Prague Will Buy the Most Modern Projection Technology in the World for its Planetarium

The planetarium in Prague is currently equipped with the digital projection system SkySkan, which was acquired in 2009 with 4K image quality.

This projection system had an estimated life of about 10,000 hours of operation and reached its limit in 2019. This year, there was a serious failure of the projectors’ optical elements.

The repair was demanding due to the unavailability of parts since projectors of this type are no longer produced. The repair managed to extend the life of the projector by approximately 2 to 3 years, and the end of life was further delayed by limited operation during the pandemic.

The Prague Planetarium still projects on the original dome built in 1958, which is not perfectly spherical, which may cause deformation of the projected image.

“We want to inspire children and arouse their interest in new technologies, science, and research. These areas have a great future and are already an important part of the economy. Therefore, at the same time as modernizing the planetarium, we are working on the preparation of the Science Park, which would focus on space, other aspects of modern science and technology and which we would like to place in the nearby Výstaviště complex, ” said Pavel Vyhnánek, Deputy Mayor of Finance and Budget.

“The planetarium will be closed for a necessary period of time due to the replacement of the projection system, as a number of construction work must be carried out, including the replacement of air conditioning. We estimate a total of six months work. We will use this time to create new programs so Prague will have at the same time the best projection system in the world,” adds Jakub Rozehnal, director of the Observatory and Planetarium of Prague.

“The City of Prague unanimously voted to allocate funds in the amount of CZK 250,000,000 for the purchase and implementation of a completely revolutionary projection system, which so far has equipped only two (i.e. smaller) planetariums in Japan. It is an “LED – dome” technology that creates an image using tens of millions of LEDs. This allows you to project with contrast and quality that are unattainable with conventional projection systems”, said Hana Trestikova, Prague Councillor for Culture and Tourism.