Galileo Galilei planetarium

The Galileo Galilei planetarium, commonly known as Planetario, is located in Parque Tres de Febrero in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, Argentina.HistoryThe idea that Buenos Aires should have a planetarium began to take shape in 1958 by an agreement between Socialist Councilman José Luis Peña and the municipal Secretary of Culture, Dr. Aldo Cocca. Construction began under the direction of architect Enrique Jan in 1962, and it was inaugurated on December 20, 1966. The first function was carried out on June 13, 1967 for the students of "Escuela Comercial Nº 1" of Banfield and "Santa Unión de los Sagrados Corazones" of Capital Federal. Professor of geography and mathematics Antonio Cornejo showed them the sky over Buenos Aires, Argentine Antarctica and the South Pole, as well as demonstrating the orientation of the southern cross. The facility was officially opened to the public on April 5, 1968.StructureThe building has five floors, six staircases and a 20m diameter room with 360 seats. The inside of the 20m semispherical dome is covered with reflective aluminium.The planetarium (Zeiss projector Model M V) itself is located in the centre, it has over 100 projectors and is approximately 5m in height and 2.5 tons in weight. It consists of a cylindrical framework with independent projectors for the Moon, the Sun and the visible planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) and two spheres in the extremes that project 8,900 stars, constellations and nebulas.