The first major step in the renovation of the OSU Planetarium began today with the removal of the Spitz A3P star ball projector.

A team from Ash Enterprises carefully disassembled the projector and packed it along with its control consoles and cables for the trip to its new home at the Perkins Observatory in Delaware, Ohio.  It took most of the day and two shipments up to Perkins, but by 6pm the planetarium was missing its central fixture.

The timelapse series of pictures below shows the starball being detached from the rest of the projector:

The room now looks a lot different than it has since 1967...

The next steps are to clean and secure the space, including capping off the electrical connections that used to go to the planetarium.

The roof repair is the next major step, in the hands of the Facilities Operations and Development office who is meeting with roofing contractors and will start work in mid-June.  The roof above the planetarium chamber is in poor shape, with numerous leaks.  The work should fix our leaks and better seal the building, and provide a better surface up on the observatory "patio" where we host star parties.  The roof leak must be fixed before the major renovation work can begin.

We are also in the process of making our final review of seating and dome replacement bids, and should have these final pieces in place soon.

Additional Pictures of the Planetarium During the Removal of the Spitz A3P Starball.

Beginning to take apart the projector and the rail protecting it:

In the process of disassembing the pieces of the projector and console:

After the planetarium has been cleaned up and the projector has been sent on its way to Perkins Observatory:

To see more pictures documenting the removal of the Spitz A3P starball, check out our album on facebook.