Largest digital & hybrid planetarium in the Gulf region opens in United Arab Emirates

April 22, 2015 - PRLog -- On April 29th a state-of the-art Colorspace planetarium opens in the newly built Sharjah Center for Astronomy and Space Sciences in the United Arab Emirates. About 35 kilometers from Dubai, an 18.5 meter hemispherical dome screen will awe up to 200 visitors at the time with tours through the universe, planet exploration and night sky observation.

The new planetarium is a Colorspace theater, a solution designed and installed by Swedish fulldome company Sciss and its Dubai-based engineering partner Visuals Attraction. The whole project is envisioned by His Highness Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qasimi, and will be the largest digital and hybrid planetarium in the Gulf region.

“Realizing this project has been an extraordinary team effort. Through the trust invested in us, we have coordinated an international team of experts and delivered everything from theater design, system integration, digital and optical projection and show production. I’m convinced that the planetarium and center will be an obvious visitor attraction in the region”, says Staffan Klashed, CEO at Sciss.

The Colorspace theater solution is comprised of projection system, servers, software, dome screen, lighting, audio, and interior. The projection system integrates 7 digital projectors with an opto-mechanical star projector. The star projector, a Megastar II-A model manufactured by Ohira Tech from Japan, is placed in the center of the dome and provides a brilliant star field with over 10 million individual stars.

The 7-projector digital system will display an image that corresponds to closer to 20 million pixels across the dome, resulting in a perfectly realistic and colorful experience. The software supporting the system is Sciss’s award winning Uniview fulldome software, a platform that visualizes real scientific data curated by scientist from around the world, hence allowing the audience to digitally fly through the observable universe, visit planets – and even fly inside the human brain. The software also allows immediate switching between live presentations and traditional pre-rendered fulldome films.

The planetarium dome screen is designed with a gentle 10 degree tilt, a carefully made design choice.

“We chose a slight tilt and a low spring line to optimize the viewing experience – this increases the immersive audience experience while at the same time keeping the similarities of being outdoors under a real night sky”, Staffan Klashed explains.

And it’s not just the inside of the planetarium that is worth a visit. The circular planetarium building is surrounded by gardens covering not less than 40,000 square meters. Together, the garden and the planetarium represents the solar system, where the planetarium building with its golden ceramic roof symbolizes the sun in the center. The garden is located within the area of University City of Sharjah.

An opening event of the Sharjah Center for Astronomy and Space Sciences will be held on April 29th, where His Highness Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qasimi himself will host the ceremony.