New digital projector allows MSUM’s Planetarium to expand programming
By: Sam Benshoof, INFORUM
MOORHEAD – The farthest reaches of the universe are now closer than ever for the Fargo-Moorhead area.
Over the weekend, the Minnesota State University Moorhead Planetarium, on campus in Bridges Hall, installed a new $60,000 Elumenati digital projector.
The projector, coupled with special Uniview scientific software, provides the opportunity for the planetarium to expand its programming beyond what was previously possible.
The planetarium’s current projector was installed in 1972, and although it is still in good working condition, its capabilities are limited, said Planetarium Coordinator David Weinrich.
The new projector’s images are generated by a computer, and then are projected onto the planetarium’s dome by a fisheye lens. The old projector didn’t use the full space provided by the dome, Weinrich said.
All the positions of planets, asteroids, moons or even spacecraft are calculated by the computer. Files also get updated as new information becomes available.
The operator of the projector is able to move through the database of information, traveling from the cozy confines of planet Earth out into the farthest edge of the known universe.
That’s a distance of 13.7 billion light-years.
“Once we get started, we can stop at Mars, or we can go out to one of the asteroids,” Weinrich said. “You could spend many, many hours looking at things along the way.”
The projector can also be used for other fields, such as chemistry, physics, geosciences, Earth science and more.
Or the system could be used to explore local issues. Images could be downloaded to explore flooding in the Red River Valley region, Weinrich said.
While the project will mostly be used to look outward, it has the potential to be used to look inward as well. Software could be developed that would take the user down into the smallest units of life, such as a human cell.
The projector will also be able to play movies that have been warped to fit the dimensions of the dome. Anything shot or photographed with a fish-eye lens can be displayed through the projector onto the dome.
In that way, Weinrich said it’s almost like watching a movie at an iMax movie theater.
“Anything that you can make a film of, or write software for, can be used with the projector,” Weinrich said.
While the projector may be standard for larger planetariums, Weinrich said progress has been made in the past decade to make the technology more available for smaller operations.
The planetarium will be hosting a Christmas show called “Season of Light,” which will explore the use of light in different cultures.
The university also plans several open houses for the planetarium and the new projector, starting next weekend. Public shows will begin not long after, using full-dome programming.
Weinrich is excited about what the new projector and software means for visitors to the planetarium.
“They’re pretty compelling images,” he said of the project. “I’m excited about the opportunity to take people to places in the universe that they can’t visit personally.”