What is a planetarium?
A planetarium is a room with a dome-shaped ceiling and at the centre of the room is a star projector. The Adelaide Planetarium houses a Zeiss Jena ZPK1 star projector which projects an artificial night sky onto the eight-metre diameter domed ceiling to represent the night sky and can be used to show the position of constellations, stars and planets. The projector presents the relative position and brightness of about 5,000 stars that are visible from the Southern Hemisphere.
The Adelaide Planetarium is housed at the University of South Australia's Mawson Lakes campus on the first floor of Building P. This air-conditioned dome seats 45 people in specially designed chairs and the audience can view all parts of the artificial sky with comparative ease and comfort.
Presentations at the Planetarium
The shows (spanning some 45 minutes - 1 hour) involve a demonstrator giving a live presentation about the solar system, stars and constellations and other interesting objects found in the night sky. Unlike other planetariums that simply project a movie onto the dome, the Adelaide Planetarium gives visitors the unique experience of highly qualified presenters to take you on a journey into outer space.
Visitors learn about the origins of the star and constellation names, utilising indigenous as well as traditional star lore and mythology. Particular emphasis is placed on the names of stars and constellations, a description of what you could see if you went outside on a clear night.
The shows gives an insight into the splendour of the night sky. Visitors are encouraged to ask questions throughout the presentation allowing a large degree of involvement for the audience. Our presenters will tailor the presentation to suit the audience so whether 5 or 85, there is something for everyone at the Adelaide Planetarium.
The Planetarium Advantage
The Planetarium offers many advantages over star gazing outdoors. Outdoor observers must contend with the cold, cloud cover, unwanted light from streetlights, the moon and the city glow in general. In the air conditioned dome at the Adelaide Planetarium the audience can view all parts of the artificial sky with comparative ease.
The Planetarium projector can be utilised to show concepts such as:
- Common easily distinguished southern hemisphere constellations
- Common and useful stars and planets
- Finding directions by the stars
- Positions of the stars at different times of the year
- The Milky Way and the centre of our galaxy
- Effect of city glow on observations
- Planets and the ecliptic
All shows are by appointment only, except for advertised open to the public sessions.
The Planetarium also offers a range of special courses open to the public with an interest in astronomy and range from beginner to advanced.
Please note: the images within this site are provided as information and insight into what can be viewed in space not necessarily viewed within the Planetarium.