Brisbane Planetarium

The Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium is located on the grounds of Brisbane Botanic Gardens in the suburb of Toowong, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and was opened in 1978.

The Planetarium is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, governor of New South Wales (1821 – 1825), and well known astronomer of the southern skies. The Planetarium is located about 5km from the Central Business District, and is administered by the Brisbane City Council.

The Planetarium features the 12.5m Cosmic Skydome (hemispherical planetarium theatre) with a Zeiss star projector and a digital dome projection system; an observatory containing a permanently-mounted Zeiss 15cm refractor and other instruments; extensive photographic and model displays in its Foyer and Gallery including the 1969 Moon landing, the Space Shuttle, and Mars expeditions, as well as a free Foyer Theatrette. The Planetarium runs regular shows in the Cosmic Skydome for public and school groups, observing sessions in the observatory and occasional public field nights.

The Cosmic Skydome is a giant screen that displays digital feature shows. It uses the Zeiss Star Projector to recreate images of Brisbane’s night sky.

The Display Zone features interesting artefacts and displays, including fragments of asteroids and spacecraft models. You will also see images from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Brisbane Planetarium astronomers take the audience on an exciting “live” fulldome spaceflight. Chart a course through the wonders of the solar system, past the most distant space probes, beyond the stars that form the familiar constellations, and on to the outskirts of the Milky Way galaxy.