Planetariums are an essential part of any society with an inherent inclination towards astronomy and space explorations. India is the home to not less than thirty planetariums, which can be found in almost all the big cities.
India has three Birla Planetariums and five Nehru Planetariums and the Swami Vivekananda Planetarium in Mangalore is the first 3D planetarium in the country. So, let us now have a glimpse at the top four planetariums of India that you must not miss.
M.P. Birla Planetarium, Kolkata
Kolkata’s M.P. Birla Planetarium is a single-storeyed structure with a circular design, and the architecture loosely resembles the style of the Buddhist Stupa at Sanchi. Situated at Chowringhee Road, adjacent to the St Paul’s Cathedral, and Victoria Memorial, it is the largest planetarium in Asia and the second largest planetarium in the world. The planetarium was inaugurated on 2nd July 1963 by Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime minister of India. It also has an astronomy gallery with an incredible collection of celestial models of renowned astronomers and fine paintings. The planetarium is equipped with a Celestron C-14 Telescope and has a capacity of 680.
M. Birla Planetarium, Chennai
B.M. Birla Planetarium in Chennai offers a virtual tour of the night sky and conducts cosmic shows on a specially perforated hemispherical aluminum inner dome. Located at Kotturpuram, this planetarium was built in 1988 to honor the memory of the great Indian visionary and industrialist B.M. Birla, and is recognized as the most modern planetarium in the country. The planetarium is equipped with a 360-degree sky theatre, and a special effects projector.
Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Located on Sir.T Chowdaiah Road, the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium was founded in 1989 by the City Corporation of Bengaluru and has been managed by the Bengaluru Association for Science Education since 1992. The dome of the planetarium is 15.0 meters in diameter with a seating capacity of 210. The sky-theatre shows attract nearly 2 lakh visitors every year to this planetarium.
Swami Vivekananda Planetarium, Mangalore
Swami Vivekananda Planetarium is the most advanced and the first 3D 8K planetarium in the country. The planetarium was opened in 2018, and it has a hybrid system MEGASTAR-IIA and “Digistar 6”. It is the first 3D planetarium in the country and the ticket prices are Rs 40 and Rs 60 for children and adults respectively.
Which planetarium do you think boasts of the most advanced technologies in India?
