Head Out For An Evening With The Stars At The Planetarium

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From colourful depictions of the night sky to vivid images of astronomical events and objects, a visit to the planetarium is a treat.

Cosmic Treasures

Founded in 1962, the Birla Planetarium is the first public planetarium in Asia and second in the Commonwealth. One of the most popular shows here is Cosmic Collisions — the story of the astronomical events which produced our moon and the habitable earth.

The museum is also worth a dekko — look out for the images of Comet Lovejoy {or C/2017E4} which was captured in April, 2017; the Tadpole Nebula or the new stars which came out of gas and dust and a structure of Soviet astronaut and first human to fly into outer space, Yuri Gagarin. Look up and you will see a depiction of the night sky.

Two of the most interesting things in the museum is a video on the asteroid which fell on earth and destroyed the dinosaurs and the image of the Pinwheel Galaxy which lies 27 million light years away from all of us.

A Mountain In The Solar System

You can head to the gallery once you are done taking a look at the museum. A really fun feature here is a space where you can measure your weight on every celestial body. You will even come across a structure of Olympus Mons, the biggest mountain in solar system.

Anything Else?

Seven programmes {in Hindi, English and Bengali} are conducted from Monday to Saturday, from 12:30pm till 6:30pm, with two extra shows on Sundays and holidays. The entry fee of the planetarium is INR 80 but they give a concession to students if they come in a group of 25. However, they have get a letter from school authorities in order to avail the discount.