Stellar facility opens today
By Joe Bauman
Deseret News, 11 April 2003, page B1
Summary:
The $19 million Clark Planetarium was built as a replacement for the aging Hansen Planetarium at 15 South State Street, and has four times the public space. The Clark Planetarium was named for the late Sheila M. Clark after a $1 million donation from the Clark Foundation.
The Clark Planetarium features Utah's first IMAX theater, the world's first digital star theatre, a display of planets, a recreation of landscapes on the moon and Mars, a science shop, weather display, and other exhibits.
The IMAX theater has a seven-channel, 12,000-watt sound system with at least 40 speakers, including a 2,000-watt sub-woofer. IMAX 3D movies use two prints, one for each eye. Moviegoers wear polarized glasses so that each eye sees a separate view, which the brain then combines into a three-dimensional image. A 40 minute movie uses 7 miles of film, with each reel weighing 600 to 700 pounds. The projectors use 7,000-watt lamps. The first IMAX film to play at the Clark Planetarium will be "Space Station," narrated by Tom Cruise.
The Clark Planetarium has a 205-seat star theater with sloped stadium-style seating and a 55-foot, titled dome. The Digistar projection system uses a pit-less design so there is nothing in the middle of the room to obstruct the view.
Between the two theaters is the 'Parade of Planets', a display of correct scale sized models of all the planets in the solar system. The Clark Planetarium also has a room that recreates the lunar and Martian landscapes.