Birla Planetarium, Kolkata

The Birla Planetarium in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, is a single-storeyed circular structure designed in the typical Indian style, whose architecture is loosely styled on the Buddhist Stupa at Sanchi.^[1] Situated at Chowringhee Road adjacent to the Victoria Memorial, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the Maidan in South Kolkata, it is the largest planetarium in Asia^[2] and the second largest planetarium in the world.^[3] There are two other Birla Planetariums in India: B.M. Birla Planetarium in Chennai and the Birla Planetarium in Hyderabad.

Popularly known as taramandal, the planetarium was inaugurated on 2 July 1963^[4] by the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. It has an electronics laboratory for design and fabrication of science equipment. It has an astronomy gallery that maintains a huge collection of fine paintings and celestial models of renowned astronomers. The Planetarium also has an astronomical observatory equipped with a Celestron C-14 Telescope with accessories such as ST6 CCD camera and solar filter. It offers to the public and students more than 100 astronomical projects dealing with various facts of astronomy, astro-physics, Space Science as well as myths concerning stars and planets. It has a capacity of 680.

Daily programs are conducted in English, Bengali and Hindi from 12:00 to 19:00 hrs. Programs are occasionally conducted in Oriya, Tamil and Gujarati, as well.^[5] Extra shows are arranged on holidays. The Planetarium was constructed by ML Dalmiya & Co. which is owned by Board of Control for Cricket in India President Jagmohan Dalmiya.

See also

• M. P. Birla Institute of Fundamental Research

References

External links

• Media related to Birla Planetarium, Kolkata at Wikimedia Commons

Kolkata/Maidan travel guide from Wikivoyage

Template:Kolkata-geo-stub