Today, the Planetarium of Brussels opens its newly renovated dome equipped with eight Barco projectors installed by RSA Cosmos along with the latest version of their powerful astronomical software, SkyExplorer 2021. The new installation will provide visitors with a 360° journey through the universe. The project is the result of a collaboration between the Planetarium of the Royal Observatory of Belgium, Barco and RSA Cosmos, a Konica Minolta Group company, worldwide specialist in digital planetariums.

The Brussels Planetarium is one of the most important planetariums in Europe and an attraction in Belgium with an immersive experience. The planetarium is part of the Royal Observatory of Belgium — it has an international scientific reputation, and with its dome of 23 meters in diameter, it is one of the largest in Europe.

Barco laser phosphor projectors & RSA Cosmos’s digital solutions to immerse spectators in 360° environment

The planetarium wanted to upgrade its immersive experience to today’s technology standards and therefore called upon the successful Barco — RSA Cosmos partnership again. Both European based companies already jointly provided projection technology for the first digital planetarium in 2009, which made it possible to create attractive and lively shows by immersing spectators in an impressive 360° environment.

RSA Cosmos delivered the latest version of its powerful astronomical software, SkyExplorer 2021, for the new digital planetarium, and Barco provided eight of its F70-4K8 projectors. The laser phosphor projectors deliver a brightness level of 7,500 lumen, stunning images in 3,840 x 2,400 (4K UHD) resolution, as well as an unrivaled black level quality and contrast, enabling the planetarium to show the brightest stars onto a deep black sky. By combining these leading technologies, the Brussels planetarium achieves the best performing system in Belgium with a powerful 8K UHD system.

But above all, the new technology will offer an unmatched immersive experience, giving visitors the enchantment of an impressive starry sky and the possibility to virtually travel into our solar system and even to galaxies far away in real time. The visitor will literally be immersed in a color-rich image with a surface of 840 square meters.

For the Planetarium of Brussels, RSA Cosmos & Barco were ideal partners to achieve this high-performing system. Barco was not only the best option in terms of image performance, but also in terms of durability. Barco’s F70 projectors offer a light source lifetime of up to 60,000 hours. This is a huge advancement in comparison to the previous projection system where lamps needed to be replaced every 700 hours, increasing both the reliability and sustainability of the solution. On top of that, Barco will also provide priority support and preventive maintenance for the next 10 years, according to its EssentialCare service program.

Thanks to its cutting-edge turnkey solutions, RSA Cosmos achieves high-quality renderings through the Universe along with a wide range of educational and entertaining shows. SkyExplorer 2021, the latest version of their powerful astronomical software, achieves ultra-realistic and stunning images in real time and offers scientifically accurate data thanks to its direct connection to the astronomical community and scientific datasets.