In April 2023, ZEISS & Seiler Planetarium installed a VELVET LED Duo fulldome projection system in the historic Seymour Planetarium in Springfield, MA. Their one-of-a-kind Korkosz starball is the oldest American-made starball in existence and still projects a beautiful starfield on their original 85-year-old dome.
The Seymour staff now enjoy a massive library of fulldome content able to be played back on demand, seamlessly and in vibrant color. Alternatively, they can navigate the universe via UNIVIEW astro-visualization software, “flying” from their street to the cosmic microwave background in a matter of seconds. This is also the first U.S. planetarium to feature UNIVIEW OpenDome, allowing staff to easily run additional content on their dome using programs such as Stellarium, OpenSpace, YouTube and more. The complete system boasts a 4500-watt 5.1 sound system designed and installed by Seiler Planetarium.
The key to the success of this project is firmly rooted in the choice of projection technology. The ZEISS VELVET projectors, specifically designed for use in planetariums, brings the capability of fulldome video and additive imagery that can be overlayed with the stars of the Korkosz projector without washing out their stars. This has been a long dream of many planetariums, and one that is possible using VELVET with its 2,500,000:1 native contrast ratio and legendary ZEISS optics.
Seiler’s Howard George says of the installation, “It was a privilege to work next to the legendary Korkosz. The VELVET projectors will complement it, rather than replace it, serving to retain and preserve the iconic status of this planetarium for decades to come.”
The Springfield Museums’ Seymour Planetarium is the oldest original planetarium in the world, home to the legendary one-of-a-kind “Korkosz” starball, built on-site in 1937, still operating under its original dome. One of the VELVET projectors and several speakers can be seen mounted to the walls.
CHALLENGES OVERCOME: To make this installation possible, the unique qualities of the historic Korkosz projector and the 85-year-old dome were captured using our site scanning technology. This process, now standard procedure for all projects and most initial site visits, is a form of lidar scanning which allows us to capture detailed measurement data. We then modeled the projection angles and collaborated with ZEISS to ensure the Seymour Planetarium was suitable for an extremely rare cove-mounted projection, paired with their existing optomechanical projector. This configuration allowed us to add the new system without altering the historic Korkosz projector or its ornate audience barrier. With no space behind the wall, mounting the projectors within the theater on rugged stands was necessary. These stands were later covered for aesthetics.
