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© 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. 2 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 3 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 4 2 1 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 3 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’). 2 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. 5 1 2 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. 3 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. 6 2 1 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. 3 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 7 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. 1 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. 2 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. 3 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)) 8 2 1 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). 3 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? 9 1 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) 2 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 4 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: 11 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] For information on SCREEN EDUCATION magazine, or to download other study guides for assessment, visit <http://www.metromagazine.com.au>. Join ATOM’s email broadcast list for invitations to free screenings, conferences, seminars, etc. Sign up now at <http://www.atom.asn.au/lists/>. SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 For hundreds of articles on Film as Text, Screen Literacy, Multiliteracy and Media Studies, visit <http://www.theeducationshop.com.au>. 13