[Aardwolf]

I went to one with school as a kid, and this projector in the middle was the most science fiction looking thing I'd ever seen in real life

It probably was one like this: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/ZeissPla...

[Wistar]

BH Photo has a nice page on planetarium projection systems. They are eye-wateringly expensive.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/features/pl...?

[Aardwolf]

All I see on the Zeiss website for price is a "contact" button. How expensive are we talking about? :)

[Wistar]

From the 2019 BH Photo article whose link I posted above:

"Cost has long been a factor in the acquisition of an OM projector. The Zeiss Model II cost $75,000 in 1926—more than $1 million in today’s dollars. Modern OM projectors can cost well over $2 million."

A 2011 Sky and Telescope article about Boston's Planetarium says, "Costing $2 million, the Zeiss Starmaster installed at Boston's Charles Hayden Planetarium uses fiber optics and its lens-covered 30-inch ball to project up to 9,100 stars."

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/bostons-planetari...