Kumar Bahukhandi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to supporters at Bilekahalli–IIMB in Bengaluru ahead of the inauguration of a stretch of the Metro’s Pink Line on 13 November 2026.”Photo :arrangements
The COSMOS centre brings astronomy shows in Kannada, English and Hindi to the foothills of Chamundi Hill. Mysuru police put barricades and traffic diversions in place for the Prime Minister’s visit and planned roadshow.
Key Highlights
- The Indian Institute of Astrophysics developed COSMOS-Mysuru in partnership with the University of Mysore. Its Sky Theatre can seat about 160 people.
- The 15-metre tilted dome uses about 6,150 LED panels to display images directly across its curved surface.
- The announced roadshow route ran from Lalithamahal Palace Gate to Chamundi Hill Gate via Kurubarahalli Circle. Police rehearsed the convoy route and diverted traffic on several approaches.
Mysuru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the COSMOS-Mysuru Planetarium on Friday, 13 November 2026, bringing India’s first LED dome planetarium to the University of Mysore campus at the foothills of Chamundi Hill. Developed as a centre for astronomy education and training, the facility includes a Sky Theatre, a museum, exhibition halls and spaces for lectures and workshops. The opening was part of Modi’s Karnataka visit, which also included the inauguration of an elevated section of Bengaluru Metro’s Pink Line.
Roadshow route and security arrangements
Mysuru-Kodagu MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar announced a roadshow from Lalithamahal Palace Gate to Chamundi Hill Gate through Kurubarahalli Circle. The route linked the Lalithamahal area with the approach to the planetarium. Arrangements were made for members of the public to stand along the route, and the district administration issued passes to students invited to the opening programme. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reviewed preparations at the centre on Thursday.
The Special Protection Group stepped up checks at the venue, and authorities installed iron barricades along roads leading to the planetarium and the Bharat Vann site. Mysuru City Police conducted a 50-vehicle rehearsal covering the helipad, the two venues and the airport at Mandakalli. Police announced diversions affecting stretches of Lalitha Mahal Road and Chamundi Hill Road, among others, and restricted drone flights within five kilometres of the planetarium until the programme ended.
How the LED dome works
The dome itself is the screen. Its LED panels produce images across the curved surface and can be controlled in real time. In a conventional planetarium, projectors cast images onto the inside of a dome. At COSMOS, roughly 4.2 crore LEDs form the display, allowing the Sky Theatre to show detailed views of the night sky and other astronomical scenes around the audience.
The Sky Theatre’s introductory film, Our Home, Our Cosmos, explores Mysuru’s links with science and astronomy. Other programmes trace how people have come to understand the universe and revisit the Voyager missions. Shows will be available in Kannada, English and Hindi, giving school groups and other visitors a choice of language.
A centre for students, teachers and visitors
The Indian Institute of Astrophysics and the University of Mysore developed the facility with support from the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Atomic Energy and the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser. Sitharaman laid the foundation stone in 2022 and contributed ₹5 crore through her Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme funds. Wadiyar put the project’s cost at about ₹115 crore.
The centre plans to conduct telescope observations, teacher-training workshops and outreach programmes for students, particularly those in rural areas. Visitors will also be able to explore interactive exhibits, instruments and artefacts from observatories, and outdoor astronomy models inspired by Jantar Mantar. The training and outreach facilities give schools a way to build on what students see in the Sky Theatre.
Bharat Vann and the wider Karnataka visit
Modi’s Mysuru itinerary also included a plantation programme at Bharat Vann in K.C. Nagar under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam initiative. The 17.63-acre urban forest project aims to establish more than two lakh native trees using the Miyawaki method, which plants a mix of native species densely to help a forest develop. Earlier in Bengaluru, Modi opened the elevated Pink Line stretch and flagged off the Vande Bharat service linking Bengaluru with Madgaon via Mangaluru.
