AT FIRST GLANCE, the digital mobile planetarium recently installed at the Diliman Preparatory School (DPS) in Quezon City?the first of its kind in the country?looks a bit plain and unimpressive.

But once the device controlling the show is switched on, spectators are seemingly brought to outer space with the realism of the images of celestial bodies flashed on the screen, objects usually invisible to the naked eye or obscured by city smog.

With the planetarium, the school not only intends to popularize the study of heavenly bodies among its students, but also to focus on discoveries of Filipino astronomers by including these in the planetarium?s computer program, said Nikki Coseteng, DPS president.

Coseteng, a former senator, gave Inquirer a tour of the planetarium last week, proudly displaying the newly acquired equipment she personally shopped around for in the United States.

Outer space attractions

?Since I was a child, I was always amazed and curious about the attractions of outer space,? she said.
?But in the schools I went to, astronomy was just a two or three-page lecture in science class dealing mostly with the subject of stars. That was about it.?

Her fascination for astronomy was evident during the demonstration, as she went on to name the constellations that she saw as the device beamed towards the dome, showing off an infinitesimal number of tiny twinkling dots.

?Children who have an interest in this particular field of science are never given a chance to see anything like this,? she said.

The device, which Coseteng said was shipped to the school last month, consists of a LCD projector with a fish-eye lens, a convex mirror that distributes light from the machine evenly to the dome, covering the area in a blanket of heavenly objects.

The high-resolution projector is hooked up to a computer designed solely to run the planetarium software.
Remote control sets, bigger than the ones that come with television sets, are used to operate the machine.

With a push of a button, viewers are transported to astronomical objects like Ceres, the nearest star in the solar system. Ceres is four light years away, meaning its brightness takes four years to reach the Earth.

Tiny speck

From Ceres, the Earth is just a tiny speck, along with particles labeled as the sun and other planets.

Astronomer Bamm Gabriana, who was among the guides at the demonstration, explained that he was in the process of adding a Filipino flavor to the presentation, one of four components in the astronomy experience the school is set to implement in June.
Gabriana said he has been in touch with software developers in the United States to get their permission to include objects in outer space discovered by Filipino astronomers, like Dr. Josette Biyo, a science teacher in the Visayas who has the enviable reputation of having an asteroid named after her.

?Since the software is an open source, I was told that all I needed was to input the orbital elements of the asteroid,? he said, referring to the coordinates of the path of the Biyo asteroid.

Gabriana said he would also be adding constellations drawn by ancient Filipinos, as researched by astronomer Dr. Dante Ambrosio of the University of the Philippines.

Ancient astronomers
Two years ago, Inquirer published a two-part series on Ambrosio?s findings that pre-colonial Filipinos, like the Badjaos and the Samas of Tawi-Tawi, had consulted stars in the conduct of their lives, using their own versions of constellations.

Among the star groups seen by the ancients was the ?balatik,? or ?batik,? a spear trap used by hunters to catch wild boars according to Ambrosio.

Apart from star formations that are more popular in Western culture, the planetarium also features those from other cultures like the Native Americans of North America, among others.

What makes the digital planetarium different from the analog variety was that the conventional device used only had a contraption with holes where light passes through, said Gabriano. The digital machine, on the other hand, simulates the real-time locations of celestial bodies, based on established scientific research.

Made of synthetic material capable of withstanding the elements, the dome is seven meters in diameter, and can easily accommodate 120 students at a time.
A tube is fitted to the dome which is attached to a air compressor to inflate the contraption. The compressor also serves as a ventilation machine.

Coseteng said she is thinking of introducing astronomy in the school curriculum, since it is related to physics and mathematics, subjects many students find difficult to understand.

?If you include astronomy in the curriculum at an early stage, you start introducing the principles of physics at a young age,? she said. ?Then, the students need not struggle with the concepts in high school.?
Since the planetarium is easy to dismantle, schools, especially those in remote areas, can request the DPS to bring the planetarium to their area, at a minimal cost, Coseteng said.

?Cost is relative. If it?s going to mean a great difference in the attitude of our students towards learning, then cost should not really be an issue,? she said. ?If you think quality education is expensive, try ignorance. You pay a bigger price for that.?

DPS is opening its planetarium on May 6 to the public. For more information, contact the school administration office at telephone numbers 931-0731 or 951-9403.