JENA/Germany, 11.09.2014.
In late August, ZEISS signed an agreement with the Birla Institute of Fundamental Research to upgrade and refurbish the Birla Planetarium in Kolkata, the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. The new equipment will replace the ZEISS universal projection planetarium which has reliably served the millions of inhabitants of this metropolis ever since it was inaugurated in 1962. As well as a ZEISS STARMASTER optical-mechanical projector, the refurbished planetarium will also include a digital projection system consisting of nine VELVET projectors developed and produced by ZEISS for fulldome projection. The company will also be supplying a new sound system and a number of different shows based on astronomical topics. The old projection dome, 23 meters in diameter, will also be replaced. The renovations will be carried out over the summer of 2015 and the long-established educational institute is due to open its doors again in September 2015.
Planetarium Director Debiprasad Duari is already looking forward to the high-tech improvements: The new hybrid system features more vivid projection technology that will offer visitors a far richer experience. Wilfried Lang, Vice President Planetarium Division at ZEISS, is equally delighted with the agreement: By installing ZEISS technology, India's leading planetarium is getting the very best in optical-mechanical and digital planetarium projection systems. We're proud that this customer chose our solution over all the competing offers. The customer was particularly impressed by the ZEISS VELVET projection system. Thanks to the projector's extraordinary contrast, it is possible to combine image and star projection without losing the velvety black depths of the universe. The system in Kolkata will be the first ZEISS VELVET installation on the Indian subcontinent.
More than 20 million people have visited the planetarium since it began its mission to promote popular science 50 years ago. Popularly known as Taramandal, the planetarium explains unfolding events in the sky and regularly presents the world of astronomy in Hindi, English and Bengali. Run by the private Birla Foundation, the planetarium will continue to focus primarily on live presentations in the future. The new equipment is the perfect choice for this task, featuring software which performs continuous, synchronous control of the digital and optical-mechanical projection system both in manual operation and in automatic mode.
The planetarium is one of the largest facilities of its kind in India, and indeed worldwide, and its typically Indian style of architecture has helped make the building a key tourist attraction in Kolkata. Regarded as a center of astronomical education for the country as a whole, it also includes numerous paintings and models covering much of the history of astronomy. The planetarium hosts regular seminars, conferences and workshops and also publishes a popular science journal on astronomical topics.
Gudrun Vogel
Carl Zeiss
Corporate Communications
Jena Site
Phone: +49 3641 64-2770
Fax: +49 3641 64-2941
gudrun.vogel@zeiss.com
About ZEISS
ZEISS is an international leader in the fields of optics and optoelectronics. The more than 24,000 employees of ZEISS generated revenue of about 4.2 billion euros in fiscal year 2012/13. Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. ZEISS has been contributing to technological progress for more than 160 years. ZEISS develops and produces solutions for the semiconductor, automotive and mechanical engineering industries, biomedical research and medical technology, as well as eyeglass lenses, camera and cine lenses, binoculars and planetariums. ZEISS is present in over 40 countries around the globe with more than 40 production facilities, around 50 sales and service locations and over 20 research and development sites. Carl Zeiss AG is fully owned by the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung (Carl Zeiss Foundation).
Number: 0104-2014-ENG PL
Number of Words: 465
Number of Characters: 3129
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JENA/Germany, 11.09.2014. 
