Technology in the New Sudekum Planetarium
They say it's easier to destroy than to create. In fact it only took one day to completely flatten the old Sudekum Planetarium. Then, it took an entire year to build the new wing and planetarium structure. After that, seven weeks to erect the planetarium dome, and four more months to install the planetarium equipment.
The old planetarium housed a Spitz 512 star projector, one CRT video projector, and 36 slide projectors under a 40 foot diameter dome that seated 116. The Spitz 512 produced stars by shining light through tiny pinpoint holes in the surface of a hollow metal ball. It produced a total of 2,534 stars, and could reproduce the motions of the Sun, Moon, and planets through a series of mechanical "analogs." The Spitz 512 served us ably for over 30 years, but technology has advanced greatly over time, and now we can provide a far more flexible, realistic, and beautiful view of the night sky.
The new Sudekum Planetarium's dome is 63 feet in diameter and seats 166. In the center is a GOTO Chiron Hybrid star projector. The Chiron's starball is 28 inches in diameter - just as small as that of the Spitz 512. However, the Chiron is able to produce 6.5 million stars on the dome. Light from a special lamp passes through fiber optic bundles to the painstakingly etched star plates. The starfield is then projected through a complex optical path of lenses, iris, and digital shutters. The Chiron's stars are crisp, sharp, and bright.
Chiron provides views of the Sun, Moon, and planets by way of optical projectors shining on mirrors. The mirrors are motorized and can direct the image nearly anywhere on the dome. Where were the planets a thousand years ago? Press a few buttons, and the entire Chiron system will show you in seconds. (It would take a technician a couple hours perched on a ladder adjusting dials and mechanisms to perform the same task on the Spitz 512 star projector.)
Sudekum's Chiron star projector is the first of its kind in the United States. Its serial number is 4 - the first three are installed in Japan.
The new planetarium also features the Digistar 3 fulldome projection system from Evans and Sutherland. The Digistar 3 provides digital graphics which can cover the entire dome with full color, high-resolution imagery, from horizon to horizon. The system uses two Sony SXRD video projectors, originally developed for digital cinema, blended together to put 12 million pixels on our dome. By comparison, a modern HD television can display just over 2 million pixels.
Digistar 3 allows us to present dynamic fulldome presentations like our inaugural program STARS, but combined with the GOTO Chiron, it becomes even more powerful. While the GOTO Chiron provides sharp and brilliant stars, the Digistar 3 system can provide constellation figures, labels, and other sky guides. The two systems are seamlessly integrated: when the Chiron stars move, constellation figures from Digistar 3 move too, keeping perfect alignment. At a single button press, the digital system can replace Chiron's sharp bright planets with large, zoomed-in animated views. New comets, asteroids, spacecraft, and more can be added to Digistar's massive database.
Thirteen computers work together to provide this awesome visual experience. Meanwhile, nine amplifiers drive five speaker clusters and two subwoofers to create 16,000 watts of 5.1 surround sound.
With an optical star projector and fulldome digital projection working in tandem, the Sudekum Planetarium staff has an arsenal for providing inspiring, exciting, and educational programs. We hope you'll join us under our beautiful new night sky!
In addition to the long time support of the Sudekum Memorial Trust and a significant gift from the James Stephen Turner Family Foundation, we would like to gratefully acknowledge the generous grants from:
NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Hunstville, Alabama, and
NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, Ohio
These funds made it possible to purchase the state of the art, world-class technology within the Sudekum Planetarum, which will be used for years to come to inspire, engage, and educate visitors of all ages about the worlds around us.
