planetarium, a Joyride Across the Cosmos"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
June 15,
2024
.
- ^
Kenigsberg, Ben (January 16, 2020).
"Exploring the Solar System Anew at the Hayden Planetarium"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
June 15,
2024
.
- ^
Martin, Douglas (September 11, 2007).
"Arthur Ross, Investor and Philanthropist Who Left Mark on the Park, Dies at 96"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
June 15,
2024
.
- ^
Honoring Kathryn Gustafson
(PDF)
.
Congressional Record ? Extensions of Remarks
(Report). April 4, 2008. p. E508
. Retrieved
June 15,
2024
.
- ^
"Worlds Beyond Earth"
. Archived from
the original
on May 17, 2021.
External links
[
edit
]
Rose Center exhibitions
Hayden Planetarium
Arthur Ross Terrace
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