Carnegie Science Center yesterday unveiled its new Buhl Digital Dome, one of about 100 worldwide.

	Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette The DigitalSky computer-graphics system can take any digital image and project it onto the 50-foot Buhl Digital Dome. "Windows to the Universe" is the debut show. Click photo for larger image.

The new high-definition projection system will deliver cutting-edge imagery -- from distant galaxies and black holes to brain cells -- and expand the kind of material presented in the planetarium's programs to other scientific disciplines.

To reflect this expanded potential, the Henry Buhl Jr. Planetarium and Observatory is being renamed the Buhl Digital Dome. The new system was funded by a $1 million grant from the Buhl Foundation, the largest gift to the science center in 2006.

The DigitalSky computer-graphics system, from SkyScan, Inc., of Nashua, N.H., can take any digital image file and project it onto the Buhl's 50-foot planetarium dome. Now, new material can be added quickly and easily to planetarium shows -- for example, the latest space images from NASA can be incorporated soon after they're available.

"What full-dome digital is all about is creating the most realistic, most educational, most immersive experience with the latest technology that's available," said John Radzilowicz, director of visitor experience at Carnegie Science Center.

The new technology enables the Buhl to stay true to its roots in astronomy education, dating to the original planetarium in 1939, and also keep up with new developments in the field.

Mr. Radzilowicz compared producing planetarium shows in the past to conducting an orchestra. "There are about 100 different pieces of equipment involved in any given show. You have to synchronize all those pieces -- slide projectors, video, special effects, digital star projector. All of those pieces had to be linked together.

"With full digital dome, you move to a new system that can do it all."

The system can access a massive database of information and images, from the dawn of the universe to the latest Hubble photos, creating a full "digital universe," Mr. Radzilowicz said.

For the viewer, the resulting experience is more like moving through three-dimensional space and less like watching a projected image on a dome.

But it's not just a high-end playback system. It's also a full production facility, which is significant, since the Buhl produces programming for other planetariums worldwide.

The debut show, "Windows to the Universe," showcases the new system's potential. The science center's first original production, a virtual trip to Mars, based on William K. Hartmann's book, "A Traveler's Guide to Mars," will premiere next spring.

Future planetarium programs could explore advances in biology and biotechnology, medicine, nanotechnology, environmental studies, engineering and architecture.

That reflects the science center's new long-range master plan, said Joanna Haas, Henry J. Buhl director. "We opened as the fifth planetarium in the country, and have grown organizationally. The long-range plan is anchored in that wonderful history and legacy and also reflective of a very exciting future in Pittsburgh in terms of the worlds of science and technology."

The Buhl Digital Dome launch is the first step in the plan. Other elements will create new exhibits and programs centered on the region's strengths in medical research, robotics and environmental research.

The new equipment also expands the planetarium's role as an educational resource, from elementary basic science classes to college astronomy courses.