Last chance to visit London's only planetarium until 2028.
The Peter Harrison Planetarium is to close from 8 September 2025 as part of major upgrade work at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. It is expected to reopen in spring 2028. The rest of the site will remain open to visitors for the time being.
The closure is part of a wider capital project at the World Heritage Site, known as First Light, and coinciding with the observatory's 350th anniversary. The works will see many changes across the observatory site, including a new entrance pavilion, improved accessibility, galleries about this historic site, updated astronomy galleries, and a new 'Astronomers' Court' for hands-on science displays and other activities. The site will also be relandscaped.
These once-in-a-generation upgrades will begin in autumn 2025, with phased closures across the site. The Peter Harrison Planetarium will close on 8 September. The auditorium's final month includes a number of one-off screenings to supplement the daily programme, including films on Chinese astronomy (9 August) and the historic contributions of Arabic astronomers (23 August). The 16 August sees a special presentation for those who benefit from a calmer and more relaxed environment, and 30 August brings a screening of The Wild Robot (2024), followed by a discussion of the science shown in the film.
The planetarium is yet another entry in an increasingly long list, headed: "London attractions that close for several years to get a stonking big upgrade". Heading the pack was the Museum of London, now the London Museum, which is closed from 2022 to 2026 while it moves location. The National Portrait Gallery was down for three years before its recent (and brilliant) relaunch. The Museum of Childhood closed in 2019, to be resurrected in 2023 as the Young V&A. And Kew Gardens recently announced that its Palm House will shut for five years. By such standards, a two-and-a-half-year break is hardly astronomical.
View the full programme for the Peter Harrison Planetarium.
