The RUM Planetarium is the first planetarium in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. It is located in the fourth floor of the Physics building of the

University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) in Spanish (also referred to as Colegio and CAAM in allusion to its former name), is a public land-grant university in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. UPRM ...

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is a city and the eighth-largest municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez, and is also known as ''La Sultana del Oeste'' (The Sultaness of the West), ''Ciudad de las Aguas Pura ...

Planetarium and observatory

The Physics department of the UPRM College of Arts and Sciences currently run the Planetarium and its Astronomical Observatory. Both were inaugurated in 1973 and have continued working and functioning uninterruptedly since. The Planetarium is a projection room whose hemispherical screen simulates the

Celestial sphere In astronomy and navigation, the celestial sphere is an abstract sphere that has an arbitrarily large radius and is concentric to Earth. All objects in the sky can be conceived as being projected upon the inner surface of the celestial sphere, ...

. In this screen one can observe close to 4,000 stars, simulating the sky as seen from anywhere in the world and at any time of year. The Planetarium has room for sixty-four people sitting in reclinable seats, allowing greater visibility into the dome. The star projector is located in the center of the hall and is controlled from a computerized console. Apart from its academic uses in the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

, the Planetarium is used as a complement to the curriculum of public and private schools in Puerto Rico in the areas of physics, astronomy, Earth Sciences and space sciences. The Observatory of the Physics Department also have a telescope with a primary mirror. This telescope is controlled by computer and enables the video transmission of astronomical imagery obtained using a CCD camera. They also provide services to the University community and the western area of Puerto Rico through open houses once or twice a month during the night. During these activities, visits can be coordinated to visit the Planetarium and the Observatory.

References

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Planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...

Planetaria in the United States Science museums in Puerto Rico University museums in Puerto Rico Astronomical observatories in Puerto Rico 1973 establishments in Puerto Rico Museums established in 1973

Planetarium and observatory

See also

References