Make your own tin can pinhole planetarium (page 1 of 5)

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First demonstrated in 1923, a planetarium is a device that projects dots of light onto the inside of a dome to simulate the night sky. This article outlines how to use inexpensive materials to make a simple tin can pinhole planetarium that can be used to project the stars of a single constellation onto a flat surface such as a wall. Alternatively, you can simply look into the tin can and see the constellation pattern.

Making this pinhole planetarium will also help children in the Scouting movement earn their astronomy badge.

Materials required

• Clean tin can with both ends cut off
• Scissors, sticky tape, aluminium foil, rubber band, needle
• Optional: Torch
• Constellation pinhole planetarium disc:
  • Scorpion (Scorpius) pinhole planetarium constellation disc (Adobe Acrobat format)
  • Southern Cross (Crux) pinhole planetarium constellation disc (Adobe Acrobat format)

Safety warning

• Avoid cutting your fingers on the tin can edges.
• Use caution when making the star holes with sharp metal instruments such as needles.
• Do not look through the pinholes at the Sun.

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Step 1: Cover sharp edges of tin with sticky tape.

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