Taking The helm nested
at the rear of the the-
ater is a dimly lit control
room where a program
operator can control the
planetarium’s three visual
presentation systems. in
addition to a traditional,
highly detailed star map,
presenters can activate the
pre-scripted Fragile Planet
movie or dive into a fully
interactive 3D simulation of
the galaxy rendered in real
time. Soaring through the
stars doesn’t require dizzy-
ing cosmonaut training—it’s
made easy with Xbox 360
controls!BeTTer Than imaX Six DlP pro-
jectors unite to project a seamless
3600x3600-pixel digital image onto
the 75-foot dome. Unlike tradi-
tional planetariums, this theater
is tilted at 30 degrees and features
stadium seating so each member
of the 300-person audience has an
unobstructed view of the show. The
screen’s concave curvature even
gives a convincing illusion of depth
to increase the sense of realism.
http://www.maximumpc.com | feb 09 | MAXIMUMPC | 53