Mysuru’s new ₹116-crore planetarium, featuring what the report describes as the world’s first 15-degree tilted LED curved dome, is set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 13 at the foothills of Chamundi Hill. The facility has been developed as a public astronomy attraction as well as a centre for science education and training.
The three-storey facility has been built on around 3.5 acres provided by the University of Mysore at the Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Centre for Higher Learning campus. It includes a sky theatre, an astronomy museum, exhibition halls, lecture rooms, classrooms and training laboratories.
Unlike conventional planetariums, which use projectors to display images on a screen, the new facility uses a 15-metre dome covered entirely with LED panels. The dome is tilted at an angle of 15 degrees, a design intended to give visitors the experience of viewing space from an immersive position rather than watching a conventional projection.
The system uses 8K resolution technology to display the sky, stars, eclipses and the movement of comets. The sky theatre will accommodate between 150 and 160 visitors at a time. Japan’s Konica Minolta, France’s RSA Cosmos and India’s Orbit Animate jointly developed the technical framework, according to the report. The facility will use Sky Explorer software and the Digistar 7 system.
The planetarium is also intended to function as a study and training centre rather than only as a public entertainment venue. Its programmes will cover astronomy documentation, space-data processing and coding, while practical training will be offered in related areas. Information and programmes will be available in both Kannada and English.
The project is being implemented by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Atomic Energy. The University of Mysore will be responsible for day-to-day operations and academic activities at the centre.
The foundation stone was laid in March 2022 by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who also provided a ₹5-crore grant from her Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme allocation, the report said. Construction was completed over four years.
The facility adds a specialised science-education destination to Mysuru’s institutional and tourism landscape. Its operations will now depend on how the University of Mysore manages public programming, academic training and access to the new technology after the inauguration.
