Overview
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the COSMOS‑Mysuru planetarium on Friday, marking the centre’s formal opening to the public.
- The main attraction is a 15‑metre tilted LED dome called the Sky Theatre that uses about 6,148 panels and roughly 42.7 million pixels to deliver seamless ultra‑high‑resolution visuals to about 160 viewers.
- The centre, developed by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics with the University of Mysore, received support from the DST, DAE and the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser and used Rs. 5 crore from MPLADS funds pledged by Nirmala Sitharaman.
- Programming will start with a 12‑minute locally produced show, 'Our Home, Our Cosmos', in English, Kannada and Hindi, followed by licensed productions; the complex also includes exhibition halls, an IIA artefacts museum, a 150‑seat lecture hall, training labs, a recording room and outdoor ISRO exhibits.
- Officials expect the facility to boost hands‑on science learning for schools, increase teacher training and draw science tourism to Mysuru, building on a three‑year outreach drive that held more than 150 events for over 40,000 participants.