In August 1999, a new, customized Zeiss Mark IX projector was installed, accompanied by a digital dome projection system that provides a 3-D visualization of the universe based on images generated in real time by a Silicon Graphics supercomputer.

On February 19, 2000, the $210 million Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space, containing the new Hayden Planetarium,[3] opened to the public.

Designed by Polshek and Todd Schliemann, the building consists of a six-story high glass cube enclosing the 87-foot (27 m) illuminated Hayden Sphere, which appears to float, although it is actually supported by truss work.

Furthermore, Polshek designed the 1,800-square-foot (170 m2) Weston Pavilion, a 43-foot (13 m) high transparent structure of "water white" glass along the Museum's west facade.

This structure, a small companion piece to the Rose Center, offers a new entry way to the Museum, as well as opening further exhibition space for astronomically-related objects.

Utilizing a screen that measures 36 feet (11 m) in diameter over an 8-foot-deep (2.4 m) bowl, a four-minute program depicts the birth of the universe, with narration by Liam Neeson.

The Big Bang Theater serves as an introduction to the Heilbrun Cosmic Pathway, a spiral which wraps around the sphere, connecting the second and first floors of the Rose Center.

This rooftop plaza is designed to be a stage set that celebrates both astronomy and Earth's natural history, as well as an outdoor gathering place for museum visitors.

Renowned landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson formed the concept for the Terrace after seeing an illustration of shadows cast by a lunar eclipse.

Journey to the Stars, narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, premiered on, July 4, 2009, featuring extraordinary images from telescopes on the ground and in space and stunning, never-before-seen visualizations of physics-based simulations.

[14] It tells the story of the dynamic worlds that share our solar system and the unique conditions that make life on Earth possible.