Birla Planetarium reopens with additions

Kolkata :  A revamped Birla Planetarium was today reopened after a 28-month overhaul shutdown with a `Know Your Weight In the Solar System’ scale and ‘Carl Zeiss Projection system’ as its major attractions. The `Know Your Weight In the Solar System’ scale is a device which will measure the weight of a person and a computer chip in it will show his or her weight on the moon, the sun or any of the planets.

The latest Carl Zeiss Hybrid Projection System, which has an opto-mechanical projector, will produce a unique depiction of the cosmos and treat celestial lovers with a never-seen-before visual experience. The digital projectors will provide the most vivid and colourful images of celestial objects and events.
The opto-mechanical projector will provide a brilliant depiction of the night sky as seen by a human eye.

“We want to include M P Birla Planetarium in the tourist map of the city so that more and more tourists can come and visit it,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said while inaugurating the renovated planetarium. The planetarium will offer seven shows from Monday to Saturday and on Sunday it will run nine shows. The shows will be conducted in English, Bengali and Hindi.

Built in 1962, the planetarium is the oldest in Asia and the second largest in the world. A landmark in Kolkata, it used to attract close to seven lakh visitors annually before it was shutdown for renovation.