The Moscow Planetarium, one of the largest in the world, first began operating in November 1929. It was built in the center of Moscow near Sadovo-Kudrinskaya street and the zoo. The planetarium played an important role in popularizing astronomy and promoting scientific views on the origin and structure of the Universe among the citizens of the USSR.
In 1977, the Moscow Planetarium was reconstructed, and the most modern software-controlled apparatus at that time, manufactured by the famous Carl Zeiss Jena company, was installed in it. And in 1990, a national observatory was opened with him.
Unfortunately, the period that went down in Russian history under the name "Crazy 90s" did not pass by the planetarium either. In 1994, it was closed, withstood a long series of changes in forms of ownership, lawsuits, and began its work again only on June 12, 2011. For 17 years, the planetarium did not introduce people to astronomy, did not conduct scientific and educational work. The only consolation in this sad story: after it became the property of the Moscow property department, a serious, long-overdue reconstruction was nevertheless carried out.
Currently, at the lower underground level of the planetarium there is a small star hall (the only one in Russia equipped with a dome screen, dynamic chairs and stereo projection), the Lunarium museum, where you can view exhibits related to astronomy and physics, as well as a 4D cinema … On the first level, there is a part of the Lunarium Museum, where exhibits telling about the history of space exploration are exhibited, as well as the Urania Museum, named after the ancient Greek muse, the patroness of astronomy and mathematics. In this museum, visitors can learn about the history of the planetarium, starting with its design in the 1920s.
On the second level, visitors will find an astronomical observation platform "Sky Park", where ancient astronomical instruments are presented, and an observatory with two rather large telescopes is located: a refractor with a lens objective diameter of 30 centimeters; and a reflector with a main mirror diameter of 40 centimeters. Depending on the season, weather and the state of the atmosphere, visitors are offered a different observation program. Although I must say frankly that in the conditions of the strongest Moscow illumination, deep space objects (nebulae, galaxies, star clusters) do not look very impressive even in such powerful instruments.
On the third level, there is a large starry hall, the dome of which, having a diameter of 25 meters, is the largest in Europe. With the help of the most modern fiber-optic projector of the starry sky, a visitor can see up to 9 thousand stars on the dome!
