THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Priyadarshini Planetarium at the Kerala State Science and Technology Museum which was shut for modernisation work, is ready. Well, almost. On Tuesday, its brand-new projectors and tilted dome was shown off in all its glory, during a trial run.
Those who were present at the function sat back and enjoyed the starry treat, including a short trip through a nebula (not recommended if you wish to do it for real, considering that it is ten thousand degrees celsius hot).
The new planetarium can create an ‘immersive effect’ as it allows the spectator to imbibe a visual treat. For, the videos are not just three-dimensional, but use most of our cone of vision, unlike a flat screen which uses just three per cent of it, according to KSSTM Director Arul Jerald Prakash. (The area that the two eyes can span-120 degrees horizontally and 100 degrees vertically - is called a cone of vision.)
The new dome, with its 15 degree tilt, allows one to watch the show without craning one’s neck. There are nine digital video F32 projectors with 2K resolution which work together to give 10 mega pixel visuals. These are connected to a 1-terabyte computer each.
However, to view the starry night, the planetarium uses an opto-mechanical projector, similar to the one it already had, but much smaller in size. The stars projected with this device have greater clarity than the digital projectors. The hybrid technology makes a better visual experience, according to the Director.
“Ours is the first tilted dome planetarium in the country with a hybrid technology,” says a visibly excited Arul Jerald Prakash.
The old projector procured in 1987 from Goto Inc, Japan, is on display at KSSTM. In 2006, when the company stopped producing spares, the planetarium had stocked parts, should there be repairs. However by 2008, the non-availability of spares started to affect the functioning of the planetarium. In 2011, the governing body chaired by Education Minister Abdu Rabb granted permission for modernisation of the planetarium.
Since there were no Indian planetarium manufacturers, global tenders were invited. The tender was awarded to Carl Zeiss Company (Germany), who quoted 13,30,500 Euros, which roughly comes to around Rs 12.5 crore. The company procured the seamless projection dome from Astro-Tec Manufacturing (USA). Last year, experts from both companies had visited the capital city, to get everything in order.
There is also a gallery leading up to the planetarium, which has exhibits narrating the history of astronomy. Among the greats like Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo and Aryabhatta, there is an exhibit on Malayali astronomer as well - Kelalloor Neelakanta Somayaji. “The gallery is important and this planetarium should not be reduced to a full-dome movie theatre. This is non-formal science education in astronomy after all,” says Arul.
Tickets for those under 12 years come at Rs 30. The rest have to pay Rs 60. According to the Director, the planetarium will be open to the public within a month.