History of the UFSC Planetarium
The Planetarium of UFSC is a landmark of Astronomy in Santa Catarina, linked to the Center of Philosophy and Human Sciences (CFH). It has existed since 1971, developing activities aimed at teaching and disseminating Astronomy and related sciences. Until 2008, it was equipped with a Zeiss Jena projector, model ZKP1, manufactured in Germany in the 1950s, with the function of simulating the starry daytime and nighttime sky visible to the naked eye.
Since 2009, considering the work carried out and the limited facilities in relation to the demand for its activities, the Planetarium underwent a significant modernization and renovation of its facilities. With funds from a project submitted by the Dean’s Office for Research and Extension of UFSC to FINEP, the central projection equipment was replaced by a modern digital planetarium projector, the Digistar 3 SPII model. As a result, the programming underwent a complete transformation. The sessions/presentations, which until then had generally been conducted verbally—using the projection of the night sky, a slide projector, and a video projector as educational resources—became “shows” of images, voiceover, and music.
In October 2009, the digital projector transformed the Planetarium’s projection room into a multi-thematic virtual reality environment. Astronomy, as the backbone of knowledge, is the central theme, but any other topic can also be presented.
GRUPO DE ESTUDOS DE ASTRONOMIA (GEA)
Since 1986, the Astronomy Study Group (GEA) has been operating alongside the UFSC Planetarium, formed by people from both the internal and external communities of UFSC who are passionate about the study, teaching, and popularization of Astronomy. Its activities include weekly lectures, courses, and public observation with telescopes of special astronomical ephemerides such as eclipses and others. https://geaufsc.paginas.ufsc.br/
