Antoni Ledóchowski Planetarium
The Antoni Ledóchowski Planetarium is an astronavigation Laboratory housing a ZKP4 planetarium system – a blue sphere simulator manufactured by Zeiss (Germany). Its 8-metre dome screen can display a view of half the sky as seen from any point on Earth.
The ZKP4 is equipped with advanced LED projectors that reproduce:
- Major celestial circles – the equator, ecliptic, and local meridians
- Minor circles – almucantars and parallels of declination
- Half-circles – hour circles and the crest
- A precession wheel with scaled spherical coordinates
Together, these projectors allow for the presentation of angular relationships between the horizontal (UH) and equatorial (URI and URII) coordinate systems, illustrating the time and position of the observer. The simulator can reproduce the movement of the sky — forwards or backwards, at variable speeds — to help students visualise the fundamentals of astronavigation.
The Blue Sphere displays celestial coordinates and realistic projections of the Sun, Moon, four planets, and several thousand stars, giving students an authentic view of the sky as seen from Earth, rather than the external diagrams found in textbooks.
Developing and refining spatial awareness is a key aspect of navigator training.
The laboratory is also used by members of a Student Scientific Association and GMU staff as a planetarium for educational sessions on the fundamentals of astronomy.