Eastern Kentucky University's Hummel Planetarium has undergone a significant facelift.
Re-opening ceremonies were staged Thursday highlighting $160 thousand in equipment upgrades expected to make the 27-year-old facility more attractive to students and the general public.
The planetarium's new system uses a high-tech array of projectors and computers. EKU Physics and Astronomy Department Chair Tony Blose says the new equipment will benefit students of all ages. "When you show them visually what you're telling them or trying to demonstrate to them, particularly with the level of sophistication of this technology, they're gonna be just knocked out," said Blose.
Blose foresees a significant increase in college level lecturing in the re-done planetarium. Additional seating has raised the facility's capacity to 194.
The projectors, lenses, graphics computers, and software work together to maximize image quality and performance.
EKU Planetarium Manager James Hughes says it's now a whole new view of space. "The old system was a very mechanical system. It even had slide projectors, if you could imagine that from back in the day. It took like seven slide projectors to make one big scene sometimes. Well, this in here involved six video projectors that ties everything together seamlessly," said Hughes.
In addition to the featured programs, the upgrades provide an evening night sky demonstration. ?
