astronomy

London Planetarium

London Planetarium is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand London Planetarium rather than just read about it. In short: The London Planetarium building is located on Marylebone Road, London. It is adjacent to and owned by Madame Tussauds.

Key takeaways

London Planetarium belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect London Planetarium to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of London Planetarium from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The London Planetarium building is located on Marylebone Road, London. It is adjacent to and owned by Madame Tussauds. It previously housed a planetarium, offering shows related to space and astronomy. In 2006, it was closed as a separate attraction and became part of Madame Tussauds. Since 2010, the building that previously housed the London Planetarium had a Marvel Super Heroes 4D attraction.

History

The London Planetarium was opened by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 19 March 1958, with public presentations commencing on 20 March. It occupied the site of a cinema destroyed in the Second World War, and seated an audience of around 330 people beneath a horizontal dome approximately 18.29 m (160 ft) in diameter. For its first five decades of operation an optomechanical star projector, a Zeiss projector Mark IV, offered the audience a show based on a view of the night sky seen from Earth. Between 1977 and 1990, evening laser performances called 'Laserium' were held. In 1995, Digistar II was installed as part of a £4.5 million redevelopment, adding monochromatic 3D journeys through virtual outer space and others. The Planetarium was used to teach students from University College London's astronomy department the complexity of the Astronomical coordinate system.

In 2004, the planetarium was upgraded to a full-colour Digistar III system that allowed for both pre-rendered and real-time shows to transport the audience in an immersive full-dome video environment to outer space. In January 2006, the London Evening Standard reported that the London Planetarium was being renamed "The Auditorium" and would replace astronomical presentations with entertainment shows. Madame Tussauds subsequently announced that in July 2006, the Auditorium would open with a show by Aardman Animations about celebrities.

Directors Dr. Henry C. King opened the London Planetarium and served as the first (and only) Scientific Director. John Ebdon, author, broadcaster, and Grecophile, was director of the London Planetarium .

References

External links "Why Tussauds no longer has space for the Planetarium" – article from London Evening Standard by Paul Sutherland

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with London Planetarium

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what London Planetarium claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to London Planetarium before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about London Planetarium ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of London Planetarium

In research: London Planetarium appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses London Planetarium in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: London Planetarium is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1958 establishments in England, 2006 disestablishments in England, Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for London Planetarium outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study London Planetarium in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what London Planetarium means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain London Planetarium out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is London Planetarium in simple terms?

The London Planetarium building is located on Marylebone Road, London. It is adjacent to and owned by Madame Tussauds.

Why does London Planetarium matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study London Planetarium?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on London Planetarium.