2008 Woodie Awards
New $400,000 projector showcases capabilities at Planetarium event
DISPLAY: Of six in the world, our Chronos projector demonstrates at public debut.
James Wallace
Issue date: 3/24/05 Section: News
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The old projector has been disassembled and stored above the Planetarium.
The last projector held only about 1,500 stars and had only two available constellation outlines, which remained the same for about 35 years.
"We can go anywhere to see the sky. It's a good educational tool for future generations," Chris Hwang, music major, said.
Other aspects of the projector include its program abilities to simulate types of astronomical phenomena.
Examples include a simulated meteor shower, viewing the path of a man-made satellite's orbit, an Aurora Borealis simulator, examining orbits of planets in our own galaxy, other galaxies and environmental fixes, such as adding clouds or altering light pollution effects in an area.
The projector can also simulate time travel and how the sky would have looked like in this area 12,000 years ago or up to 12,000 years into the future by inputting a specific date.
"This projector is important because many people at El Camino have never been outside of Los Angeles and don't know what the whole sky looks like," Perry Hacking, astronomy professor, said.
Though this technological advancement has put the facilities on the map, there is a lack of people who can manage the equipment for its display, limiting its viewing opportunities to mostly astronomy students.
The addition of a planetarium manager could increase these opportunities so that others could get to see the shows.
"We need a planetarium manager so that it can be opened on the weekends for fun and educational shows," Hacking said.
The last projector held only about 1,500 stars and had only two available constellation outlines, which remained the same for about 35 years.
"We can go anywhere to see the sky. It's a good educational tool for future generations," Chris Hwang, music major, said.
Other aspects of the projector include its program abilities to simulate types of astronomical phenomena.
Examples include a simulated meteor shower, viewing the path of a man-made satellite's orbit, an Aurora Borealis simulator, examining orbits of planets in our own galaxy, other galaxies and environmental fixes, such as adding clouds or altering light pollution effects in an area.
The projector can also simulate time travel and how the sky would have looked like in this area 12,000 years ago or up to 12,000 years into the future by inputting a specific date.
"This projector is important because many people at El Camino have never been outside of Los Angeles and don't know what the whole sky looks like," Perry Hacking, astronomy professor, said.
Though this technological advancement has put the facilities on the map, there is a lack of people who can manage the equipment for its display, limiting its viewing opportunities to mostly astronomy students.
The addition of a planetarium manager could increase these opportunities so that others could get to see the shows.
"We need a planetarium manager so that it can be opened on the weekends for fun and educational shows," Hacking said.