Download IMAX - Teacher Guide - Hidden Universe 3D

© ATOM 2013
A STUDY GUIDE BY ANDREW FILDES
http://www.metromagazine.com.au
ISBN: 978-1-74295-340-3
http://www.theeducationshop.com.au
‘Space is big. You
just won’t believe
how vastly, hugely,
mind-bogglingly big
it is. I mean, you may
think it’s a long way
down the road to the
chemist’s, but that’s
just peanuts to space.’
– Douglas Adams, The
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
General Synopsis
Hidden? The farthest
reaches of our universe
Since the beginnings of science
thousands of years ago, people have
turned their eyes to the sky with a
series of questions:
• What exactly are we looking at?
• How big is the universe and how
did it start?
• How does it change and evolve
• Are we alone or is there other life
out there?
Above: N90 Nebula – The N90 Nebula is a starforming region found nearly 200,000 light-years
from Earth and located in the Small Magellanic
Cloud. Radiation from the bright blue, newly formed
stars is eroding the outer portions of the N90 from
the inside, as seen in Hidden Universe. (Credit:
NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team STScI/
AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration)
Now, their work is being brought to
life in Hidden Universe (Russell Scott,
2013), a new 3D documentary adventure for IMAX theatres and giantscreen cinemas.
More than two years in the making,
Hidden Universe features spectacular space imagery captured by
state-of-the-art telescopes such as
the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and
the Atacama Large Millimeter Array
(ALMA) telescope, which represent
the very latest advances in astronomy,
as well as other telescopes like the
NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
Viewers see the earliest galaxies,
watch stars being born inside vivid
clouds of gas and dust, witness two
galaxies colliding, tour the detailed
surface of Mars, and see images of
distant celestial structures including
stunning new views of the Sun – seen
on-screen and in 3D for the first time.
Hidden Universe
* A 3D IMAX Production by
December Media
* Director, Writer: Russell Scott,
Swinburne Astronomy Productions
* Producer: Stephen Amezdroz
* Executive Producer: Tony Wright
* Director of Photography: Malcolm
Ludgate, ACS
* Presenters: Dr Gregory Poole,
University of Melbourne. Dr
Jonathan Whitmore, Swinburne
University.
* Narrator: Miranda Richardson
* Music: Dale Cornelius
* Produced by December Media
in association with Film Victoria,
Swinburne University of Technology,
European Southern Observatory
(ESO) and MacGillivray Freeman
Films.
* © 2013
* Website: http://hiddenuniversemovie
.com/education/introduction/
‘You’re seeing a real image, on a real
height map, based on the real contours of Mars,’ said Scott. ‘It’s all real.
This is not Hollywood dreaming.’
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013
Today’s top astronomers and astrophysicists are exploring the deepest
reaches of the universe in search of
answers; not about the planets or
the stars in many cases, but as Dr
Poole says, ‘the spaces between the
stars that we can see’. They are using
the world’s newest, most powerful
telescopes – optical and microwave –
telescopes that do not look much like
the one in your backyard! And because the light takes so long to reach
us, travelling billions of ‘light years’,
they are literally seeing back in time to
the formation of the earliest galaxies
around thirteen billion years ago.
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Curriculum Relevance
Suggested age group: Grade 5 to
Senior
Australian National
Curriculum v5.1
Science, Physics
a) Science Understanding
b) Science as a Human Endeavour
c) Science Inquiry Skills (note:
Astronomy as a discipline does
not lend itself to laboratory work,
but ‘Questioning & Predicting’ is
a valuable approach and related
activities can be designed.)
Key Themes
General
* Astronomy – observing planets, stars
and extra-Galactic objects.
* Astrophysics – studying the physics
behind the observations.
* Computer generated and enhanced
astronomical imaging.
Specific
* Optical Telescopes – VLT array,
Hubble and James Webb space
telescopes
* Microwave Telescope Array – ALMA
* Planetary Mapping (Mars)
* Stellar Nurseries – Nebulae
* Astronomy and specialised
technologies
* CGI and 3D imaging technique
Primary
Year 5
a) Earth & Space Sciences –
ACSSU078 Solar System
b) Nature and Development of
Science – ACSHE081 Data and
evidence
c) Questioning & Predicting –
ACSIS231 Practical problems of
astronomy
Year 6
a) Earth & Space Sciences –
ACSSU096 Earth conditions
compared to Mars
b) Nature and Development of
Science – ACSHE098 Data and
evidence
c) Questioning & Predicting –
ACSIS232 Practical problems of
astronomy
Secondary – Junior to
Middle
Year 7
Senior Secondary
Physics
Year 8
a) Chemical Sciences – ACSSU225
Origins of elements (‘star stuff’)
b) Nature and Development of
Science – ACSHE134 Discovery
– ACSHE226 Collaboration
c) Questioning & Predicting –
ACSIS139 Practical problems of
astronomy
Year 9
a) Chemical Sciences – ACSSU117
Origins of elements – ACSSU118
Nuclear decay
b) Nature and Development of
Science – ACSHE157 Scientific
theory – ACSHE158 Science
technology
b) Use and Influence of Science –
ACSHE160 Evaluation of claims,
etc.
c) Questioning & Predicting
– ACSIS164 Investigative
astronomy
Year 10
a) Earth & Space Sciences –
ACSSU188 Structure/origin of
the universe
b) Nature and Development of
Science – ACSHE191 Scientific
theory – ACSHE192 Science
technology
b) Use and Influence of Science
General – Astronomy/Astrophysics
as a career choice.
-- Unit 1 – Nuclear physics – fusion
reaction (stellar formation and
behaviour).
-- Unit 2 – Behaviour and speed
of light and microwaves (very
distant sources).
-- Unit 3 – Gravity in large systems
(nebulae, galaxies). Light
vs. microwaves as tools for
astronomical observation.
-- Unit 4 – New astronomical theories – Big Bang, time and light.
Media studies – CGI technique,
local production. Uses of IMAX/
Big Screen and 3D technologies
for documentary and the shooting/
editing requirements.
Note to teachers
Hidden Universe has its own
website with educational content at
<http://hiddenuniversemovie.com/
education/introduction/>.
Also recommended is NASA’s
Amazing Space site at <http://
amazing-space.stsci.edu/eds/> for
both teacher resources and student
interactive activities.
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013
a) Earth & Space Sciences –
ACSSU222 Mars and water
b) Nature and Development of
Science – ACSHE119 Discovery
– ACSHE223 Collaboration
c) Questioning & Predicting –
ACSIS124 Practical problems of
astronomy
– ACSHE160 Evaluation of
claims, etc.
c) Questioning & Predicting
– ACSIS164 Investigative
astronomy
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Cast & Crew
The Presenters
Dr Greg Poole: Lectures at the
University of Melbourne. A
cosmologist, he uses supercomputer
simulations to study the nature and
evolution of the universe’s largest
structures
Dr Jonathan Whitmore: Dr
Whitmore is a Postdoctoral Research
Fellow in Extragalactic Fundamental
Physics at the Swinburne University
Centre for Astrophysics and
Supercomputing.
The Makers
Russell Scott (Writer, Director):
Russell Scott is Director of Swinburne
Astronomy Productions and was
previously their lead animator
and expert in high definition 3D
animation and visual recreation.
Stephen Amezdroz (Producer):
Thirty-five years experience in high
end documentary and drama. He
began with working on the Mad Max
series and has now brought December
Films into 3D IMAX.
Tony Wright (Executive Producer):
An experienced producer here and
overseas his most recent credits include
The Doctor Blake Mysteries and Mrs
Biggs.
Dale Cornelius (Composer): One
of Australia’s premier film composers
and recipient of the 2013 AACTA
Award for Best Music and Design in a
documentary.
Viewers will meet two Melbournebased astronomers in the
documentary – Dr Jonathan Whitmore
and Dr Greg Poole – as they examine
space images from these powerful
telescopes and work to further human
knowledge of the universe. Each has a
specialised approach to observation,
Whitmore using optical instruments
and Poole a telescope that produces a
very different view of the universe.
After introducing Dr Whitmore, the
documentary gives us a stunning,
overwhelming view of the Sun – and
reminds us that it is merely one star
among many. We also experience
a flyover of the Martian landscape
using HiRise data from the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter and accurate
to within 250mm (10in). The landscape
hints of the time when Mars had an
atmosphere, climate and flowing
water. Now it is dry, strangely similar
to the Atacama desert, where the
telescopes and microwave dishes are
built. The Atacama is the driest place
on Earth, with areas where rain has
never been known to fall. Survival
on Mars might be rather similar to
survival in the high Atacama – without
the possibility of driving down to the
nearest town!
The desert offers high plateau areas
suitable for the equipment – dry clear
air and no light pollution from nearby
towns is essential for viewing the very,
very distant objects that interest Dr
Whitmore. The alternative is to put
telescopes in orbit above the atmosphere; this is where the Hubble Space
Telescope – and its planned successor, the James Webb Space Telescope
– operate. But orbital telescopes, while
without the handicap of atmosphere,
are difficult and costly to launch and
operate – the initial difficulties with the
Hubble demonstrated that. Applying
for observing time on the Hubble
Space Telescope is a highly competitive process, and there can be a long
wait for time, as with all the instruments we see in the documentary.
When we first see the Very Large
Telescope (VLT), there is a question. It
seems to be four separate telescopes
(and a couple of little ones at their
feet). Each of the four can operate
independently, but for observations of
objects the four can be linked together
Left: Hidden Universe film crew on location in
Kakadu National Park, Australia, an area where
rocks over 2 billion years old can still be found.
(Credit: Malcolm Ludgate) Right: Jet in Carina
Nebula Caption: This pillar of gas and dust is
evidence of star birth, as captured in Hidden
Universe. (Credit: NASA, ESA, J Hester and A Loll
(Arizona State University)
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013
Malcolm Ludgate, ACS (Director of
Photography): A world-class, awardwinning cinematographer specialising
in underwater, extreme environment
and IMAX format photography. His
work has taken him to over sixty-five
countries and to Antarctica for eight
months to shoot the documentary
Antarctica.
Program Synopsis and
Commentary
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1: VLT Interior – The Very Large Telescope (VLT),
one of the biggest optical telescopes in the world,
uses an eight-metre mirror that acts like a giant
“light bucket,” capturing as much light as possible
during a night’s observation, as featured in Hidden
Universe. (Credit: Russell Scott) 2: The cosmic
glow of the Carina Nebula, which contains two of
the most massive and luminous stars in our Milky
Way galaxy, as featured in Hidden Universe. (Credit:
ESO/T. Preibisch) 3: The Antenna Galaxies – two
galaxies seventy million light years away from
us collide. Eventually they will merge completely.
This image is a blend of images from the Hubble
Space Telescope and early tests of ALMA (with only
twelve dishes installed). The visible light from the
Hubble is represented by blue, indicating just how
much of the impact is invisible without microwave
observation. Thousands of new stars have been
formed by the compression of dust clouds in the
collision. Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/File:Antennae_Galaxies_composite_of_ALMA_
and_Hubble_observations.jpg
Each unit of the VLT is a reflecting
telescope – the huge mirror reflects
the captured light to a smaller secondary mirror in front of it. The image is
then re-reflected to a third mirror in
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the centre of the main mirror, a fortyfive-degree mirror on a raised column
which reflects the image sideways into
the instrument at the side of the unit.
Complex computer calculations create
small distortions in the main mirror,
warping it up to 100 times per second
to compensate for changing atmospheric conditions. The VLT requires
these subtle adjustments to capture
images of incredibly distant galaxies.
To help calibrate the instruments, a
laser beam is fired into the air at intervals to provide an artificial focus point.
The operator, Lisa Tura, sets the VLT
up for the night’s viewing, but when it
is operating, the buildings are empty.
Because the telescope also sees into
the infrared range, the body temperature of even one astronomer in
the room can affect the instrument’s
results! Of course, the light from the
living quarters – the only major nearby
source – can affect it, so we see the
shutters and blinds being closed at
nightfall. When calibrated, the VLT can
see objects 4 billion times fainter than
those visible to the human eye.
In contrast, the Crab Nebula and Helix
Nebula are gas and debris cloud rings
from massive supernovae explosions.
These are some of the most beautiful
objects that the astronomer ever sees.
But not all the information that interests astronomers is in the visible light
spectrum. Dr Greg Poole is a keen
photographer, but ironically, he studies the universe via the non-visible
wavelengths that reach us from distant
sources. To do this he is using the
ALMA array of ‘radio telescopes’, a
series of microwave-receiving antenna
dishes which have been erected at the
5000m level on the Chajnantor Plateau
in the Atacama Desert of Chile. The
array will have sixty-six dishes operating in the wavelength range of 0.3mm
to 9.6mm and linked, controlled and
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013
to focus on the same point, effectively
becoming one huge optical telescope.
They can peer into what looks like
empty sky to us, and even to many
small telescopes. Very dim points of
light are revealed to be huge galaxies containing billions of stars. The
light from these has taken billions of
years to reach us so we are looking at
objects as they were up to 13 billion
years ago, close to the time of the
Big Bang, the event that created the
universe (you’ll need to get used to the
word ‘billion’).
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But we begin by looking at images of
much closer objects – the nebulae in
our own home galaxy, the Milky Way,
which are either the birthplace of stars
or the debris from the violent death of
large stars. The Carina Nebula, Snow
Angel Nebula and War and Peace
Nebula fall into the class of ‘star
nurseries’. Here, clouds of gas and
particles slowly condense under the
influence of gravity. Areas of increased
density attract more and more material until the process accelerates, the
mass becomes critical and the fusion
reaction begins. A star is born.
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coordinated by a supercomputer. It
was originally a joint European-USA
project but the involvement of Japan
with an interlinked Atacama Compact
Array (ACA) allowed the creation of an
‘enhanced ALMA’, especially in the
sub-millimetre bandwidth. The original
array is fifty twelve-metre dishes – the
ACA adds another four twelve-metre
dishes and twelve seven-metre dishes.
The array is an ‘interferometer’ – it
makes its observations by combining
the signals received by each antenna.
This means that massive computing
power is required and the calibration/
spacing of the dishes is critical.
sustained physical work is impossible. An assembly plant has been
established at 2700m as part of a
support facility, and the pre-fabricated
115-tonne dishes are then driven
up to the plateau and positioned on
concrete slabs using two massive
custom-built transporters. These can
also be used to move the dishes into
different configurations at various
times to ‘tune’ the array – the effect
allows the astronomers to zoom in or
out – to change the width of the field
of view. Individual antennae can be
repositioned by as little as 150m or as
much as sixteen kilometres.
Construction was a serious undertaking. Prototype dishes were tested in
New Mexico, USA, before construction began. It is impossible to set up
a construction facility at the 5000m
installation site as the air is so thin that
Microwave astronomy shows what
cannot be seen with a conventional
Microwave observation of the
Centaurus A galaxy reveals a massive
black hole at its centre, emitting plasma at half the speed of light. Closer
to home, the remains of the star that
exploded to produce the Crab Nebula
are shown to have formed a pulsar, a
spinning star that emits regular radio
pulses of energy. The nebula contains
elements such as carbon, silicon
and iron, reminding us that elements
(except hydrogen) are formed in the
fusion engines that we call stars – we
are made of star stuff, as is everything
around us.
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SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013
1: Curiosity Rover with Laser – The car-sized
Curiosity Rover is used to research the red planet’s
climate and geology as part of NASA’s Mars
Science Laboratory mission – and also stars in
Hidden Universe. (Credit: NASA/JPL/University
of Arizona) 2: Crab Nebula – The celestial hues
of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant in
the constellation of Taurus, captured in Hidden
Universe. (Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll
(Arizona State University)) 3: ALMA Telescope –
Hidden Universe features the ALMA telescope,
which is actually sixty-six dishes connected to
operate as one giant ‘eye on the sky’ that can see
into the darkest regions of space. (Credit: Russell
Scott)
telescope – the clouds of cold gas
and dust surrounding existing stars
and creating new stars. The complete array will produce images ten
times sharper than the Hubble Space
Telescope.
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There are some problems to be
considered:
POST VIEWING
Quick Question Sheet
Primary to Middle
Secondary
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
15.
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IMMEDIATE POST VIEWING
is it expanding into?
2. Is there a limit to the universe? If
Discussion
we keep building bigger telescopes,
will we just keep seeing more and
more galaxies?
Primary/Junior
3. Why are galaxies different shapes
and colours?
-- Download the NASA ‘Galaxy
Q&As’ from <http://amazing-space
.stsci.edu/resources/print/
classroom_activities/scibkgd_
galaxy_qa.pdf>.
-- Do the Q&A with the class/group.
The questions are of increasing
difficulty so the higher the grade
level, the further you can go.
4. The telescopes we see in the
documentary and the Hubble Space
Telescope are extremely expensive to
build and maintain, so much so that
the costs have to be shared among
countries. Why bother? Why are
we prepared to spend the money?
(Extend this to a debate?)
Senior
There is a theory which states that
if ever anybody discovers exactly
what the universe is for and why it is
here, it will instantly disappear and
be replaced by something even more
bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this as
already happened.
– Douglas Adams, The Restaurant
at the End of the Universe
Douglas Adams was joking, of course
– or was he? He wrote about the ordinary man’s astonishment and bewilderment at the size and nature of the
galaxy, never mind the universe.
1: VLT with Milkyway – The Very Large Telescope
(VLT) with a view of the Milky Way Galaxy overhead,
as shown in Hidden Universe. The high altitude of
the VLT site, which is located over 2,500m above
sea level, creates the perfect conditions and
clear skies ideal for star-gazing. (Credit: Markus
O’Brien) 2: Whirlpool Galaxy – Hidden Universe
showcases the hypnotizing spiral figure of the
Whirlpool Galaxy, a ‘neighbouring’ galaxy, over 31
million light-years away. (Credit: NASA, ESA, S.
Beckwith [STScI] and The Hubble Heritage Team
[STScI/AURA]) 3: VLT with Laser – Hidden Universe
features the Very Large Telescope (VLT), located at
Paranal Observatory. The VLT is composed of four
large optical telescopes, one of which fires a laser
beam 96km into the sky to create a fixed point,
almost like a fake star, as a means to overcome the
distortion of Earth’s atmosphere, which blurs light
coming in from the universe. (Credit: Lisa Germany)
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013
14.
What is the difference between an Astronomer and an
Astrophysicist?
What equipment do we use
to collect images of distant
objects?
How did we get the close-up images of the Martian landscape?
What is the VLT?
How does it stay focused on
distant objects?
What is a nebula? What types
are there?
What exactly is a galaxy?
What is the ALMA and at what
altitude is it?
Why did they build that unique
transporter to move the ALMA
dishes?
Why does it need to be so high?
Why is the Atacama the ideal
place for the telescopes?
What does ALMA show us that a
normal telescope can not?
What is a ‘stellar nursery’? How
does it work?
When and how was the Crab
Nebula formed?
Why is looking at other galaxies
like looking back in time?
1. If the universe is expanding, what
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Research Tasks &
Activities
Primary–Junior Activities
Galaxy Trading Cards – a galaxy
matching game for Grades 5–7. Match
the picture card to the descriptive
card. Download from <http://amazing
-space.stsci.edu/resources/print/
activities/galaxytradecards.pdf>.
Extension – Draw and colour the
galaxies large as wall decorations or
hanging mobiles, each with a name
and description plaque. Students to
pick their galaxy, name it and attached
an annotation describing it.
Explore the Hubble Deep Fields at
‘Galaxy Hunter’ <http://amazing
-space.stsci.edu/resources/
explorations/ghunter/home.html>.
There are a number of activities here.
At the basic level, the images of at
least two Hubble Deep Field images
can be viewed and masses of galaxies are visible. The closer ones can
be classified by shape and colour.
The Quicktime movies in this are
best viewed in Explorer – v.4 up on
Windows. Other browsers and platforms may not work.
These also involve some basic statistical concepts useful for maths – lower
secondary.
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There are a number of other relevant
activities accessible from this page
which are worth exploring and which
have associated teacher notes:
<http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/
resources/explorations/>, specifically
the Hubble Deep Field Academy;
Mission Mastermind (servicing the
Hubble Telescope); Galaxy Hunter;
Galaxies Galore, Games and more; No
Escape – the Truth about Black Holes.
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Junior–Middle Secondary
Research Tasks
1. The furthest object detected is 13
billion light years away. A ‘light-year’
is the distance that light travels in an
Earth year. The Sun is eight lightminutes away. Calculate (or look up)
how far a light-year is in kilometres.
Then attempt to express the distance
we refer to as ‘one billion light-years’
in kilometres.
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SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013
1: Helix Nebula Infrared – The Helix Nebula is 700
light-years away from Earth, but screened before
audience’s eyes in Hidden Universe. (Credit: ESO/
VISTA/J. Emerson) 2: A portrait of our Sun, a
star at the center of our solar system, as seen in
Hidden Universe. (Credit: SDO | Solar Dynamics
Observatory (Goodard Space Flight Center)) 3: The
eerie glow of the Cats Eye Nebula, one of the most
structurally complex nebulae known, as seen in
Hidden Universe. (Credit: NASA, ESA, HEIC and The
Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA))
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1: Rock Formation in the Atacama Desert – The
Mars-like landscape of Chile’s Atacama Desert
offers clear skies perfect for astronomers to study
the stars, as seen in Hidden Universe. (Credit: Lisa
Germany) 2: Mars, as recorded by HiRise on Mars
Reconaissance Orbiter – The Earth-like landscape
of the Red Planet, recorded by the Mars Orbiter,
as seen in Hidden Universe. (Credit: NASA/JPL/
University of Arizona) 3: Paranal Observatory at
Sunset – The Paranal Observatory is home to
the ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), as seen in
Hidden Universe (Credit: Russell Scott).
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Imagine that you are going to be
examined on this ‘Everything you ever
wanted to know about galaxies’ list
you’ll find there. Prepare a cheat sheet
for the exam!
4. Go to the Hubble Deep Field
Academy at <http://amazing-space.
stsci.edu/resources/explorations/hdf/>.
2. The distances involved in astronomical research are so immense that
other measurements have been used
by astronomers as well as light-years.
What are they, what was their origin,
how are they defined and how long is
each one in kilometres?
3. What is the nearest star to our
Sun? How long would it take us to
reach it at the best possible speeds
we have so far achieved?
hiddenuniversemovie.com/education/
introduction/>, prepare a Powerpoint
presentation or poster on the new
telescopes, how they work and what
they have found so far.
Alternatively, from the Featured
Scenes menu, prepare a presentation or poster on Mars – what we now
know about the planet and how we
found out (HiRise, Curiosity).
Go through the activities, such as
Cosmic Classifier.
(Teacher resource – Lesson Plan
<http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/
resources/explorations/hdf/teacher/
hdf-details.htm>)
Senior
1. Prepare a report on exoplanets.
2. Go to the NASA Amazing Space
4. What galaxy types are there
site at <http://amazing-space.stsci.
edu/eds/astronomy-basics.php>.
Junior–Middle Secondary
Activities
Use the information there to prepare a
report, presentation or poster on one
of the following topics: Mars; different types of Galaxy; nebulae; Hubble
Space Telescope
1. Using the Hidden Universe website
3. Go to the Galaxy Q&A at <http://
(Education > Telescope Trivia) <http://
tinyurl.com/odnkgau>
The new generation of telescopes,
like VLT, have enabled us to discover
exoplanets – planets orbiting around
other stars. What is an exoplanet and
how do we know that they exist? What
is the evidence? How many have been
discovered and what type are they?
2. Organise a Hubble Deep Field
observation.
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013
and what are they called? How did
Hubble (the astronomer himself) classify the types? What irregular types
are there?
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1: Malcolm Ludgate, Director of Photography
for Hidden Universe, filming the ALMA in Chile’s
arid Atacama Desert. (Credit: Malcolm Ludgate)
2: Malcolm Ludgate, Director of Photography for
Hidden Universe, filming a motion sequence in
Chile’s Atacama Desert. (Credit: Lisa Germany)
3: Malcolm Ludgate at Kakadu National Park –
Director of Photography Malcolm Ludgate during
filming of the IMAX movie Hidden Universe at
Kakadu National Park. (Credit: Malcolm Ludgate)
4: Russell Scott filming at Paranal – Director
Russell Scott takes a look at one of the VLT’s Unit
Telescopes through the IMAX Solido 3D camera.
Russell and his team were filming at Paranal and
ALMA in November 2012 for the IMAX movie
Hidden Universe. (Credit: Lisa Germany)
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3
Sources
The Hubble telescope has been used
to examine apparently empty areas of
visible space in the Hubble Deep Field
and Hubble Ultra-Deep Field observations. These required long exposures
– up to several days. Given that the
telescope is orbiting Earth at speed
(low orbit), how was this achieved?
What was found? (Refer to the later
pages of the Galaxy Q&A at <http://
tinyurl.com/odnkgau>) The first Deep
Field observation was a brave step as
it required spending long periods of
very expensive Hubble schedule on …
nothing – apparently empty fields. As
the director of operations, prepare an
argument to your management committee to justify what might be a very
expensive waste of time (this actually
happened!).
very large structures in the universe,
such as entire galaxies or nebulae? Be
precise – they are complex. Consider
the shape of galaxies, the formation of
stars and the existence and nature of
black holes.
BACKGROUND MATERIAL
1: Creating the IMAX 3D
film
In order to bring these images to the
giant screen, the filmmakers had to
tackle a daunting challenge: how
to turn the 2D images captured by
the telescopes into IMAX-quality 3D
images? The answer required the
expertise and new technology from
researchers at Swinburne University of
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Technology’s Centre for Astrophysics
and Supercomputing, located in
Melbourne. There, Hidden Universe
writer and director Russell Scott, a
master of capturing complex space
phenomena in stunning 3D imagery,
spent two years in research and
development to create proprietary CGI
techniques and software just for the
film. Though this is the first giantscreen film Scott has directed, he
earned his chops at the bleeding edge
of 3D CGI animation, directing and
animating space films for Swinburne
Astronomy Productions.
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013
3. What effects does gravity have on
-- Hidden Universe website
– Education <http://
hiddenuniversemovie.com/
education/introduction/>
-- ALMA – Atacama Large Millimetre
Array <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Atacama_Large_Millimeter_Array>
-- Hubble Telescope <http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble>
-- James Webb Space Telescope
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
James_Webb_Space_Telescope>
-- Activity resources <http://amazing
-space.stsci.edu/eds/tools/>
10
‘We started with the highest resolution
2D images obtained from the telescopes, then used real scientific data
provided by astronomers to remaster
them as fantastic IMAX-resolution
3D images,’ explained Scott. ‘None
of the simulations are make-believe.
Every image is based on real data, be
it Mars, a nebula, the Sun, or a galaxy.’
The result is an intergalactic journey
through the farthest reaches of the
universe, in spectacular IMAX 3D.
When asked about his favorite part of
the film, Scott said:
I love the Mars scenes. We fly over
landscapes of Mars mapped in 10-inch
resolution – in such detail they almost
look Earthlike, with their towering
mountains, deep canyons and valleys,
and clear signs of ancient lakes and
rivers. When you see what the scientists have captured, and what Mars
really looks like, it’s a pretty mindblowing experience.
‘You’re seeing a real image, on a real
height map, based on the real contours of Mars,’ said Scott. ‘It’s all real.
This is not Hollywood dreaming.’
One of the things you realise from the
pictures is that it’s a red planet, but
it’s not just (monochrome). There are
many types of materials and minerals
there, much like on Earth, and there
are different colours of rock on Mars.
Much of the variation may be from water that once flowed down the surface.
We don’t know, but that’s one of the
big mysteries with Mars: when was the
last time water flowed properly on the
surface?
In making this film, the filmmakers
became like scientists themselves,
working hard to bring these great
questions posed by astronomers to
life with compelling imagery, and at
the same time acting as a bridge of
inspiration and entertainment between
the scientific community and a broad
audience of moviegoers.
‘In making a film you are educating
yourself, giving yourself new life experiences, as well as translating those to
audiences,’ said Amezdroz. “The things
we choose are the ones we have an inherent fascination with, so we’re pretty
much the audience ourselves when we
go out there to make a film like this.’
2: Exploring Space –
Adventures on Terra
Firma
While the film is an exploration of the
outer reaches of the universe, making
the film was an adventure right here on
terra firma. To bring Hidden Universe’s
Above: The Paranal Residencia is the ‘hotel’ where
astronomers live and work while studying with
the Very Large Telescope (VLT), as seen in Hidden
Universe. (Credit: ESO)
story of frontier science to life, the
filmmakers travelled to remote parts
of Chile, Australia, and astronomical
laboratories on two continents to
capture stunning depictions of deep
space phenomena, and otherworldly
landscapes here on Earth.
To get the best view of space, the telescopes featured in Hidden Universe
– the VLT and ALMA telescopes—are
positioned in an extreme environment,
as high as 5000m in Chile’s remote
Atacama Desert. The austere, moonlike landscape provides ideal conditions to see deep into space because
there is less atmosphere at altitude,
the sky is almost always clear due to
the extremely dry climate, and it is
so remote there is no light pollution
at all. Typically when shooting things
barely visible to the human eye in the
night sky, filmmakers would rely on
a software app that tells them where
the stars will be as they rise and set
throughout the night. Not here.
‘In Chile, the sky is so dark and so
clear, you can actually see the shot
you are going to take in the night sky.
The stars are so bright, you can see
your shadow cast by the Milky Way,’
said director Russell Scott.
While this presents a unique set of observational advantages, astronomers
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013
For the Mars sequences, photographs
from the Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter’s HiRISE space camera were
used. The highest-resolution photos
of any planetary exploration mission
yet obtained, these photographs were
mapped onto detailed height data of
the actual Martian surface to create
3D visuals of the red planet.
Continues Scott:
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working there face the challenges of
high altitude, arctic cold, and isolation
as they work. It’s a place where IMAX
cameras have never gone. Until now.
To capture a sense of the remote setting – and find the perfect place to film
the Atacama’s austere, rocky, mountainous landscapes that are not unlike
what you would find on the Moon,
Mars or other planets – Amezdroz first
had to scout the location.
After following a vehicle to a spot in
the desert known only by the locals,
then striking off in his 4WD for another
48km with no roads at all, Amezdroz
found himself truly alone. Without a
satellite phone, at 5000m, in an area
that still had land mines from a 1970’s
border dispute between Chile and
Bolivia, he found the location for their
shoot: a breathtaking landscape for
time lapse sequences of stars rising
and setting behind otherworldly rock
formations called the Cathedrals,
silhouetted against the night sky. As he
looked around, he watched his step.
‘We took a leaf out of Greg
MacGillivray’s playbook in finding that
location,’ chuckles Amezdroz, referring to the two-time Academy Award–
nominated, pioneering IMAX filmmaker
from MacGillivray Freeman Films,
who consulted on the film. ‘I suppose
you’re really led by your own fear;
you go as far as you think humanly
possible, with the idea of bringing
an audience to a location they would
never otherwise experience. That’s the
essence of IMAX, pushing out further
than anyone would normally do.’
Amezdroz, who is certain these are the
only IMAX images the public will ever
see of this place.
maintained by scientists from all over
the world, collaborating to further human knowledge.
Even the film stock in the cameras felt
the sting of the desert.
The VLT actually consists of four
Unit Telescopes, which are generally used separately but can be used
together, acting as a single telescope
almost 200m in diameter to achieve
astonishingly high resolution. The Unit
Telescopes each have a light-gathering mirror 8.2m across, representing
the upper limit of optical technology;
they are so massive they would break
under their own weight if they were
any bigger.
‘The Atacama is the driest desert in
the world,’ recalls Amezdroz:
It was the second-to-last day in Chile
and we had to get our shots. The film
in the Solido 3D IMAX camera kept
snapping every time we turned the
camera on. We couldn’t figure out
what was happening. Later at the
hotel, one of the guys had a strip of
film that had broken near his shower
and he saw the whole thing rejuvenate,
and go from brittle to supple. So the
camera guys made this giant diaper for
the film canisters to keep them moist.
It worked like a charm.
‘We’ve made a film about what lies
within the gaze of this new generation of telescopes – telescopes so
powerful they can locate images in
space equivalent to distinguishing
the headlights of a car on the surface
of the Moon,’ said producer Stephen
Amezdroz, a long-time documentary
filmmaker with credits that include
the television series Nature. ‘This new
technology is allowing scientists to
peer back even further into space, revealing secrets about the cosmos that
until recently were completely hidden
from view, and inspiring new theories
about how the universe was formed.’
3: The Telescopes
VLT
Adds Scott:
‘There is no phone reception, nothing out there. If anything happens to
you no one is going to find you,’ said
Though its name is unimaginative, its
observations are astounding: the Very
Large Telescope – or VLT – provided
the first images of an exoplanet – a
planet outside our solar system – and
has tracked individual stars orbiting
the supermassive black hole at the
center of our galaxy. The VLT is the
most productive ground-based facility
for astronomy, with only the Hubble
Space Telescope generating more
scientific papers. It is operated by the
European Southern Observatory on
Cerro Paranal, a 2600m mountain in
the Atacama Desert, and is used and
The VLT’s infrared sensors, while providing valuable data to scientists, presented challenges to the filmmakers.
They had to work quickly inside these
massive telescopes, and only got one
take for many of their shots because
they are so sensitive that body heat
can distort their readings.
The Earth’s atmosphere also distorts
signals coming in from space, especially faint light from extremely distant
stars and galaxies. To counter this, the
VLT shoots lasers 96km up into the sky,
creating an artificial star, a fixed point,
by which to calibrate for the distortion
of the atmosphere. In one amazing
scene in Hidden Universe called the
‘Celestial Dance’, lasers shoot from
the top of the VLT at irregular intervals
during a time-lapse sequence showing the VLT’s four telescopes moving
in concert as they track specific stars
through the night sky.
ALMA
At an altitude almost twice as high as
the VLT, at 5000m on the Chajnantor
Plateau, the Atacama Large Millimeter
Array, or ALMA, is a collection of
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013
The Atacama is one of the most amazing places in the world. When the wind
doesn’t blow it’s deathly silent; you
can only hear yourself. It’s just empty.
But when the wind blows it’s a howling
gale that shapes the rock itself. I would
guess maybe a hundred people have
visited that place in the entire lifetime
of humanity. It’s just so remote and so
harsh.
In addition to optical light, the VLT
sees in infrared, which enables astronomers to learn much more about their
subjects. Hidden Universe showcases
the infrared imaging that exposed a
supermassive black hole at the centre
of the nearby galaxy Centaurus A, and
through X-Ray imaging, audiences will
see jets of plasma a million light years
long shooting out of the black hole at
half the speed of light.
12
sixty-six radio telescopes, the largest
astronomical project in existence.
ALMA does not detect optical light;
the group of sixty-six giant, 12m
and 7m-diameter antennas looks for
radio signals from outer space. Each
weighs 115 tons – they are so massive
they must be built at a lower altitude
and transported to the Chanjantor
Plateau on a huge, remote-controlled
flatbed truck called Otto. The antennas operate together as one giant
telescope to provide images up to ten
times sharper than the Hubble Space
Telescope. To do so, the sixty-six
antennas and peripheral electronics
must be synchronised to within one
millionth of a millionth of a second.
This is because the array is an interferometer – it generates information by
comparing the minute difference in the
signals received by each antenna.
As seen in Hidden Universe, the
signals ALMA detects come from vast
clouds of gas and dust in interstellar
space, at temperatures only a few degrees above absolute zero (–273oC) in
some of the earliest and most distant
galaxies in the universe. The temperature and composition of these regions
tells us if new stars are being born
there. These clouds are often dark in
visible light, but they shine brightly in
the part of the spectrum ALMA sees,
providing scientists with a new way of
seeing the cosmos.
HUBBLE
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
is a telescope that was carried into
orbit by a space shuttle in 1990 and
remains in operation. A 2.4m (7.9ft)–
aperture telescope in low Earth orbit,
Hubble’s four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible and
near infrared.
Hubble’s orbit outside the diffusing effects of Earth’s atmosphere allows it to
take extremely high-resolution images
with almost no light pollution. Hubble’s
Deep Fields has recorded some of the
most detailed visible light images ever,
allowing a deep view into space and
time. Many Hubble observations have
led to breakthroughs in astrophysics,
such as accurately determining the
rate of expansion of the universe
Hubble is the only telescope designed to be serviced in space by
astronauts. Between 1993 and 2002,
four Space Shuttle missions repaired,
upgraded, and replaced systems on
the telescope; a fifth mission was
cancelled on safety grounds following
the Columbia disaster. However, after
spirited public discussion, NASA carried out a final service mission in 2009.
The telescope is now expected to
function until at least 2014, and possibly 2020. Its scientific successor, the
larger James Webb Space Telescope
(JWST), is planned to be launched in
2018.
This study guide was produced by ATOM. (© ATOM 2013)
ISBN: 978-1-74295-340-3 [email protected]
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