The Rose Center for Earth and Space is a part of the American Museum of Natural History in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The Center's complete name is The Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space. The main entrance is located on the northern side of the museum on 81st Street near Central Park West in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

's Upper West Side. Completed in 2000, it includes the new Hayden Planetarium, the original of which was opened in 1935 and closed in 1997. Neil deGrasse Tyson is its first and, , only director.

History

The center is an extensive reworking of the former Hayden Planetarium, whose first projector, dedicated in 1935, had 2 successors previous to the current one. The original Hayden Planetarium was founded in 1933 with a donation by philanthropist Charles Hayden. In 1935, the Hayden Planetarium, designed by architects

Trowbridge & Livingston Trowbridge & Livingston was an architectural practice based in New York City in the early 20th-century. The firm's partners were Samuel Beck Parkman Trowbridge and Goodhue Livingston. Often commissioned by well-heeled clients, much of the firm ...

, opened, after its construction was funded by a $650,000 loan from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and a $150,000 donation from banker Charles Hayden of Hayden, Stone & Co. Its mission was to give the public "a more lively and sincere appreciation of the magnitude of the universe... and for the wonderful things which are daily occurring in the universe." Joseph M. Chamberlain, hired as an assistant curator in 1952, became Chairman of the Planetarium in 1956. In 1960, a Zeiss Mark IV projector was installed, followed by a Zeiss Mark VI projector and new seats in 1993. In January 1997, the original Hayden Planetarium was closed and demolished. In August 1999, a new, customized Zeiss Mark IX projector was installed, accompanied by a digital dome projection system that provides a 3-D visualization of the universe based on images generated in real time by a

Silicon Graphics Silicon Graphics, Inc. (stylized as SiliconGraphics before 1999, later rebranded SGI, historically known as Silicon Graphics Computer Systems or SGCS) was an American high-performance computing manufacturer, producing computer hardware and soft ...

supercomputer. On February 19, 2000, the $210 million Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space, containing the new Hayden Planetarium, opened to the public. The Rose Center is named after two members of the Rose family, and was designed by

James Polshek James Stewart Polshek (February 11, 1930September 9, 2022) was an American architect based in New York City. He was the founder of Polshek Partnership, the firm at which he was the principal design partner for more than four decades. He worked ...

and Todd H. Schliemann of Polshek Partnership Architects with the exhibition design by

Ralph Appelbaum Associates Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA) is one of the world's longest-established and largest museum exhibition design firms with offices in New York City, London, Beijing, Berlin, Moscow, and Dubai.Bradford A. McKee, What's a Museum: What he says it ...

. The Museum's garden was designed by Seattle based landscape architecture firm Gustafson, Guthrie, Nichol. Tom Hanks provided the voice-over for the first planetarium show during the opening of the new Rose Center for Earth & Space in the Hayden Planetarium in 2000. Since then such celebrities as Whoopi Goldberg,

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Cec ...

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on '' Th ...

and Maya Angelou have been featured.

Design

Designed by Polshek and Todd Schliemann, the building consists of a six-story high glass cube enclosing the illuminated Hayden Sphere, which appears to float, although it is actually supported by truss work. Polshek has referred to this work as a "cosmic cathedral". The Rose Center and its adjacent plaza are both located on the north face of the Museum; the Center encloses of research, education, and exhibition spaces, in addition to the Hayden Planetarium. Also located in the facility is the Department of

Astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

, the newest academic research department in the Museum. Furthermore, Polshek designed the Weston Pavilion, a high transparent structure of "water white" glass along the Museum's west facade. This structure, a small companion piece to the Rose Center, offers a new entry way to the Museum, as well as opening further exhibition space for astronomically-related objects. The planetarium's original magazine, ''The Sky'', merged with another journal, ''The Telescope'', to become the leading astronomy magazine '' Sky & Telescope''.

Exclusion of Pluto as a Planet

The exhibits highlight human connection to the cosmos along with the scale and properties of the

observable universe The observable universe is a ball-shaped region of the universe comprising all matter that can be observed from Earth or its space-based telescopes and exploratory probes at the present time, because the electromagnetic radiation from these ob ...

itself. The new Rose Center opened on 19 February 2000 with a model of only eight planets, excluding

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...

, when there has not been a scientific consensus whether it is a planet or not, and much of the American public thought of it as the ninth planet. On 22 January 2001, almost a year later, the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

reported it on its front page and led to much media attention and public controversy.

Hayden Planetarium

The Hayden Planetarium (often called "The Hayden Sphere" or "The Great Sphere") has, since 2000, been one of the two main attractions within the Rose Center. It was established by the State of New York in 1933, some of the funding coming from philanthropist Charles Hayden. Accessed 2008-02-19 The top half of the Hayden Sphere houses the Star Theater, which uses high-resolution

fulldome video Fulldome refers to immersive dome-based video display environments. The dome, horizontal or tilted, is filled with real-time (interactive) or pre-rendered (linear) computer animations, live capture images, or composited environments. Although t ...

to project “space shows” based on scientific visualization of current astrophysical data, in addition to a customized

Zeiss Zeiss or Zeiß may refer to: People *Carl Zeiss (1816–1888), German optician and entrepreneur *Emil Zeiß (1833–1910), German Protestant minister and painter Companies *Carl Zeiss AG, German manufacturer of optics, industrial measurem ...

Star Projector A planetarium projector, also known as a star projector, is a device used to project images of celestial objects onto the dome in a planetarium. Modern planetarium projectors were first designed and built by the Carl Zeiss Jena company in Ger ...

system replicating an accurate night sky as seen from Earth. The Big Bang Theater occupies the bottom half of the Hayden Sphere. Utilizing a screen that measures in diameter over an bowl, a four-minute program depicts the birth of the universe, with narration by

. The Big Bang Theater serves as an introduction to the Heilbrun Cosmic Pathway, a spiral which wraps around the sphere, connecting the second and first floors of the Rose Center. The cosmic pathway provides a timeline of the universe's history from the Big Bang to the present day. The Heilbrun Cosmic Pathway is one of the most popular exhibits in the Rose Center, which opened February 19, 2000. The Hayden Planetarium offers a number of courses and public presentations including the Frontiers of Astrophysics and Distinguished Authors lecture series.

Arthur Ross Terrace

The Arthur Ross Terrace is adjacent to the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and built over the new parking garage on 81st Street. This rooftop plaza is designed to be a stage set that celebrates both astronomy and Earth’s natural history, as well as an outdoor gathering place for museum visitors. Renowned landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson formed the concept for the Terrace after seeing an illustration of shadows cast by a lunar eclipse. A terrace covering was designed by Charles Morris Anderson as a Landscape Architect, and his design was awarded the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Design award in 2003.

Exhibits and shows

, five shows have premiered in the theater. The first show, ''Passport to the Universe'', opened with the new theater and features the voice of Tom Hanks as a guide along a voyage from

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

to the edge of the

. ''The Search for Life: Are We Alone?'' debuted in 2002, with narration by

describing the possibilities of extraterrestrial life. Opened in 2006 and narrated by

, ''Cosmic Collisions'' examines the role that impacts have played in shaping the universe—including visualizations of Earth's

magnetosphere In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior d ...

, the formation of the Moon, and the meteorite impact that contributed to the end of the age of dinosaurs. ''Journey to the Stars'', narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, premiered on, July 4, 2009, featuring extraordinary images from telescopes on the ground and in space and stunning, never-before-seen visualizations of physics-based simulations. ''Dark Universe'', narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, premiered on November 2, 2013. Other exhibits can be found outside the sphere. The Gottesman Hall of the Planet Earth has displays that illustrate the Earth's geological history and weather patterns. The Cullman Hall of the Universe focuses on topics ranging from planets to stars, life on other worlds to current cosmology. The Scales of the Universe exhibit makes comparisons between the size of the Hayden Sphere and other objects in the universe presented at appropriate relative scale. There is also a photographic exhibit about the Apollo moon landings. The photographs are throughout the first floor level of the Rose Center. The British playwright,

Stephen Laughton Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

, is the current writer-in-residence.

In popular culture

* 1979: The planetarium appears as a backdrop for scenes in the film ''

''.

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

and Diane Keaton play characters who walk around within the planetarium after escaping from a sudden downburst of rain. * 2001: The planetarium is briefly seen in the film '' K-PAX'' starring

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolade ...

and Jeff Bridges. * 2002: The planetarium is briefly seen in the film '' Men in Black II'' starring

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' T ...

and Will Smith. * 2003: The planetarium features briefly in the film '' Eloise at the Plaza'' starring Sofia Vassilieva and

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy F ...

. * 2011: The planetarium is used as part of an investigation in the '' White Collar'' episode "Where There's a Will" (S03E02). * 2014: The planetarium is briefly seen in the film '' Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb'' starring Ben Stiller and

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

References

website Arthur Ross Terrace
ASLA DESIGN AWARD 2003: ARTHUR ROSS TERRACE
{{Authority control Planetaria in the United States Science museums in New York City American Museum of Natural History Museums established in 2000 2000 establishments in New York City Museums in Manhattan