London Planetarium
Encyclopedia
The building known as the London Planetarium is in Marylebone Road
, London. It is adjacent to Madame Tussauds
and is owned by the same company. A famous London landmark, it was once a notable tourist attraction, housing a "Planetarium", which offered shows relating space and astronomy. It closed in 2006 as a separate attraction and is now part of Madame Tussaud's, and houses a "Star Dome" show. From 2010 forward, the building that once housed the London Planetarium houses the Marvel
Superheroes 4D attraction.
The only planetarium in London is now the Peter Harrison Planetarium
in Greenwich
, south east London.
performances called 'Laserium' (see Ivan Dryer
) were held. In 1995, one of the world's first digital planetarium systems, Digistar II
(created by Evans & Sutherland
) was installed in a £4.5 million redevelopment, allowing monochromatic 3D
journeys through space and many other kinds of show to be presented. The planetarium was used to teach students from University College London's astronomy department the complexity of the Celestial coordinate system, allowing for practical lectures delivered by a unison of planetarium and UCL staff.
In 1986 the planetarium was mentioned in the song "Dickie Davies Eyes" by Half Man Half Biscuit
, which claimed that Brian Moore
's head "looks uncannily like London Planetarium."
In 2004, the Planetarium was upgraded to a full-colour Digistar 3
system that allows both pre-rendered
and real-time shows to transport the audience in an immersive fulldome video environment to distant realms of time and space.
In January 2006, freelance journalist Paul Sutherland broke the news in the London Evening Standard that the London Planetarium was being renamed the Auditorium and would replace astronomical presentations with entertainment shows. Madame Tussauds
subsequently announced that in July 2006 the Auditorium would open with a show by Aardman Animations
about celebrities. To say 'farewell' to the planetarium, Madame Tussauds allowed free entry to the show in its penultimate, week (24–30 April 2006).
"In 2006 the Planetarium was rebranded and renamed the Star Dome. The Star Dome is part of the Madame Tussauds attraction and is included in the ticket price. Please note that we no longer show astronomy-based shows"
From 2010 forward, the building that once housed the London Planetarium houses the Marvel
Superheroes 4D attraction.
Marylebone Road
Marylebone Road is an important thoroughfare in central London, within the City of Westminster. It runs east-west from the Euston Road at Regent's Park to the A40 Westway at Paddington...
, London. It is adjacent to Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and was formerly known as "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used...
and is owned by the same company. A famous London landmark, it was once a notable tourist attraction, housing a "Planetarium", which offered shows relating space and astronomy. It closed in 2006 as a separate attraction and is now part of Madame Tussaud's, and houses a "Star Dome" show. From 2010 forward, the building that once housed the London Planetarium houses the Marvel
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
Superheroes 4D attraction.
The only planetarium in London is now the Peter Harrison Planetarium
Peter Harrison Planetarium
The Peter Harrison Planetarium is a 120-seat digital laser planetarium, situated in Greenwich Park, London and is part of the National Maritime Museum. It opened on May 25, 2007....
in Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, south east London.
History
Opened in 1958 on the site of an old cinema that was destroyed in the Second World War, the planetarium seated an audience of around 330 beneath a horizontal dome approximately 18 m in diameter. For its first five decades of operation, an opto-mechanical star projector offered the audience a show based on a view of the night sky as seen from earth. Between 1977 and 1990, evening laserLaser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
performances called 'Laserium' (see Ivan Dryer
Ivan Dryer
Ivan Dryer is generally considered to be the father of the commercial laser light show industry. He is the founder of the world's first continuously running laser entertainment known as Laserium....
) were held. In 1995, one of the world's first digital planetarium systems, Digistar II
Digistar II
Digistar II is a planetarium projection system by Evans & Sutherland - Digistar Users Group. It was released in the early 1990s as a descendant to the earlier Digistar, developed in the late 1970s...
(created by Evans & Sutherland
Evans & Sutherland
Evans & Sutherland is a computer firm involved in the computer graphics field. Their products are used primarily by the military and large industrial firms for training and simulation, and in digital projection environments like planetariums.-History:...
) was installed in a £4.5 million redevelopment, allowing monochromatic 3D
Dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a space or object is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it...
journeys through space and many other kinds of show to be presented. The planetarium was used to teach students from University College London's astronomy department the complexity of the Celestial coordinate system, allowing for practical lectures delivered by a unison of planetarium and UCL staff.
Half Man Half Biscuit
Half Man Half Biscuit, often "HMHB", are an English rock band from Birkenhead, Merseyside, active since the mid-1980s, known for satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs. The group comprises Nigel Blackwell , Neil Crossley , Ken Hancock , and Carl Henry...
, which claimed that Brian Moore
Brian Moore
Brian Moore may refer to:*Brian Moore *Brian Moore *Brian Moore , Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police, England...
's head "looks uncannily like London Planetarium."
In 2004, the Planetarium was upgraded to a full-colour Digistar 3
Digistar 3
Digistar 3 is a dome-based projection technology created by Evans & Sutherland - to offer audiences immersive entertainment and education experiences that integrate fulldome video, real time 3D computer graphics, and a digital planetarium facility...
system that allows both pre-rendered
Pre-rendered
Pre-rendering is the process in which video footage is not rendered in real-time by the hardware that is outputing or playing back the video. Instead, the video is a recording of a footage that was previously rendered on a different equipment...
and real-time shows to transport the audience in an immersive fulldome video environment to distant realms of time and space.
In January 2006, freelance journalist Paul Sutherland broke the news in the London Evening Standard that the London Planetarium was being renamed the Auditorium and would replace astronomical presentations with entertainment shows. Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and was formerly known as "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used...
subsequently announced that in July 2006 the Auditorium would open with a show by Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations, Ltd., also known as Aardman Studios, or simply as Aardman, is a British animation studio based in Bristol, United Kingdom. The studio is known for films made using stop-motion clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring Plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit...
about celebrities. To say 'farewell' to the planetarium, Madame Tussauds allowed free entry to the show in its penultimate, week (24–30 April 2006).
Today
The London Planetarium no longer exists and it is no longer possible to visit it as a separate attraction. The web site is redirected to Madame Tussauds and here is a statement from their web site:"In 2006 the Planetarium was rebranded and renamed the Star Dome. The Star Dome is part of the Madame Tussauds attraction and is included in the ticket price. Please note that we no longer show astronomy-based shows"
From 2010 forward, the building that once housed the London Planetarium houses the Marvel
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
Superheroes 4D attraction.
External links
- Why Tussauds no longer has space for the Planetarium Article from London Evening Standard by Paul Sutherland
- It inspired generations of children, but now the Planetarium is focusing on lesser stars Article from The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
by Joanna Bale