A space trip made easy: history and use of planetariums
Humans have always wondered what it is like in space. They marvel at the brightness of the stars and they ponder the question of the existence of other beings. They know that solar system events such as falling comets and asteroids have changed the world from time to time, and that ancient civilizations actually lived their daily lives by what they saw in the sky. Today's children accept visiting other planets as a normal activity and many aspire to be astronauts. In fact, in recent years, there has been talk of a public transport that will provide trips to outer space similar to airline travel. Still, much mystery remains in space, but one thing that has been constant throughout the ages is the existence and use of planetariums. So, if you cannot afford the thousands of dollars to take a ride into space, let's make a space trip easy by discussing the history and use of planetariums.
Undeniably, planetariums are very old. Historians, archaeologists and astronomers date them as far back as 1600BC, but concede that no-one really knows when the first one was built. One of the reasons it is so difficult to know is that a planetarium can be anything that depicts the heavens and the stars, that which is known as the planetary system. The word planetarium can also refer to the building in which equipment is housed to project images of the sky. Thus, today, we know planetariums as buildings with projectors, yet many thousands of years ago, planetariums could have been nothing more than depictions of the skies on various objects. In fact, an example of an early planetarium was found on a bronze ball, called the Nebra Disk, and was determined to be about 3600 years old at the time of discovery in 2000. Other gadgets, vehicles, and objects have been labeled planetariums by modern day professionals.
In regards to planetariums as buildings, one of the first recorded structures was a tent with holes in the roof fashioned after the sky and sewn by Arab craftsmen. It is said to have been made in the early 1200s and allowed lookers to view the sky in the daytime. It is believed that for the next several hundred years, many types of globes, domes and enclosures like this were made representing planetariums. All of these stationary types of planetariums were replaced, however, in the early 1900s with a building and a projector. Furthermore, although Oskar von Miller invented the idea in 1903, it did not come to fruition until 1923 when the Deutsches Museum München planetarium was opened using the Carl Zeiss Model I projector technology. Understandably, the world was fascinated and this became the planetarium of the future.
By 1930, the first planetarium in the United States opened in Chicago, Illinois called The Adler Planetarium. It still operates today, and has a prestigious history including a rare collection of artifacts from relevant topics in engineering, navigation, time keeping, and astronomy. At the time, many more cities in North America wanted planetariums, but the technology was cost prohibitive. Consequently, a new system was devised by H. Spencer Lewis and in 1936, the The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and Planetarium in San Hose, California was opened to the public. But, the price of planetarium technology was still high, and few individuals and organizations could afford the equipment.
As more people clamored to view the skies through the use of planetariums, it became obvious to Armand Neustadter Spitz that a cheaper system was required in order for the masses to benefit from the beauty and practicality of local planetariums. A reporter by trade, Spitz became interested in celestial navigation and aspects of astronomy. He started building astronomical instruments and teaching astronomy. By 1947, he had perfected a system to use that was applauded by the American Association of Variable Star Observers and the Bond Astronomical Society. It was called the Spitz Model A, and many universities, colleges and schools ordered one for their own facilities. By the 1960s, major centers all over Canada and the US had their own planetariums. Spitz's work continued to evolve and today planetariums worldwide use his projector system, the most current called the Spitz System 512 and 1024. In fact, the company now boasts over 1200 planetariums worldwide operating with Spitz equipment in one version or another.
What is curious about planetariums is that they do not have to be identical. Because of the variables of the technology displays, the different aspects of space, and the positions of the heavenly bodies, it means that many different shows can be offered for viewing. For example, some planetariums customize their shows according to age. This means that schools can organize trips for different grades so that the children can understand at their own levels. Likewise, the shows might provide information on the history of constellations according to Native legends or may offer information on how the planetary system was formed. A show generally follows a particular theme and the beginning to end is traced as a story.
Often, planetariums are attached to museums and the admission is included in one fee. For planetariums in universities, a small ticket price is asked, but group pricing is always provided. Students of the school usually only need to show their identification cards for entry. The idea behind planetariums was to educate the masses. For this reason, it has been relatively cheap and in some instances, free, to enter a planetarium.
Unquestionably, it is an awe-inspiring experience to view a show in a planetarium. As soon as one walks in the door, the feeling is indescribable. The darkness coupled with the brightness of the lights that represent the stars creates a vast area, an abyss that seems to go on forever. One is pulled into the mysterious and fantastical happenings of the universe. The cosmos is a reality for the duration of the show. And then, upon debarking, one can only speculate that she/he had been transported to another realm or a far away galaxy.
Indeed, the experience was truly a space trip made easy!