Western hemisphere's largest planetarium set to open in Jersey City

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (WABC) -- Eyewitness News is taking you inside a new planetarium that's truly out of this world.

It turns out the sky is not the limit as the Liberty Science Center is set to unveil an out of this world planetarium in Jersey City this weekend.

"It is huge, it's the largest and most advanced tech planetarium in the western hemisphere, you have to go to Japan or Beijing for a larger one," said Paul Hoffman, Liberty Science Center.

Size matters with a planetarium because it simulates what happens in the night sky, so the illusion of a horizon enhances the experience.

It's done on a scale that's never been seen on this side of the planet!

"It's 60 from the bottom to top, it's 88 million pixels like HDTV quality," Hoffman said. "Its diameter of the screen is 89 feet, the entire building with the Hayden building can fit inside this theater."

To grasp the height of the screen, stack four giraffes on top of each other, the size is 13,000 square feet which is a quarter of an acre.

"We can open a screen size of a movie theater with an astronomer sharing her discovery, another window show the images, and another screen with the astronomer reacting," Hoffman said.

From space to movies, 10 projectors run by a super computer put out a state of the art experience.

The system can display 280 trillion different color possibilities.

The $5 million planetarium was funded by philanthropist Jennifer Chalsty to fall in line with the center's mission to inspire a new generation of scientists. At least 250,000 school children will see the planetarium annually.

"Breaking news and on Saturday we are doing that for the first time. You will fly through the Orion nebula," Hoffman said.

It's the first of many chances to travel to worlds beyond!

"Up close and personal with moons, stars, planets and latest discoveries of astronomy," Hoffman said.

For more information please visit: https://lsc.org/