BERLIN, JENA/Germany, 18.08.2016.
On 25 August 2016 the large ZEISS planetarium in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district will reopen following extensive renovation work and upgrades in the form of new ZEISS technology. The centerpiece of the refurbishment is a ZEISS hybrid planetarium, comprising a video projection system complete with ten ZEISS VELVET projectors for full-dome projection and a star projector of the type ZEISS UNIVERSARIUM Model IX specially built for the Berlin planetarium. This system enables planetarium shows like never before. With its new ZEISS technology, the planetarium is one of the world's state-of-the-art star theaters, says Dr. Martin Wiechmann, Head of the Planetariums business unit at ZEISS.
The ZEISS VELVET projection system enables extremely high-resolution films, videos and visualizations piloted live such as the space flight through the universe to be projected onto the 23-meter dome surface in a realistic way. The ZEISS VELVET projection system generates images with more than 25 million pixels eleven times as many as a movie theater projector. The ZEISS technology allows us to rethink the planetarium. The technical possibilities open the door to the authentic and breathtaking presentation of all sciences. It the first major step to a science theater that redefines our place in the cosmos in the here and now beyond the limits of astronomy, says Tim Florian Horn, Head of the large ZEISS planetarium.
While the star projector makes the night sky shine with natural brilliance, the digital projection system supplements the programs with a wide diversity of didactic presentations and colorful astronomical objects taken from current research. Although there are two different projection systems one mechanical and analog, the other digital the control software from ZEISS ensures that the two projectors are always in sync. For example, the digital portrait of the Orion Nebula always appears at the right location under the stars.
The ten ZEISS VELVET projectors are spread around the edge of the dome, with each projector generating a partial image. Using automated calibration from ZEISS, all of the partial images are merged so exactly on the dome that visitors see the entire image on the over 700 m2 dome surface. The ZEISS VELVET projectors guarantee the world's highest contrast. While other projectors always generate a gray haze on the dome, ZEISS VELVET projectors deliver absolute black and therefore exceptionally brilliant colors. With the ZEISS VELVET system we achieve pitch black, which means that the brilliance of the starlit sky is always reproduced in a hybrid planetarium. The ZEISS VELVET lenses generate such tiny and perfect pixels that visitors can enjoy extremely sharply defined dome images.
This interplay of star projector and digital projection will allow future visitors to the large ZEISS planetarium to leave the earth and embark on a virtual journey through the solar system, discovering space as they do. 3D software based on astronomical databases visualizes the entire observable universe. A flight on the orbit of the Cassini spacecraft shows an outsize Saturn with its characteristic rings passing by on the dome. When flying into intergalactic space, our home galaxy with 200 billion stars, the Milky Way, shrinks to a mere dot of light among billions of other stars. The dome-filling cosmic background radiation testifies to the evolution of the universe.
The large ZEISS planetarium with its impressive 30-meter external dome was opened in 1987 as one of the largest and state-of-the-art star theaters in all of Europe. It is located in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district and, since July 2016, has been part of the newly formed Stiftung Planetarium Berlin (Berlin planetarium foundation) alongside the Archenhold Observatory and the Wilhelm Foerster Observatory and Planetarium on the city's Insulaner hill. With this merger, Berlin is making further efforts to become the no. 1 place for astronomical popular science in Germany. The star theaters are being transformed into modern theaters that present science in a comprehensible way, says Sandra Scheeres, Senator for Education, Youth and Science for Berlin. Renovation and modernization work on the planetarium began in April 2014. Serving as an important testimony to the history of planetariums, the original ZEISS COSMORAMA star projector is being accorded pride of place in the foyer as part of the new exhibition.
$DAM-B1EB402D4D2A5ACCC125801300481D58
Press contact
Gudrun Vogel,
Carl Zeiss AG
Planetariums
Phone: +49 3641 64-2770
Fax: +49 3641 64-2941
gudrun.vogel@zeiss.com
About ZEISS
ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the optics and optoelectronics industries. The ZEISS Group develops and distributes semiconductor manufacturing equipment, measuring technology, microscopes, medical technology, eyeglass lenses, camera and cine lenses, binoculars and planetarium technology. With its solutions, the company constantly advances the world of optics and helps shape technological progress. ZEISS is divided up into the four segments Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology, Research & Quality Technology, Medical Technology, and Vision Care/Consumer Optics. ZEISS is represented in over 40 countries and operates more than 30 production sites, over 50 sales and service locations and about 25 research and development facilities. In fiscal year 2014/15 the company generated revenue approximating 4.5 billion with around 25,000 employees. Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. Carl Zeiss AG is the strategic management holding company that manages the ZEISS Group. The company is wholly owned by the Carl Zeiss Stiftung (Carl Zeiss Foundation).
Further information at www.zeiss.com
Consumer Optics
The Consumer
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
BERLIN, JENA/Germany, 18.08.2016. 
