Last Dec. 13, the 77-year-old astronaut and former U. S. senator told an audience of several hundred gathered on the U of L campus, "The more we excite people about space‹something that is bigger than all of us‹the better."

The new planetarium's state-of-the-art technology is sure to go a long way toward that cause when the facility officially opens next January.

The primary purpose of the Gheens Science Center and Rauch Planetarium is to provide a wide variety of educational opportunities for students from preschool through post-secondary level, teachers, tourists and lifelong learners. Presentations tied to requirements of the Kentucky Education Reform Act as well as programs of broad interest that might be exchanged with other planetariums are on the agenda of U of L's cross-disciplinary production team.

But education will certainly not come at the expense of entertainment. The first visitors to the new center are sure to be dazzled by technology that is found in only three other planetariums in the world.

Manufactured by Spitz Inc. of Chadds Ford, Pa., the Spitz 1024 astronomical visualization system will project planets, celestial objects and more than 4,000 stars onto a 55-foot- diameter hemispherical dome. The theater's 160 tilted seats correspond to the dome's angle and visually thrust viewers into the simulated star field. The visualization system is augmented by an advanced digital multi-channel sound system.

The result? A truly awesome virtual reality experience.

When it comes to what can be viewed in the theater, the sky is definitely not the limit. The planetarium's presentation technology also can project moving images of the human brain for medical students or scenes from the Sistine Chapel for art historians, among other things.

And by electronic conferencing with other institutions, astronomy students in the planetarium or in remote classroom locations will be able to see celestial scenes on the other side of the globe and interact with instructors there, says John Kielkopf, professor of physics and director of the Moore Observatory. Kielkopf is also one of the technical advisers for the new planetarium particularly involved in its programing.

In addition to the planetarium theater, a semicircular, 55-seat classroom and the lobby will offer interactive exhibits. Visitors can also purchase science gifts and U of L mementos in the adjacent gift shop.

A courtyard will provide yet another learning space. The outdoor area is to be encircled by a 16-ft.-high wall inspired by Stonehenge, which may itself have been an astronomical observatory 4,000 years ago.

The architectural firm of Louis and Henry, Louisville, which designed the original Rauch Planetarium, is working on the new one, too. It sits on Belknap campus between the School of Music and Strickler Hall, just blocks from 1318 South Brook where astronomer Edwin Hubble's family once lived in the early part of the last century.

The planetarium memorializes Rabbi Joseph Rauch, a university trustee from 1933 to 1946 and leader of Congregation Adath Israel for 44 years.

At the groundbreaking, Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport credited Rauch with planting "seeds of vision for our future and inspiring us to reach for the stars and beyond."

As the planetarium's truncated cone rises toward the sky during construction, a planning and advisory committee comprised of 38 university and community leaders is continuing its efforts to ensure maximum use and impact of the new world-class facility.

Jim Cheski, assistant vice president of information technology and one of the planners behind the new facility, notes that it is much more than concrete, mortar and glass.

"We're building a scientific instrument," he explains.

It should likewise prove to be an instigator of inquisitiveness. And if the Gheens Science Center and Rauch Planetarium makes young people curious about their world, it will have served an invaluable purpose.

As Sen. Glenn says, "Curiosity is at the heart of all progress in human history."

You can track the new planetarium's progress on the web at www.louisville.edu/planetarium.

Nancy Gall-Clayton '80L is a Louisville-based freelance writer, playwright and attorney.

"Shooting for the Stars ..." photo illustration by Amy Abrams. All others courtesy of Information Technology.