Auditorium Configuration

The planetarium, as envisioned, will feature an auditorium 11m (36ft) in diameter.  This will provide comfortable seating for about 60 people at a time.  A wide (3.5 ft) entry door will lead into the auditorium.  Guests will move through the black curtains (in place to cut down on light trespass) and up a slight ramp to the auditorium floor.  The fore part of auditorium (stage) allows room for a presenter to talk directly with audience.

The primary feature, of course, is the planetarium's projection system.  We envision this system as actually being composed of two complemetary systems

1. An optomechanical projection, for faithfully and realistically depicting the character and motions of the night sky
2. A digital projection system, for immersive full-dome multimedia experience exploring many aspects of science and its impact on human thought

Each system has its own advantages and specific strengths in a variety of educational and outreach situations.  Depending on the presentation needs of the program, each may be used separately or their operation may be synchronized.

These images depict a possible arrangement of the optomechanical and digital system that would be appropriate for a planetarium of this size.

We also envision that the dome could be configured so that it is tilted towards the front.  One possibility is that the dome could be actually more than hemispherical, as shown below.  The optomechanical projectors would use a hemisphere centered on the zenith, while the digital projectors would be centered at an angle 15 degrees frontward of the zenith.

The dome would rest on the supporting structure, and the auditorium seating would be within that.