2026-02-27 Chat and Summaries

Behind the Scenes with Blender-based Visualization 

at NSF NOIRLab 

Ron Proctor

Video _____

Below you can find a list of attendees, the chat, and AI-generated notes. To see a description and schedule of all upcoming Planetarians' Zoom Seminars, visit https://www.ppadomes.org/events/online-seminars/pzs-schedule

Date and time for the next seminar:

Planetarium Educators Workshop: Organizational Patterns with Alan Gould, 2026 Mar 27 at 12pm PDT (3pm EDT, 19:00 UTC)

Information Below

• Attendees

• Chat

• AI-generated Summary

Attendees

1. Alan Gould, Berkeley California USA (co-host)

2. Rosemary Walling, Marie Drake Planetarium, Juneau, Ak (co-host)

3. Adam Thanz in Erwin, TN - Retired from Bays Mountain Planetarium

4. Amie Gallagher, Raritan Valley Community College, Branchburg, NJ

5. Andrew Buckingham, Auckland, New Zealand

6. Cal Powell, Alexandria, VA

7. Chris Miller, John Pogue Planetarium in Grand Prairie, TX.

8. Dário Fonseca, Hemispherium @ Exploratório - Coimbra, Portugal

9. Jon Elvert, Richmond, Virginia

10. Kevin Healy, Mesa Community College (Mesa, AZ)

11. "Koz"McKyle Doane, Nomad Domes, LLC, Alamosa, CO

12. Mary Holt, currently Berkeley CA but after next week Flint Michigan!

13. Robert Hurt, Caltech/IPAC

14. Ron Proctor, NSF NOIRLab / Tucson, AZ

15. Sahl Metivier, tech at Shiras Planetarium

16. Sarah Weaver- St. Paul, Minnesota

17. Sean Workman, Manitoba Museum, Winnipeg, Canada

18. Waylena McCully, Staerkel Planetarium, Champaign, IL

19. ...and others

Chat

2026-02-27 12:52:23 From Mary Holt to Everyone:

Hi y'all! In a bit of a loud space so I'll be off camera/mic

2026-02-27 12:57:21 From Kevin Healy to Everyone:

I mixed up the Arizona vs. Pacific time. Unfortunately, I have a faculty meeting right now. I'm looking forward to catching the recording.

2026-02-27 12:59:44 From Andrew to Everyone:

Lunar Eclipse Livestream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GEOXNRPM3s

Waylena McCully:❤️

2026-02-27 13:07:09 From Alan Gould to Everyone:

noirlab.edu

Waylena McCully:❤️

2026-02-27 13:30:07 From Sarah Weaver to Everyone:

Thank you for making resources, including portions of shows, available for use! I can't use full films with our district schools.

2026-02-27 13:30:16 From Chris Miller - Pogue Planetarium to Everyone:

Wonderful presentation, Ron!

2026-02-27 13:30:29 From Amie Gallagher to Everyone:

The whole show is great. We ran it last summer for the public.  I really like the retrograde video.

Cosmic Kyle Nomad Domes:❤️

2026-02-27 13:32:50 From Rosemary Walling (PPA) to Everyone:

Ronald.proctor@noirlab.edu

2026-02-27 13:33:54 From Chris Miller - Pogue Planetarium to Everyone:

Let's take a tour!

2026-02-27 13:35:10 From s m to Everyone:

Thanks for the presentation and the information.

2026-02-27 13:44:10 From Robert Hurt (he/him) -️- to Everyone:

Ron, thanks for showing us your workflows and the tour!

2026-02-27 13:46:12 From Waylena McCully to Everyone:

decades ago

2026-02-27 14:02:01 From Chris Miller - Pogue Planetarium to Everyone:

Wonderful event.  Thanks and Clear Skies.

2026-02-27 14:02:34 From Amie Gallagher to Everyone:

Thanks for a great presentation, Ron.

2026-02-27 14:02:36 From Sarah Weaver to Everyone:

Thank you!

AI-Generated Summary

This AI-generated summary has not been edited for accuracy nor does not replace watching the full video. If you find any incorrect or misleading information in the AI summaries, you can let us know. Our contact information is here.

Overview

This seminar featured Ron Proctor, a motion graphics designer with NSF NOIRLab, who presented on behind-the-scenes visualization techniques using Blender. Ron shared his experience creating astronomical visualizations, particularly focusing on the DESI 3-year data plot mapping galaxies in the universe. The presentation highlighted free resources available at noirlab.edu, including full-dome images and videos that planetarium professionals can use even for paying audiences. Ron demonstrated several visualization techniques he developed for projects like the Rubin First Look planetarium content, Messengers of Time and Space planetarium show, and retrograde motion simulations.

Key Concepts or Theories

• Blender as a powerful 3D visualization tool for astronomical data

• Python scripting within Blender to transform raw data into visual representations

• Dynamic scaling techniques for point clouds to maintain visibility at different distances

• Refraction shaders for creating gravitational lensing effects

• Constraint systems for creating accurate astronomical motion simulations

Important Questions Raised

• How can planetarium professionals access and utilize free resources from NOIRLab?

• What techniques can be used to visualize complex astronomical data effectively?

• How can Blender be used to create educational visualizations of astronomical phenomena?

• Could there be a repository of Blender files for planetarium professionals to build upon?

Key Takeaways and Summary of Learning Objectives

• NOIRLab.edu offers free full-dome images and videos that can be used by planetarium professionals, even for paying audiences

• Blender combined with Python scripting provides powerful tools for transforming astronomical data into compelling visualizations

• Technical challenges in visualization can be solved through creative approaches like dynamic scaling and custom shaders

• The McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope has been repurposed from a science facility to a science center with interactive exhibits

• Artistic choices in visualization (like color selection) are often driven by both aesthetic and technical considerations

Topic 1: Data Visualization Techniques

Ron demonstrated how he transformed raw astronomical data into visually compelling representations using Blender and Python scripting. For the DESI 3-year data plot, he converted a spreadsheet of numbers into a 3D visualization showing the foamy structure of galaxy distribution in the universe. The visualization required solving technical challenges, such as dynamically scaling dots based on their distance from the camera to ensure visibility. Ron explained how he used geometry nodes in Blender to adjust the size of points in the visualization, preventing distant points from becoming too small to see. Color choices were also carefully considered, with Ron ultimately choosing a blue gradient that resembled "the shore of the Cosmic ocean" - white and foamy close to the observer, transitioning to deeper blue further into space. This choice was made not only for aesthetic reasons but also because red (which would have been more scientifically accurate for redshift) didn't reveal the detailed structure as effectively.

Relevant Q&A

Adam: Do the astronomers there, or other astronomers, are they able to do a live fly-through on their own computer to do research or evaluation of how the structure is at different distances from the solar system?

Ron: The answer is complicated because you have millions of data points, which becomes difficult to process visually. The short answer is yes, they do have ways of doing a subset in a more live, interactive way. They'll take a data cube or area of interest and stretch or squash certain variables to interrogate the behavior of dark energy within that cube.

Dário: Could it be possible to export just a slice of that dataset as a 3D file, an OSG for example, that we could introduce in another Planetarium software and travel through?

Ron: When they release the data for public use, then yes, you could excise a little fan. But to my knowledge, they haven't released that to the public yet. It's still kind of embargoed.

Topic 2: Special Effects and Simulation Techniques

Ron shared techniques for creating special effects like gravitational lensing and simulating astronomical phenomena like retrograde motion. For gravitational lensing effects in the "Messengers of Time and Space" show, Ron used a special material with a refraction shader in Blender. By mapping the index of refraction from values less than 1 in the center to 1 at the edges, he created realistic lensing effects. For retrograde motion visualization, Ron created a solar system model with properly tilted and timed orbits, then used a constraint system to create a "stick" that always pointed from Earth to Mars. By attaching a particle emitter to the end of this stick, he was able to visualize how Mars appears to move backward against the background stars when Earth overtakes it in orbit. This approach helps viewers understand that retrograde motion is a perspective effect rather than an actual change in a planet's orbital direction.

Relevant Q&A

Rosemary: When you were doing the index of refraction and the lensing, how is that different than what comes out of the camera to begin with? Don't you see the lensing from the image itself?

Ron: The difference is that we're using individual objects as lenses. I needed to have a really complex setup with many lenses overlapping at different angles. It's important that the lens always faces the camera perfectly, so each lens object has a constraint that faces the camera. I'm faking it with CG, and it's quite an exaggeration as well.

Topic 3: NOIRLab Resources and Facility Tour

Ron emphasized that NOIRLab provides numerous free resources for planetarium professionals at noirlab.edu. These include full-dome images, videos, and even complete planetarium shows like "Messengers of Time and Space." Users can download entire shows or just specific components to incorporate into their own presentations, provided they follow attribution requirements under the Creative Commons license. Ron also gave a virtual tour of the McMath Pierce Solar Telescope facility, which has been repurposed from a science telescope to a science center. The facility includes exhibits about various telescopes in the NSF fleet, a Science on a Sphere theater, and interactive displays. Ron showed an interactive table he developed that displays current images of the sun in different wavelengths. He explained that when the facility stopped doing science in 2017, it needed to be either bulldozed or repurposed according to the agreement with the Tohono O'odham Nation, on whose land the observatory sits.

Relevant Q&A

Alan: What I especially liked is the fact that you make components of your show available. In addition to the whole show being available for free, the components are available. That's not something that happens very often.

Ron: The credit for that decision goes to Lars Lindbergh Christensen. He's the head of Communications, Education and Engagement here at NOIRLab. Lars is formerly of ESO, so you'll notice that the ESO website kind of looks like the NOIRLab website because Lars brought the ESO ethos over to the States.

Sarah: In my setting, I have school students from our school district, and I have been told specifically that we cannot use films in our lessons. We can use portions or short things. So that eliminates a lot of resources, so I am grateful, and I have used things from NOIRLab.

Ron: In addition to the full dome material, we also have a lot of flat-screen stuff. If you want to watch Dark Universe, which is the newest film, that's about a 15-minute long film, just go on NOIRLab and search for Dark Universe.

Resources

• Ron Proctor at Ronald.proctor@noirlab.edu for questions or requests

• NOIRLab website (noirlab.edu) - Source for free full-dome images, videos, and planetarium shows

• "Messengers of Time and Space" - Free planetarium show available for download

• "Dark Universe" - 15-minute film available on the NOIRLab website