It might be hard to see the stars from Columbus, but they'll be bright at the Arne Slettebak Planetarium at Ohio State University this summer. The university’s astronomy department has a new interactive show exploring the night sky with the navigational techniques used by Polynesian wayfinders.
The Wayfinders, Waves, Winds and Stars show puts put viewers under the night skies over Hawaii and Tahiti and explains how voyagers traveled between the islands, often for trade, hundreds of years ago.
"No maps, no compass, no books guide his way. But he is not afraid. He does not need them. For the sky above is his map, and the stars his compass," the show states.
"This program is going to put you right on board the voyaging canoe Hokulea in an immersive, full-dome experience. During the show, we will also use live segments of the program to explore and practice some basic techniques of Polynesian navigation. And at the end of the show, we'll take a virtual trip from Hawaii to Tahiti," said Miqaela Weller, an Ohio State astronomy grad student who helps operate the planetarium.
Ohio State's planetarium operator Shelby Summers adapted the show created by the Bishop Museum in Hawaii to include live, interactive segments. She recently gradated from Ohio State with a degree in astronomy and physics.
The project paired Summers' love of the night sky with her interest in the legends about the stars, inspired during her childhood in Tennessee.
"My dad and I would always go out and look at the stars. Like, we were able to tell hunting season by Orion. Like, that was kind of the first thing. It wasn't Orion the soldier that you see in most legends, it was Orion the hunter for us," Summers said.
Summers said one of the binding features of cultures across the world are the way many created constellations and incorporated them into creation stories and used them to navigate.
"Human history, a lot of that is exploration. So trying to figure out how things work, how things move, why things are the way they are," Summers said.
"Perhaps they yearned for new land, saw Earth from which they could farm anew. They wondered what lay over the horizon, and imagined beyond their own shores," the show states.
The explorers often fished from their boats, while finding fresh water at small islands scattered through the Pacific.
"Over thousands of years, each generation traveled farther than the last. They discovered thousands of islands, and the ocean connected rather than divided," the show states.
The wayfinding knowledge was nearly lost in the mid-20th century. But, it was revived in the 1970s with the creation of the Polynesian Voyaging Society. The group combined people with native knowledge of wayfinding with artists and anthropologists.
"It took two years to build their traditionally designed canoe, and in the summer of 1975, it was finished. Hokulea was named after the Star of Joy, also called Arturus, a star that passes directly over the islands of Hawaii in its path across the night sky," the show states.
They took the canoe on journeys using the Hawaiian star chart.
"There was revived interest in Hawaiian language, chants, stories, dance and renewed sense of pride among the Hawaiian people. These early voyages to Tahiti were just the beginning. The Polynesian Voyaging Society continued to reconnect with other island nations over the next several decades," the show states.
Back in Columbus, the Ohio State astronomy department updates information about free and public planetarium show dates through its website and newsletter.
Weller said they also plan other shows.
"Night Sky 101 is about night sky motions, constellations, maybe some deep sky objects, some solar system stuff," Weller said.
Summers said astronomy clubs and gatherings at the John Glenn Astronomy Park in Hocking Hills State Park are a good way to learn more from other astronomers and enjoy the night sky.
