Galileo Galilei Planetarium

The Galileo Galilei planetarium, commonly known as Planetario, is located in Parque Tres de Febrero in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Galileo Galilei planetarium
Location within Buenos Aires
EstablishedDecember 20, 1966 (1966-December-20)
LocationPalermo Woods, Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Coordinates34°34′11″S 58°24′42″W
TypePlanetarium
ArchitectEnrique Jan
WebsiteOfficial Website

History

The idea that Buenos Aires should have a planetarium began to take shape in 1958 by an agreement between Socialist Councilman José Luis Peña and the municipal Secretary of Culture, Dr. Aldo Cocca. Construction began under the direction of architect Enrique Jan in 1962, and it was inaugurated on December 20, 1966. The first function was carried out on June 13, 1967 for the students of "Escuela Comercial Nº 1" of Banfield and "Santa Unión de los Sagrados Corazones" of Capital Federal. Professor of geography and mathematics Antonio Cornejo showed them the sky over Buenos Aires, Argentine Antarctica and the South Pole, as well as demonstrating the orientation of the southern cross. The facility was officially opened to the public on April 5, 1968.

Structure

Hall inside the facility.

The building has five floors, six staircases and a 20 metres (66 ft) diameter room with 360 seats. The inside of the 20m semispherical dome is covered with reflective aluminium.

The planetarium (Zeiss projector Model M V) itself is located in the centre, it has over 100 projectors and is approximately 5 metres (16 ft) in height and 2.5 tons in weight. It consists of a cylindrical framework with independent projectors for the Moon, the Sun and the visible planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) and two spheres in the extremes that project 8,900 stars, constellations and nebulas.

Facts

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.