March 29, 2017 / News
National Museum of the Philippines Planetarium Renewed with Virtuarium X
The planetarium in Manila’s National Museum of the Philippines has continued to guide visitors through the starry sky for more than 40 years. It recently renewed its equipment, and a grand re-opening ceremony was held on March 23, 2017.
GOTO INC’s Model GM-15 opto-mechanical projector was introduced in the planetarium in 1975, and live presentations of the starry sky done by a veteran operator using manual controls has long been familiar to people in the Philippines.
But due to the deterioration of peripheral equipment in recent years, a new full-dome digital planetarium system "GOTO Virtuarium X" was delivered. At the same time, the Model GM-15 opto-mechanical projector which projects sharp and bright starry images was totally overhauled, and remains in the dome.
Sound and lighting equipment in the dome was also replaced with the latest types and the 16m diameter dome space was re-born as the place where people can enjoy both the beautiful starry sky of the GM-15 and the powerful fulldome digital images of the GOTO Virtuarium X video system.
GOTO hopes this planetarium will be a pleasant place for the Philippine people to enjoy for the next several decades. The planetarium of the National Museum of the Philippines is located in Rizal Park which is 30 minutes by car from Ninoy Aquino International Airport (T3). Planetarium shows resumed for the public on March 24, 2017.