This is a guest blog post by Patrick Durrell, Astronomy Professor at Youngstown State University and CosmoQuest team member.

At Youngstown State University’s Ward Beecher Planetarium, we are not only interested in using the latest tools and imagery to bring science to people throughout NE Ohio, but to create new science content that can be used in planetariums and science centers around the world. This is part of the mission of CosmoQuest’s Science on the Half Sphere project. While those of us at Ward Beecher have had experience with taking still images and time-lapses photography, we did not have the capabilities of taking new real-time fulldome VIDEO. With the recent NASA award to CosmoQuest, we purchased a new system to allow us to do just that — the Freedom 360 video camera system is comprised of 6 GoPro Hero4 cameras on a rig to take high resolution video in all directions.

On May 23, we took delivery of the new rig, with complete training the week of May 23-26, 2016 by Dome3D’s CEO Matt Mascheri, who has *extensive* expertise not only in taking fulldome video, but in VR imagery. Indeed, we worked with Matt on our DSLR camera + fisheye lens setup that we continue to use for creating fulldome content. The F360 kit is a particular exciting addition, as while our original plan for CosmoQuest was fulldome video (video covering half of the dome), this new camera system will also allow us to create VR-ready video that can be used in any of many VR projections systems now coming online.

Training with new camera. Credit: YSU

This image shows Matt (left) and I preparing for one of our ‘adventures’ in training — the use of the F360 rig on a moving platform. Specifically, one of YSU’s golf carts. The training also included some VR imagery in YSU’s Stambaugh Stadium, the home of YSU’s football team (see bottom of post).

We also have a short, albeit noisy video of a drive (with the camera mounted on the hood of my Mazda) through the beautiful Millcreek Park here in Youngstown. Not bad for 2 days of shooting.

We have great plans for this system. We are going to be taking both 360 video and fulldome video of people and facilities that are part of the myriad science projects and programs through CosmoQuest. Although there will be many uses of the system, the first project will likely take place in Spring 2017, with a trip to McDonald Observatory in Texas, to take both fulldome video and 360 video imagery of the many telescopes and instruments at the observatory. This includes the gargantuan Hobby-Eberly Telescope, which is being used as part of the large HETDEX project. Other trips and facilities are planned.

Hopefully we’ll be able to take another trip to Hawaii’s Maunakea, to improve on the still images and time lapses of our own Fulldome Maunakea project that is already part of Science on the Half Sphere. We are also looking forward to taking such video at other places to not only show science results ‘in the round’, but also the *people* behind the science. Moreover this new systems will allow us to effectively explore the use of virtual reality (VR) as a way of getting science to the people, as part of CosmoQuest. So very exciting time ahead! To dare to do great things also means going out to show people these great things that are (literally) all around us!

This VR image shows (from L-to-R) Planetarium students Nick DeLuca, Ashley Mcmasters, Planetarium Engineer Curt Spivey, myself, and Matt Mascheri (go ahead, move the image around…not a static image).

@YSU 50 yard line with the Ward Beecher Planetarium fulldome team. Go Penguins Go!!! #Dome3D #Freedom360 #YSU – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA