Gazing at the stars through the prism of Elizabeth City State University’s Khan Planetarium is about to become a digital state-of-the-art experience.
According to Dr. Gloria Payne, the Khan Planetarium is undergoing a scheduled upgrade this summer that will connect it to a worldwide digital system.
“The upgrade will enhance the educational and research opportunities for faculty and students in the region,” said Payne, chair of the ECSU Department of Natural Science, Pharmacy and Health Professions.
Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, the upgrade will include projection, lighting, and sound systems that power the planetarium’s big screen, full-dome experience.
“This will be the only planetarium in the state of North Carolina with a Digistar 6 Projection System, and it will have built-in cloud capability that will allow us to connect with all Digistar systems worldwide,” she said.
Payne says upgrades to the planetarium will begin an exciting new era in planetary learning. Full dome digital technology has become the norm for planetariums worldwide, offering high resolution and multi-media image production.
Originally published May 31, 2018. Written by Robert Kelly-Goss.