In what is believed to be the first showing of spherical panoramas in a planetarium using a high quality display system, Greg Downing presented "The Whole Picture: Around the World in 360 Degrees" at the Gates Planetarium, part of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS), on February 22 and 23, 2005. Driven by an 11-pipe ONYX supercomputer and 11 Barco projectors, Downing’s inaugural panorama presentation transformed the Gates Planetarium into the world’s largest public, high-resolution (11 x 1024 x 1280) virtual reality theater. 
click here to view fullscreenThe 90-minute show was a huge hit, selling out both nights. The audience was treated to a spellbinding display of Downing’s panoramas and travel commentary, including Moghul Indian temples, Russian basilicas, the tombs of Petra, and the Burning Man festival, in the world’s brightest, highest resolution video dome. “It was simply incredible, it is by far the best way to view panoramas,” said Downing. “The audience went nuts, so many oohs and ahhs.”
“I'm overwhelmed by the experience of looking at these images on a dome," Downing said, adding that he felt as if he were viewing his work for the first time. "This is how a spherical panorama should be experienced; it is a near-perfect recreation of the original scene." He now realizes that the techniques used in spherical photography are a perfect match for the Planetarium dome.
The 120-seat Gates Planetarium features a tilted 55-foot dome and a high resolution full-dome digital projection system. The unique immersive environment surrounds viewers with colorful, bright and sharp images. This one-of-a-kind system utilizes 11 Barco DLP projectors blended together into a seamless 10-megapixel display covering the entire hemispheric screen. Unique aspects of this environment include a 20-channel surround audio system, a "low gain" screen (for high contrast and color saturation), 60 frame per second refresh rate, 40 million + active pixels (RGB) and real-time visualization capability via an 11 pipe SGI Onyx supercomputer.
The SGI ONYX 3000 supercomputer that drives the dome in the Gates Planetarium creates eleven simultaneous video signals; the 1024 x 1280 signal can be recorded by the QBit DDR array or pass directly through to the Barco projectors. The SEOS Mercator is a PC-based distortion correction component. Sitting between the image generator (IG) and the display device, Mercator digitizes the video stream at full 24-bit color depth, 'warps' the image into a seamless all-dome image, and delivers it on to the display. The independence of the image source and the display device provides maximum system flexibility.
"This watershed event marks a first in the Planetarium community,” notes Dan Neafus, Operations Manager Gates Planetarium. The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has a long history of providing audiences with experiences that take them where they "could not otherwise go". Typically the Gates Planetarium offers programs that transport guests to the depths of outer space; however, as Downing’s show demonstrated, the digital technology at the DMNS facility is not limited to providing celestial content.
Although Downing’s presentation might be the first of its kind, it’s unlikely to be the last; the high attendance figures and overwhelmingly positive feedback suggest that large-scale high-technology venues such as the Gates Planetarium are the ideal platform for bringing panoramas to a larger audience. Neafus: “We look forward to showcasing Greg's excellent presentation in a repeat performance as well as the work of other talented photographers. We have only begun to explore the vast capabilities of this technology and it is a privilege to make it available to our audiences."
Gates Planetarium
The Gates Planetarium opened in June 2003 and is part of a $50 million investment in permanent exhibits and technology that includes the13,000 sq. ft Space Odyssey exhibit, the 2,000 sq. ft El Pomar Space Education Center, 5,070 sq. ft Sky Terrace, and the 18,460 sq. ft. Leprino Family Atrium. Projection, seating orientation, and sound: all contribute to a virtual reality, immersive space theater experience that takes viewers out of their seats and into the cosmos.
Read more about the Gates Planetarium and its construction in ‘Projecting the Infinite’.
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Founded in 1900, The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is the Rocky Mountain Region’s leading resource for informal science education, serving a membership base of more than 52,000 households and providing science education to more than 1.6 million people. More than 500,000 square feet, the Museum houses 15 permanent exhibits, including “Space Odyssey,” the IMAX Theater, and the Gates Planetarium.
Greg Downing
Greg Downing, an accomplished photographer and artist who is highly respected within the VR, photography and animation communities for his cutting edge work with HDRI and 3D modeling, has collaborated with Gnomon Workshop to produce a series of three DVDs dealing with the fundamentals of photogrammetry, the process of creating 3D environments from panoramas: Spherical Panoramic Photography, Image Based Modeling: Essentials, and Image Based Modeling: Advanced.
Related Articles:
- 'A Conversation with Greg Downing'
- 'A Review of Greg Downing's Panoramic Photography and Image Based Modeling DVDs'
