2.5.6 B.M. Birla Planetarium, Chennai
It is often said that we should know our home like the back of our hand. Our home, the Earth, is definitely known to us in the same way, but may be this notion of acquaintance does not apply wholly to the home of the Earth... The Universe.
Nestling quietly yet thriving vibrantly with life, Earth has not yet been an erudite in knowing its home. This little disturbing fact has led millions of people to find out new and inexplicable ways to put forth a clear picture of where we are, and what is around us, giving rise to a novel word in the dictionary, Planetarium.
An analogous set up to display the far and wide Space and its matter within a diameter of a few meters, was…show more content… Gopalan, the planetarium was headed by Dr. M. Sargurumurthy for a few years and once again, the responsibility came back to Dr. Gopalan. After his sad demise in 1996, Dr. P. Iyamperumal, who had once started his career as a Technical Officer Grade I and had undergone planetarium training at the Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, took the reins and is presently the Executive Director of TNSTC.
The planetarium conducts sky shows every day at different times in different languages. The shows include the Solar System, sky and seasons, eclipses, Earth, Man on Moon, comets, shooting meteoroids, stellar cycle and the deep sky. Since its inception, the planetarium has introduced more than 50 programs on these topics as well as audio-visual programs on various aspects of astronomy and cosmic phenomena. The program themes are changed every 3 months and shows are conducted in English and Tamil on all days except on national holidays, from 10:00 am to 5:45 pm. A constant flow of visitors summing up to above 2.5 lakhs a year, the B.M. Birla Planetarium stands tall with its aim of inspiring minds with the nuances of Earth’s eternal home... The Universe. Students in Planetarium
B.M. Birla Planetarium, Tamil Nadu Science and technology Centre, Gandhi Mandapam Road, Chennai - 600025, Tamil