Abrams Planetarium facts for kids

Abrams Planetarium is a cool place at Michigan State University (MSU) in Michigan, United States. It's where you can learn all about space, stars, and planets! It's a special part of MSU's Physics and Astronomy Department, helping everyone learn about the universe.

Discovering the Universe: The Planetarium's Story

The Abrams Planetarium first opened its doors in 1963. Since then, over a million people have visited to explore the wonders of space! This amazing place is dedicated to teaching everyone about astronomy (the study of space).

The planetarium is named after Talbert Abrams and his wife, Leota. Talbert was a pioneer in taking pictures from airplanes, and Leota helped the university with donations. The building has been updated many times, with the latest changes happening in 1995.

Who Was Talbert Abrams?

Talbert Abrams was born in Michigan on August 17, 1896. When he was young, he worked with airplanes in different states. In 1916, he graduated from Curtiss Aviation School. He even got his pilot's license signed by Orville Wright!

In 1917, Talbert joined the US Marines. He took aerial photographs (pictures from planes) to help during wartime. After leaving the Marines in 1920, he started his own company, ABC Airlines. This company later became Abrams Aerial Survey Corporation. He also created Abrams Instrument Corporation, which made special high-tech cameras for aerial photography.

During World War II, he designed special planes called the Abrams P-1 Explorer and Explorer II. After he retired in 1961, he and his wife traveled all over the world, visiting 96 countries! Talbert Abrams passed away on August 16, 1990.

Exploring the Planetarium: What's Inside?

The Abrams Planetarium has three main areas for visitors to enjoy:

• The exhibit hall
• The black light gallery
• The sky theater

The Exhibit Hall

When you first walk in, you enter the exhibit hall. This large area is about 3,000 square feet. It has cool displays like pictures of space, different kinds of telescopes, and globes of Earth and the Moon. It's also where you wait for shows and can visit the gift shop to find space-themed souvenirs.

The Black Light Gallery

Next, you can explore the black light gallery. This is a curved hallway filled with amazing astronomical images. These pictures are painted with special fluorescent paint and glow under ultraviolet (black) lights, making them look like they're floating in space!

The Sky Theater

The sky theater is the main attraction! It's a big room with a fifty-foot wide dome above you. The inside of the dome is made of white, perforated aluminum. This dome acts as the giant screen where all the space shows are projected.

The theater can hold 150 people. Each seat is tilted at a slightly different angle. This makes sure that everyone has the best view of the dome, no matter where they sit! The control console, where the shows are run from, is at the back of the theater.

Amazing Projectors: Bringing Space to Life

The planetarium has used different advanced projectors over the years to show us the universe.

The Spitz Projector (1963-1993)

When the planetarium first opened, it used a Spitz Intermediate Space Transit Planetarium projector. This projector was very advanced for its time! It was much lighter than other projectors, which allowed it to move in unique ways.

The Spitz projector used lights and lenses to create the night sky. It had a star map on each end, with 4,000 tiny holes to represent stars. Bright xenon gas lamps inside lit up these holes. It could even show the movements of the five planets you can see without a telescope: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The Spitz projector was used for 30 years before it was retired in 1993.

The Digistar II Projector (1993-2014)

In 1993, the Abrams Planetarium got a new Evans and Sutherland Digistar projection system. This was later upgraded to a Digistar II in 1999. This projector was completely based on computer graphics!

It used a special seven-inch flat screen with a "fish eye" lens. This lens magnified and focused the image onto the curved dome ceiling. The Digistar II could create very detailed images with a resolution of 8000 by 8000 pixels. Its computer could make shapes and perspectives change quickly, creating the feeling of flying through space, like zooming through our Solar System!

The Digistar 5 Projector (2014-Present)

In August 2014, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the Digistar II was replaced with an even newer system: the Digistar 5. This is a "fulldome" digital system. It uses two digital projectors placed on opposite sides of the dome.

The new Digistar 5 system shows everything in full color. It can play amazing animated videos that fill the entire dome, making you feel like you're right there in space. It can also:

• Show a realistic night sky
• Let you "fly" through the universe
• Import 3-D models of space objects
• Display high-resolution maps of Earth and Mars

This system has a super clear projection resolution of 4K, making the images incredibly sharp and detailed!

Public Services: Learning About Space

The planetarium offers several ways for the public to learn about space.

Sky Calendar

One popular service is the Sky Calendar. This is a sheet released each month that shows you where to find the Moon, planets, and zodiacal constellations (star patterns) in the night sky. Over 10,000 people subscribe to it! It has even appeared in magazines like Science and Children and received awards from astronomy publications.

Capitol Area Astronomy Association

The planetarium also hosts monthly meetings for the Capitol Area Astronomy Association. This is a group of people who love astronomy as a hobby. They meet to share their passion and learn more about the universe together.

Shows and Programs: What Can You See?

The Abrams Planetarium offers public programs all year long. You can catch shows on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. After evening shows, if the sky is clear, you might even get to go outside and look at the real stars and planets through telescopes!

The planetarium also has special programs for groups. These include shows designed for:

• Preschoolers
• Kindergartners through fifth graders
• Sixth graders and older
• Home school groups