Treworgy Planetarium

To you, they're pretty. To sailors, they were the difference between life and death. And in the Planetarium at Mystic Seaport, you can get a lesson in celestial navigation using the stars, planets and heavenly bodies of the season. The Planetarium itself was designed specially for Mystic Seaport by Armand Spitz in 1960.

Daily Programs
Each season the Planetarium daily program shows you how to locate and identify the stars, planets and constellations in the sky at that time of year. These live programs last about 30 minutes and include a few basic points about using the stars for navigation. Slide projectors in the Planetarium are used to show images of special interest. Different programs and presentations are offered throughout the year, from "Finding Your Way By the Stars" to "Night Lights for the Holidays."

Inside the Planetarium
The stars and planets are projected overhead onto the surface of a thirty-foot diameter dome. About 750 can be shown. The planets, sun and moon are projected by individual lights. Other special effects that can be projected are: a geo-centric view of the Earth, circles, triangles, meridians and coordinate grids for navigational purposes.

Lobby Exhibit
The lobby of the Planetarium holds a permanent exhibit on 19th century navigation. From the ceiling hangs an orrery, or a mechanical scale model of the solar system. In addition, an interactive computer makes astronomy and navigation come to life. The celestial navigation exhibit in the lobby is divided into six stages. By going through the exhibit, one can learn how sailors in the years before GPS found their destination.

The Orrery
On the ceiling of the Planetarium is an Orrery or mechanical scale model of the solar system. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are shown. The sun should be at the center, but cannot be shown because of the compressed-distance scale used in the Orrery. Made to the same scale as the planets, the sun would be over seven feet in diameter! Pluto is too far from the sun, on this scale, to be included.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Mystic
• Seaport
• Museum
• Treworgy
• Planetarium
• Stars
• Astronomy
• Projector
• Planets
• Dome
• Armand
• Spitz

[Gt6530]

This planetarium ours we dont have to use spitz

[ksdrake]

Great job! The Treworgy Planetarium is a great place.