Season 1-03 - Domes

Say, Hello, this is Gary Likert episode three of a home Planetarium in your own back yard. It's that Canvas sky or talking about today from an overhead perspective. That is from the 10,000 foot view. sky glows horizons infinity. The dome has a very odd job. It's something that represents nothing. It's something finite that represents infinity. Last year, we were lucky enough to go to London my family and I and we went in of course the biggest dome around St. Paul's Cathedral and up in the whispering gallery where acoustics played tricks on you they would go all the way around the dome. The dome is a very special construct. It's been around forever. The Romans were pouring concrete making bricks or wooden domes there are halftones full domes. The Half Dome, oddly enough was considered ideal for monks chanting and early cathedrals. Whereas preaching required a flat ceiling up above the preacher. So it was kind of a combination there. Halfway up a dome is called the haunch. you've ever wondered about being back on your haunches, you don't hear that much anymore. The horizon from ground level about three miles distant. If you look out to see the sea closest to the horizon is called the offing. Perhaps you've heard the expression, there's adventure or battle in the offing. That's where that comes from. So Domus, Greek or Latin for House, is where we get the word. There are many types of domes. As mentioned there are halftones full domes, planetariums went to tilted domes. Early planetariums even had rotating domes with perforated surfaces and backlit so that the stars actually just shone through for you to see as it rotated above the gentlemen and Mississippi until recently had one like this with glow in the dark stars painted as well. But we are projecting stars the Milky Way, sunsets, sunrises onto this dome. So it's up there to size shouldn't really matter. Some will say a big dome is better. Others first small domes, wooden brick, whatever you make about of I've made them out of cardboard, plastic sheeting like table coverings. I make them lightweight usually, although I've had a 15 foot dome way out in my backyard behind the barn for years. Whatever It's some kind of projection surface. You can use your ceiling, the side of your garage, the size of your barn. Anything really. But remember, with the dome, you are literally bringing infinity and forever down to earth so that you can use it in your planetarium out in your backyard. This is Gary Likert thanks for listening.