The planetarium went dark, and the $1.2 million projector splashed the night sky onto a large, white dome as benefactors, university employees and invited guests sat in awe at the first show projected in the Charles W. Brown Planetarium at Wednesday's ribbon-cutting ceremony.

This planetarium replaces the old one, and has double the seats and a projector that is powered by 12 computers and can show 10 million stars in the night sky.

Compared to the old planetarium, senior physics major Hayden Wolfe said the new one “blows it out there.”

“The old one felt like a hole in the wall, and this one is obnoxiously huge,” Wolfe said. “I could feel myself moving through space.”

The planetarium is one of the 10 largest in the U.S. and is the largest planetarium in Indiana.

Former university president Jo Ann Gora spoke very highly of both planetarium director Ron Kaitchuck and benefactor Charles Brown, saying it was the “Charlie and Ron show that got us to where we are today.”

Gora said when they were planning the planetarium, Kaitchuck was always the one asking if they could think bigger, or if they had a stronger or more impactful idea they could build upon.

“And Ron did,” Gora said. “Before we knew it, we said, ‘This will be the largest planetarium in the state of Indiana.’”

She said the planetarium was meant to be for more than just students.

“The idea was not just to serve our own students, but to draw in the community and to be a place of science education, for not just East Central Indiana, but for all of Indiana and the Midwest,” Gora said.

Kaitchuck said the idea of the planetarium was to make it so people felt free to come to campus.

“We want people to think this is the thing for them,” Kaitchuck said.

Will Turner, a former student of Kaitchuck’s, drove up from Noblesville to come to the ribbon-cutting ceremony with his family. He said he had been talking about this with Kaitchuck for years.

“I’m so thrilled for him,” Turner said, “and so happy for the university and students here. I hope they take advantage of it.”

One of Turner’s sons, Will, said he thought it was awesome, especially compared to the old one.

“It really blew the old one out of the water,” Will said. “The mechanical was great and the digital was awesome.”

Eric Sanner, a 2002 alumnus, was talking with his friend about the differences between the two planetariums before the demonstration even began.

“This is incredible, it’s so much larger and more amazing than the old one, and I thought the old one was awesome,” Sanner said after the demonstration was over. “When the optical projector came up and it was showing the sky, you could definitely see more stars than you could in the old one.”

The planetarium will open to the public Nov. 8, and will have a full day of shows.

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