I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy….

This of course is the old planetarium star projector, installed in 1967 when the M. D. Anderson Planetarium was first built.  The design is nearly as simple as can be:  the stars are holes of varying sizes in a metal sphere, and an arc lamp inside shines light through the holes onto the planetarium dome.  Larger stars and the Milky Way are represented by larger openings with lenses to spread the light out.

(Photo courtesy of Dr. Lisa Norgard.)

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As I promised, here is the rundown of last Saturday’s Grand Reopening.

• Over 200 people attended, consisting of all ages from babies on up
• The Chemistry Magic Shows were big successes, and got coverage in the Jackson Sun. I think the kids liked the magic shows more than anything else that went on!
• The shows and displays in the library and in Hyde Hall were well attended, and enjoyed by all.
• About 60 people came to the keynote address, presented by Lawrence Krauss, and many people had a chance to meet and talk with Prof. Krauss at the reception following the presentation

All in all, I think we had a successful day. Photos are behind the link:
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As promised, here is the installed projector. I also attempted to capture the projected images on the dome, but my little camera (alas) isn’t good enough.

The projector on its platform:

A close-up of the projector:

And of course, the crew responsible for the installation:  Tad McElroy (left) and Jared Canada!

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…is complete! I’ll post pictures of it a little later this week. In the meantime, some photos taken during the various stages of renovation can be seen by clicking on the link below:

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