Venue

Parts of the Brno Observatory and Planetarium

• Digitarium: modern planetarium dome with the diameter of 17 meters. It will be the main lecture hall of the IAUS 405.
• Exploratorium: exhibition "Universe behind the mirror''
• Observatory: telescopes for public observations with the diameter up to 35 cm
• Small planetarium: smaller dome with the diameter of 8 meters 
• Viewing terrace: exquisite view of the Brno city as well as the night sky
• Entry hall
• Outside science walk: explore science with your senses

Short Historical notes and IAUS 405 dedication

Brno Observatory was established on October 16, 1954, hence more than 70 years ago. It is associated with significant figures of Czech and Czechoslovak astronomy, namely Luboš Kohoutek, Jiří Grygar and Luboš Perek, who all studied physics at the Masaryk University in Brno.

Luboš Perek served as an IAU assistant General Secretary (1964-1967), IAU General Secretary (1967-1970), and the President of IAU Commission 33 Structure & Dynamics of the Galactic System (1973-1976). For his contributions to the international astronomical community, he is one of the personalities, to which we decided to dedicate IAU Symposium 405 "Traversing the Galactic Center in Space and Time", which is the first IAU Symposium taking place in Brno as well as the first IAU Symposium in the Czech Republic taking place outside General Assemblies (13th GA in 1967 in Prague, Czechoslovakia and 26th GA in 2006 in Prague, the Czech Republic).

The first enlargement of the observatory was performed in 1959 when a small lecture room was added as well as a planetarium with the dome diameter of 8 meters. The projector Carl Zeiss Jena ZKP-1 managed to create the illusion of the night sky.  During the 1960s, the observatory and the planetarium were functioning in synergy, providing a unique combination, which provided several possibilities for science popularization. The employees conducted observations and research in the area of meteor science and variable stars. In this regard, the Brno Observatory and Planetarium became the center of amateur astronomy research in Czechoslovakia. 

The interest in astronomy program had been gradually growing during the 1970s. Therefore at the beginning of the 1980s it was decided to enlarge the complex and build a new, larger planetarium. Although the new projector was purchased already in 1978 (type Spacemaster produced by Karl Zeiss Jena), the construction began in 1986 and the official opening took place in October 1991.

Since 2005 the Brno Observatory and Planetarium started to act more like a multivisual center, which included several changes in the composition of the personnel as well as the general style of work. The foundations for such a multivisual project were officially laid out on October 7th 2009 with the presence of 17 astronauts and under the patronage of the first Czechoslovak astronaut Vladimír Remek. 

During 2011-2012 the Brno Observatory and Planetarium underwent a major reconstruction in the so-called modern functionalist style. In 2013 the hybrid planetarium began its operation, while in 2018 a unique stereoscopic projection was introduced with the resolution of 25 million pixels projected onto the dome with the diameter of 17 meters. In this regard, the planetarium in Brno is rather unique and there are only a few planetariums in Europe with similar capabilities, basically only in Warsaw and Hamburg.

Currently the planetarium is visited by about 200 000 visitors per year, which are taken care of by about 20 employees. There are about 3000 programs shown to the public per year. The owner of the Brno Observatory and Planetarium is the city of Brno.

The Brno Observatory and Planetarium is the founding member of the Czech Association of Science Centers, is a member of the NASA Museum Alliance, and holds the partnership with the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, Planetarium Hamburg, International Planetarium Society, Masaryk University, and the Czech Academy of Sciences among several other organizations and institutions.