Carl Zeiss Planetarium Stuttgart

The sundial in front of it

The new projector

The Carl Zeiss Planetarium Stuttgart is located in the Mittlerer Schlossgarten in Stuttgart . In addition to the actual planetarium , the Stuttgart Planetarium also operates the Welzheim observatory .

history

First planetarium (1928 to 1943)

On May 16, 1928, the first Stuttgart planetarium opened, which was housed in a dome on the Hindenburg building. It was initiated and supervised by v. a. by the astronomer and popular educator Robert Henseling (1883–1964). The planetarium was equipped with a Zeiss Model II projector. The planetarium offered space for 450 visitors and the dome was 25 meters in diameter. On June 17, 1943, the Stuttgart city council decided to close the planetarium and to dismantle and relocate the projector. The Hindenburg building was destroyed in air raids in February and March 1944. The old planetarium projector can be viewed today in the ticket office of the new planetarium.

Second planetarium (1977)

The foundation stone for today's planetarium was laid by the Zeiss VI A projector donated by the Carl Zeiss Foundation to the city of Stuttgart in 1969. The A of the projector type stands for automatic - the projector was the only one that was delivered by Zeiss with an automatic - all of them other planetariums have partly implemented their automatic systems themselves, partly dispensed with them. The construction of the planetarium could begin in 1975 with the support of numerous donors. The building designed by Wilfried Beck-Erlang (1924–2002) was opened in 1977 and on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the death of Carl Zeiss on December 3, 1988, it was renamed from the Stuttgart Planetarium to the Carl Zeiss Planetarium .

After almost 25 years, the projector was replaced by the latest Zeiss model Universarium IX in 2001. Laser shows have existed in the planetarium since 1996 - and have been part of the program for several years. The planetarium has had an all-dome laser system since 2007, which means that dome-filling laser projections are possible. An experimental video projection was put into operation in 2009, with which films are shown over the entire dome.

Founding director was Hans-Ulrich Keller , who was already involved in the planning and managed the planetarium until 2008. The current director is Uwe Lemmer.

Discussion about moving

The opening of a new mobility experience center including a new planetarium was planned for mid-2011 in Bad Cannstatt , near the Neckar Park . The previous planetarium building was intended to be the information center for the construction site of the Stuttgart 21 rail project . After a lengthy discussion, the city council of Stuttgart decided on December 18, 2009 against the mobility experience center in Bad Cannstatt and the majority agreed to a technical modernization of the current planetarium in the middle palace garden. In 2013, the city council of the state capital Stuttgart decided that the planetarium should remain in the Mittlerer Schlossgarten, regardless of whether a science center will be built in Bad Cannstatt at some point. As with many other planetariums, the traditional projection technology is then supplemented by an elaborate image database (“digital universe”) and a dome-filling projection technology (“ full dome video”).

Refurbishment 2015/2016

From March 30, 2015 to April 22, 2016, the planetarium was extensively renovated. a. the fulldome projection technology installed. The reopening date originally planned for December 1, 2015 could not be kept. The Environment and Technology Committee of the City of Stuttgart decided in mid-March 2015 to provide 2.74 million euros for the renovation. The reopening took place on April 23, 2016.

Use of the planetarium

Regular events

The space research program changes quarterly. There are around 20 to 25 events each week, around half of which are suitable for children. In addition to the astronomical topics, there are some special events such as B. Live music (the so-called "Tunesday") or interactive events ("Kinetarium") where visitors can control the contents of the dome with their smartphones .

External organizers

The Kuppelsaal (up to 270 people) and the Kepplersaal (up to 138 people) are also used for company and similar events.

Individual evidence

↑ Stars and Space . 2/2008, Spektrum Verlag, ISSN 0039-1263

↑ Thomas Wolff: "In 500 million years it will be over for living beings" ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . On: echo-online.de , March 30, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2013.@1@ 2