Turning the Rotunda’s dome into a planetarium – one of Thomas Jefferson’s wilder ideas for the central building of the University of Virginia’s Academical Village – has come to light in the darkness. Thanks to the ingenuity of three doctoral candidates in the English department, a vision of constellations appears during student study nights (Sunday through Tuesday) and for special events that are advertised on the website.
The Bigger Picture: Stellar Visions
Neal Curtis, Samuel Lemley and Madeline Zehnder conducted some keen literary sleuthing to discover Jefferson’s original intentions for the Dome Room. Using a star catalog that Jefferson knew of, they then harnessed modern digital technology to bring the planetarium to life in a way that the University’s founder could not have imagined.
The Rotunda Planetarium will be open Feb. 27, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., with Curtis giving brief remarks about the history of the Rotunda library, as part of the Institute of the Humanities and Global Cultures’ Humanities Week.
Media Contact
University News Associate Office of University Communications
anneb@virginia.edu (434) 924-6861
Article Information
December 30, 2024
