The M. P. Birla Planetarium in Kolkata is the largest
planetarium in India. The planetarium started functioning from September
29, 1962 as an educational, scientific and research institution and was
formally inaugurated on July 2, 1963 by the first Prime Minister of
India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. M. P. Birla Planetarium is established on
an acre of land leased by the West Bengal Government.
Since its inception, M. P. Birla Planetarium has designed and presented
more than 350 astronomical projects dealing with many facets of
astronomy, astro-physics, Celestial Mechanics, Space Science, History of
astronomy, Centenaries of famous astronomers as well as mythology
concerning stars and planets. The Planetarium owns an astronomical
observatory equipped with a Celestron C-14 Telescope with accessories
such as ST6 CCD Camera, Solar Filter etc.
