Projector casts new light on stars

JASON OXENHAM/Central Leader

STARRY-EYED: Stardome chief executive Craig Garner with a view of Earth and the International Space Station displayed in the new digital planetarium.

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Staff at Auckland’s Stardome Observatory are seeing the universe from a whole new perspective.

The planetarium’s new $2 million digital projector has been installed and opens to the public next week.

"The fact we’ve got the whole known universe mapped in 3D is quite a powerful tool," says chief executive Craig Garner.

"But it’s quite a steep learning curve to learn how to fly it."

The observatory replaced its ageing Zeiss projector with help from the ASB Trust, the Lion Foundation and Auckland City Council.

Funding came after a public campaign inviting Aucklanders to sign up to a Save Our Stars website.

"I think the remarkable show of support from the public certainly gave us the confidence that we were doing the right thing.

"It meant our potential funders knew this was something the city of Auckland held in high regard," Mr Garner says.

He says the Stardome’s 10-year-old projector was fast becoming obsolete, putting the planetarium’s future in doubt.

"The old technology we had was on its last legs," Mr Garner says.

"To bring in different images required several different slides, it was a costly and laborious process."

The new projector will screen a wider range of digital astronomy shows in the 360-degree dome theatre.

Presenters can navigate their way around the universe, customising the material for local audiences.

"New Zealand is unique in that we look at a large part of the sky that the rest of the world can’t see," Mr Garner says.

And there’s potential for other uses, including screening special dome films.

"New Zealand is obviously renowned for thinking outside the square when it comes to film producing, so it would be great for us to produce a dome film to present to the world," he says.

The new projector had an enthusiastic reception from a test audience of schoolchildren, says marketing manager Victoria McArthur.

"The screams and whoops were just amazing," Ms McArthur says.

"We can really get them excited about astronomy and science."

The planetarium is open to the public every day from April 1, with three to four shows every night.

- © Fairfax NZ News