Spectators gather in front of the Pathani Samanta Planetarium in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, July1: The stars will soon go digital.

The Pathani Samanta Planetarium (PSP) will soon be equipped with a new digital technology to take viewers to the next level in celestial experiences.

If plans the authorities concerned are on the right track, the makeover will have viewers glued to their seats inside the planetarium’s dome.

The digital makeover will happen after an international bidding process.

“The planetarium will adopt digital technology, which is currently being used at Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai, and at other planetariums in Nasik and Surat. New planetariums coming up at Goa, Rampur and Gulbarga will also adopt a similar technology,” the director of the planetarium, Sangramjit Nayak, said.

He added that when the planetarium started in the city back in 1988-90, there was no digital technology. Later, the Tata group decided to digitise the facility by providing Rs 4.5 crore.

“But post the 26/11 Taj hotel attack, the proposal could not proceed further. So the state government decided to go ahead on its own and give planetarium a facelift.”

The director also informed that there are options for planetariums to go for either digital or hybrid technology. The hybrid technology would have both the automatic projector as well as the digital features. That would mean a mix of the current and future technologies operating from one place.

As the hybrid technology has not been used by any other planetarium in the country, the city planetarium too is being cautious about adopting it.

“We are being cautious about it and might consult a group of planetarium experts, scientists, physicists, engineers and vice-chancellors to examine the proposal, as the technology has to be on the floor for at least 15-20 more years,” Nayak said.

He added that the authorities are thinking of going for the digital option alone, as projection could be a problem in the hybrid option.

The department secretary has already held talks with the science and technology minister regarding the international bidding process for the projector, as the makers of the projector are mainly from countries like Germany and Japan, Nayak said.

The minister, Ramesh Chandra Majhi, in reply to a question in the Assembly, said recently that there has been a drop in the number of the visitors to the planetarium. “While in 2007-2008 it (the number of visitors) was 1,12,056, in 2008-2009 it was 98,220 and in 2009-2010 it was 88,341,” Majhi told the House.

The new technology, authorities hope, will give a fillip to the footfall.

The planetarium regularly organises programmes to popularise science. It selects particular shows and organises light and sound shows across the state. Each year, the themes change and on an average, 50 shows in one year are planned.

“The planetarium has taken several steps to popularise science in the city and its outskirts. We have organised several competitions among school students, night-sky watching centres, exhibitions and facilities for students and the general public to view celestial occasions like the solar and lunar eclipse,” Nayak, said.

“To explore talents in astronomy, a rural talent search programme has also been initiated since 2007 among the school students of Orissa,” said another planetarium official.

The Samanta Chandrasekhar Amateur Astronomers’ Association (SCAAA) too functions from the planetarium premises. The association has professors, research scholars, students and professionals as members.