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The Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium is a public planetarium located on the University of Minnesota Duluth campus in Duluth, Minnesota.

History
Construction of the planetarium started in 1965 and 1967. Funds for the building came from a donation by Mr. Marshall William Alworth (1882-1980). Total cost of the facility is estimated around $200,000. Don Jackson served as the first director. In 1967, Jackson began work to acquire a black Brashear telescope from John Novak, a watch shop owner from Escanaba, Michigan. After proving to the university that the telescope worked, UMD purchased the instrument for $950.

In 1970, an observatory measuring 16 feet in diameter was placed above the physics department. Inside, a 16 inch Cassegrain telescope built by Group 128 was installed. The observatory and telescope were removed in 1985 due to poor performance.

In 1979, Don Jackson retired from his position as planetarium director and Glenn Langhorst, an amateur astronomer and science graduate, succeeded him as director. In the late 1980's, the planetarium was honored with renovations. Glenn Langhorst persuaded the university to install new seats and carpeting. In 1990, a new roof was put on the planetarium. After the renovations were completed, the university completely rescinded funding for the planetarium. For years thereafter, the planetarium was without a director nor funding.

Present
The university appointed Dr. Howard Mooers as director in 2006, a position that he holds to this day. In the summer of 2011. Dr. Mooers convinced the University to fund a massive overhaul of nearly the entire planetarium. The seats, carpet, lighting, sound equipment, and old control panel were removed and replaced with all new, modern substitutions. Additionally, a gift shop and museum were added as well as an all-new Full Dome projection system. As of June 2013, Dr. Mooers appointed Aaron Slonecker as Program Director, a Masters of Geology.

Equipment
The original star machine, a Spitz A3P, has been in operations since its installation in 1965. For keynote presentations, two LCD projectors are used.