Ott Planetarium
41°11′41″N111°56′24″W/ 41.19472°N 111.94000°W
TheOtt Planetariumis aplanetariumatWeber State UniversityinOgden, Utah,USA.[1]The facility is named for Layton P. Ott and the Ott family.[2]The planetarium is operated by university students and is a place of learning for audiences and staff alike.
The Facility
[edit]The Ott Planetarium startheaterseats 60 persons under a 9.1 meter (30 foot) diameter perforatedaluminumdome.Images and video are projected onto the dome with a single projector located in the center of the room. The star theater is equipped with 5.1 channelsurround sound.
In December 2004 the Ott Planetarium upgraded its main projection system from a 1969 Spitz A4 to aKonica Minolta Mediaglobefulldome videosystem. The Mediaglobe upgrade replaced the star projector and over 30 slide and special effects projectors. Shortly after the Mediaglobe upgrade, planetarium staff began producing original content in the new digital format.
In 2006 the planetarium received a $1 Million U.S. CongressionalEarmarkto fund the development of educational programs. Part of this grant was used to purchase a 128 CPU render cluster and workstations for star show production.
Star Shows
[edit]The Ott Planetarium offers star shows to the public through its public events program. The planetarium is a popularfield tripdestination - the star theater can be reserved for classes, groups, family outings,Boy ScoutsandGirl Scouts.The Ott Planetarium serves over 20,000 people per year through field trips, public nights, and other public programs.
Original Productions
[edit]The Ott Planetarium produces originalfulldomecontent with a stated commitment to scientific accuracy and educational effectiveness.
Astro Otters and Astro Otters Jr.are module-based astronomy education programs. The population and sequence of these modules can be altered to meet the astronomy curriculum requirements of states or provinces. The Astro Otters program modules were produced withBlender 3D.
Cosmic Journeyfeatures images fromNASA's Great Observatories,including theHubble Space Telescopeand theSpitzer Space Telescope.The show is narrated by astrophysicist, Dr. Stacy Palen. Cosmic Journey was produced withBlender 3Dand uses a 3D adaptation of theKen Burns Effect.
References
[edit]- ^McKitrick, Cathy (July 19, 2019)."'I think I was stunned:' Northern Utah remembers the moon landing 50 years later ".Standard-Examiner.RetrievedNovember 8,2019.
- ^"Weber planetarium receives award, $1 million".Deseret News.July 28, 2010.RetrievedNovember 8,2019.