WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2012
THE ABINGTON JOURNAL♦CLARKS SUMMIT, PA
WWW.THEABINGTONJOURNAL.COM PAGE 5A
Hi, I’m Jo!
Meet me here the first Wednesday of every month. In My Edition, we will explore topics that interest you: everything from sports, pets, and music to TV, art and video games. Catch us online at theabingtonjournal.com/ myedition.html
BOOKMARK
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Awesome astronomy D at the Thomas G. Cupillari ’60 Observatory
BY MARY ANN MCGRATH Special to The Abington Journal
PICTURE BOOKS: AGE 4 TO 8 “There Was a Bold Lady Who Wanted a Star” – by Charise Mericle Harper “Wan-Hu is in the Stars” – by Jennifer Armstrong “Zoom, Rocket, Zoom” – by Margaret Mayo CHILDREN’S CLASSICS: AGE 8 TO 12 “The Little Prince” – by Antoine de Saint-Exupery “A Wind in the Door” – by Madeleine L’Engle “A Wrinkle in Time” – by Madeleine L’Engle NON-FICTION: AGE 4 TO 8 “The Moon” – by Linda Aspen-Baxter “Our Stars” – by Anne Rockwell “Stars” – by Steve Tomecek “Stars” – Linda Aspen-Baxter “Stars” – by Melanie Mitchell NON-FICTION: AGE 8 – 12 “Amazing Space Q&A: Everything You Never Knew About Space” – by Mike Goldsmith “13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System” – by David A. Aguilar MaryAnn McGrath is the Children’s Librarian at the Abington Community Library.
Win this! See "My LOL" on page 6 for details.
BY ELIZABETH BAUMEISTER lbaumeister@theabingtonjournal.com
id you know the sun is almost a million miles in diameter? That means if someone were to cut it in half and draw a line across the center, that line would be almost a million miles long. The sun is so big it could fit about a million planets the size of the earth inside of it. The earth is about 93 million miles away from the sun. Thomas Cupillari has been the director of the astronomy observatory at Keystone College since it first opened 39 years ago, but he said facts like these still amaze him and make him exclaim, “Gee whiz!” He said he first became interested in astronomy, which is the study of the universe, when he was attending graduate school. Ever since he was a boy, he wanted to be a scientist. Jo-Ann Kamichitis is the associate director at the observatory and she said she has loved astronomy since her father took her outside at night to look at the stars when she was a child. Now, she and Mr. Cupillari help visitors at the observatory learn about astronomy and look at the night sky through their big telescope, called The Clark Refractor Telescope. Every Wednesday and Friday from Sept. 5 through Nov. 9, the observatory is open at 7:30 p.m. to visitors of all ages to see a
MY DREAM JOB MEET JOE VAN WIE: Age: 34 Hometown: Scranton Job Title: CEO executive producer of JVW Inc. Favorite subject in school? Philosophy & theology If you could be a science fiction character who would it be? Lord Vader (Star Wars villian) When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? A priest. What book would you bring if you were stranded on the moon? The " moon" for dummies. Coolest part of your job: That it has never been a job. Favorite place in the universe: I need to travel more to answer this, but for now it is Antony Piazza Esq. ’s attic in Green Ridge.
slideshow about outer space and look through the telescopes. The Clark Refractor Telescope is kept inside a large white dome. The observatory also has some smaller telescopes and two computer operated telescopes in another building with a roof that rolls off to reveal the sky. For more information about the observatory, visit www.keystone.edu/observatory.
Meet the observatory stars Thomas Cupillari Job title: Director Lives in: Factoryville Age: 73 Best part of his job: Showing people parts of the universe they’ve never seen before Favorite place in the universe: Double star cluster in Perseus What he wanted to be when he grew up: A biologist or physicist Dream superpower: To know the answers of the universe. Jo-Ann Kamichitis Job title: Associate Director Lives in: Scranton Age: 68 Best part of her job: Interacting with people of all ages Favorite place in the universe: M17 Swan Nebula What she wanted to be when she grew up: A teacher Dream superpower: To fly into outer space.
Want to learn more?
The directors at the observatory recommend these online resources for armature astronomers of all ages: • Uncle Al’s Sky Wheels are star maps called “planispheres,” which are used to locate and identify constellations and stars visible during different times of the year. They can be downloaded at: http://www.handsonuniverse.org/activities/uncleal/ • Find an updated evening sky guide at skymaps.com every two months. • Visit http://lackawannaastronomicalsociety.org for information about a local astronomy club. • Want to know if that UFO you saw was just a satellite? Get satellite tracking info at heavens-above.com. • Get the latest space weather conditions at spaceweather.com.
ABINGTON JOURNAL/ELIZABETH BAUMEISTER
The Clark Refractor Telescope at Keystone College’s Thomas G. Cupillari ’60 Observatory weighs 2,500 pounds.
MY OPINION
RACHEL EZRIN Want in on the science fiction craze? Try out some items from this top 10 list by local teen, Rachel Ezrin: • Minecraft Rarely does a video game offer the player a chance to create their own world, and Minecraft breaks from tradition by offering exactly that. A world driven by both the creation and destruction of Test yourself with TRIVIA blocks, the from My Edition player can Columnist form buildKento Matsui. ings, invenEXCLUSIVELY tions, and online at works of art. theabington If merely journal.com/ building is myedition.html not exciting enough for the average sci-fi enthusiast, various mobs (short for mobiles) such as the zombie, skeleton, and spider are combatable. • Transformers A young man purchases an Autobot, mistaking it for a regular vehicle. The ancient struggle of Decepticon versus Autobot erupts on earth, while the young man is the clue to an ultimate power. Transformers is rated PG-13 for violence and profanity. See Opinion, Page 6
INSIDE...
Work and play collide BY JOAN MEAD-MATSUI Abington Journal Correspondent
T
said, “were the ones I was able to film in my own backyard and bring some of the most talented people in the independent film industry.” In the fall, he will be at work on a horror film. He recently wrapped up a comic book thriller, “The Paragon Cortex, written and directed by John Kilker and produced by Christian Huennebeck, expected to be released this winter. “It was a great experience to work with two of the area’s most talented filmmakers and storytellers and work on one of the best projects
he coolest part of Joe Van Wie III’s job is that to him, it doesn’t seem like work. He is 34 years old and works for JVW, Inc., a company in Scranton that makes movies and advertisements. He is the company’s CEO and executive producer. He produced many feature films and was the line producer on "The Paragon Cortex", executive producer on the movie "Forged" and associate producer of "La Soga." But is his work glamorous and exciting? Van Wie said, “No, it’s hard and terrifying, but in the same respect it’s rewarding and the only way I would want to spend my time here that while I am stuck on Earth.” I’ve He has worked with many independent film ever actors, including Adam Sandler (when he had been a a small role in “You Don’t Mess With the Zopart of han,”) Martin Lawrence, Clint Eastwood and with Bruce Willis. two Van Wie said when he was a boy he started local to interpret life through what he saw in movies. guys that I “I think as a young man it was always comadmire and forting to know I was able to relate to my trust. I’m grandfather by watching Westerns and seeing very excited theathe same movie he saw. It was the first time I for it to hit ters.” felt I could relate to adults, through the experience of watching a film together.” ABINGTON JOURNAL/JOAN MATSUI He said the most exciting parts of his career Joe Van Wie peers through a camera. were the projects he created. Examples of his work can be found on “The ones that meant the most to me,” he his website, www.jvwinc.net.
Looking for a good book? See My LIBRARY CARD on page 6 for a list of popular teen picks!