Largest Planetarium in the Western Hemisphere Ready to Amaze and Delight

By Harrison Tasoff, Space.com Staff Writer | December 9, 2017 08:30am ET

- click for image -

https://img.purch.com/h/1400/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zcGFjZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzA3Mi8zOTIvb3JpZ2luYWwvMTEuMTcuMTdfTFNDX1BsYW5ldGFyaXVtTWFya2V0aW5nXzY0X3ByZXZpZXcuanBlZw==

The planetarium's 180-degree screen spans more than 12,000 square feet: the footprint of a four-bedroom house.
Credit: Liberty Science Center

JERSEY CITY, N.J. —The Liberty Science Center in here has unveiled the largest and most advanced planetarium in the Western Hemisphere. Space.com had the opportunity to visit the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, a cinema masterpiece poised to bring astronomy to millions in the tri-state region.

Liberty Science Center (LSC) has been showing films in its IMAX Dome Theater since 1993. But as technology advanced over the next decade and a half, the film cinema became outdated. In July 2017 after a generous donation from Jennifer Chalsty, a philanthropist and former educator, the science center began renovating the dome to turn it into a modern marvel.

Space.com was invited to view the planetarium before its doors open to the public on Saturday (Dec. 9), and we were mesmerized. The wraparound screen immersed us in the wonders of the cosmos. Planetarium director Michael Shanahan took us soaring over the geysers of Saturn's moon Enceladus, past the rings of Saturn, and stopping for a visit with NASA's Curiosity rover as it explores Mars. [Star Chart: The Virtual Reality Planetarium App]

The system's 88 million individual pixels re-created the New Jersey night sky (minus light pollution from Manhattan) in stunning detail. Shanahan pointed out Saturn, located right on the local skyline that evening. Then the theater transported us to the gas giant, settling in the planet's iconic rings. The enormous, wrap-around screen provided plenty of space for Shanahan to open up several real images of the rings — captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft — without obscuring our view of Saturn. The planet had dipped below the horizon by time the theater returned to Earth 20 minutes later, as the system's clock continued to track the time while we were away.

More:
https://www.space.com/39031-largest-planetarium-in-western-hemisphere-opens.html?utm_source=notification