Planetarium Capabilities

• What is a planetarium?
• The OBU Planetarium home page

Though all planetariums are different, the ability of a planetarium to operate different kinds of programs may be gauged by capability levels as formulated in Loch Ness Productions: L-H-S Level Specifications. A planetarium must have all of a given level's features as listed in the chart to qualify for that level.

To realize its aims, the OBU Planetarium needs most of the auxiliary equipment associated with a Level 5 Planetarium. However, to economize in ways that take advantage of our particular institutional context, we can be more selective in our choice of equipment capabilities than by adopting a particular level in toto. By sharing with other university resources, we can let the OBU Planetarium technically stand as a Level 3 planetarium&emdash;with all of the features of levels 1, 2, and 3, and some (but not all) of the features of higher levels.

•More complete descriptions of the Capability Levels can be found in the LNP Planetarium Compendium (Loch Ness Productions, 1993).

KEY

•	Already implemented
*	Planned as funding becomes available
+	Superseded by capabilities specified for higher levels (e.g., levels higher than 2nd have more than two slide projectors)
na.	Not available or not possible in the OBU planetarium

L-H-S Level Specification

Level	Category	Capability	OBU
1	Star-projector	Goto GS-T; dome	•
2	Projectors	2 slide projectors, 80 slides/tray	+
	Sound	Tape playback	+
3	Projectors	3 Dissolve pairs, arrayed left/center/right	•
		1 motorized zoom	*
		1 motorized slew	*
		Partial Panorama	•(3-field dissolve pairs, 180° pan)
		Special Comet	•
		Effects Meteors	•
		Orrery	•
		Rotating Planets	•
		Rotating Galaxy	•
	Visual	Slide mounting	•
		Support slide opaquing and masking	•
	Audio	Stereo sound system,multiple sources	+
		Tape Duplication	•
4	Seating	Epicentric or unidirectional seating	•
	Automation	Soundtrack-synchronized automation system controlling multi-image projectors & effects	•
	Projectors	3 or more projectors in precision aligned stackers with multi-image animation capability	•
		Multiple motorized zooms	*
		Multiple motorized slews	*
		Full panorama system	na
	Video	Video projector	•Sony RGB 1252 Q
		Videocassette deck	•Sony SVHS SVP-5600
	Special	Rotating image	•
		Effects Revealing image	*
		Polarizer motion	*
		Whole-dome effects	na
	Audio	Multi-speaker, multi-channel professional-quality sound system	+
		Microphones	•Multiple mics plug into the audio system, capable of CD-quality recording
		Mixer	•Samson Mpl 2242
		Audio tape recorders	+Sony Cassette
		Amplifier and speakers	•6 QSC amps and equalizers, 5 Tannoy speakers, Martin subwoofer
		Noise reduction system	•
		LP/compact disc player	•Sony CD
		Music and sound effects libraries	•
	Visual	Copy stand and camera	*
		Support Slide duplication	*
		Light table, with slide masking and alignment capability	•
5	Projectors	6-position All-Sky system	na
		Cross-fading panorama projectors	•
		Multiple animation-aligned projectors trained on multiple screen areas	•
	Automation	SMPTE time-code-based automation	•
	Video	Videodisk player	•2 Sony LDP-1450s
	Visual	Pin-registered camera and copy stand	*
6	Video	Video camera	*
	Studio	Switcher	•Sony PC-1271
		Editing VCR's and Edit controller	*
		Monitors	•2 Sony 17-inch Triniton
		Time-base corrector	•Aquila time code controller and Virgo video controller
		Effects units	•Lexicon reverb and effects unit
	Graphics	Computer-generated art/graphics system	•Based on PowerMac 8100 AV, Umax scanner
		Film recorder	*
	Audio	Digital Audio System	•2 Fostex RD-8 ADAT decks
	Misc.	Interactive programming capability	*

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©1997

Welcome to the Planetarium web site provided by the OBU Planetarium. These pages have been written by the Planetarium Director, Kerry Magruder; the Unified Studies Natural Science Coordinator, Mike Keas; other OBU faculty; and the students who work in the planetarium.

These web pages may be printed, copied, and distributed for educational use by any non-profit educational group so long as they are not edited or altered in any way, nor distributed for profit, nor repackaged or incorporated into any other medium or product, and so long as full credit is given to the OBU Planetarium.

This page and many others from the same web site may be accessed from the OBU Planetarium Home Page.

Our web pages are never finished, but always under construction! The formatting of our web pages may be unintelligible if you are not using Netscape 2.0+. If you find a link that does not work, please tell us which link does not work--and which page you are on. Contact us by Email with general inquiries or suggestions. Thank you.

• Primary Email: mike_keas@mail.okbu.edu
• Secondary Email: Newtonkeas@aol.com

• Constellations Index Page
• The OBU Planetarium's Basic Celestial Phenomena Home Page
• OBU Planetarium Home Page
• OBU Unified Studies Natural Science Home Page
• Home Page of the OBU Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
• General OBU Home Page