PLANETARIUM
HISTORY OF THE HUBBLE PLANETARIUM
Shortly after Edward R. Murrow High School opened in 1974, astronomy teacher Sam Storch turned a regular science classroom, room 490, into the Edwin P. Hubble Planetarium. Opened in 1979, the Hubble Planetarium remains among the last operational sky theaters housed inside a New York City school and serves students taking our Astronomy elective as well as Earth Science classes.
“Instead of naming it after Galileo or Newton, I wanted to name it after an American, someone more contemporary,” explains Storch. “So we named the planetarium after Edwin P. Hubble, even before the telescope was named after him. He’s the American astronomer whose research demonstrated the expansion of the universe.”
Storch bought a sky projector from Tokyo and spent countless hours soldering wires together. After he retired in 2009, after an astonishing 41 years of teaching, Marc Horowitz took over as Planetarium Director and currently runs Murrow's astronomy program.
Shortly after Edward R. Murrow High School opened in 1974, astronomy teacher Sam Storch turned a regular science classroom, room 490, into the Edwin P. Hubble Planetarium. Opened in 1979, the Hubble Planetarium remains among the last operational sky theaters housed inside a New York City school and serves students taking our Astronomy elective as well as Earth Science classes.
“Instead of naming it after Galileo or Newton, I wanted to name it after an American, someone more contemporary,” explains Storch. “So we named the planetarium after Edwin P. Hubble, even before the telescope was named after him. He’s the American astronomer whose research demonstrated the expansion of the universe.”
Storch bought a sky projector from Tokyo and spent countless hours soldering wires together. After he retired in 2009, after an astonishing 41 years of teaching, Marc Horowitz took over as Planetarium Director and currently runs Murrow's astronomy program.
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ASTRONOMY ELECTIVE
Our Astronomy course at Murrow is a science elective and runs for a full year. Students may choose Astronomy after fulfilling their Living Environment and Physical Science requirements. Priority for seating is given to Seniors. Our course covers a myriad of topics including: Celestial sphere and orientation with the night sky A timeline of Astronomy (or how we got to know what we know) Solar system and planetary science Our Moon The nature of light Understanding our Sun Stellar evolution Bizarre Stellar Objects – White Dwarves, Neutron Stars, Pulsars and Black Holes Galaxies – Great Islands of Stars Exo-planets and Astrobiology Large Scale Structure of the Universe Cosmology and our origins – Big Bang and Beyond In addition, throughout the year, we will discuss NASA missions and the latest discoveries such as the Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) and others. There is no Regents Exam in Astronomy and as such our course is mostly project based. Students are expected to bring a strong curiosity to class and develop projects based on their interests. |
CONTACT THE PLANETARIUM DIRECTOR
Marc Horowitz
Planetarium Director
Office: Room 492
Email: MHorowitz@schools.nyc.gov
Phone: 718-258-9283 ext. 4920
HUBBLE PLANETARIUM IN THE NEWS
Fox News
http://www.myfoxny.com/story/25121994/brooklyn-schools-planetarium-to-reopen-after-renovation
Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/sky-limit-midwood-school-article-1.1742199
New York 1
http://www.ny1.com/content/news/206289/brooklyn-planetarium-has-visitors-seeing-stars-once-again
News 12
http://brooklyn.news12.com/news/planetarium-reopens-at-edward-r-murrow-h-s-1.7583980
WNYC
http://www.wnyc.org/story/new-view-universe-brooklyn-high-school-students/
The New York Teacher
http://www.uft.org/everyday-heroes/master-universe
Fox News
http://www.myfoxny.com/story/25121994/brooklyn-schools-planetarium-to-reopen-after-renovation
Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/sky-limit-midwood-school-article-1.1742199
New York 1
http://www.ny1.com/content/news/206289/brooklyn-planetarium-has-visitors-seeing-stars-once-again
News 12
http://brooklyn.news12.com/news/planetarium-reopens-at-edward-r-murrow-h-s-1.7583980
WNYC
http://www.wnyc.org/story/new-view-universe-brooklyn-high-school-students/
The New York Teacher
http://www.uft.org/everyday-heroes/master-universe
LINKS
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Updated daily
Known Universe
A short Youtube clip created by Dr. Carter Emmart at the American Museum of Natural History using Uniview software
Space.com
A comprehensive site that reports on the latest discoveries and ongoing research
Stellarium.org
A free downloadable desktop planetarium
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Updated daily
Known Universe
A short Youtube clip created by Dr. Carter Emmart at the American Museum of Natural History using Uniview software
Space.com
A comprehensive site that reports on the latest discoveries and ongoing research
Stellarium.org
A free downloadable desktop planetarium
RENOVATIONS
Our facility recently finished undergoing a complete overhaul. We replaced our carpet, seating, ceilings and have a new entrance way to our dome. Interactive student work greets visitors in our vestibule and sets the tone for your Astronomy experience.
Dome lighting is an essential part of our visitors’ experience. We installed new computerized LED cove lighting which can created blue skies, theatrical “lighting chases” and a myriad of other schemes. A new sound system has been installed, allowing visitors to be surrounded in realistic sounds and music that is linked to a fully programmable DVD player.
However, our most exciting upgrade is the installation Uniview© software on a fully digital system installed by SCISS corporation. Uniview software was developed at the American Museum of Natural History using their Digital Universe data bank by Dr. Carter Emmart, director of Astrovisualization at the Hayden Planetarium and graduate students at Linkoping University in Sweden. Using this software, we can literally fly off of the Earth and view our Universe from anywhere. This is something that must be experienced in order to be fully appreciated!
Our facility recently finished undergoing a complete overhaul. We replaced our carpet, seating, ceilings and have a new entrance way to our dome. Interactive student work greets visitors in our vestibule and sets the tone for your Astronomy experience.
Dome lighting is an essential part of our visitors’ experience. We installed new computerized LED cove lighting which can created blue skies, theatrical “lighting chases” and a myriad of other schemes. A new sound system has been installed, allowing visitors to be surrounded in realistic sounds and music that is linked to a fully programmable DVD player.
However, our most exciting upgrade is the installation Uniview© software on a fully digital system installed by SCISS corporation. Uniview software was developed at the American Museum of Natural History using their Digital Universe data bank by Dr. Carter Emmart, director of Astrovisualization at the Hayden Planetarium and graduate students at Linkoping University in Sweden. Using this software, we can literally fly off of the Earth and view our Universe from anywhere. This is something that must be experienced in order to be fully appreciated!
