Mobile planetarium handed over by PDO

Muscat: Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is donating its mobile planetarium to the Oman Astronomical Society (OAS) to help spread knowledge and awareness about astronomy across the country.
Since the inflatable dome was opened in 2015, it has attracted more than 23,000 visitors to a variety of locations, including Muscat, Salalah and Nizwa.
PDO officially handed over the dome on Monday, following a Memorandum of Understanding signing between OAS Chairman Dr Saleh bin Said Al Shithani and PDO External Affairs and Value Creation Director Abdul-Amir Abdul-Hussein Al Ajmi.
Celestial sphere
“The Oman Astronomical Society is gearing up, with PDO, to bring the wonders of the celestial sphere closer to people’s
homes,” Al Shithani said.
“We are planning to use the portable planetarium dome and its projection system during daytime to immerse school pupils in the rich learning settings and provide an animated stargazing experience without the disturbance of light pollution.”
The semi-sphere structure has a 10-metre diameter and a maximum height of 5.7 metres. It consists of three layers of fabric with a film coating, a fast-assembly aluminium frame and a fan.
Once inside, visitors are entertained by a digital cube projection unit, a 3-D event horizon application, with more than 10 million stars, constellations and the solar system and visual data in a 360-degree format.
Variety of shows
Audiences of all ages have so far enjoyed a variety of shows, including Cocomong: A Space Adventure for Children, and 10 Steps Through The Sky, giving adults an introduction to astronomy basics, its history and major discoveries, including the work of Galileo and Copernicus, as well as perspectives offered by the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.
Knowledge World, which is a combination of all of PDO’s educational attractions, has so far received 29,000 visitors this year, and is expected to exceed 30,000 before January.
The mobile planetarium will continue to be free of charge.