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Welcome to the PlanetariumsClub!
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General
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 This online encyclopedia is a large sample of comprehensive data offering you a possibility to find any information about planetaria. You are given lots of information about space theaters, projection techniques, history, and new developments. Dates of general interest like international conferences and meetings are updated as soon as announced. Our objective is to point out the important role that planetaria play when bringing astronomical knowledge from the scientific frontiers to the public. On these pages you will find inspiration for new projects that may help you to attract visitors and guide them through the fascinating sites of our Universe. If you still miss anything, don't hesitate to contact us.
Have a lot of fun!
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Origins of the planetarium
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History
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 The evolution of the planetarium has come on by two different ways reaching back to antiquity. On one hand, it was the precise reproduction of the starry sky on celestial charts and globes. On the other hand, it is the simulation of the planetary system, in particular: the motion of the planets back and forth in time. The combination of both was accomplished, when small clock-like devices came up in the 16th century. Now, we call these toys "Orreries", named after the IV. Earl of Orrery. The meaning for the modern term "planetarium" has altered, since Walther Bauersfeld at Carl Zeiss invented a projector to image the sky on a spherical dome. Today, the planetarium is an important tool for education. Also, it offers a playground for theater and radio plays, music, spare time, and cultural events. The main purpose still is and will remain the incitement for scientific topics.
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General
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 There are more than 3,200 planetaria worldwide. The largest ones impress with an extraordinary architecture. In most cases, the domes are giant hemispheres, but pyramids and cylindrical forms are also realized for their outer shell. The largest spherical building is considered to be the Globe Arena in Stockholm (built in 1989, diameter: 110 m, capacity: 16.000 spectators). However, it is not a real planetarium, since it has no astronomical deployment. It is assigned to perform sporting or cultural events instead. The number of large planetaria having a dome size of more than 18 meters is 196. Most of these are located in Japan (73 institutions), USA (35), Germany (9), China and Mexico (7 each) and Canada (5). Large planetaria exist in 46 countries.
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General
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 Astronomy is one of the oldest of the sciences, and in certain aspects the "noblest". A rather young field is also space science that explores the technical abilities to bring us closer to the Cosmos. Children are impressed by both branches, when they develop their own identity and get confronted with the view of the world. Astronomy is a starting point for many other topics in natural science. While the planetarium fascinates with the starry sky and great show effects, a science center practices related phenomena in physics, chemistry, and biology. The combination of a Planetarium and a Science Center is close at hand. In North America, where more than 500 Science Centers exist, this is already realised and several European contries do the same, e.g. La Villette in Paris, Thinktank in Birmingham, or Heureka in Helsinki. In Germany, the Deutsches Museum in Munich has an integrated planetarium, but it is considered a semi-classical museum with one floor for interactive chemical experiments. More information on Science Centers in Germany can be found at: http://www.science-musem.de/.
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International Planetarium Society
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Organisations
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 The International Planetarium Society (IPS) is the largest association of professionals and non-professionals related to a planetarium. It operates worldwide and takes care of various aspects in the planetarium business: coordination of events, motivation of staff and improvement of strategies. It was founded in 1970. One of the main tasks is to organise an international conference which is held in a 2-year's intervall where the members can exchange their knowledge. Also, a quaterly journal "The Planetarian" is published. Several commitees of the IPS are connected to special areas of interest, e.g. the publications, the portable planetarium, the fulldome, the internet, or technology commitee.
URL: http://www.ips-planetarium.org/
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