TRI-LAKES AREA — There are a lot of places in Clark County to lie back and enjoy the night sky. One of the best of those spots is indoors.
Henderson State University's planetarium, now 10 years old, has received an upgrade in equipment. The planetarium, located in the Donald W. Reynolds Science Center, installed a Digitalus Gamma projector, a step up from its previous Zeiss model, planetarium manager James Duke said.
Duke said probably the most important upgrade is the scope of projection.
"In the old style, if you showed a picture or a video, it was in one little square or area," he said. "With this one, is has what we call immersive video."
Duke explained that the projector uses a fish-eye lens to project across the planetarium's dome, better simulating a night sky. Getting that complete view is important not only for the professors who teach classes on physics and astronomy in the planetarium, but for other groups as well.
Duke listed numerous groups and departments at HSU that use the planetarium for a variety of purposes. He said the athletics department, especially the swim team, uses it for relaxation purposes.
Head swim coach Coak Matthews said he often takes his swimmers into the planetarium, has them lie down and puts on soothing music. The necessity to relax increases as the season goes on, he said.
"Throughout the year, we're pretty much swimming tired," Matthews said. "Resting before a meet is very important."
Matthews said his team will use the planetarium two or three days in a row before a meet to relax as much as possible.
"The atmosphere is just perfect," he said.
Other groups, including the English and sociology departments, have found the setting ideal for classes and other functions, too, Duke said. This year, the university's music department is planning a quartet performance inside the planetarium, which seats 45. The background of the stars is "kind of like their theme," Duke said.
The planetarium also sees a lot of traffic during freshman orientation, when incoming students get a crash course in astronomy.
In addition to being used by the university for staff and students, the planetarium puts on about three public shows per month. This month, the planetarium is showing The Voyager Encounters, which highlights flybys of the outer planets. The show will screen at 7 p.m. today, at 2 p.m. Sunday and at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24.
Next month, though, visitors to the planetarium may be in for a treat. Jules Mollere, professor of physics and planetarium director, said in a release that the planetarium will host a reopening to celebrate the addition of the new projector with a screening of Stars Of The Pharaohs, a high-quality film produced by Evans and Sutherland, which Duke described as the world leader in planetarium digital production.
An exact date has not yet been set for the reopening. Duke said he is being cautious in scheduling because "I don't have [Stars Of The Pharaohs] in hand yet."
Tickets for The Voyager Encounters are $3 per person. For more information about upcoming shows and the planetarium in general, contact Duke at (870) 230-5006.
- jlemaster@
arkansasonline.com
Tri-Lakes, Pages 57, 64 on 09/17/2009