On this day in 1923, the first star projector, Zeiss Mark I, made its world debut, and the planetarium was born.

For one hundred years, star projectors have captivated audiences with stunning and awe-inspiring night-sky projections. Star projectors like the top-caliber Zeiss Universarium Mark IX, the model that currently performs everyday in Griffith Observatory's Samuel Oschin Planetarium, can simulate an accurate sky from anywhere in the world at any time in history.

On October 2, Griffith Observatory Foundation dedicated the seventh installment of ABOVE to this centennial moment. The original presentation by Griffith Observatory Director Dr. E.C. Krupp was called "Night Gallery: Every Star Everywhere at Once," a one-night-only live performance of everything the Zeiss Mark IX star projector can do. In it, Dr. Krupp, stated, "In an era when the light-saturated skies of our cities have transformed the stars into an endangered species, the beauty and mystery of the night sky are preserved upon the domes of the world's planetaria to remind us what is still out there."

During October 2nd's ABOVE: Night Gallery, "Every Star Everywhere at Once," Ella Ritts (Observatory and Foundation staff member) is disguised as a Zeiss Mark II star projector. She ceremoniously circled Griffith Observatory's Zeiss Mark IX star projector with a cardboard birthday cake.

Celebrate with a visit to Griffith Observatory's Samuel Oschin Planetarium, which is open six days a week and offers three different shows. Additionally, a list of planetaria in the Los Angeles area may be found on our Astronomy Resources webpage.

In the Griffith Observer magazine's November, 2023, issue, Observatory Director Dr. E.C. Krupp wrote about the legacy of planetaria and the history of Zeiss projectors at Griffith Observatory. To read it, you may order a back issue for less than $5.

Garvey Ranch Observatory

Saturday, October 28, 2023

3:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Visit Griffith Observatory Foundation's table at Science Night! This FREE, family-friendly, and special-needs-friendly event is hosted by the Los Angeles Astronomical Society.

Geovanni Somoza of LAAS, who is also a Griffith Observatory Telescope Demonstrator, is the organizer for this event and the founder of Safe Place for Space.

No registration required.

Poster illustrated by Observatory Museum Guide and Signs of Life artist Estevan Guzman

Griffith Observatory staff have a longstanding tradition of sporting astronomical costumes in the building on Halloween (or the day prior if Halloween is a day the Observatory is closed.) Staff have no trouble creatively adhering to the guidelines that costumes must not interfere with work and must be astronomically-themed.

Here are some from last year's Halloween.

Secretary Jennifer Wong as constellation Virgo the Maiden holding "wheat"

Museum Guide Laura-May Abron as the Southern Ring Nebula

Observatory and Foundation staff member Ella Ritts as the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), plus electronic propellors