Anderson Hancock Planetarium - Marietta College

By Tom Perry

The Anderson Hancock Planetarium at Marietta College will open in the Spring 2009 semester.  
 
The planetarium, which will be an addition to the south side of Selby Hall, will encompass a star theater, lobby, light vestibule, display space, restrooms, and offices. The star theater will seat 75-88 in a 40-foot diameter dome. Computer-controlled LED lighting and surround sound will complement the state-of-the-art hybrid projection system.

As a hybrid, the projection system will be a fully integrated combination of an optical-mechanical star-field projector, with its high resolution and brightness, with a digital full-dome video projector.  Digital full-dome projection allows for the capability to zoom in on hundreds of thousands of astronomical images from sources such as the Hubble Space Telescope. It will also allow for video such that the audience will sit in the middle of any number of virtual environments, including undersea, other planets, or different geologic eras on Earth such as the time of the dinosaurs.

The lobby will incorporate seating suitable for use as student study space, and up-to-date space science programming from NASA’s ViewSpace data/video feed.