2008 Woodie Awards
Newly upgraded planetarium opens to campus audience
Aaron Swenson
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News
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While billions of stars continue to light up the sky on planet Earth, the stars in the sky at SCSU's planetarium were fading away.
Therefore, renovation of the planetarium, located in room 24 in the basement of the Robert H. Wick Science Building, was needed.
"The technology design for the planetarium was made in the 1950s, and we are now in 2007, so that gives you an idea of what the situation has been like," said planetarium director and assistant professor of physics, astronomy and engineering science, David L. Williams.
The SCSU planetarium has been teaching its audience about all the bright wonders in the complex universe for the past 35 years in the same facility, and May 21, 2007, the first upgrades since opening its doors in 1973 were made when the planetarium was closed for construction.
"Let me take you back into history," Williams said. "This building was built in 1973, and a year or two before that, my predecessor Ben Moore lobbied for a planetarium, and he got it. It has not been updated since then."
The dome, the area in which the light is projected to make the images, was updated with new air vents, which are used to keep the images clear and crisp.
Also, a new projector, named CHRONOS, has been placed within the dome.
After a year and a half of research, Williams decided on purchasing CHRONOS.
It then took an additional eight to nine months to set up for SCSU's specifications.
It is a rare piece of machinery, and SCSU is one of 15 establishments in the world which has this type of system.
While it is a unique piece of machinery, it is possible for any student to learn how to run CHRONOS.
After all new additions have been made, it is projected to cost a total of $790,000.
Williams said the money, which is given to SCSU by the state, was available before this summer, but the project was put on hold until now.
The original projector was capable of projecting 3,500 images, while the new projector consists of 8,500 stars, 24 constellations, the Milky Way, other galaxies and many new special effects.
Therefore, renovation of the planetarium, located in room 24 in the basement of the Robert H. Wick Science Building, was needed.
"The technology design for the planetarium was made in the 1950s, and we are now in 2007, so that gives you an idea of what the situation has been like," said planetarium director and assistant professor of physics, astronomy and engineering science, David L. Williams.
The SCSU planetarium has been teaching its audience about all the bright wonders in the complex universe for the past 35 years in the same facility, and May 21, 2007, the first upgrades since opening its doors in 1973 were made when the planetarium was closed for construction.
"Let me take you back into history," Williams said. "This building was built in 1973, and a year or two before that, my predecessor Ben Moore lobbied for a planetarium, and he got it. It has not been updated since then."
The dome, the area in which the light is projected to make the images, was updated with new air vents, which are used to keep the images clear and crisp.
Also, a new projector, named CHRONOS, has been placed within the dome.
After a year and a half of research, Williams decided on purchasing CHRONOS.
It then took an additional eight to nine months to set up for SCSU's specifications.
It is a rare piece of machinery, and SCSU is one of 15 establishments in the world which has this type of system.
While it is a unique piece of machinery, it is possible for any student to learn how to run CHRONOS.
After all new additions have been made, it is projected to cost a total of $790,000.
Williams said the money, which is given to SCSU by the state, was available before this summer, but the project was put on hold until now.
The original projector was capable of projecting 3,500 images, while the new projector consists of 8,500 stars, 24 constellations, the Milky Way, other galaxies and many new special effects.