"House of Astronomy" in Heidelberg equipped with new VELVET LED projectors

The "Haus der Astronomie" (House of Astronomy) in Heidelberg is a unique Center for Astronomy Outreach. Its mission is to share the fascination of astronomy with a broad audience and with schoolchildren and to foster the exchange of knowledge between scientists as well as to communicate the results of astronomical research to the media and to the public.
The planetarium in the House of Astronomy is designed as a domed auditorium with a diameter of 12 m, inclined by 20 degrees. VELVET high-contrast projectors from ZEISS have been in use for the dome projections since 2011. At the end of October, the projectors were replaced with new ZEISS VELVET LED projectors of the latest generation. The LED light sources have a service life of 20,000 hours. This eliminates the need for regular lamp replacement and significantly reduces service costs. At the same time, the new projectors operate more quietly. Probably the most significant advantage of the new VELVET LED generation is the improved color reproduction while maintaining the world's highest contrast for digital projections featuring true black in the projections.