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It began six and a half years ago when the trustees began raising funds to transform an existing storage building into a Planetarium and Science Centre. Since then, we have raised £500,000 which, together with gifts in kind such as building materials and computer equipment, have finally brought the project to fruition. Throughout the life of the project , we have received - and continue to receive - tremendous support from a wide variety of organisations and individuals. We are, of course, hugely appreciative of those major sponsors whose names appear in the foyer - without them we could not have succeeded. But we are also greatly indebted to the hundreds of people who have helped us, either with smaller donations, with their freely-given labour and expertise during the building work, by acting as volunteer staff during our work-up period since last August, and in many other ways. To you all, please accept our warm and heartfelt thanks. SOLAR TRAIL Soon after the Planetarium opened on 5th April 2002, we completed our "Solar Trail", which runs along the 200 yards of approach road leading from the school roundabout in front of the Sixth Form Centre down to the Planetarium. The Solar Trail performs two main functions. Firstly, it provides much needed lighting along the approach road. Secondly, at regular intervals, it gives basic facts and information about each of the planets in the Solar System. From the roundabout the trail starts with Pluto, just as it would if you were in a space-craft approaching the Sun from outside the Solar System. Then, as you go further along the trail, you pass, in sequence, points representing Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Earth, Venus, Mercury and, finally, the Sun. As part of our commitment to care for the environment, the lights along the Solar Trail are of the full cut-off design ensuring hat no light goes u into he night sky. Additionally, three of the lanterns are powered by wind-driven generators. The Solar Trail has been made possible through the generosity of the Seagull Trust, Urbis Lighting Ltd, Brian Fieldhouse, Henry Adams and Partners, with technical advice and assistance from Gerry Davis. RANGE OF PRESENTATIONS IMPROVED As well as at least one different public presentation for the community each month, averaging four to five shows for each subject, our range of presentations for schoolchildren both complements and supplements their National Curriculum work and meets the basic educational needs of a range of ages. However, we would like to increase our ability to produce tailor-made shows to meet the specific needs of individual schools and other youth groups, and to be able to produce new presentations rapidly, in response to topical events such as the appearance of a comet. At present, our main star projector and supplementary slide and video projectors are all controlled manually from the auditorium console by the lecturer. While our principal lecturer, Dr John Mason, has worked wonders with his manual dexterity, while literally working in the dark, the manual system has a number of drawbacks. These include potential lack of smoothness in changes between the various types of audio-visual and sound equipment, and an inherent awkwardness in operation, especially for visiting lecturers. We are therefore working on a scheme to install a computer-controlled slide and video projection system which will overcome some of these difficulties and give us a better base for the creation of new and even better presentations. The work, which involves new hardware, system planning, cabling and installation, commissioning and programming, is being carried out by Sky-Skan GmbH, one of the world leaders in planetarium technology, and is now at an advanced stage. STAR CLUB As a result of requests from visitors during our earlier Open Day shows, we have formed a 'Friends of the Planetarium' Star Club. The club will allow anyone who wishes to become more involved with this exciting project. Members will receive this quarterly magazine "Planetarium News" keeping them up to date with the latest developments. It will also give them the opportunity for priority booking for the special events which will be staged from time to time, as well as discounts on Planetarium publications and other items available at the kiosk. Membership subscriptions are:
Individual membership £10.00
Trustees: J.K.W. Green MBE; P.E. Fray; Dr J.W. Mason
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On Friday, 5th April 2002, the South Downs Planetarium was officially opened by Sir Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, marking a major milestone in the realisation of a dream.