Wisconsin Man Builds Backyard Planetarium

Wisconsin Man Builds Backyard Planetarium
Frank Kovac, a paper-mill worker from Monico, Wis., spent 15 years building a planetarium in his backyard. The structure is 22 feet (6.7 meters) wide and weighs 2 tons (1,818 kilograms). (Image credit: Frank Kovac/Kovac Planetarium)

A Wisconsin

Frank Kovac, 45,

Kovac couldn't

Kovac hand-painted

"I took

Years ago, Kovac had

"To be a

Tickets for the

"It's gonna

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Space.com Staff
News and editorial team

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.