Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium
Encyclopedia
The Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium is a planetarium
located on the grounds of Brisbane Botanic Gardens
in the suburb of Toowong
, Brisbane
, Queensland
, Australia
. The Planetarium was officially opened on 24 May 1978.
The Planetarium is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane
, governor of New South Wales (1821 - 1825) and well known Scottish astronomer who established the first significant observatory in Australia for mapping the southern skies. The Planetarium is located about 5km from the Central Business District
, and is administered by the Brisbane City Council.
The Planetarium features the 12.5m Cosmic Skydome (hemispherical planetarium theatre) with a recently upgraded, state of the art, digital dome projection system; an observatory
containing a permanently mounted Zeiss 15cm refractor and a Meade 20cm "Go To" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope
; extensive photographic and model displays in its Foyer and Gallery including the 1969 Moon landing with a replica of Neil Armstrong's space suit, the Space Shuttle, and Mars expeditions, as well as a free mini-theatre featuring a regularly updated Space Telescope Science Institute web feed. The Planetarium runs regular shows in the Cosmic Skydome for public and school groups, observing sessions in the observatory and occasional public field nights. The original Zeiss star projector was removed from the Cosmic Skydome during the upgrade in 2010 with a replacement optical star projector installation anticipated in late 2012/early 2013.
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
located on the grounds of Brisbane Botanic Gardens
Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha
The Brisbane Botanic Gardens are located 7 km from the city of Brisbane in Toowong, Queensland, Australia, at the foot of Brisbane's tallest mountain, Mount Coot-tha.-History:...
in the suburb of Toowong
Toowong, Queensland
Toowong is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia which is located 5 km west of the Brisbane CBD. At the centre of Toowong is a commercial precinct including Toowong Village and several office buildings...
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The Planetarium was officially opened on 24 May 1978.
The Planetarium is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane
Thomas Brisbane
Major-General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet GCH, GCB, FRS, FRSE was a British soldier, colonial Governor and astronomer.-Early life:...
, governor of New South Wales (1821 - 1825) and well known Scottish astronomer who established the first significant observatory in Australia for mapping the southern skies. The Planetarium is located about 5km from the Central Business District
Brisbane central business district
The Brisbane central business district , sometimes referred to as the city, is a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and is located on a point on the northern bank of the Brisbane River. The triangular shaped area is bounded by the Brisbane River to the east, south and west...
, and is administered by the Brisbane City Council.
The Planetarium features the 12.5m Cosmic Skydome (hemispherical planetarium theatre) with a recently upgraded, state of the art, digital dome projection system; an observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
containing a permanently mounted Zeiss 15cm refractor and a Meade 20cm "Go To" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope
Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope
The Schmidt–Cassegrain is a catadioptric telescope that combines a cassegrain reflector's optical path with a Schmidt corrector plate to make a compact astronomical instrument that uses simple spherical surfaces.-Invention and design:...
; extensive photographic and model displays in its Foyer and Gallery including the 1969 Moon landing with a replica of Neil Armstrong's space suit, the Space Shuttle, and Mars expeditions, as well as a free mini-theatre featuring a regularly updated Space Telescope Science Institute web feed. The Planetarium runs regular shows in the Cosmic Skydome for public and school groups, observing sessions in the observatory and occasional public field nights. The original Zeiss star projector was removed from the Cosmic Skydome during the upgrade in 2010 with a replacement optical star projector installation anticipated in late 2012/early 2013.
External links
- Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium - official website
- Brisbane Planetarium on Facebook - official Brisbane Planetarium on Facebook
- Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium - information about the planetarium