The Digital Planetarium
A sky simulator
The planetarium is a projection room that reproduces the sky.
In this unique, high-tech environment, science puts a show on, staging exciting images that are reconstructed, however real they may seem. Take a dip and enjoy the wonderful immersive three-D effects.
The planetarium combines two key ingredients: a digital projection system, designed to reproduce the sky and celestial motions, and a semispherical screen.
Clic an drag the photo to see the Planetarium dome
The Planetarium technology
Our Infini.to Planetarium uses a Evans & Sutherland’s Digistar 6 projection system, one of the most advanced technologies in the world.
The system pools 9 computers, which simulate increasingly realistic space travel to manage images and audio. The full-dome view is achieved with 2 JVC 4k projectors. For non-experts, these acronyms mean that the resolution of the images is very high, and therefore the sharpness of the night sky in ideal conditions of observation are extremely life-like.
The flexibility of the Digistar6 system enables us to customize astronomical shows in real time, according to audience profile or to address particular requests that emerge in the room when the show is commented in real time with our Staff interacting.
Thanks to this technology and to Digital Universe, a database of the sky built on the observations of the most important Earth and space telescopes, you can fly over the Sun and planets, follow satellites and space probes, get close to distant star clusters and galaxies, go strolling virtually through the Cosmos and travel through time to the beginning of the Big Bang. Three-dimensional details of the celestial bodies appear very clearly to the sky-gazer’s view.
Acknowledgements
Most of the projections for the Planetarium have been created by our Scientific Staff, and some of them have been awarded Italian and international recognition, something we are very proud of.
Prizes and Awards
2014.
“Mr. Palomar and the Sky” (Il signor Palomar e il cielo) received three awards:
First prize in the competition organized by the Association of Italian Planetariums (PlanIt) “Talking to the stars” (Parlare con le stelle).
Third place in the Dug Award senior category,
Third place in the Dug Award.
2010
Dug Award senior category with the shows “The Zoo in the Sky” (Zoo in cielo) -for kindergarten and the first grades in primary school- and “Visions of the Sky” (Visioni del cielo).
2009
Dug Award for beginners with the show “A Magic Lantern for the Planetarium” (Una lanterna magica per il planetario), in co-operation with the National Museum of Cinema in Turin.