Powering ON and OFF

| Planetarium Operations | Star Projector Operation | OBU Planetarium |

Power On

Turn on the power to the Projector and Console:

  1.  
  2. If necessary, turn on all circuit breakers in the main Power Panel of the Equipment Room.
  3. Turn on the Console Power Switch (a circuit breaker in the console fuse box).
  4. Check the right-hand voltmeter above the console fuse box to confirm that it indicates 100v. Always confirm that the voltage reads 100v. It may oscillate, but should settle down to 100v. If the current is more than 110v then turn off the power immediately.
  5. Set the star projector to the local latitude.
    1. Turn on the panel lights, meridian, and the polar points.
    2. Move the Latitude control in the reverse direction until the north polar point (red arrow) lies at 30°N on the meridian.
    3. Return the north polar point to 34°N using forward latitude motion.*
  6. Set the projector to the current date.
    1. Check to insure that the Annual Dial on the console is set to the current date.
    2. Adjust annual motion as needed (be sure to end with motion in the forward direction*).
    3. Project the Ecliptic and the Sun and confirm that the Sun is centered on the correct date.
  7. Set the current time, or a specified time (e.g., 10 p.m. for that date).
    1. Translate the specified time into Sidereal Time, using your Big Dipper Star Clock.
    2. Project the meridian and the ecliptic/celestial equator grids.
    3. Move Diurnal motion until the desired right ascension (= universal time) intersects the meridian.*
    4. As a check, use the relative position of the Sun to estimate the local time of day.
    5. Note the planet positions and the lunar phase for the current night.

Stand-by mode

Conserve energy and prolong lamp-life when the projector is not in use:

  1. Turn off all buttons and console switches.
  2. Turn off all dimmer control knobs (counterclockwise), except the Pointer dimmer-control knob on the vertical panel.
  3. Turn off the Console Power Switch in the console fuse box (not the main Power Panel in the Equipment Room).
  4. At the end of any show or group presentation, update the Planetarium Log by recording the hour meter reading, along with the types and length of planetarium activity.

Power Off

Turn off the power to the Projector and Console at the end of the day:

  1. Park the projector in an upright position.
    1. Project the Meridian and the Celestial Equator.
    2. Move 6-hours of right ascension (marked on the equator) to the meridian.*
    3. Project the Precession Circle and the North Polar Point. Check to insure that the North Polar Point is at the 0 mark on the precession grid. If not, project the fixed stars and correct the precession:
      1. With Precession motion bring Mintaka (the top or westernmost star in Orion's belt) to just west of 5 hours 30 minutes on the Celestial Equator.*

        Note that each equatorial mark represents 10 minutes, so that each hour is divided into 60 minutes or 6 intervals. Therefore 5hr 30min = 5 and 1/2 hrs.

      2. Check mu-Orion, which should lie almost directly upon the meridian. mu-Orion is a faint star above and to the left of Orion's head.
    4. Project the Azimuth and the Ecliptic. Using latitude motion, set the ecliptic to horizontal so that it coincides with the Azimuth grid.* The celestial equator will intersect the meridian at 23.5° N.
  2. Turn off the console by following the four steps given above for Stand-by Mode.
  3. Turn off all Theater Lights, footlights, quartz lights, and other lights on the light panel.
  4. Turn off the Audio Rack. Wait while audio equipment is turned off automatically.
  5. Be sure the audio rack is turned off before turning off Power Panel circuit breakers in the Equipment Room. Do not turn off circuit breakers that are marked orange.
    1. * If motion in a reverse direction is necessary, always overshoot in the reverse direction and come back with forward motion. Because of the way the gear teeth come into contact, the last motion on any axis should be in the forward direction. This will provide finer and more responsive control when motion is resumed, and increase the longevity of the projector.
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Welcome to the Planetarium web site provided by the OBU Planetarium. These pages have been written by the Planetarium Director, Kerry Magruder; the Unified Studies Natural Science Coordinator, Mike Keas; other OBU faculty; and the students who work in the planetarium.

These web pages may be printed, copied, and distributed for educational use by any non-profit educational group so long as they are not edited or altered in any way, nor distributed for profit, nor repackaged or incorporated into any other medium or product, and so long as full credit is given to the OBU Planetarium.

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