December marks 75 years after the beginning of the classic, "Star of Bethlehem" planetarium sky drama at Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science. This traditional, holiday sky show, which provides possible, astronomical explanations for the star that guided the Three Wisemen to the Christ child, has been shown at Buhl Planetarium every Christmas season since 1939, and it is being shown this month at the Henry Buhl, Jr. Planetarium and Observatory at The Carnegie Science Center under the title, "The Christmas Star." This graphic was used to promote the show in Buhl's monthly, public newsletter, during Buhl Planetarium's 50th anniversary in 1989. (Image Source: Friends of the Zeiss)
By Glenn A. Walsh
Reporting for SpaceWatchtower
When many people think about Astronomy
this time of year, they often ponder the one mystery that has yet to
be conclusively determined: the actual cause of the The Star of
Bethlehem, as described in the Holy Bible of the Christian religion.
So, with the invention of the projection planetarium in the 1920s,
and the beginning of erection of American planetaria in the 1930s,
this automatically became one of the topics of planetarium
productions during the Christmas season.
This month marks 75 years since the
beginning of a historic, and long-running, annual planetarium sky
drama in Pittsburgh's Buhl Planetarium: The Star of Bethlehem. The
Star of Bethlehem, which
discusses possible explanations for the star which guided the Magi to
the Christ child, has been shown in Buhl Planetarium every Christmas
season since 1939.
From
1939 to 1990, this show was shown in the Theater of the Stars of
Pittsburgh's original Buhl , Planetarium and Institute of Popular
Science (1982 to 1991 a.k.a. Buhl Science Center), usually under the
title of The Star of Bethlehem. Over
the years other titles have been used, such as The
Christmas Star, the title now
used for this show by the Henry Buhl, Jr. Planetarium and Observatory
of The Carnegie Science Center, where the show has been seen since
1991. One year, in the mid-1980s, the show was titled, The
Star of Bethlehem Revisited, to
emphasize that new scientific information had been added to the show.
When
the Buhl Planetarium building was under design in 1937, the needs of
The Star of Bethlehem planetarium
show were specifically considered. James Stokley, the first Director
of Buhl Planetarium, was previously Director of the Fels Planetarium,
which had opened with the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia in 1934.
For the Fels Planetarium's version of The Star of
Bethlehem, special, temporary
staging had been erected, so a segment of the show could include a
live acting performance.
When the Buhl
Planetarium's Theater of the Stars was constructed, it included the
world's first permanent theatrical stage in a planetarium theater! Located on
the north end of the Planetarium Theater, it could be used as-is, or
at the press of a button, the stage could be enlarged, expanding into
the Planetarium Theater!
Each year, from
1939 to 1990, Buhl Planetarium staff members and volunteers, in
costume from Christ's era, would take turns portraying “Saint Luke”
on the planetarium stage. This included Buhl's female staff and
volunteers; at a distance, in a darkened planetarium theater and
in-costume, the audience could not tell a female was portraying
“Saint Luke.” “Saint Luke” was the nickname lovingly given to
this character by the staff, even though the character did recite
biblical passages from both the Gospel of Saint Luke and the Gospel
of Saint Matthew.
During the
portrayal, “Saint Luke” would point to the Christmas Star
(visible on the planetarium dome, shining above a lit nativity scene
visible on scaffolding behind the dome) and use biblical verses to
tell the Christmas story to the audience. As many different staff
members and volunteers portrayed “Saint Luke” throughout a season
of presentations of The Star of Bethlehem, each actor was not
expected to memorize lines; the actor simply made appropriate
gestures while appearing to lip-synch to a pre-recorded script. Most
staff members and volunteers enjoyed portraying “Saint Luke,” as
a welcome diversion from their normal duties.
In the beginning,
each new planetarium show, including The Star of Bethlehem, ran
for a month, with a new show scheduled for the next month. In later
years, topical planetarium shows were often scheduled for most of a
calendar season, with seasonal star-identification shows (i.e. Stars
of Spring, Stars of Summer, Stars of Autumn, Stars of Winter)
scheduled for one or two weeks between topical shows. This would give
planetarium technicians time to reset slides and other special
effects for the next topical planetarium show.
By the 1980s, The
Star of Bethlehem ran from the very busy Thanksgiving weekend
usually through the first weekend of the New Year (sometimes this
included the Feast of Epiphany and Orthodox Christmas). The original
Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science was closed only one
day of the year; originally that day was New Year's Day, but by the
1960s management decided to close on Christmas Day and open on New
Year's Day.
By the mid-1980s,
The Star of Bethlehem was running on weekends and during
holiday periods nearly every hour on-the-hour. Previously, the sky
show had run during the schedule instituted for shows the rest of the
year (2:00 each afternoon, with additional showings at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m.
on Fridays, 11:00 a.m. on Saturdays, and 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays and
Sundays). The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science (then
a.k.a. Buhl Science Center) had, by that time, instituted expanded
building hours on weekends and during holiday periods from November
through February.
The daily expanded
schedule had the building open on Saturdays, and weekdays during
holiday periods (Thanksgiving Weekend and the week between Christmas
and New Year's Days) from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. (on Fridays the
astronomical observatory was open until 10:30 p.m.,
weather-permitting, as usual). On Sundays, the building was open from
12:00 Noon until 9:30 p.m., while the building did close at .5:00
p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
Other times of the
year, the public hours began at 1:00 p.m. Sunday through Friday
(weekday mornings were usually reserved for school groups, although
the public usually was not turned-away) and 10:00 a.m. on Saturdays.
The building normally closed each day at 5:00 p.m., except on Fridays
when it stayed open until 9:30 p.m. (again, on Fridays the
astronomical observatory was open until 10:30 p.m.,
weather-permitting).
These additional
building hours and show times on weekends and during holiday periods
were provided to meet public demand. In addition to the popular The
Star of Bethlehem sky show, the annual exhibition of the
very popular Miniature Railroad and Village was displayed November
through February. So, during the annual run of The Star of
Bethlehem, particularly on weekends and during holiday periods,
often Buhl Planetarium's 425-seat Theater of the Stars was filled
during many of the mid-day showings.
During these holiday periods, Buhl Planetarium holds claim to the
world record for showing planetarium shows, continuously
back-to-back, on several days from 10:00 a.m. through and finishing at 8:00 p.m. This
record was equaled, but not exceeded, in 2002 by the McFerson
Planetarium located at the new facility of the Center of Science and
Industry in Columbus, Ohio. This new planetarium, which
had originally opened in 1999, was upgraded and reopened to the public on 2014 November 22, after being mothballed for ten years.
Until
2007, Buhl Planetarium also held the world record for continuous
back-to-back performances in a planetarium, for Friday and Saturday
showings during holiday periods of both planetarium shows and laser-light concerts from 10:00 a.m. through and finishing at 12:45 or 1:00 a.m. This record was broken by
the original Sudekum Planetarium at the Adventure Science Center in
Nashville, during a 32-hour “Planetarium Marathon,” which included both planetarium and laser-light shows, marking the
closing of the original planetarium which was demolished and replaced
with a new, larger planetarium.
More on the historic Star of Bethlehem Planetarium Show at Buhl Planetarium:
Complete Star of Bethlehem show script from 1979:
Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium3.tripod.com/skyshow/bethlehem/#script
More on Buhl Planetarium's Original Theater of the Stars:
Link >>> buhlplanetarium3.tripod.com/BuhlZeissII.htm
Related Blog Posts ---
Buhl Planetarium Scale-Model Joins Miniature Railroad and Village (2014 Nov. 27):
Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2014/11/buhl-planetarium-scale-model-joins.html
75th Anniversary of America's 5th Major Planetarium (2014 Oct. 24):
Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2014/10/75th-anniversary-of-americas-5th-major.html
Solar Eclipse on Eve of Buhl Planetarium's 75th Anniversary (2014 Oct. 21):
Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2014/10/solar-eclipse-on-eve-of-buhl.html
Asteroid Named for Henry Buhl of Buhl Planetarium (2014 June 26):
Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2014/06/asteroid-named-for-henry-buhl-of-buhl.html
100 Years Ago: Planetarium Concept Born (2014 Feb. 24):
Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2014/02/100-years-ago-planetarium-concept-born.html
Buhl Community Park at Allegheny Square Opens (2012 June 25):
Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2012/06/buhl-community-park-at-allegheny-square.html
70th Anniversary: Buhl Planetarium Observatory (2011 Nov. 19):
Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2011/11/70th-anniversary-buhl-planetarium.html
Source: Glenn A. Walsh, Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.
2014: 75th Year of Pittsburgh's Buhl Planetarium
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gaw
Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
Barnestormin: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, & More: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
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SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.
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