# Anyone own a home planetarium? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 18, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-own-a-home-planetarium/855880 "2020-06-18T01:02:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-own-a-home-planetarium/855880/1 "2020-06-18T01:02:38Z")
It’s a thing that shines the night sky onto the ceiling and walls of your room. Sounds kinda cool. I’m wondering if anyone has one, Has ever seen one, did you like it? Was It cool? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-own-a-home-planetarium/855880/2 "2020-06-18T01:39:20Z")
I did get one as a gift. I used it a few times, but it was pretty primitive. But that was 70 years ago and they must be vastly better now. ---
**Author:** ![Neenah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/958977/32.png) [@Neenah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neenah)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-own-a-home-planetarium/855880/3 "2020-06-18T01:48:16Z")
We love ours! I have the Uncle Milton Star Theater Pro. I got it for my son when he was a baby and we used it to fall asleep for naps almost daily but after a few months of that the disc started to wear out. It is still useable but the colors have faded a lot. With less frequent use it probably wouldn’t be an issue at all. I am still considering buying more discs for it. Ours came with a Solar System disc and one showing the Milky Way but there are maybe a couple dozen other choices available for around twenty dollars each. It helps to have a place near the center of the room to set it up. No overhead light fixture and very little texture on the ceiling are also helpful but I think you could hang a sheet or something if it seems necessary. I am sure there are nicer units out there and I would love to know what anyone else has and likes but we are pretty happy with ours. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-own-a-home-planetarium/855880/4 "2020-06-18T02:20:51Z")
[Moderating] Moving to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-own-a-home-planetarium/855880/5 "2020-06-18T03:18:11Z")
I have something _way_ better! [Stellarium](https://stellarium.org). ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-own-a-home-planetarium/855880/6 "2020-06-18T04:45:10Z")
Long ago I bought a planetarium projection system for a small science museum. We had a jerry-built semi-inflatable dome, and the system we got used the above-linked Stellarium open-source software. Big fancy planos have multiple projectors pointing at the dome - ours had one projector, pointing at a curved mirror. It worked really well! We also got some great silent beanbags instead of built-in reclining seats. It was a triumph, for a fraction of the price! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-own-a-home-planetarium/855880/7 "2020-06-18T06:00:38Z")
I had one of [these](https://www.google.com/search?q=radio+shack+constellation+finder&client=firefox-b-1-m&biw=408&bih=646&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjt2KnX14rqAhUO-6wKHRZBB8oQ_AUIBygC&biw=408&bih=646) as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-own-a-home-planetarium/855880/8 "2020-06-18T18:15:51Z")
Not the same, but I have SkyMap loaded on my Android Phone. Works great when you want to know what planet is shining so brightly. Turn on and go. It’s usually Jupiter. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-own-a-home-planetarium/855880/9 "2020-06-18T18:20:16Z")
We don’t. (admittedly I had to use google) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-own-a-home-planetarium/855880/10 "2020-06-18T18:30:20Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Not the same, but I have SkyMap loaded on my Android Phone. Works great when you want to know what planet is shining so brightly. > > Turn on and go. > > It’s usually Jupiter. But it is never in Lupus. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-own-a-home-planetarium/855880/11 "2020-06-18T20:06:52Z")
I have a Home Planetarium in my basement. It’s a black sphere with holes punched in it that projects stars on the ceiling (and walls). When I was a kid I had a Renwal Cosmorama, a wonderfully complex piece of engineering done in plastic [https://davidrwebb.typepad.com/photos/astronomy/cosmorama1.html](https://davidrwebb.typepad.com/photos/astronomy/cosmorama1.html) > **[RARE Renwal Cosmorama | #133165399](https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/renwal-cosmorama-133165399)** > > Thanks for checking out my auction. Sorry, USA only. Here is a vintage circa 1963 Renwal Cosmorama planetarium. I don't think it was ever assembled. The box has wear and drying from being in an attic Actually, I still have it, but it’s old and fragile now. You could set it for any time of day and time of year, at any latitude and longitude, looking north or south. It had a tiny “grain of wheat” bulb in the center of, again, a black plastic sphere pierced with holes to project dots of light. The projection part was crude, but the controls were pretty sophisticated. Of course, yiou can get cheap or even free computer software that will run rings around the Cosmorama’s capabilities. But it’s still not as cool.