A top-class 8K Hybrid planetarium for a leading astronomical center in France!

The Centre d’Astronomie Saint-Michel l’Observatoire, in France, revealed to the public on Saturday its spectacular planetarium the « Planétarium de Haute-Provence », equipped with the powerful 8K hybrid system we installed, bringing together 6 x 4K GTZ280 Sony projectors, a starball totally hybridized with our state-of-the-art software SkyExplorer, an Astro-Tec dome screen, along with interactive and interconnected tools: our unequalled technology the full iPad control, a gamepad and a JL Cooper console.

In this exceptional site dedicated to the discovery of astronomy and the observation of the night sky, the audience can live breathtaking and scientifically accurate experiences inside the dome and throughout the astronomical center. 

For over twenty years, the Centre d’Astronomie of Saint-Michel l’Observatoire has been a reference in the field of scientific mediation. Its park of high-tech instruments gives it all its scientific legitimacy and reinforces its educational dimension. The various telescopes allow the observation of the night sky; the Sidérostat, a unique telescope in France, allows the direct projection of the surface of the Sun on a large screen and the Lunt 152 mm telescope offers the possibility of observing the activity of the Sun during the day. “The Planétarium de Haute-Provence will complete the Astronomical Center as an innovative tool for the transmission of scientific knowledge, an immersive experience at the service of astronomy, and an invitation to observe the Universe”, writes the planetarium team.  

In the 11.5 m dome of the planetarium, we installed our powerful software SkyExplorer, 6 x 4K GTZ280 Sony projectors, and an Astro-Tec dome screen to achieve the most stunning realistic images in real time with the greatest levels of quality and renderings, along with a Goto Pandia II starball totally hybridized with SkyExplorer to offer beautiful night sky observations.

To provide an always more memorable experience, we installed powerful interactive and interconnected tools.
Our unequalled technology the Full iPad Control, enables planetarium operators to enjoy the exact same graphical user interface and content on the iPad & on the dome, and interact with the audience directly from the dome.
The gamepad brings smoother controls to fly through Saturn’s rings or around our 3D Volumetric Milky Way for example and can even be handed over to the audience to let them play! True gamers will be mesmerized by this interactive experience.
The JL Cooper Eclipse manual console enables planetarium operators to go to their control desk at any time and control SkyExplorer without even needing to switch on the screen of the computer. This console with its customizable control surface offers users superior levels of control, great ease-of-use and tactile assurance, for smooth and fast controls. 

As the planetarium team writes, “the hybrid technology brings an exceptional quality of projection. SkyExplorer, with its rich database and numerous features, enables the creation of customized planetarium sessions. Combined with interactive tools, it offers great flexibility during live shows. Moreover, the digital projection system offers the possibility to project on the dome very high-definition images in real time from the telescopes of the Astronomy Center”. 

Read more on the website of the Planétarium de Haute-Provence and take a sneak peek at the fantastic experience with the video below!