The Planetarium in Space

The projection planetarium has been called one of the most the most important single device for popularising astronomy. More than most comparable technologies, the planetarium projector is bound to the environment it operates within. As impressive a machine as it is, it cannot operate effectively except within a well-defined space. This article considers the role of space in the operation of the projection planetarium, through a range of aspects. The domed surface for projection is one of the most characteristic features of the space if the planetarium and its history is described. There are also the transitional spaces that were built into planetarium architecture from early on. The planetarium dome often shaped the external space of the planetarium as well, placing these buildings in architectural comparison with ceremonial structures. Finally, planetariums, as a new kind of performance space, were often established within an institutional space of existing organisations. I use as a case study the Sijthoff Planetarium, located in The Hague, an example that is revealing of many of these aspects of space. Situating the projection planetarium in the history of astronomical visualisation allows us to think in space and to think about space.