Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)
Mangaluru, Apr 17:The well-awaited 3D planetarium project, despite increasing costs, has almost reached its completion and will be due to open by October this year, informed MLA JR Lobo in a press meet held his office on Monday, April 17.
"Swami Vivekananda 3D Planetarium at Dr Shivaram Karanth Biological Park in Pilikula will open its gates to the public by October this year. The planetarium is being built at the cost of Rs 35.60 crore will be named after Swami Vivekananda to mark his 150th birth anniversary happened in 2013. The planetarium will present modern inventions coupled with 3D technology, to students and science enthusiasts. The construction of the building for the 3D planetarium is almost complete," said MLA Lobo.
Given the project details he said, "Mangaluru is the first city in the country to have this facility on par with cities such as Singapore, Shanghai, Richmond in the USA, Anyong in Korea, Calgary in Canada, Bristol in UK. The 3D planetarium will be the first of its kind in India with all its technical specifications. The 3D planetarium is unique in terms of these specifications. The new Pilikula Planetarium will be unidirectional with a dome diameter of 18 meters. Around 200 seats would be fixed based on the size and type of chairs."
He further said, "Megastar IIA optical projector from Ohira Tech Japan integrated with Digistar and Active Stereo 3D 8K Digital Planetarium System from Evans and Sutherland Computer Corporation USA, is the technology included in this project. The optical Megastar star projector creates a beautiful, almost real star-field and makes planets, the sun and moon visible with the naked eye. The 8K resolution digistar system uses five Christie Mirage Projectors seamlessly blended together using E&S auto alignment and auto blending systems that will keep the imagery looking expertly aligned.
"This beautifully bright ultra high-resolution system extends the scope of the creative and scientific programmes presented. It offers the audience the first 3D full-dome experience in India. The state uses active stereo 3D glasses for exceptional 3 dimensional images that leap off the screen, creating a whole new level immersion, which is enhanced even further by the 5.1 theatre surround sound system making it the Planetarium in India. Which combines 5.1 sound with 3D vision."
There will be shows revolving around topics like Geography and History throughout the day in 2D and 3D. Shows will be held in English, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam. A special programme of 20-25 minutes on Karnataka namely 'Karnataka Darshana' will also be also included, he informed.
“Technical teams are given only 2 years warranty for these type of projects internationally, but we secured one for five years, which extended our budget of Rs 24.50 crore to Rs 35.60 crore. I am thankful to the state government for the financial help. I congratulate Minister of Science and Technology MR Sitharam and chief minister Siddaramaiah for their support towards the project. We are planning to start the trial run on September. We will handover to public on end of October with a grand inauguration. Also, we are planning a planetarium conference of an international level, and a planetarium festival on the occasion of the planetarium inauguration," Lobo concluded.