Published Dec. 6, 2012
By the Tri-City Herald staff
Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke and Space Shuttle astronaut Story Musgrave attend Wednesday's dedication ceremony of the Bechtel National Planetarium at Columbia Basin College in Pasco.
The new $1.3 million facility includes a planetarium theater and a building with three classrooms. The 36-foot diameter dome is one of the largest in the state, and combined with seating for 100 makes it the largest planetarium in Washington based on a ratio of seating-to-screen space.
The facility is expected to be a boon to CBC’s astronomy program, especially once it is connected with the Moore Observatory and the Pacific Northwest Regional Observatory in the Horse Heaven Hills.
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