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Digistar

Evans & Sutherland's planetarium platform — from the first digital planetarium (1983) to today's Digistar 2025.

Exterior of the Adler Planetarium in Chicago
Adler Planetarium, Chicago — one of the earliest adopters of Evans & Sutherland's Digistar system · Photo: Diego Delso · Source · CC BY-SA 3.0

What is it?

Digistar is a digital planetarium software and hardware platform developed by Evans & Sutherland (now part of Cosm). First introduced in 1983, it was the world's first digital planetarium system — initially a vector-graphics CRT projector that could fly through a 3D model of the known universe.

Evolution

  • Digistar 1 (1983) — calligraphic vector display
  • Digistar 3/4/5/6 — evolved to raster fulldome, multi-projector support
  • Digistar 7 — modern fulldome platform with real-time rendering
  • Digistar 2025 — current version with Unreal Engine integration, LED dome support, advanced visualisation

In LED Domes

Digistar serves as the content management and real-time rendering backbone for Cosm CX LED dome systems. Fort Worth and Arizona Science Center use Digistar 2025 for live astronomy shows, Unreal Engine environments, and multimedia playback.

See also: Fulldome → · LED Dome → · Real-Time Rendering →

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