Süddeutsche Zeitung 09 December 1993

State-of-the-art electronics lead visitor to believe to be on a journey to faraway worlds

By Helmut Hornung. The ship takes course towards the south. The night sky curves above the shaky deck. Monotonously, the waves hit against the hull of the ship. Aboard, a man attentively observes the firmament: John Herschel. The astronomer is on his way to the Cape of Good Hope. From the tip of Africa, he wants to explore the firmament with a reflector telescope. From tomorrow, the people of Munich will be able to accompany the scientist on his excursion. Expeditions to the Southern Skies – under this title, the new planetarium in the Forum der Technik presents its program for December.
In order to perfectly present the cosmic illusion on the Museum Island, the “star guides” pulled out all the stops of modern electronics: A computer-controlled planetarium machine, 80 slide projectors, a laser battery, and a fog generator set the optical stage for the universe. With a sound system with 12,000 Watts of power, explanations, spherical sounds, or the explosion of a faraway star are presented to the visitors, who can actively interfere with the cosmic events by the press of a button from the comfort of none of 275 tilting chairs.
“People are used to high visual quality from the media. This has influenced us in the design of the presentations,” Thomas W. Kraupe, head of the planetarium, told the press yesterday. He sees himself as some kind of “Hollywood Astronomer”: “You have to present things in a certain way.” For example, the shows in the planetarium are by no means limited to presentations of constellations and planets. Lightning flashes create tunnels of walls of fog (Laser Magic), computer-animated feathers spin around from the 20 meter high dome to words of wisdom of the Indian chief Seattle (Words as Stars), magical lights merge into a fantastic vision of time and space (Crystal Universe). In addition, Kraupe is planning a “sophisticated cultural program” with readings and musical performances under the artificial firmament.
At the heart of the “star theater” sits a Zeiss planetarium projector. Currently the world’s most powerful device, it contains 8900 fixed stars on glass threads, appearing on the dome as points of light with varying brightness. The projector can be transformed into a time machine within seconds to show the firmament as it appeared to humans during the Stone Age. But the “star sphere” also serves as a space ship. Visitors can experience a journey to the planets Venus, Mars and Jupiter. They make a foray into the depths of the universe, speed past tumbling comets and distant galaxies, cross through black holes. For Oskar von Miller, the founder of the German Museum, these were nothing but distant dreams. At his request, Zeiss engineer Walther Bauersfeld developed the first projection planetarium. On 21 October 1923, the “Marvel from Jena” (as it was called at the time) delighted the people of Munich for the first time.
An exhibition in the Forum der Technik showcases the changes star projectors went through during the past 70 years. Here, visitors can also get in the mood for astronomy with a show by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Shows in the planetarium are held daily from 01:30 pm to 09:30 pm.