Year later, revamped planetarium to open gates

 Kolkata: The Birla Planetarium, the largest planetarium in Asia and the second largest in the world, will open its gates for visitors in mid-2017.

The planetarium, a dome-sized circular structure resembling the Buddhist Stupa, began featuring shows that highlighted different aspects of the solar system, different constellations and cosmic events such as the eclipse in 1962.

The planetarium’s popularity grew each year and by 2014 it had received a footfall of more than 6.5 lakh visitors a year.

The planetarium will now boast of a state-of-the-art hybrid projection system, which was acquired from German manufacturer Carl Zeiss, known for advanced optical systems in the world.

“The opto-mechanical projection system, which is supported by nine advanced digital projectors with extremely high resolution, will create a unique immersive environment of cosmic relevance.

“The projection system will present the image of the night sky just as seen from the naked eyes,” Debiprasad Duari, director, research and academics of MP Birla Planetarium said.

“The projection system has been installed and we are now calibrating it. In fact, we are overhauling the entire look and utility services for offering a new experience to the skygazers of the city and the country,” Mr Duari said.

The shows at the planetarium will offer an opportunity to visitors to see latest discoveries in astronomy. The planetarium will help in research.

The shows will be of 35 minutes duration, with new seating arrangement also part of the revamp. Shows will be held in three languages —Bengali, Hindi and English.

The entire building is undergoing a renovation process. The total cost of the renovation and overhaul of the planetarium is estimated at Rs 40 crore.