Katara – the Cultural Village will today unveil its prominent project, the high-tech planetarium, which will become the first astronomical dome in Qatar.
The opening of the planetarium will be attended by several diplomats and dignitaries as it marks a significant achievement for Qatar.
Katara general manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti said the new planetarium is suitable for all age groups as it has interactive features that provides visitors information on astronomy in an interesting manner.
“The planetarium will take visitors on a journey around the galaxies of the universe in a simplified manner that fits children and adults in two languages, English and Arabic”, Dr al-Sulaiti said.
He stressed Katara is keen on educating young generations with different cultural and scientific fields to diversify their knowledge and understanding.
Occupying 2,240sq m area, the planetarium is expected to become one of the main attractions at Katara. It will offer a rare experience to visitors, blending education and entertainment, especially for students, families and astronomy enthusiasts.
The planetarium hall, the main component of the building, will have a seating capacity of 200 people, four seats for the disabled and another four for the elderly.
It will feature a huge 22m screen, equipped with state-of-the-art digital projectors featuring 2D and 3D tutorial shows.
A vast terrace overlooking the sea will serve as a platform for events and activities. 
This project is expected to be completed in the last quarter of 2018.
The Planetarium is named after the Thuraya (Seven Sisters) which is a cluster of seven bright stars (the Pleiades M45). It is considered one of the most beautiful aspects of the sky and the Arabs called it the Thuraya (Wealth in Arabic).
This cluster was known since prehistoric times, where ancient astronomers had mentioned it a lot, and it had a significant status among the ancient Arabs.
The operating system of the Planetarium (Digistar) has very unique features such as an amazing tool to process 3D illustrations which is projected to the main screen of the dome.
The system also features live streaming feature ‘Domecasting’, which enables other similar theatres and domes in the world that are equipped with the same Digistar system to broadcast live presentations between each other.
This system enables other galleries to meet and watch live performances and experiment simultaneously, and live presentations to be broadcast in the Planetarium “Al Thuraya”.
In addition, the planetarium features information on Earth Science which contains more than 200 unique data sets in five categories: astronomy, atmosphere, geology and the oceans.
This includes more than 25 terrestrial weather data, solar data sets and a number of awareness presentations by professional trainers.
There is also a museum within the planetarium displaying astronomical figures and history such as the story of the splitting of the moon in the era of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and a number of models of the planets of the solar system in various sizes, in addition to models of space shuttles and astronaut suits.
Katara noted that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Oman Oil Development Company in November 2017 to train Qatari youths in the field of planetariums and managing astronomy domes.