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Launceston Planetarium
at QVMAG at Royal Park
(last
updated 28 June 2009)e
The
Launceston Planetarium has closed its doors at the
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery at Royal Park, in order to
commence its move to the Inveresk site of QVMAG.
The move of the Planetarium is in keeping with plans to refit Inveresk
with a science focus and to convert the Royal Park site into a world-class
Fine and Decorative Art Gallery.
Over the 40 years of its operation, some 200,000 people have passed
through its doors and enjoyed gazing at the wonders of the artificial
night sky produced by the Zeiss projector and many other special
effect projectors.
While the Planetarium is temporarily closed, QVMAG’s Planetarium
and Space Sciences Manager, Martin George, and Planetarium Assistant
Chris Arkless will continue to respond to astronomical enquiries,
and will also take the opportunity to perform vital equipment maintenance
and develop new shows ready for the reopening at Inveresk.
The public will also be able to keep informed of upcoming astronomical
events via Martin George’s weekly articles.
The reopening date of the Planetarium is still to be announced,
but it is expected the public can look forward to new shows in 2009,
the International Year of Astronomy.
Comet McNaught, the brightest
comet for over 40 years, photographed near Launceston by Martin
George on 22 January 2007.
The Launceston Planetarium presents shows on many aspects of astronomy.
You will see the southern night sky projected onto a domed ceilng
with additional special visual effects and commentary. The planetarium
projector displays the stars visible to the unaided eye from the
southern hemisphere, and simulates the apparent motion of the stars
as the Earth rotates. The effect is so realistic, it is like being
out under the stars!
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