Hector Vector Star Projector takes his final bow Saturday in a Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium show about the sky as seen from Tucson.
It will be the sky from 2000 โ the year at which Hector has been stuck since his โprocession motorโ flamed out a few years back.
Hector, an opto-mechanical star projector who has powered Flandrauโs star shows since it opened in 1975, is outdated and hobbled, and has already given way to digital technology in the form of the planetariumโs new full-dome digital projectors.
Hector, whose name was given to him by children who attended his shows, did one thing really well, said astronomer Tom Fleming, who teaches general education classes in the planetarium and pushed for the newer technology.
Opto-mechanical projectors give the most realistic depiction of the night sky. Their points of light are precise and sky surrounding them is black. The digital technology creates a more pervasive light and the blackness between the stars is more a dark, dark gray.
Fleming said heโs happy to trade that one perfect skill for hundreds of others that Hector does not possess. In full dome, you can leave your earthbound point of view to visit the planets, look back on the Earth or zoom beyond the Milky Way into distant galaxies.
You can also create or buy programs that use full-dome capacity to explore anything from the intricacies of the brain to the challenges of climate change, Fleming said.
After Saturdayโs shows, Hector will be removed to make room for an additional 25 seats or so, as the planetarium is given a facelift this summer that will include new flooring, seating and lighting.
Details of the renovation and the donations that made it possible will be revealed mid-April, said Kellee Campbell, Flandrauโs executive director.
Hectorโs final fate has yet to be determined. Campbell said part of him will be incorporated into a science center exhibit.
People are nostalgic for Hector, said Fleming. Three years ago, a couple showed up to pose for wedding photos with him. They told Fleming that they had held hands for the first time during a middle-school field trip to the planetarium.
