The sheer size of its projection screen ranks it among a planetarium's most majestic qualities. The great dome creates an impression of scale and distance as no other medium can. Ironically, it is often the tiny image, perhaps a spacecraft or planet, which suggests to the imagination a sense of sublime vastness as it drifts through a limitless sea of stars.

Moving images across the planetarium sky calls for up to four different motions, known collectively as "XYZR." X and Y motion occurs along the left-right and up-down axes. Z motion (accomplished by zoom lenses) moves an image toward and away from the audience. R motion is rotation about the center of the image.

A tiny Lunar Excursion Module decelerates as it approaches the surface of the Moon. A Sky-Skan zoom-slew porjector propels the LEM toward the target panorama.