Peter Harrison Planetarium facts for kids
The Peter Harrison Planetarium is a super cool place in Greenwich Park, London. It's part of the National Maritime Museum. This planetarium has 120 seats and uses amazing digital laser technology. It first opened its doors on May 25, 2007, inviting everyone to explore the universe!
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What is a Planetarium?
A planetarium is like a special theater that shows you the night sky. It can project images of stars, planets, and galaxies onto a big dome-shaped ceiling. This makes you feel like you're really out in space! It's a fantastic way to learn about astronomy and our universe.
How the Peter Harrison Planetarium Works
The Peter Harrison Planetarium uses advanced technology to create its amazing shows. It uses special software called Digistar 3. This software works with blue, red, and green lasers. It also uses something called grating light valve (GLV) technology.
These tools create a super detailed image. Imagine a tiny strip of light with 4,000 pixels! This strip moves very fast to create a huge picture. The picture is 5,000 by 4,000 pixels big. It updates 60 times every second, making everything look smooth. This image is then projected through a special fisheye lens onto the planetarium's dome. It makes the stars and planets look incredibly real!
The Building's Unique Design
The planetarium building itself is pretty special. It's shaped like a giant cone, but with the top cut off. It weighs a massive 45 tons and is covered in shiny bronze.
The building is tilted in a very specific way. The north side leans at 51.5 degrees. This angle matches the latitude of Greenwich, where it's located. The south side points straight up, towards the "zenith." The top part of the building is slanted to match the "celestial equator." This is an imaginary line in space, like Earth's equator. The building also stands very close to the famous prime meridian, just 50 meters to its east.
This unique design helps connect the building to the stars and Earth's position.
Why Was It Built?
The idea for the Peter Harrison Planetarium came from Roy Clare CBE, who was the director at the time. It was the main part of a big project called "Time and Space." This project was a huge update for the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, costing £17.7 million. The planetarium itself received a generous grant of £3.25 million from the Peter Harrison Foundation. This funding helped make the dream of a new, modern planetarium come true!
