List of planetariums

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This entry is a list of planetariums, including software and manufacturers. To give some idea of the number of planetariums and the difficulty in trying to list all, over fifty have been documented as having been sold to various locations in the five boroughs of New York City, ranging from one in Manhattan with a 76-foot dome that is used as a light effect in a disco to a two elementary schools in the Bronx with 12-foot domes. There are also many portable planetariums, including two on Staten Island that are privately owned, plus one in an Intermediate School. A little known model, the Aquarian, was made in the 1970s. Only about twenty are believed to have been sold, but only one of these has been tracked down, stored under the auditorium floor of an elementary school in Queens.

Contents

[edit] Planetarium

[edit] Asia

[edit] Oceania

[edit] North America

[edit] South America

[edit] Europe

[edit] Belgium

[edit] Bulgaria

[edit] Denmark

[edit] Finland

[edit] France

[edit] Germany

[edit] Greece

[edit] Hungary

[edit] Italy

[edit] Netherlands

[edit] Poland

[edit] Portugal

[edit] Russia

[edit] Slovakia

[edit] United Kingdom

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

[edit] Planetarium computer software

Since the invention of the personal computer, the planetarium concept has been extended to include software that displays a realistic sky image. Not all astronomy software can be considered to be planetarium software. While there is no generally-accepted definition of the word planetarium in this context, planetarium software generally contains the following features at a minimum:

  • A realistic sky image as seen from Earth
  • The ability to display sky motions in real-time
  • The ability to animate time changes backwards and forwards

The following is a list of currently available planetarium software:

[edit] Planetarium manufacturers

The list below gives the name of firms that have made more than five planetariums, with state they are located in if in the United States, otherwise, the nation. Included are the names of the various models offered by each firm, and an approximate total number sold for each firm. The symbol D after the total indicates the firm is no longer in business or no longer making planetariums.

  • Aquarian -- New York -- 20 D
  • Evans & Sutherland -- Utah Digistar 1, Digistar 2 -- 30, Digistar 3 -- over 120
  • E-Planetarium, Houston, Texas [27] -- Discovery Dome portable fulldome digital theater with mirror or fisheye projection, Go-Dome inflatable dome -- more than 40 in 13 countries
  • Fengfei -- China -- TX 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16 -- 50
  • Farquhar -- Pennsylvania -- 40 D
  • Galileo -- Italy -- S1, S III -- 20
  • Giambato -- Italy -- 30
  • Goto -- Japan -- EX-3, E-5, Eros, Venus, G1014, GE, GE II, GE 6, GM-AT, GS 6, GM-15, Chronos, Helios, GR-T, M-1, S-3, Super Helios -- Total is uncertain, about 400 outside Japan. It is said the Japanese government placed an EX-3 in every elementary school in Japan.
  • Hangzhou -- China -- 20
  • Jindu -- China -- J8, J10 -- 15
  • Learning Technologies -- Massachusetts -- Starlab, Digital Starlab -- over 500
  • Minolta -- Japan -- Geministar, Infinium, MO-6, MS-8, MS-10, Series II, Cosmoleap -- over 250
  • MMI Corp. -- Maryland -- Starworlds (identical to Nova Junior) or Model 6500, 7700, 8800 (identical to Apollo Portable),
  • Moscow -- Russia -- Eline, UP-2, UP-4 -- about 10
  • Planetronix -- Mexico -- about 10
  • RSA Cosmos -- France -- Cosmodyssee, SN 88, SN 95 -- 20
  • Spitz -- Pennsylvania -- A, A1, A2, A3, A3P, A3P', A4, A4RPY, A5, 373, 512, B, C, Spitz Junior (actually made under license by Harmonic Reed), Nova I or Nova Junior (Harmonic Reed under license), Nova II, Nova III, STP, STS, Spitz School -- over 500
  • TSA -- Ohio -- Emmons, TSA -- 6 D
  • Viewlex -- New York -- Apollo I, Apollo II, Apollo III, Apollo Portable -- 125 D
  • XTY -- China -- 15
  • Zeiss -- Germany -- Mark I to VI, Universarium VII to IX, ZKP-1, ZKP-2 to ZKP-4 (Skymaster), RFP (Spacemaster), Starmaster -- 400