Where to look at the stars?

Overview of planetariums in Russia

Nothing can enchant a person like the starry sky, but bright signs, flashing billboards, lit streets do not allow the inhabitants of cities and towns to enjoy the beauty of the night sky. To help you enjoy it, together with the 2GIS information service we have prepared a list of planetariums and observatories in major cities of the country Masha Guseva

Great Planetarium of Moscow

Planetarium with an 85-year history and the largest screen dome in Europe. The Great Planetarium of Moscow was the thirteenth in the world. All planetariums in Russia began their work with its direct participation. The planetarium has also contributed greatly to the development of Russian cosmonautics. The Great Planetarium of Moscow has two observatory towers - large and small. In the interactive museum "Lunarium" visitors can conduct real scientific experiments, and in the museum "Urania" - see the oldest astronomical instruments and even touch the real

Online tours of the Moscow Planetarium

The Virtual Planetarium is a large project that allows you to get acquainted with the exposition online and, most importantly, to watch and listen to the best lectures about space, as well as learn the entire history of the Moscow Planetarium.

Videos are available on the official YouTube channel of the Moscow Planetarium:

• Moscow Planetarium: For 90 years we have been lighting the stars
• Playlist with excursions
• Scientist's Tribune Project Lecture Series

However, the planetarium's online educational activities are not limited to the YouTube channel; the official website even has a dedicated section dedicated to all open-access projects:

Schedule of sessions at the Moscow Planetarium

You can watch informative films about space in the planetarium from Wednesday to Monday. The day off is Tuesday.

The poster is always varied, and there are many sessions throughout the day.

Prices in the planetarium in Moscow in 2020

• Great Hall of Stars and the Uranium Museum - on weekdays from 550 rubles, on weekends / holidays - from 600 rubles;
• Lunarium - 450 rubles / weekdays, 500 rubles / weekends (can be paid by card "Troika");
• Small Hall of Stars - 100/200 rubles;
• Grand Observatory - 250 rubles/weekdays, 300 rubles/weekends;
• Astroplatform "Park of the Sky" - 100 rubles;
• Theater of fascinating science - 600 rubles.

Full price - on the official website of the Moscow Planetarium.

Hotels near the Moscow Planetarium

Apartment at Krasnaya Presnya from 2 900 rub	GMApartments Stalin's Skyscrapper with samovar from 4 500 rubles	Guest House on Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya Alisa from 4 500 rubles
GMApartments in Stalin's Skyscrapper from 4,410 rubles	Hostel Astra on the Arbat from 585 rubles	Karol Apart Zoo from 3 500 rub

Tickets

The sale of tickets to the Moscow Planetarium begins 7 days in advance - for sessions, museums and other venues, and 1 month in advance - for concerts and custom events.

Ticket offices are open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Electronic tickets are also available on the official website:

Exposition

The scientific complex has modern equipped halls and exhibition areas with expositions, it has thematic museums. There are four levels in the building, including the lower - underground.

Small Star Hall

The Children's Hall, has a domed screen for showing popular science films and is often used to produce its own films. It is located on the lower (underground) level of the planetarium.

Lunarium Museum

An interactive children's museum with interesting physics and astronomy exhibits on the lower level and an exhibition on the history of space exploration on the first level of the building.

Urania Museum

Includes two halls - on the first and second levels. In the first hall one can see successively developing instruments and equipment for cognition of the Universe, including instruments for navigating by stars. There is also an exhibition devoted exclusively to the history of the Moscow Planetarium: books, photographs and some equipment (legendary Planetarium apparatuses #13 and #313). An exhibition of meteorites, globes and a model of the solar system is in the second hall of the Uranium Museum.

Observatories of the Moscow Planetarium

The largest telescope in Moscow available to visitors is in the Large Observatory, with a diameter of 300 mm. The Small Observatory has a 400-mm telescope for research work.

"Park the Sky."

An open-air astronomical site with several instruments: astronomy (classical, ancient and telescopic), sundials, globes and other exhibits that once had practical significance.

The Great Hall of Stars

Located on the last, third level, directly under the dome, its projector allows you to see more than 9 thousand celestial bodies and their movement across the sky. Like in the Small Hall, 4D film screenings are held here.

Fascinating Science Theater "Visiting the Stargazer"

One of the Moscow Planetarium's new projects. Interactive children's programs are designed for children of different ages, individual and group applications are accepted.

Also in the building there is a photo studio, a souvenir store "MKS". A map of the planetarium can be seen on the official website.

Planetarium of the Cultural Center of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

The planetarium is located in the center of Moscow and is a monument of architecture of the 18th century - the city manor "Catherine Palace" with a magnificent park. The planetarium was founded on the basis of the Frunze Cultural Center of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The apparatus installed in the planetarium allows to observe various celestial phenomena: a meteor shower, solar and lunar eclipses. During sessions on the dome of the Star Hall one can see a star sky, various planets and comets. During the year the planetarium hosts performances of the leading astronomers of the country

B. A. Maksimachev Planetarium (mobile planetarium)

Sessions are held every Saturday and Sunday at the Cosmonautics Memorial Museum. The planetarium can also come to any place and time that is convenient. Lecturers will introduce the basics of astronomy, help take a virtual walk through the sky under the dome of the mobile planetarium, show the starry sky at different latitudes. The offer is especially relevant for students of educational institutions of Moscow and the Moscow region. Without leaving the walls of their native school, children can travel into space. Educational programs and popular science films are shown in

St. Petersburg Planetarium

The Planetarium was founded in 1959. In the Stellar Hall of the Planetarium one can observe the most important astronomical phenomena: starry sky of the Earth, daily motion of the sky, movement of the Sun and planets, nebulae and star clusters, the Milky Way. In the hall "Space travel" one can become a crew member of a spaceship and make an exciting flight around the Solar System. The hall "Planet" will tell everything about home - about planet Earth, about the birth of life on Earth, and about those who live there. The laboratory of amusing experiments allows to spend

Main Pulkovskaya Astronomical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The famous observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences was founded in 1839 by order of Emperor Nicholas I. The observatory houses the Museum of Astronomy, where one can trace the history of Russian astronomy in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Pulkovo Observatory is a World Heritage Site and is protected by UNESCO. During the tour visitors can see the main instruments in operation - the 26" refractor telescope, the Grand Pulkovo Radio Telescope, the Solar Telescope and the park.

See the stars in Novosibirsk, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg and more

Children and Youth Center "Planetarium"

The planetarium's history dates back to 2006 and includes the largest astrophysical center in the Asian part of Russia, a park and the Foucault Tower. The planetarium building itself is two-story with a film studio on the first floor and a second floor with a 16-meter dome for 114 seats. The 7-degree tilt of the dome makes the projected image as realistic as possible. A visit to the Planetarium includes an overview tour, a short astronomic lecture, a full-dome movie showing and a visit to the Foucault Tower.

Spherical Cinema

Spherical full-dome cinema is not just a map of the starry sky, it is a full-fledged cinema, in which the image with the help of special projectors is displayed on the dome with a 360 degree view. So, the knowledge of the sky goes with a strong immersive effect. The films are specially created by the Spherical Cinema Society, they are a mix of educational films and entertainment show. The ticket price is 200 rubles.

Volgograd Planetarium

The Volgograd Planetarium opened its doors in 1954. One of the largest planetariums in Russia, it is among the eight best in the world. The Planetarium has its own Astronomical Observatory, whose dome rotates in any direction you want. With the telescope installed there you can observe the Sun, the Moon with its craters, mountains and seas. In the evening you can see planets, stars, comets, star clusters and nearby galaxies. The Planetarium has the Altsiya Astronomy Club, where school children can work with the

Krasnoyarsk Planetarium

A visit to the planetarium in Krasnoyarsk consists of a tour of the Museum of Rocket and Space Technology and a film projected on the dome. Now the planetarium offers four films for viewing. "Astronomy" tells about the basics of science, its formation, history and major milestones. You will learn about the location of stars in the sky, the structure of the constellations, the Zodiac, the structure of the solar system, the discoveries of great scientists. "Two glasses" tells about telescopes, the specifics of their work and history of creation. The film "In search of the edge of the solar system" is about the research

Nizhny Novgorod Planetarium

The planetarium was founded in 1948. An interesting fact is that in 2007 a space simulator for docking the Soyuz-TMA spaceship with the International Space Station was installed here. The visualization system installed in the planetarium, which actually projects the starry sky on the dome of the building, is the first and only domestic development of its kind. The new planetarium building allows for over 50 thousand visitors annually and 1300 events. In addition to lectures on astronomy and optional programs for students of secondary schools

A planetarium with the world's largest dome opened in St. Petersburg

The new planetarium's star hall in the historic gasometer building welcomed its first guests Friday night, surpassing the diameter of the dome of the planetarium in Nagoya, Japan, which was considered the largest in the world.

The building of the largest gas holder in Russia on the embankment of Obvodny Channel was built more than a century and a half ago to store gas, which was used for lighting the city streets. The area of the whole complex after restoration is 4 thousand square meters and allows to combine a star hall, a museum with space exhibits, interactive halls with virtual reality, educational classrooms and an observatory.

Prices

At the moment the rates are as follows:

Adult ticket - 550 rubles

For students - 400 rubles

Veterans and their companions, as well as children under three years - free of charge.

The working mode of the institution is from 10:00 to 22:00. This is a technical mode. The management believes that the completion of construction work and the formation of the finished complex should be carried out in front of people.

The building

The building where the new planetarium is housed was formerly a gas holder (gas storage). The gas was used to light the streets of the city more than 150 years ago. The total area of the complex after it was restored is equal to 4000 sq. m.

Such a scale made it possible to place everything necessary on the territory - an observatory, classrooms, a star hall, a space museum, as well as rooms where you can try interactive attractions with virtual reality.

On the opening day

Several hundred guests gathered for the opening of this incredible spectacle, and there was even a line of curious people at the entrance. They were greeted by a talking robot, which caused genuine excitement not only among children, but also among adults.

Among the guests of honor were Andrei Borisenko, cosmonaut and Hero of Russia, as well as Governor Georgy Poltavchenko. Poltavchenko believes that the opening of such a large institution is another significant step in the development of the creative industry in the city.

And Andrei Borisenko noted that it would be nice to see the starry sky at any time in the cloudy St. Petersburg weather.

The initiator of the construction, Evgeny Gudov, says that the planetarium will use the most modern high technology. The creators have invested all their creativity and knowledge in this project. As for the financial investment, 380 million rubles have been invested so far.

After the ceremony, visitors were shown short videos on the reconstruction of the building and the history of astronautics, with images projected directly onto the dome.

Eugene Gudov about the development of the project

The chief ideologist described how he and his team traveled to different countries around the world and visited planetariums there to highlight the best points for creating the perfect complex.

He assures that in terms of technical characteristics, the Russians surpassed all foreign competitors. Great attention was paid to the content, so that it would look good on the dome. The dome itself is assembled from aluminum plates.

It was also important to intrigue every visitor, both adults and children. The program should not be boring so that it makes you want to sleep. So the best studios in Russia work on the creation of scenes.

Also, the creators organized a collaboration with NVidia, which has agreed to supply for the planetarium powerful video cards Quadro P6000, capable of not only playback video in 16K, but also to make calculations of the sky for training programs.

The complex was also strongly sponsored by Lumiere Hall, a well-known creative space in Moscow that specializes in contemporary art.

How did the idea to build a planetarium on the Obvodny Island come about?

I first got into this gas holder in the summer of 2015. The first thought I had was to build a planetarium here. I measured the diameter and realized that the largest in the world would fit here. While I was thinking about it, I held exhibitions of "living canvases" by Van Gogh and Aivazovsky here [in December 2015]. Then I decided to do [the planetarium]: then our company began to prepare technically and work out the possibilities.

Around the same time, I decided that the planetarium was not all that would be on the grounds of the gasometer. The neighboring buildings - so it is planned now - will become a science and technology complex with a star hall, a museum with space exhibits, interactive halls with virtual reality, educational classrooms and an observatory. Some of them will appear already by November, some will be completed a little later. The final refinements will continue until the end of 2018.

The planetarium building from the other side of the Obvodny Canal.
Planetarium building.

The planetarium layout

The projection dome is 37 meters in diameter, two meters larger than the previous record holder, located in Japan. To transmit images to it, the hall is equipped with four dozen projectors. The image resolution exceeds 256,000,000 pixels. According to the creators, this is done for maximum immersion in the space of space.

In the center of the star room there are two interactive tables, which are very popular with children. They show a map of the starry sky, complete with three-dimensional constellations of the two hemispheres. You can click on any star and find out what it is called.

On the first floor are models of spaceships, including the famous "Soyuz" station and the fantastic "Death Star" from Star Wars. The collection is planned to replenish, already ordered models of many famous ships.

How the planetarium will develop

We don't have the goal of getting as many kids through the planetarium as possible so that they all go into astronomy. We just want them to be interested in technology and think about choosing a technical or scientific profession. Now Russia needs engineers, developers and programmers to grow and gain success on the international stage.

We already have two lectures a month. We invite famous St. Petersburg scientists to them. One of the first lectures will be given by a scientist who supervises the development of the school astronomy program. We will have specialists from both Russian and international planetariums.

Although we don't have any lofty ambitions. We make a planetarium just for fun. We want to, we like, we can, and we do. It's all for ourselves: it's nice to be in the building, we're fans of our work. We want to share that. And if you do it for yourself, others should like it, too.

What money is being used to build the project and who is helping the planetarium?

There are no sponsors - we do everything ourselves. We are not a state project - no one offered us money, although it would have been great. I myself invested 380 million rubles in the project. One-third of the money was credit, the rest we earned from other projects.

Only the Investment Committee provided us with an employee who accompanies us to all the other committees where we went and still go to coordinate the construction and opening of the planetarium.

We won't start working with travel agencies until the season is over. In November, the program will be in Russian only, and the English version will not appear until the new year. By summer, I hope, we'll add titles in other languages.

If they start redirecting schoolchildren to us to study astronomy (Georgy Poltavchenko, governor of St. Petersburg, recommending the Investment Council to support the planetarium project, said that schoolchildren should have the opportunity to study astronomy - ed. "Papers."), it will be great. Schoolchildren will pay for the tours, and we will show them, tell them, and surprise them.

Although the money received from schoolchildren will still go into the project. We'll use it to build something new or complete something old.

The projection dome is not ready yet.

Exhibition in the planetarium building in honor of the heroes of space.
Exhibition in the planetarium building in honor of the heroes of space.

How the project will differ from the planetariums at Gorkovskaya and the Lakhta Center

We don't actually have three planetariums in town. There are mobile ones that inflate and roll out in schools. We won't compete with all of them - we'll just have unique content.

Moreover, the planetarium at Gorkovskaya, which has a diameter of 16 meters, and the planetarium at the Lakhta Center, which has a diameter of 15 meters, will be regional because of their size. We will become a federal facility, a tourist attraction.

We worked on our content specifically for the planetarium, which will be the largest in the world.

Blueprints of the projection dome.

Plans

A variety of content is planned so that people of all ages will be interested in the planetarium. There will be screenings of children's films about space in the morning. In late January 2018, the laboratory will be opened, and in another 4-5 months, the lectures and observatory. The entire complex will be completed tentatively by September 2018.

Also in the future it will be made independent in terms of electricity - several wind generators will be installed to ensure an uninterrupted supply of electricity.

The dome is not yet complete, but that will be fixed very soon. A nice bonus - with tickets purchased at the moment, you can go twice more.

Next to the main building will be built an aircraft modeling club, several exhibition halls, a robotics workshop and viewing platform, as well as several additional classrooms for lectures.

Starry sky in a cloudy city

Astronomers discovered an asteroid belt near the nearest starThe opening ceremony of the star hall with the largest projection dome attracted hundreds of visitors, and even at the entrance there was a line of those wishing to attend. The guests were greeted by a talking robot, with which not only children but also adults were happy to talk and take pictures.

Governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko and Hero of Russia, pilot-cosmonaut Andrey Borisenko were the honorary participants of the ceremony.

"This is not only a new venue where St. Petersburgers and guests of the city can study the starry sky and get the necessary information, but also the largest planetarium in the world," said the governor.

Scientists told why the first dog flew into space LaikaAccording to his assessment, the opening of the planetarium will be another step in the development of the so-called "gray belt" of St. Petersburg and a good example of investment project in the creative industries. According to the mayor, the implementation of this project corresponds to a new trend in the development of public space in the former industrial areas.

Project initiator Evgeny Gudov said that the new planetarium will be one of the most high-tech: "We tried to invest not only money, but also our knowledge, our experience and creativity.

Planetarium with the largest dome in the world opened in St. Petersburg

According to cosmonaut Andrei Borisenko, the planetarium is also important for St. Petersburg because it allows you to see the stars in a city whose sky is often obscured by clouds.

Scientists have named a new threat for astronauts during a flight to MarsAfter the ceremonial part, guests were shown video clips about the history of St. Petersburg, the reconstruction of the gas holder building, as well as the main stages of the development of astronautics. Part of the dome, where the image was projected, was used as a screen.

"According to another interlocutor of the agency, the new site will also be interesting for children, who will be able not only to see the starry sky, but also to study the models of spacecraft installed in the hall.

"My son really liked the Buran model, I think we will definitely come here again. I would like to learn more about space," he shared.

The real space awaits visitors

NASA astronomers have discovered two dozen potential twins of the EarthDiameter of the projection dome of the new planetarium is 37 meters, which is 2 meters more than the parameters of the planetarium in the Japanese city of Nagoya, which is included in the Guinness Book of Records. 40 powerful projectors will transmit the picture to the planetarium screen, the image resolution will be over 256 million pixels and the volume sound power will reach 50 kW. According to the design, it will allow visitors to fully immerse themselves in the atmosphere of space - especially since for their convenience in the room

He added that the installation of the cover of the dome of the starry hall will be completed soon, and the first "space session" viewers will see on November 4.

"At the end of January we have a laboratory opening, in May - the opening of the observatory and lecture halls. And the whole complex we want to be completely finished by September 1, 2018," said the author of the project.

Nagoya Science Museum

The Japanese planetarium, which can accommodate up to 350 people simultaneously, has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest planetarium in the world since 2011, but the city on the Neva has already submitted a similar application.

Nagoya Science Museum

The planetarium opened in 1962 and was renovated in 2011. The map of the starry sky is different every month, depending on the time of year and the location of the constellations. The seats in the auditorium unfold in a semi-circle and have reclining backs (up to 30 degrees). The session lasts just under an hour.

Interestingly, for Japanese schoolchildren attendance is completely free.

The architecture of the planetarium strikes everyone who sees it for the first time - a huge metal sphere as if squeezed between buildings, looking like a large vertical lawn. The whole ball is covered with solar panels, of which there are more than 700. This technical exhibit itself generates energy using solar panels for the entire scientific complex.

Nagoya Planetarium

Going up to the upper floors by a transparent elevator, visitors can observe the planetarium in detail. The science museum itself consists of three exhibitions. Besides astronomy, it includes biology and science and technology, but the space section is the most popular and most visited.

The modern Universarium projector is designed specifically for rooms with a sloping floor. Fiber optics allows you to increase the brightness of the depicted star, not by increasing power, but by using the light flux most productively. An additional second projector transmits a picture up to 64 megapixels in resolution.

An incipient tornado

The planetarium has a special room with a temperature of minus 30 degrees. While in it, viewers can watch the northern lights in the closest possible conditions. And in another room there is the genesis and broadcast of a huge tornado. You can also see the game of robot soccer players.