astronomy

Projection Planetarium

Projection 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 Projection Planetarium rather than just read about it. In short: The Projection Planetarium was a training device housed in the Flight Research Laboratory hangar at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. It consisted of a custom designed star projector surrounded by a 40 feet (12 m) diameter sphere constructed from a surplus 53 feet (16 m) radome.

Key takeaways

Projection 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 Projection Planetarium to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Projection Planetarium from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Projection Planetarium was a training device housed in the Flight Research Laboratory hangar at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. It consisted of a custom designed star projector surrounded by a 40 feet (12 m) diameter sphere constructed from a surplus 53 feet (16 m) radome. The star projector was movable in 3 directions while the capsule mockup and its pilots remained static. The system was used in studies of manual control of spacecraft using "out the window" visual information both in orbit and in a launch abort scenario. The planetarium was constructed in 1965 at a cost of $153,103 for research and development and $177,000 for construction and materials. An additional $145,400 worth of surplus materials were made use of in the project.

Described by A.W. Vogeley in a paper presented at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Winter 1966 meeting entitled "Piloted Space-Flight Simulation at Langley Research Center", the system was used to study Apollo launch-abort problems with a "horizon-to-horizon view of Florida as seen from about 100,000 feet." The inflatable sphere enclosing the projector and fixed Gemini capsule mockup also displayed star images. The star projector was sufficient for testing pilot control problems such as rendezvous because the star field was used "primarily as an attitude reference" but was insufficient for testing navigation issues. Navigational training of Gemini, Apollo, and some Space Shuttle astronauts was conducted at the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Projection Planetarium

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Projection 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 Projection 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 Projection 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 Projection Planetarium

In research: Projection 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 Projection 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: Projection Planetarium is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Buildings and structures completed in 1965, Langley Research Center, Planetaria in the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Projection 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.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Projection Planetarium in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Projection 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 Projection Planetarium out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Projection Planetarium in simple terms?

Why does Projection 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 Projection 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 Projection Planetarium.