-----Original Message-----
From: Jeremy Freese
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 11:54 AM
To: 'information@mos.org'
Subject: lost planet
I am living in the Boston area for the next year. Like many folks
with a limited period of time to spend in a lovely, famous place, I have
developed a list of all the things I wanted to make sure I do and see in
the area while I'm here. The virtues of the Freedom Trail and Walden
Pond notwithstanding, prominent on my list was that I wanted to get
photographs of myself standing by all of the planets in the MoS's model
solar system. Of the ten locations, I had the least worries about seeing
Saturn because it was listed as being at the Cambridge Public Library,
near where I live. However, the library is undergoing renovations and has
temporarily relocated, and apparently Saturn did not move along with it.
Indeed, a librarian said she was not sure where Saturn was right now. Any
information you can provide about the location of Saturn would be greatly
appreciated.
--Jeremy(Note: original post about this project here. Note also: conspirators of the world, I refuse to be so easily thwarted.)
Update: I've received a response. It turns out that Neptune, which was purportedly in the food court of a mall in Saugus, is also unavailable!
Dear Jeremy,
The Saturn model was brought back to the Museum of Science when the
Cambridge library closed, and is currently in storage. Since the Saturn
and Neptune models are not available, we revised the Community Solar
System passport to give credit for those planets. The most recent
version of the solar system passport is available for download at:
http://www.mos.org/doc/1270
Please note that there is a second set of planet models located in the
Museum of Science - in the planetarium lobby. The bronze models are
surrounded by the sun so you could take a photo of all the planets at
once! No admission is required to visit the planetarium lobby.
I hope you'll have a chance to stop by the Museum of Science.
Sincerely,I have not yet figured out my next move. I am not yet conceding defeat.
Noreen Grice
Chaerles Hayden Planetarium, Boston
11 comments:
I think it's near Uranus?
Noreen Grice sounds nice.
Does this project have to be completed during your postdoc in order for you to feel it is successful? I think you should just come back to Boston and finish the quest when those planets are once again available.
Don't give up. And by all means, don't go to the lobby of the planetarium and think that that counts.
-Kathryn
This seems indicative of the dumbing down of society. You're trying to experience the solar system at scale and she offers you the planets all lumped together or credit for ones you haven't seen?
I agree with Kathryn that you should consider your quest unfinished until they put all the planets back in place (assuming they are going to put them back). But I'd hurry up and see the rest of them now, in case they move those as well.
I know that this is something you want to do in Boston, but if that does not work out, you could come to Ithaca and do the "sagan planet walk,"
http://www.sciencenter.org/saganpw/
Shelley
It is actually a coverup job. Saturn was reported upset when Pluto got booted off the island. Now they have disappeared together. Oh, the rumors will fly now...
If all that doesn't work out in Boston, you can come to Nashville and do something similar. We have these giat multi-colored catfish and guitars scattered around town. You would look very distinguished next to a giant catfish...
Kids on the PBS program Fetch did this on an episode a few weeks ago!
Shelley: The planet rock sounds fun.
Lucy/Kathryn: An alternative is to impute the location and still get my photo there.
Winston: You're right I would look good next to a catfish.
Anon: What did they do about Saturn and Neptune?
Why not just sign up and go along with the next space probe to thereabouts. If the Little Prince can do it .....
Show up at the Cambridge Library construction site wearing a Saturn hat (the rings at that rakish angle --- priceless!) and have the photo taken. Yes, it may be out of proportion (or not, depending on size of your head), but you'll have the evidence that you ARE far out.
Following up on Shelley's suggestion, perhaps once you conquer blogging from every state, you could visit every planet in every state.
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