Cosmosphere is an international science education center and space museum in Hutchinson , Kansas , United States . It was previously known as the Kansas Cosmosphere . The museum houses over 13,000 spaceflight artifacts—the largest combined collection of US and Russian spaceflight artifacts in the world, and is home to various space educational programs.
104-736: The Cosmosphere grew from a planetarium established on the Kansas State Fairgrounds in 1962. The 105,000-square-foot (9,800 m) facility houses the largest collection of Russian space artifacts outside of Moscow , and a collection of US space artifacts second only to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The Cosmosphere has five venues: the Hall of Space Museum, the Justice Planetarium,
208-721: A Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird , the Liberty Bell 7 Mercury spacecraft, the Gemini 10 space capsule, and the Command Module Odyssey from Apollo 13 . Additionally, authentic Redstone and Titan II launch vehicles used in the Mercury and Gemini programs flank the building's exterior. A prized item on display is a Moon rock from Apollo 11 , the first crewed mission to land on the Moon. Every artifact on display at
312-459: A "squat" car. This squat car, which is usually filled with several passengers, then slows abruptly, forcing the driver of the chosen car to collide with the squat car. The passengers in the squat car then file a claim with the other driver's insurance company. This claim often includes bills for medical treatments that were not necessary or not received. An incident that took place on Golden State Freeway June 17, 1992, brought public attention to
416-425: A bright image projected on one side of the dome will tend to reflect light across to the opposite side, "lifting" the black level there and so making the whole image look less realistic. Since traditional planetarium shows consisted mainly of small points of light (i.e., stars) on a black background, this was not a significant issue, but it became an issue as digital projection systems started to fill large portions of
520-533: A car registered to an address in rural Pennsylvania are much less than they are in Brooklyn. Another form of automobile insurance fraud , known as "fronting", involves registering someone other than the real primary driver of a car as the primary driver of the car. For example, parents might list themselves as the primary driver of their children's vehicles to avoid young driver premiums. " Crash for cash " scams may involve random unaware strangers, set to appear as
624-531: A far greater selection of stars. Additional projectors can be added to show twilight around the outside of the screen (complete with city or country scenes) as well as the Milky Way . Others add coordinate lines and constellations , photographic slides, laser displays, and other images. Each planet is projected by a sharply focused spotlight that makes a spot of light on the dome. Planet projectors must have gearing to move their positioning and thereby simulate
728-406: A favoured "sweet spot" for optimum viewing, centrally about a third of the way up the dome from the lowest point. Tilted domes generally have seating arranged stadium-style in straight, tiered rows; horizontal domes usually have seats in circular rows, arranged in concentric (facing center) or epicentric (facing front) arrays. Planetaria occasionally include controls such as buttons or joysticks in
832-415: A federal criminal offense with punishment of up to ten years of prison in addition to significant financial penalties. Fraud rings or groups may fake traffic deaths or stage collisions to make false insurance or exaggerated claims and collect insurance money. The ring may involve insurance claims adjusters and other people who create phony police reports to process claims. The Insurance Fraud Bureau in
936-547: A federal prison in El Reno, Oklahoma on April 24, 2008. Ary has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence. He was released on good behavior in June 2010. Planetarium A planetarium ( pl. : planetariums or planetaria ) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky , or for training in celestial navigation . A dominant feature of most planetariums
1040-523: A hollow ball with a light inside, and a pinhole for each star, hence the name "star ball". With some of the brightest stars (e.g. Sirius , Canopus , Vega ), the hole must be so big to let enough light through that there must be a small lens in the hole to focus the light to a sharp point on the dome. In later and modern planetarium star balls, the individual bright stars often have individual projectors, shaped like small hand-held torches, with focusing lenses for individual bright stars. Contact breakers prevent
1144-595: A loss, such as a collision, auto theft, or fire that is covered by their insurance policy in order to claim payment for damages. Criminal rings are sometimes involved in hard fraud schemes that can steal millions of dollars. Soft fraud , which is far more common than hard fraud, is sometimes also referred to as opportunistic fraud. This type of fraud consists of policyholders exaggerating otherwise legitimate claims. For example, when involved in an automotive collision an insured person might claim more damage than actually occurred. Soft fraud can also occur when, while obtaining
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#17327726020381248-806: A lot of attention. Next Zeiss planetariums were opened in Rome (1928, in Aula Ottagona , part of the Baths of Diocletian ), Chicago (1930), Osaka (1937, in the Osaka City Electricity Science Museum ). When Germany was divided into East and West Germany after the war, the Zeiss firm was also split. Part remained in its traditional headquarters at Jena , in East Germany , and part migrated to West Germany . The designer of
1352-440: A low-risk, lucrative enterprise. For example, drug dealers who have entered insurance fraud think it is safer and more profitable than working street corners. Compared to those for other crimes, court sentences for insurance fraud can be lenient, reducing the risk of extended punishment. Though insurers fight fraud, some pay suspicious claims anyway, as settling such claims is often cheaper than legal action. Another basis for fraud
1456-476: A mid-size audio-visual firm on Long Island . About thirty canned programs were created for various grade levels and the public, while operators could create their own or run the planetarium live. Purchasers of the Apollo were given their choice of two canned shows, and could purchase more. A few hundred were sold, but in the late 1970s Viewlex went bankrupt for reasons unrelated to the planetarium business. During
1560-414: A new health insurance policy , an individual misreports previous or existing conditions to obtain a lower premium on the insurance policy. The majority of life insurance fraud occurs at the application stage, involving applicants misrepresenting their health, their income, and other personal information in order to get a cheaper premium. As more and more insurance amendments can be performed online or over
1664-441: A non-insured damage to make it an event covered by insurance, and inflating the value of the loss. It is hard to place an exact value on the money stolen through insurance fraud. Insurance fraud is deliberately undetectable, unlike visible crimes such as robbery or murder. As such, the number of cases of insurance fraud that are detected is much lower than the number of acts that are actually committed. The best that can be done
1768-483: A provider. Member fraud consists of claims on behalf of ineligible members and/or dependents, alterations on enrollment forms, concealing pre-existing conditions, failure to report other coverage, prescription drug fraud, and failure to disclose claims that were a result of a work-related injury. Provider fraud consists of claims submitted by bogus physicians, billing for services not rendered, billing for higher level of services, diagnosis or treatments that are outside
1872-408: A resolution that approaches the limit of human visual acuity . LCD projectors have fundamental limits on their ability to project true black as well as light, which has tended to limit their use in planetaria. LCOS and modified LCOS projectors have improved on LCD contrast ratios while also eliminating the "screen door" effect of small gaps between LCD pixels. "Dark chip" DLP projectors improve on
1976-529: A room, projecting images onto the white surface of a hemisphere. In August 1923, the first (Model I) Zeiss planetarium projected images of the night sky onto the white plaster lining of a 16 m hemispherical concrete dome, erected on the roof of the Zeiss works. The first official public showing was at the Deutsches Museum in Munich on October 21, 1923. Zeiss Planetarium became popular, and attracted
2080-511: A show because they allow simulation of the view from any point in space, not only the Earth-bound view which we are most familiar with. This new virtual reality capability to travel through the universe provides important educational benefits because it vividly conveys that space has depth, helping audiences to leave behind the ancient misconception that the stars are stuck on the inside of a giant celestial sphere and instead to understand
2184-435: A shunt). Because the mechanism of injury is not fully understood, A&E doctors have to rely on a patient's external symptoms (which are easy to fake). Resultingly, "no win no fee" personal injury solicitors exploit this " loophole " for easy compensation money (often a £2500 payout). Ultimately this has resulted in increased motor insurance premiums, which has had the knock-on effect of pricing younger drivers off
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#17327726020382288-407: A software application that renders a three-dimensional image of the sky onto a two-dimensional computer screen, or in a virtual reality headset for a 3D representation. The term planetarian is used to describe a member of the professional staff of a planetarium. The ancient Greek polymath Archimedes is attributed with creating a primitive planetarium device that could predict the movements of
2392-448: A star ball to address some of their limitations. Digital planetarium manufacturers claim reduced maintenance costs and increased reliability from such systems compared with traditional "star balls" on the grounds that they employ few moving parts and do not generally require synchronisation of movement across the dome between several separate systems. Some planetariums mix both traditional opto-mechanical projection and digital technologies on
2496-690: A tape of the Apollo 15 landing which Ary sold for $ 2,200. Additional charges involved the theft of dozens more artifacts from the Cosmosphere when he left in 2002 and false insurance claims made regarding the loss of an astronaut's Omega watch replica. Ary also failed to notify NASA of the watch's loss. Ary went on trial in 2005. He testified that the artifacts he sold were from his private collection, which he had accumulated through undocumented trades and salvage of unwanted items. He also stated he had received numerous personal gifts from astronauts. Some of
2600-583: Is a desire for financial gain. Public healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid are especially conducive to fraudulent activities, as they are often run on a fee-for-service structure. Physicians use several fraudulent techniques to achieve this end. These can include "up-coding" or "upgrading", which involve billing for more expensive treatments than those actually provided; providing, and subsequently billing for, treatments that are not medically necessary; scheduling extra visits for patients; referring patients to other physicians when no further treatment
2704-490: Is a wide variety of schemes used to defraud automobile insurance providers. These ploys can differ greatly in complexity and severity. Richard A. Derrig , vice president of research for the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts , lists several ways that auto-insurance fraud can occur, such as: In staged collision fraud, fraudsters use a motor vehicle to stage an accident with an innocent party. Typically,
2808-563: Is about £ 1.5 billion ($ 3.08 billion), causing a 5% increase in insurance premiums. The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates that personal injury fraud in Canada costs about C$ 500 million annually. Indiaforensic Center of Studies estimates that Insurance frauds in India costs about $ 6.25 billion annually. Insurance fraud can be classified as either hard fraud or soft fraud. Hard fraud occurs when someone deliberately plans or invents
2912-565: Is actually intended to be covered by the policy. Fraud involving claims from the councils ' insurers suppose staging damages blamable on the local authorities (mostly falls and trips on council owned land) or inflating the value of existing damages. The detection of insurance fraud generally occurs in two steps. The first step is to identify suspicious claims that have a higher possibility of being fraudulent. This can be done by computerized statistical analysis or by referrals from claims adjusters or insurance agents. Additionally, members of
3016-535: Is actually necessary; "phantom billing", billing for services not rendered; and "ganging", billing for services to family members or other individuals who are accompanying the patient but who did not personally receive any services. Perhaps the greatest total dollar amount of fraud is committed by the health insurance companies themselves. There are numerous studies and articles detailing examples of insurance companies intentionally not paying claims and deleting them from their systems, denying and cancelling coverage, and
3120-508: Is any act committed to defraud an insurance process. It occurs when a claimant attempts to obtain some benefit or advantage they are not entitled to, or when an insurer knowingly denies some benefit or advantage that is due. According to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation , the most common schemes include premium diversion, fee churning, asset diversion, and workers compensation fraud. Perpetrators in
3224-569: Is how quickly they move into jurisdictions with lesser enforcement, after a crackdown in a particular region. As a result, in the US several levels of police and the insurance industry have cooperated in forming task forces and sharing databases to track claim histories. In the United Kingdom , there is an increasing incidence of false whiplash claims to car insurance companies from motorists involved in minor car accidents (for instance;
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3328-575: Is often destroyed by the fire itself. According to the United States Fire Administration , in the United States there were approximately 31,000 fires caused by arson in 2006, resulting in losses of $ 755 million. Unemployment insurance fraud can occur when someone who is not unemployed or who steals the identity of another individual obtains unemployment benefits to which he or she is not entitled. During 2020, there
3432-417: Is over-insurance, in which someone insures property for more than its real value. This condition can be difficult to avoid, especially since an insurance provider might sometimes encourage it to obtain greater profits. This lets fraudsters profit by destroying their property, because they receive an insurance payout greater that the value of the property. The most common forms of insurance fraud are re-framing
3536-409: Is that the historically-prevailing attitude in the medical profession is one of "fidelity to patients". This incentive can lead to fraudulent practices such as billing insurers for treatments that are not covered by the patient's insurance policy. To do this, physicians bill for a different service, which the policy covers, rather than the service they rendered. Another motivation for insurance fraud
3640-434: Is the large dome -shaped projection screen onto which scenes of stars , planets , and other celestial objects can be made to appear and move realistically to simulate their motion. The projection can be created in various ways, such as a star ball , slide projector , video , fulldome projector systems, and lasers. Typical systems can be set to simulate the sky at any point in time, past or present, and often to depict
3744-654: Is the largest by seating capacity, having 630 seats. In North America, the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City has the greatest number of seats, at 423. The term planetarium is sometimes used generically to describe other devices which illustrate the Solar System , such as a computer simulation or an orrery . Planetarium software refers to
3848-680: Is the only Smithsonian affiliate museum in Kansas. In 2012, the Carey Digital Dome Theater upgraded from IMAX to 4K digital projection system. In 2015, the Justice Planetarium underwent a complete renovation, transitioning from an optical starball projection system to the Spitz Sci-Dome XD digital projection system. In 2021, three of the museum's oldest galleries began renovations: the German Gallery,
3952-590: Is to provide an estimate for the losses that insurers suffer due to insurance fraud. The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud estimates that in 2006 a total of about $ 80 billion was lost in the United States due to insurance fraud. According to estimates by the Insurance Information Institute , insurance fraud accounts for about 10 percent of the property/casualty insurance industry's incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses. The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association estimates that 3% of
4056-435: Is very expensive and almost completely unavailable for vehicles over ten years old–the drivers can only obtain basic liability. Because Russian courts do not like using verbal claims, most people have dashboard cameras installed to warn would-be perpetrators or provide evidence for/against claims. A real accident may occur, but the dishonest owner may take the opportunity to incorporate a whole range of previous minor damage to
4160-655: The Apollo 13 Command Module Odyssey , and the Liberty Bell 7 – both on display at the Cosmosphere. The Cosmosphere built roughly 80% of the artifacts and props for the movie Apollo 13 and of the replicated spacecraft hardware seen in Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D ; and the TV mini-series From the Earth to the Moon . Flown items included in the Cosmosphere's collection are
4264-597: The California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park , San Francisco , which operated 1952–2003. The Korkosz brothers built a large projector for the Boston Museum of Science , which was unique in being the first (and for a very long time only) planetarium to project the planet Uranus . Most planetariums ignore Uranus as being at best marginally visible to the naked eye. A great boost to
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4368-570: The Earl of Orrery ). In fact, many planetariums today have projection orreries, which project onto the dome the Solar System (including the Sun and planets up to Saturn ) in their regular orbital paths. In 1229, following the conclusion of the Fifth Crusade , Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen brought back a tent with scattered holes representing stars or planets . The device
4472-661: The Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl observatory of the University of Heidelberg , on a new and novel design, inspired by Wallace W. Atwood 's work at the Chicago Academy of Sciences and by the ideas of Walther Bauersfeld and Rudolf Straubel at Zeiss . The result was a planetarium design which would generate all the necessary movements of the stars and planets inside the optical projector, and would be mounted centrally in
4576-590: The Sun and the Moon and the planets. The discovery of the Antikythera mechanism proved that such devices already existed during antiquity , though likely after Archimedes' lifetime. Campanus of Novara described a planetary equatorium in his Theorica Planetarum , and included instructions on how to build one. The Globe of Gottorf built around 1650 had constellations painted on the inside. These devices would today usually be referred to as orreries (named for
4680-579: The case of John Darwin , a former teacher and prison officer who turned up alive in December 2007, five years after he was thought to have died in a canoeing accident, claiming to have no memory of the period after his disappearance. Similarly, former British Government minister John Stonehouse went missing in 1974 from a beach in Miami but was discovered living under an assumed name in Australia . He
4784-515: The 1970s, the OmniMax movie system (now known as IMAX Dome) was conceived to operate on planetarium screens. More recently, some planetariums have re-branded themselves as dome theaters , with broader offerings including wide-screen or "wraparound" films, fulldome video , and laser shows that combine music with laser-drawn patterns. Learning Technologies Inc. in Massachusetts offered
4888-472: The Carey Digital Dome Theater, Dr. Goddard's Lab (an explosive live science presentation on the history of rocketry) and CosmoKids, an interactive STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) area. The Cosmosphere also hosts summer camps for all ages, and co-curricular applied STEAM education programs for field trips, groups, and scouts that meet Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core, focused on college and career readiness. The Cosmosphere
4992-717: The Cosmosphere is either an actual flown artifact, a "flight-ready backup" (identical to the item actually flown), an engineering model, or a historically accurate replica. The Cosmosphere museum begins with the earliest experiments in rocketry during the World War II era, explores through the Space Race and Cold War , and continues through modern times with the Space Shuttle and International Space Station , as well as SpaceShipOne and commercial spaceflight . Subset of notable items on display: In November 2003,
5096-478: The Cosmosphere released a statement indicating that a routine audit had revealed many missing items from the museum. Over a year later, in April 2005, former Cosmosphere director Max Ary was charged with stealing artifacts from the museum's collection and selling the pieces for personal profit. Some of the missing items included a nose cone, silk screens, boot covers, nuts and bolts, an Air Force One control panel, and
5200-669: The Redstone and Sputnik Gallery, and the Kennedy Theater. These galleries opened during the late 1990s. They will be repainted, and their exhibits will receive new graphics and new sound. The Cosmosphere's SpaceWorks division has restored flown U.S. spacecraft for museums and exhibits across the globe, including artifacts that are part of the collection of the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum . Two examples of this work are
5304-453: The UK estimated there were more than 20,000 staged collisions and false insurance claims across the UK from 1999 to 2006. One tactic fraudsters use is to drive to a busy junction or roundabout and brake sharply causing a motorist to drive into the back of them. They claim the other motorist was at fault because they were driving too fast or too close behind them, and make a false and inflated claim to
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#17327726020385408-482: The United States insurance institutions (property-and-casualty, business liability, healthcare, social security, etc.) put the true cost at 33% to 38% of the total cash flow through the system. This study resulted in the book title The Trillion Dollar Insurance Crook by J.E. Smith. In the United Kingdom , the Insurance Fraud Bureau estimates that the loss due to insurance fraud in the United Kingdom
5512-474: The arm rests of seats to allow audience feedback that influences the show in real time . Often around the edge of the dome (the "cove") are: Traditionally, planetariums needed many incandescent lamps around the cove of the dome to help audience entry and exit, to simulate sunrise and sunset , and to provide working light for dome cleaning. More recently, solid-state LED lighting has become available that significantly decreases power consumption and reduces
5616-589: The blatant underpayment to hospitals and physicians beneath what are normal fees for care they provide. Although difficult to obtain the information, this fraud by insurance companies can be estimated by comparing revenues from premium payments and expenditures on health claims. In response to the increased amount of health care fraud in the United States, Congress , through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), has specifically established health care fraud as
5720-622: The claim to expected values. The main difference between the two methods is how the expected values are derived. In a supervised method, expected values are obtained by analyzing records of both fraudulent and non-fraudulent claims. According to Richard J. Bolton and David B. Hand, both of Imperial College London , this method has some drawbacks as it requires absolute certainty that those claims analyzed are actually either fraudulent or non-fraudulent, and because it can only be used to detect types of fraud that have been committed and identified before. Unsupervised methods of statistical detection, on
5824-655: The claimant was not actually involved in the accident, submitting claims for medical treatments that were not received, or inventing injuries. Hard fraud can also occur when claimants falsely report their vehicle as stolen. Soft fraud accounts for the majority of fraudulent auto-insurance claims. Another example is that a person may illegally register their car to a location that would net them cheaper insurance rates than where they actually live, sometimes called rate evasion . For example, some drivers in Brooklyn have Pennsylvania license plates , because insurance rates for
5928-522: The claims to the professionals at the top, and recruit participants. These participants at the bottom-rung of the scheme are desperate people (poor immigrants or others in need of quick cash) who are paid around US$ 1000 to place their bodies in the paths of cars and trucks, playing a kind of Russian roulette with their lives and those of unsuspecting motorists around them. According to investigators, cappers usually hire within their own ethnic groups. What makes busting these staged-accident crime rings difficult
6032-417: The dome with bright objects (e.g., large images of the sun in context). For this reason, modern planetarium domes are often not painted white but rather a mid grey colour, reducing reflection to perhaps 35-50%. This increases the perceived level of contrast. A major challenge in dome construction is to make seams as invisible as possible. Painting a dome after installation is a major task, and if done properly,
6136-452: The dome) in every elementary school in Japan. Phillip Stern, as former lecturer at New York City 's Hayden Planetarium , had the idea of creating a small planetarium which could be programmed. His Apollo model was introduced in 1967 with a plastic program board, recorded lecture, and film strip. Unable to pay for this himself, Stern became the head of the planetarium division of Viewlex ,
6240-408: The existence of organized crime rings that stage auto accidents for insurance fraud. These schemes generally consist of three different levels. At the top, there are the professionals—doctors or lawyers who diagnose false injuries and/or file fraudulent claims and these earn the bulk of the profits from the fraud. Next are the " cappers " or "runners", the middlemen who obtain the cars to crash, farm out
6344-576: The first digital planetarium projector displaying computer graphics ( Hansen planetarium , Salt Lake City, Utah)—the Digistar I projector used a vector graphics system to display starfields as well as line art . This gives the operator great flexibility in showing not only the modern night sky as visible from Earth , but as visible from points far distant in space and time. The newest generations of planetarium projectors, beginning with Digistar 3 , offer fulldome video technology. This allows for
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#17327726020386448-477: The first easily portable planetarium in 1977. Philip Sadler designed this patented system which projected stars, constellation figures from many mythologies , celestial coordinate systems, and much else, from removable cylinders (Viewlex and others followed with their own portable versions). When Germany reunified in 1989, the two Zeiss firms did likewise, and expanded their offerings to cover many different size domes. In 1983, Evans & Sutherland installed
6552-610: The first planetariums for Zeiss, Walther Bauersfeld , also migrated to West Germany with the other members of the Zeiss management team. There he remained on the Zeiss West management team until his death in 1959. The West German firm resumed making large planetariums in 1954, and the East German firm started making small planetariums a few years later. Meanwhile, the lack of planetarium manufacturers had led to several attempts at construction of unique models, such as one built by
6656-749: The fraudsters' vehicle carries four or five passengers. Its driver makes an unexpected manoeuvre, forcing an innocent party to collide with the fraudster's vehicle. Each of the fraudsters then files claims for injuries sustained in the vehicle. A "recruited" doctor diagnoses whiplash or other soft-tissue injuries which are hard to dispute later. Other examples include jumping in front of cars as done in Russia. The driving conditions and roads are dangerous with many people trying to scam drivers by jumping in front of expensive-looking cars or crashing into them. Hit and runs are very common and insurance companies notoriously specialize in denying claims. Two-way insurance coverage
6760-460: The greatest total dollar amount of fraud is committed by the health insurance companies themselves, intentionally not paying claims and deleting them from their systems, and denying and cancelling coverage. Insurance fraud has existed since the beginning of insurance as a commercial enterprise. An epigram by the Roman poet Martial provides clear evidence that the phenomenon of insurance fraud
6864-553: The hands of certain doctors. Some scams involve double-billing by doctors who charge insurers for treatments that never occurred, and surgeons who perform unnecessary surgery. According to Roger Feldman, Blue Cross Professor of Health Insurance at the University of Minnesota , one of the main reasons that medical fraud is such a prevalent practice is that nearly all of the parties involved find it favorable in some way. Many physicians see it as necessary to provide quality care for their patients. Many patients, although disapproving of
6968-554: The health care industry's expenditures in the United States are due to fraudulent activities, amounting to a cost of about $ 51 billion. Other estimates attribute as much as 10% of the total healthcare spending in the United States to fraud—about $ 115 billion annually. According to the FBI, non-health insurance fraud costs an estimated $ 40 billion per year, which increases the premiums for the average U.S. family between $ 400 and $ 700 annually. Another study of all types of fraud committed in
7072-455: The horizon of the dome are arranged to blend together seamlessly. Digital projection systems all work by creating the image of the night sky as a large array of pixels . Generally speaking, the more pixels a system can display, the better the viewing experience. While the first generation of digital projectors were unable to generate enough pixels to match the image quality of the best traditional "star ball" projectors, high-end systems now offer
7176-428: The idea of fraud, are sometimes more willing to accept it when it affects their own medical care. Program administrators are often lenient on the issue of insurance fraud, as they want to maximize the services of their providers. The most common perpetrators of healthcare insurance fraud are health care providers . One reason for this, according to David Hyman, a Professor at the University of Maryland School of Law ,
7280-523: The items in question were supposedly brought with him from the Noble Planetarium in 1976 and incorporated into the Cosmosphere's permanent collection, and in many cases, ownership of artifacts could not be proved on Ary's behalf or the Cosmosphere's. Ary was found guilty on 12 counts. On May 15, 2006, he was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $ 132,000. In 2008, he lost his appeal and began to serve his sentence in
7384-618: The maintenance requirement as lamps no longer have to be changed on a regular basis. The world's largest mechanical planetarium is located in Monico, Wisconsin. The Kovac Planetarium . It is 22 feet in diameter and weighs two tons. The globe is made of wood and is driven with a variable speed motor controller. This is the largest mechanical planetarium in the world, larger than the Atwood Globe in Chicago (15 feet in diameter) and one third
7488-431: The motorist's insurer for whiplash and damage, which can pay the fraudsters up to £30,000. In the Insurance Fraud Bureau's first year of operation, the usage of data mining initiatives exposed insurance fraud networks and led to 74 arrests and a five-to-one return on investment. The Insurance Research Council estimated that in 1996, 21 to 36 percent of auto-insurance claims contained elements of suspected fraud. There
7592-776: The night sky as it would appear from any point of latitude on Earth. Planetaria range in size from the 37 meter dome in St. Petersburg, Russia (called "Planetarium No 1") to three-meter inflatable portable domes where attendees sit on the floor. The largest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere is the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium at Liberty Science Center in New Jersey , its dome measuring 27 meters in diameter. The Birla Planetarium in Kolkata, India
7696-402: The night sky. Finally, in most traditional projectors the various overlaid projection systems are incapable of proper occultation . This means that a planet image projected on top of a star field (for example) will still show the stars shining through the planet image, degrading the quality of the viewing experience. For related reasons, some planetariums show stars below the horizon projecting on
7800-413: The perpetrators of the orchestrated crashes. Such techniques are the classic rear-end shunt (the driver in front suddenly slams on the brakes, possibly with brake lights disabled), the decoy rear-end shunt (when following one car, another one pulls in front of it, causing it to brake sharply, then the first car drives off) or the helpful wave shunt (the driver is waved into a line of queuing traffic by
7904-402: The planets' movements. These can be of these types:- Despite offering a good viewer experience, traditional star ball projectors suffer several inherent limitations. From a practical point of view, the low light levels require several minutes for the audience to "dark adapt" its eyesight. "Star ball" projection is limited in education terms by its inability to move beyond an Earth-bound view of
8008-457: The popularity of the planetarium worldwide was provided by the Space Race of the 1950s and 60s when fears that the United States might miss out on the opportunities of the new frontier in space stimulated a massive program to install over 1,200 planetariums in U.S. high schools. Armand Spitz recognized that there was a viable market for small inexpensive planetaria. His first model, the Spitz A,
8112-423: The projection of any image. Planetarium domes range in size from 3 to 35 m in diameter , accommodating from 1 to 500 people. They can be permanent or portable, depending on the application. The realism of the viewing experience in a planetarium depends significantly on the dynamic range of the image, i.e., the contrast between dark and light. This can be a challenge in any domed projection environment, because
8216-421: The projectors from projecting below the "horizon". The star ball is usually mounted so it can rotate as a whole to simulate the Earth's daily rotation, and to change the simulated latitude on Earth. There is also usually a means of rotating to produce the effect of precession of the equinoxes . Often, one such ball is attached at its south ecliptic pole. In that case, the view cannot go so far south that any of
8320-743: The public can provide tips to insurance companies, law enforcement and other organizations regarding suspected, observed, or admitted insurance fraud perpetrated by other individuals. Regardless of the source, the next step is to refer these claims to investigators for further analysis. Due to the sheer number of claims submitted each day, it would be far too expensive for insurance companies to have employees check each claim for symptoms of fraud. Instead, many companies use computers and statistical analysis to identify suspicious claims for further investigation. There are two main types of statistical analysis tools used: supervised and unsupervised. In either case, suspicious claims are identified by comparing data about
8424-499: The resulting blank area at the south is projected on the dome. Some star projectors have two balls at opposite ends of the projector like a dumbbell . In that case all stars can be shown and the view can go to either pole or anywhere between. But care must be taken that the projection fields of the two balls match where they meet or overlap. Smaller planetarium projectors include a set of fixed stars, Sun, Moon, and planets, and various nebulae . Larger projectors also include comets and
8528-415: The road. Possible motivations for property insurance fraud can include obtaining payment that is worth more than the value of the property destroyed, or to destroy and subsequently receive payment for goods that could not otherwise be sold. According to Alfred Manes, the majority of fraudulent property insurance crimes involve arson . One reason for this is that any evidence that a fire was started by arson
8632-428: The same dome. In a fully digital planetarium, the dome image is generated by a computer and then projected onto the dome using a variety of technologies including cathode-ray tube , LCD , DLP , or laser projectors. Sometimes a single projector mounted near the centre of the dome is employed with a fisheye lens to spread the light over the whole dome surface, while in other configurations several projectors around
8736-520: The scammer who promptly crashes, then denies waving). Organized crime rings can also be involved in auto-insurance fraud, sometimes carrying out schemes that are very complex. An example of one such ploy is given by Ken Dornstein , author of Accidentally, on Purpose: The Making of a Personal Injury Underworld in America . In this scheme, known as a "swoop-and-squat", one or more drivers in "swoop" cars force an unsuspecting driver into position behind
8840-443: The schemes can be insurance company employees or claimants. False insurance claims are insurance claims filed with the fraudulent intention towards an insurance provider. Fraudulent claims account for a significant portion of all claims received by insurers, and cost billions of dollars annually. Insurance fraud poses a significant problem, and governments and other organizations try to deter such activity. Studies suggest that
8944-552: The scope of practice, alterations on claims submissions, and providing services while medical licenses are either suspended or revoked. Independent medical examinations debunk false insurance claims and allow the insurance company or claimant to seek a non-partial medical view for injury-related cases. According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud , health insurance fraud depletes taxpayer-funded programs like Medicare, and may victimize patients in
9048-409: The seams can be made almost to disappear. Traditionally, planetarium domes were mounted horizontally, matching the natural horizon of the real night sky. However, because that configuration requires highly inclined chairs for comfortable viewing "straight up", increasingly domes are being built tilted from the horizontal by between 5 and 30 degrees to provide greater comfort. Tilted domes tend to create
9152-594: The size of the Hayden. Some new planetariums now feature a glass floor , which allows spectators to stand near the center of a sphere surrounded by projected images in all directions, giving the impression of floating in outer space . For example, a small planetarium at AHHAA in Tartu , Estonia features such an installation, with special projectors for images below the feet of the audience, as well as above their heads. Traditional planetarium projection apparatus use
9256-461: The sky tonight?", or shows which pick up on topical issues such as a religious festival (often the Christmas star ) linked to the night sky, have been popular. Live format is preferred by many venues as a live speaker or presenter can answer questions raised by the audience. Since the early 1990s, fully featured 3-D digital planetariums have added an extra degree of freedom to a presenter giving
9360-476: The standard DLP design and can offer relatively inexpensive solution with bright images, but the black level requires physical baffling of the projectors. As the technology matures and reduces in price, laser projection looks promising for dome projection as it offers bright images, large dynamic range and a very wide color space . Worldwide, most planetariums provide shows to the general public. Traditionally, shows for these audiences with themes such as "What's in
9464-425: The telephone, identity theft has become an enabling crime that can lead to the amendment of life insurance terms to benefit a fraudster; for example, by adding a second stolen identity as a new beneficiary. Life insurance fraud may involve faking death to claim life insurance. Fraudsters may sometimes turn up a few years after disappearing, claiming a loss of memory. An example of life insurance fraud occurred in
9568-553: The true layout of the Solar System and beyond. For example, a planetarium can now 'fly' the audience towards one of the familiar constellations such as Orion , revealing that the stars which appear to make up a co-ordinated shape from an Earth-bound viewpoint are at vastly different distances from Earth and so not connected, except in human imagination and mythology . For especially visual or spatially aware people, this experience can be more educationally beneficial than other demonstrations. Insurance fraud Insurance fraud
9672-676: The vehicle into the garage bill associated with the real accident. Personal injuries may also be exaggerated, particularly whiplash . Insurance fraud cases of exaggerated claims can also include claiming damage to the car that is not from the accident reported in the claim. Examples of soft auto-insurance fraud include filing more than one claim for a single injury, filing claims for injuries not related to an automobile accident , misreporting wage losses due to injuries, and reporting higher costs for car repairs than those that were actually paid. Hard auto-insurance fraud can include activities such as staging automobile collisions, filing claims when
9776-432: The walls below the dome or on the floor, or (with a bright star or a planet) shining in the eyes of someone in the audience. However, the new breed of Optical-Mechanical projectors using fiber-optic technology to display the stars show a much more realistic view of the sky. An increasing number of planetariums are using digital technology to replace the entire system of interlinked projectors traditionally employed around
9880-404: Was a significant spike of unemployment fraud in the United States. In addition to fraudulent claims, insurers can lose premium because customers inaccurately describe the risk, causing less premium to be charged. This can happen for any type of insurable risk and is most noteworthy in workers compensation insurance, where insureds report fewer employees, less payroll, and less risky employees than
9984-613: Was already known in the Roman Empire during the first century AD: The "chief motive in all insurance crimes is financial profit". Insurance contracts provide both the insured and the insurer with opportunities for exploitation. According to the American Coalition Against Insurance Fraud , the causes vary, but are usually centered on greed, and on holes in the protections against fraud. Often, those who commit insurance fraud view it as
10088-635: Was completed in 1781. In 1905 Oskar von Miller (1855–1934) of the Deutsches Museum in Munich commissioned updated versions of a geared orrery and planetarium from M Sendtner, and later worked with Franz Meyer, chief engineer at the Carl Zeiss optical works in Jena , on the largest mechanical planetarium ever constructed, capable of displaying both heliocentric and geocentric motion. This
10192-468: Was designed to project stars from a dodecahedron , thus reducing machining expenses in creating a globe. Planets were not mechanized, but could be shifted by hand. Several models followed with various upgraded capabilities, until the A3P, which projected well over a thousand stars, had motorized motions for latitude change, daily motion, and annual motion for Sun, Moon (including phases), and planets. This model
10296-407: Was displayed at the Deutsches Museum in 1924, construction work having been interrupted by the war. The planets travelled along overhead rails, powered by electric motors: the orbit of Saturn was 11.25 m in diameter. 180 stars were projected onto the wall by electric bulbs. While this was being constructed, von Miller was also working at the Zeiss factory with German astronomer Max Wolf , director of
10400-536: Was installed in hundreds of high schools, colleges, and even small museums from 1964 to the 1980s. Japan entered the planetarium manufacturing business in the 1960s, with Goto and Minolta both successfully marketing a number of different models. Goto was particularly successful when the Japanese Ministry of Education put one of their smallest models, the E-3 or E-5 (the numbers refer to the metric diameter of
10504-486: Was offering his Ouranologia, which was 42 feet (13 m) in diameter. These devices most probably sacrificed astronomical accuracy for crowd-pleasing spectacle and sensational and awe-provoking imagery. The oldest still-working planetarium can be found in the Frisian city of Franeker . It was built by Eise Eisinga (1744–1828) in the living room of his house. It took Eisinga seven years to build his planetarium, which
10608-398: Was operated internally with a spinnable table that rotated the tent. The small size of typical 18th century orreries limited their impact, and towards the end of that century a number of educators attempted to create a larger sized version. The efforts of Adam Walker (1730–1821) and his sons are noteworthy in their attempts to fuse theatrical illusions with education. Walker's Eidouranion
10712-507: Was subsequently extradited to Britain and imprisoned for seven years on charges of fraud, theft, and forgery. Another case would be that of Jack Gilbert Graham . He put a bomb on his mother's plane and purchased insurance before the flight took off. Health insurance fraud is described as an intentional act of deceiving, concealing, or misrepresenting information that results in health care benefits being paid to an individual or group. Fraud can be committed either by an insured person or by
10816-659: Was the heart of his public lectures or theatrical presentations. Walker's son describes this "Elaborate Machine" as "twenty feet high, and twenty-seven in diameter: it stands vertically before the spectators, and its globes are so large, that they are distinctly seen in the most distant parts of the Theatre. Every Planet and Satellite seems suspended in space, without any support; performing their annual and diurnal revolutions without any apparent cause". Other lecturers promoted their own devices: R E Lloyd advertised his Dioastrodoxon, or Grand Transparent Orrery, and by 1825 William Kitchener
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