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Saint Petersburg Planetarium
- BenQ
- 2018-02-02
Building a Better Planetarium for the World Stage
Overview
Issue
Designing a permanent installation that will take planetarium guests on an unforgettable tour of the cosmos in absolute stunning detail by creating a virtual environment with digital projector solutions.
Solution
Showcasing the galaxy in stunning detail, required a dome and projectors that could link together and display content in a high contrast ratio while seamlessly matching images along the various edges of the projections, resulting in one unified image.
Result
Following the easy installation and set-up, those who work at Saint Petersburg Planetarium informed BenQ that they were absolutely satisfied with their choice in BenQ and the digital solutions they had ordered. Most importantly, the installation had the “wow factor” to become a top tourist attraction in Russia.
Facts at a Glance
Year of Completion
2018
BenQ Solution Used
- BenQ Projectors SU922
Segment
Exhibition
Project
Creating a must-see tourist attraction at the world’s largest planetarium
Challenge
Constructed in November 2017, the Saint Petersburg Planetarium become the world’s largest science center of its type. The planetarium is massive, measuring a staggering 20x42 meters, with the projection dome being approximately 37 meters. To create an unforgettable journey for its guests, the planetarium needed a digital solution which could fill the dome with a massive seamless projection.
To create the known galaxy in stunning detail, the Saint Petersburg Planetarium needed numerous projectors to get a 360-degree projection. The presentation would need to be robust, and have high impact visuals and high contrast ratios so that the darkest reaches of space would look as true to color as the galaxy. Whoever came to the planetarium would need to leave feeling like they had been to the stars and back.
Solution
To recreate space, the Saint Petersburg Planetarium built a gyrosphere which would house the many projectors that would eventually create the location’s main attraction. Inside the gyrosphere are 40 SU922 projectors, which have a stunning 5,000 lumens brightness–allowing for a vivid projection in bright ambience, thus allowing the projection to be seen even with the lights on. This provided guests with the opportunity to take pictures with distant planets without having to use the flash to bleach out the projections or stand in total darkness to capture the spectacle.
With its 3000:1 high contrast ratio, the truest blacks and would accompany crystal clear images capturing every stunning detail of the stars and planets seen in the presentation. The SU922’s vertical lens shift ensured that the presentation is perfect, giving the planetarium curators the ability to shift projection angles ever so slightly to account for the curvature of the dome.
Result
After installation completed in 2018, Saint Petersburg Planetarium curators were impressed with the whole presentation. The exceptional image quality of the SU922 projectors enhanced the presentation with its stellar image quality and high contrast blacks. The solar system installation was made greater by the ability to project in true to life colors in bright ambience. Once the planetarium opened its doors to the new exhibit, it became an immediate success, and those who worked in Saint Petersburg felt confident that with BenQ solutions it had achieved something magical and would quickly jettison the planetarium to the top of the world’s must see tourist attractions.
