VIDEO: Black Holes Planetarium Show and Exhibit at Science Center

February 10th, 2012

Black Holes Have Arrived at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center – Catch Them While You Can!

They’re one of the most intriguing and mysterious phenomena in the universe, places where time and space are warped to the extreme, and nothing – not even light – can escape the pull of their ferocious gravity. Cross the cosmic threshold into the bizarre realm of black holes at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park!

This month, the Science Center debuts its state-of-the-art, giant dome screen digital GSX system from Global Immersion with a new daily public planetarium show, BLACK HOLES: The Other Side of Infinity, running in conjunction with the Science Center’s new exhibition, Black Holes: Space Warps & Time Twists. The GSX system will augment the existing IMAX projector in the Eugene Heikoff and Marilyn Jacobs Heikoff Dome Theater with one of the most comprehensive and powerful full-dome experiences available today.

Planetarium Show – BLACK HOLES: The Other Side Of Infinity

Black holes once defied the imagination. But now, the more scientists look for evidence of them, the more they find, and the more they learn about the role of black holes in the universe.

BLACK HOLES: The Other Side of Infinity provides a groundbreaking, scientifically accurate perspective on black holes and presents the latest compelling evidence that black holes are real. Using supercomputing technology, the show whisks audiences to a place humans can never venture – to the center of a black hole!

Narrated by Academy Award-nominated actor, Liam Neeson, BLACK HOLES: The Other Side of Infinity guides viewers through other-worldly wormholes to experience the creation of the Milky Way Galaxy and the violent death of a star and subsequent birth of a black hole. High-resolution visualizations of cosmic phenomena are based on data generated by telescope observations and ultra-high end computer simulations with striking, immersive animations of the Big Bang, the formation of the universe, endless seas of dust and gas drawn together by gravity to form the first stars, the collision of two galaxies that cross paths in the vastness of space, and a simulated flight to a super-massive black hole lurking at the center of our own Milky Way.

This Planetarium Show marks the debut of the Science Center’s new Digital GSX Giant Screen System, providing one of the most comprehensive and powerful full-dome experiences available today. At the heart of GSX is a combination of technologies called ImageFusion which combine the power and resolution of four of the latest Sony 4K resolution cinema grade projectors. Each projector offers 4096 x 2160 pixel resolution that, when combined as the GSX system, converts a total of 84,000 lumens and over 32 million pixels into a full screen image to offer audiences a stunning immersive visual experience.

This system provides the Science Center’s Heikoff Dome Theater (which is 76-feet in diameter, with a 168° (vertical) by 360° (horizontal) field-of-view) with an engrossing experience which envelops the audience and offers an entirely digital, truly immersive and pixel-perfect giant screen experience.

BLACK HOLES: The Other Side of Infinity will run at the Science Center through the end of March, 2012.

New Exhibit – Black Holes: Space Warps & Time Twists

Get ready for an out of this world exhibition exploring what we know, don’t know, and think we know about one of the world’s greatest space mysteries – black holes. These regions in space, sometimes only a few kilometers across, have gravity so powerful that light cannot escape and matter drawn into them is lost forever. Einstein imagined black holes but doubted they could exist in nature. Today evidence suggests they are quite common.

The Science Center’s newest exhibit, Black Holes: Space Warps & Time Twists, is designed like a space mission; visitors are sent out to search for evidence of real black holes in our universe. Through a number of stations, a visitor will observe the peculiar properties of black holes, their amazing journey from theory to fact, and some common – and entertaining – misconceptions. A variety of interactive components will give visitors an in-depth experience of how black holes behave, shape our universe and influence our lives.

At the start of their journey, visitors will pick up a Black Holes Explorer’s ID Card, which they can use throughout the exhibit to collect discoveries and generate a personalized website that only they can access. The website serves as part personal diary, part observer’s log and will include data recorded by the visitor, including their observations, conclusions, questions, notes and photos they’ve captured of their group and their activities.

The final portion of the exhibit is truly an adventure for space travelers of all ages. Step into your immersive excursion pod and set your course for an extreme fantasy vacation to the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. The challenge: pilot your pod to an alien spacecraft wreck at the edge of the black hole and dive down to discover its hidden treasure – then live to tell about it.

Black Holes: Space Warps & Time Twists will be at the Science Center for a limited engagement, through April 29, 2012 only. This Exhibit is a production of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

About the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center

With over 100 hands-on science exhibits, IMAX films to experience and planetarium shows to watch, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center offers an interactive, educational, entertaining experience for visitors of all ages. Located at 1875 El Prado, two blocks south of the San Diego Zoo on Park Boulevard, the Fleet Science Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the public understanding and enjoyment of science and technology.

Interview with Dr. Jeffrey Kirsch and Mary Dussault – The Raj Report

The Raj Report takes viewers to exciting events, places, and happenings in and around San Diego. With his unique perspective and signature style, this budding broadcaster brings a whimsical insight to the pulse of San Diego.

In this segment, The Raj Report discusses black holes and other things with: Dr. Jeffrey Kirsh, Executive Director of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center; and Mary Dussault, Black Holes Specialist and Project Director of the current Black Holes exhibit, Black Holes: Space Warps & Time Twists.

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