The Nehru Planetarium at Worli in Mumbai completes 45 years this week.
The planetarium was inaugurated on March 3, 1977 by then Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi.
Over the years, this has grown into a Centre for astronomy and space science outreach.
Nearly 90 years have passed by after the first Planetarium was built and served as a visual aid in learning astronomy,” said Suhas Naik-Satam, General Secretary, National Centre for Science Communicators.
Nehru Planetarium has so far created thirty-five astronomical presentations; twenty-eight of them by using the Carl Zeiss Mark IV Universal Projector. “Over 14 million people have viewed and enjoyed these shows,” said Satam, former Programme Coordinator (Scientific), Nehru Planetarium.
On the complexities of a planetarium, Satam said: “Creating a planetarium programme is more of an art than science. It involves the interaction of scientists, artists, communicators, musicians, technicians like sound recordists, photographers and a host of others. First the theme is chosen, and then a team of researchers collect basic information. It is checked and re-checked and a preliminary script is written. This is then tested in the planetarium dome for its feasibility and operational convenience.”
Some of the programmes that the Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai produced include: Tryst with Destiny, Galileo to Galileo, Cosmic Life, This Violent Universe, 4000 B.C. to 2000 A.D. – Evolution of Astronomy, Universe in Seven Steps, Comets to Stars, Secret Life Of Stars, Stars In the LimeLight, Hide and Seek in the Sky, Fireworks in Space and others.
Among the outreach activities of Nehru Planetarium is the dissemination of information in astronomy through the concept of the “Mini Planetarium". This planetarium on wheels consists of a projector capable of projecting 960 stars in a collapsible dome. Being portable and compact it can readily be set up in any classroom of area 150 square feet and can accommodate a class of 30-40 students.
The mobile exhibitions on Astronomy together with a portable Mini-Planetarium are sent out to village and district towns to reach and serve a wider cross-section of the people.
Telescopes are kept outside the planetarium for watching the night sky. These telescopes are also being taken to various places, particularly villages.
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