Zeiss Projector - History of Development and Production

History of Development and Production

The Mark I was created in 1923–1924 and was the world's first modern planetarium projector. The Mark II was developed during the 1930s jointly by Carl Zeiss AG factories in Jena (East Germany) and Oberkochen (West Germany). Following WWII and the division of Germany, each factory developed its own line of projectors. Marks III – VI were developed in Oberkochen (West Germany) from 1957–1989. Meanwhile, the East German facility in Jena developed the ZKP projector line. The Mark VII was developed in 1993 and was the first joint project of the two Zeiss factories following German reunification.

As of 2011, Zeiss currently manufactures three main models of planetarium projectors. The flagship Universarium models continue the "Mark" model designation and use a single "starball" design, where the fixed stars are projected from a single egg-shaped projector, and moving objects such as planets have their own independent projectors or are projected using a full-dome digital projection system. The Starmaster line of projectors are designed for smaller domes than the Universarium, but also use the single starball design. The Skymaster ZKP projectors are designed for the smallest domes and use a "dumbbell" design similar to the Mark II-VI projectors, where two smaller starballs for the northern and southern hemispheres are connected by a truss containing projectors for planets and other moving objects.