It is like a movie theater (you can call it a sky theater if you like) however; here your projection system (that can be Digital like Digisky^TM Planetarium Projection System or Analogue) projects on a dome (that can be portable / mobile like Digidome^TM or fixed) and not on a flat screen as the sky above your head is also like a huge dome. The prime purpose of a planetarium is to teach astronomy. A fixed planetarium is often called a brick and mortar planetarium. A Portable / Mobile planetarium instead of having a fixed dome structure has an inflatable portable / mobile dome.
Digisky^TMand Digidome^TM are registered trade marks of Leo Planetaria^TM.

Schools, Colleges, Universities, Science Centres, Science Museums, Existing Analog Planetariums, Camp Organisers, Townships, Malls, Fun Parks.

A Digital planetarium is primarily governed by computers, planetarium sky simulation software, digital projectors (LCD; DLP) with suitable optics and speakers. It creates stimulating 3D immersive environment in a dome to be enjoyed with the naked eye.

Astronomy, often called the mother of all sciences inculcates scientific temper. History of science is history of astronomy. The fascination and inquisitiveness in astronomy starts right from Kindergarten onwards with twinkling and shooting stars. With ISRO's successful mission to the Moon, “Chandrayan -1” and Space Tourism on anvil and names like Rakesh Sharma, Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams on everybody's lips, the space age has finally arrived in India. ISRO has plans to send its first manned mission to the Moon around the years 2025 to 2030. School students who are now between 12 to 17 years of age are likely to become India's first Astronauts or may be “Gaganauts”. Astronomy is one of the most interesting subjects for students. It has universal reach and applicability.

Well! We all can identify and classify many earthly things that are around us. From kindergarten onwards we are taught to identify an endless list of objects like fruits, vegetables, flowers, monuments, famous personalities etc but what about the night sky objects that are very much part of our day to day environment. You will hardly find a student who can identify a planet or a star or a constellation or a deep sky object like a Galaxy in the night sky. And what about the most famous star – the pole star? You will be surprised to know that very few students have ever seen a celestial object through a telescope. Even if they had it was hardly for few seconds (perhaps in a public watch). The reason for the conspicuous ignorance of the night sky among students as well as their teachers is due to the impediments associated with star gazing as:-

• Mostly Observations are to be done outdoors and in night time sky.
• Celestial objects, constellations and Astronomy events like eclipses, occultation, etc are date - time and place dependent. They may or may not be visible from your city.
• Weather may act as a spoil sport even at the eleventh hour.
• Light pollution makes stars invisible in citys' night skies and they cannot be seen even with a telescope.
• Even simplest of observations of the heavens above like pole star does not move in our skies, cycle of the Moon, etc will take months.

These practical limitations and impediments are overwhelming and have conspired to deprive students of even the most simple but exhilarating experience of Astronomy like finding Pole Star. The curiosity that starts in Kindergarten with “twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are?” totally dies out by the time a child finishes his schooling.

No doubt a Planetarium is a solution for the problem but most of the Planetariums (Planetaria) in India are analog and fixed. Fixed planetaria irrespective of the technology being used are suitable for general public and tourists. They work on novelty basis and are meant for once in a life time exposure rather than a teaching tool / aid like Digisky TM. Digisky TM is a cost effective and user friendly solution that empowers teachers to develop lesson plan based astronomy content to teach astronomy to school students on regular basis that too without any impediments of field trips.

I have been actively involved with implementing Astronomy in schools across India for more than 10 years now. I have come across many schools that have taken a bold step to implement empirical astronomy by owning a telescope (some schools even have imported telescopes). Unfortunately they have not been able to use them not just because of the overwhelming impediments associated with star gazing but also due to the fact that hardly a teacher knows how to use and maintain a telescope let alone locate a star or a planet in the night sky. In many cases I have found that a telescope has simply become defunct just because of none availability of spare parts or after sale service.

The efficacy of “Digisky” is endorsed by more than 200 schools (affiliated to state, national and foreign boards) from 50 odd cities across India that have experienced its magic. The concept has evolved (and is still evolving) after 5 years of hard core field experience of Planetarium Education Outreach Programmes (K12) with schools. It has universal reach and appeal. It has been designed for minimum maintenance, Indian scenario and works on a technology that anyone can handle. One can start using it from day one. The first and the foremost thing to understand is that it is the synergy of the teachers + the right technology + the Planetarium Education Support that will make the planetarium education a success in your school. The Planetarium Education Support is the life line for the planetarium education. It has following distinctive features:-

• Planetarium Sky Simulation Softwaer (PSSS) Updates
  Sky software updates are made available via computer CDs or internet that allow you to receive the changes and enhancements from time to time that are made in the software after your purchase.
• Digital Planetarium Shows
  Twelve pre-recorded shows in English language (copy right Leo Planetaria) designed and developed exclusively for schools (K12) and a third party show are provided with the Planetarium Sky Simulation Software (PSSS).
  Each of the 12 shows is supported with a related Booklet and set of activities that can be downloaded for distribution.
• Training
  The training is provided to empower the teachers to exploit the potential of the Digisky TM system to the fullest. It has been designed optimally for a maximum of five teachers and for five consecutive days at your school. It aims to equip them with thorough knowledge of:
  
  • Operation
  • Maintenance
  • Up gradation
  • Content Development i.e. creating scenarios (planetarium shows) using Planetarium Sky Simulation Software (PSSS). No computer programming background is required for content development.
• Content Development Support
  Guidance and help are available after the training via internet by our experts on class wise lesson plan based content development.

No. You do not need computer programming background to maintain and operate
Digisky and using the palnetarium Sky Simulation Software (PSSS) and to develop content.

I will share my experience. I have completed 40 odd trips around the Sun at the time of writing this FAQ. My teachers had been telling me since my early school days that the Earth was round like an orange and not flat. Yet it never prompted me to the question – Why do not we fall from the Earth? and what is up and down on the Earth? I vividly remember that when I was in class 8 (age 13 years) I saw the picture of the Earth taken from space for the first time in my life. My immediate reaction was – “why do not we fall from the Earth?” and “what is up and down on the Earth?” I am pretty sure that had I seen the same picture when I was in primary school, my thought process would have been different.

My daughter who is in class 2 has regular exposure to the planetarium (she has already asked me - Why do not we fall from our home planet? She has even pondered further on up and down concept on the Earth and the Moon). She can find planet Jupiter in Delhi’s sky now days just by comparing its brightness with other celestial objects. All she has observed in the planetarium is that planet Jupiter looks like a star with naked eyes and now days it is the brightest star in the evening sky. She has also figured out that sometimes the Moon becomes fatter and fatter (waxing) and some times it goes on dieting and becomes thinner and thinner (waning). With the help of stick - figure constellations she can also easily identify pole star and some prominent constellations like Ursa Major (Spatrishi) and Orion – Thanks to her regular planetarium exposure that makes sky accessible to her to learn and explore. We - at Leo Planetaria strongly believe that Digisk^TM is a teaching aid that caters to inquisitiveness of Twinkling stars right from KG onwards.

As far as our planetarium education outreach programmes are concerned, more and more schools now want us to visit their schools at least once in every year.

Planetarium Education Support (PES) empowers the teachers to provide the planetarium exposure (K12) to their students not only once in every year but at a frequency as desired by them. Further you will also be able to make your students from class 6 onwards to work on the Planetarium Sky Simulation Software (PSSS) that will help them in learning positional astronomy and celestial gymnastics in a way that is unprecedented.

You will use an intrinsic and effective Leo Planetaria specific version of Planetarium Sky Simulation Software (PSSS) that is based on Nightshade / Stellarium. It is customized as per the nature of the full dome optics, computer control unit and various other projector parameters like resolution, etc that we use in Digisky^TM Planetarium Projection System and last but not least as per the content that is relevant to your students and made available at a touch of a button.

Yes! One third party show “Two Small Pieces of Glass” is already included in your purchase of Digisky^TM Planetarium Planetarium System. Playing them is as simple as playing a computer CD or pressing a button.

However, before buying a third party show ensure about its educational value and relevance for your students as mostly these shows are just movies designed for once in a life time exhilarating immersive environment experience that is suitable for public planetariums rather than for planetarium education.

The portable / mobile planetarium consists of a Digisky^TM Planetarium Projection System, a Digidome^TM , a High Velocity Industrial Floor Fan and speakers. Digidome^TM are portable / mobile Domes made from fire retardant fabric and are inflated with normal air (a High Velocity Industrial Floor Fan) that we breathe. Domes have no solid floor. They are not moored to the ground with rope. Audience can exit the Dome very quickly by lifting the base and ducking under.

Remember the seating capacity varies class / Age wise

Dome Diameter	5 meters (~ 16 ft.)	6 meters (~19.5 ft.)	7 meteres (~23 ft.)
Approximate Seating Capacity	25 Adults Or 40 Young Children	45 Adults Or 60 Young Children	60 Adults Or 80 Young Children

TheDigidome^TMinflation time is up to 10 minutes. It requires 1 person and up to 20 minutes to install the portable digital planetarium which consists of a Digisky Planetarium Projection System, a Digidome, a High Velocity Industrial Floor Fan and speakers for sound output. However, for the movement of the paraphernalia and packing – unpacking two persons may be required.

The ventilation in Digidome^TM has been designed keeping in mind that India is primarily a hot and humid country. The high velocity industrial floor fan not only keeps the Dome inflated but also supplies fresh air inside the dome. The fresh air gets circulated continuously through multiple air outlets. The temperature inside a Dome is governed by the temperature of the place where you have installed it and number of students inside it. The Digidome^TM can be provided with an inlet provision for a window air conditioner (up to 2 ton) however, We suggest that you use Digidomes in an air conditioned room / hall in hot and sultry weather rather than use the air conditioner with the Digidome^TM itself.

Digidome^TMdoes not have a solid floor. The inflated fabric dome rolls around from bottom that creates a base inside the dome which rests on the floor. To admit a person in a wheelchair, simply lift the dome from the base and push the wheelchair under. Once the dome is lowered back to the ground, it will re inflate fully in about one minute. Few chairs can also be put inside the dome, if required. Avoid keeping chairs on the rolled base of the dome.

If you have planetarium education in mind then we feel that following points are of paramount importance.

• What kind of Planetarium Education Support (PES) is there?
• It is essential that the system creates a full sky (dome) like DIGISKY^TM Planetarium Projection System that is the horizon with cardinal points (N/S/E/W directions) and the sky above. There are planetarium systems like mirror dome / spherical mirror or truncated that do not project the entire sky thus defeating the very purpose of a planetarium as a teaching aid / model of the sky.
• Is there any warrantee on their system? Is their warrantee applicable in India? Remember the warrantee has to be for the entire system!
• Can they provide after sale service in India?
• Of course the price at which the system gets delivered at your site. Do not forget to check what it does not include like transit insurance, import duties, number of free services including lamp replacement, etc
• Last but not least; the people behind the company. Do they have any background in Astronomy teaching / Science Communication.

Yes, of course! We will be more than happy to share our hard core field experience and expertise.

If we are coming to a school / college / university / exhibition near you we would definitely invite you for a live Demo but this may take time. You are most welcome to come down to our Delhi office for a demo, just inform us in advance. Call 09811275851 for a demo.