A New Era for Stargazing: The Halle Planetarium
The new planetarium housed in the former gasometer is one of the most advanced in Europe.
Inside the circular dome hall — 12 meters in diameter and offering space for over 100 guests — visitors can immerse themselves in breathtaking 360° projections of celestial phenomena. Thanks to state-of-the-art projection and sound technology, the universe truly comes alive.
Beyond the dome, the facility also features an observation terrace and a fully equipped observatory. As an important hub within the astronomical community, the Planetarium Halle plays a key role in strengthening Halle’s reputation as a center for science, research, and technology.
Our Contribution: Intelligent Telescope Control Software
sciencentric® developed the software that powers the telescope control system.
Our long-time partner Baader Planetarium, supplied the telescopes for the Halle Planetarium — including the planning of the entire system and its components.
In 2020, when Baader needed a custom application to process and display images for planetarium shows, they turned to us. The goal: Enable remote-controlled operation of the connected telescope, and streaming high-quality images and videos of celestial objects to the planetarium in real time.
A Web-Based, Fully Flexible Solution
The observatory and telescope control systems are completely designed on the basis of a web platform. This means they can be operated both on-site at the planetarium and remotely — fully automated and barrier-free.
With our specially developed software, any celestial object can be targeted precisely and tracked in sync with Earth’s rotation, ensuring crystal-clear, blur-free images and videos.
Powered by the Astro Bric Stack
At the heart of the system lies our Astro Bric Stack — a modular astro-software framework that typically runs on a computer connected to a telescope.
It provides external interfaces for device control and communication.
Furthermore the Halle project, features a dedicated web interface that uses these interfaces to seamlessly control the telescope. The system’s architecture is multi-layered and decoupled, allowing maximum flexibility: hardware and software components can be replaced or upgraded at any time without requiring code adjustments.
The Result: Astronomy in Real Time
What makes the new Halle Planetarium truly unique isn’t just its spectacular dome — it’s the technology behind the scenes. Our software solution transforms the observatory into a fully automated, networked telescope system that captures and delivers live views of the universe.
From Mars imagery, lunar surfaces, star clusters, or deep-sky phenomenas, our system allows audiences to experience space as it happens. By enabling seamless, autonomous observation and data capture, we’re helping redefine how astronomy is experienced — and we’re proud that our innovation is powering this vision in Halle.
