LodeStar Astronomy Center will add a stunning new show to the line-up of digital dome theater (a.k.a. planetarium) shows beginning Saturday, May 5 when “Heart of the Sun” takes an unprecedented and unforgettable look at our life-giving star and is presented in large-format, immersive, ultra-high digital video.
"Heart of the Sun" will be presented for a limited engagement and through special arrangement with the show’s directors and distributors.
The new show schedule, which is effective May 5, also includes “Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity as Part 1 of a special double feature with “Heart of the Sun.” Show times are on the hour beginning from 12 to 3 p.m.
Ticket prices are $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $4 for children ages 3-12. However, on opening weekend (Saturday and Sunday, May 5-6) of “Heart of the Sun” ticket prices are half price.
In “Heart of the Sun” journey from the ancient mysteries of the past to cutting-edge science of the present. From the Neolithic sky watchers of Europe to the solar observatories and blood sacrifice of Mesoamerica to the sun gods of the Egyptians and Greeks and the dawning of Aristotelian science.
The ‘film’ reveals how the development of our whole cosmology has been informed by our struggle with the oldest of mysteries. Experience the story that shows how that process continues today as the sheer strangeness of our nearest star continues to challenge our imagination, science and technology. See the fine surface detail of our sun’s corona and view vast eruptions occurring with unprecedented clarity. Witness our shining star, the sun, as you have never seen it before.
Unprecedented cooperation by the European Space Agency, NASA, the Japanese Space Agency and many others made possible the capture and presentation of many of these recent sun images - to the delight of the many scientists working on the projects. The scientists simply never had the millions of dollars required to translate the data into high definition motion pictures.
New space-based telescopes and terrestrial instruments captured breathtaking, high-resolution motion pictures of our sun, never before seen in a full dome theater! Until now, when audiences can visit LodeStar and travel through time and space to the “Heart of the Sun” and experience the sun shine!
Heart of the Sun is a ultra-high-definition full-dome digital presentation by John Weiley – maker of multi-award winning IMAX films including Antarctica, Solar Max and the hit 3D production Imagine.
This new show runs as the second show in the double feature along with Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity, which provides a groundbreaking, scientifically accurate perspective on black holes and the latest compelling evidence that these cosmic curiosities are real. To do so, the show brings audiences on a thrilling ride to the inside of a super-massive black hole and uses real astronomical data to create the stunning visuals.
“Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity” and “Heart of the Sun” will run daily through June 30.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
Posted by scarr at April 30, 2007 05:09 PM