Centered in the Universe
Encyclopedia
Centered in the Universe is a fulldome
presentation that premiered the evening of October 29, 2006 at the "Galactic Gala" which marked the reopening of the renovated Griffith Observatory
in Los Angeles
. The 33-minute planetarium
program utilizes a Zeiss
Universarium star projector and an innovative laser video projection system developed by Evans & Sutherland
to create an immersive environment. A live presenter narrates the script.
in an effort to make sense of the randomly scattered stars. In accelerated time, we see the complex motions of the sun, moon, and planets.
The scene dissolves to ancient Alexandria, Egypt. We see the Great Library and the Pharos Lighthouse. In a courtyard, next to a pool surrounded by torches, we see the 2nd Century astronomer Claudius Ptolemy adjusting an armillary sphere
to chart star positions. Behind Ptolemy is a small table on which rests a scroll. We approach the scroll and see that it depicts a geocentric model of the universe. Paintings on the scroll morph into 3D representations of the sun, earth, and planets, which hover above the scroll and rotate within a complex system of crystalline spheres, illustrating the earth-centered model of the universe that persisted until the Renaissance
.
The flame from a lamp pans across the field of view and dissolves to a candle flame burning above the workshop table of Galileo Galilei
in Italy around the year 1610. We move into a courtyard where Galileo is observing with his telescope. On an easel lit by a lantern we see his sketches of the moons of Jupiter and the phases of Venus. These drawings also morph into 3D objects to demonstrate how Galileo's observations transformed our perception of the planets and helped establish the Copernican
model of the solar system
.
The film transports the audience through a series of environments, such as Mount Wilson Observatory
in the early 1920s, when Edwin Hubble
discovered the true nature of the Andromeda Galaxy
and the expansion of the universe. Over the desk of an anonymous modern researcher we see a representation of the Big Bang
. The device of transforming raw data, such as sketches and photographs, into 3D objects is used to suggest how scientists must apply imagination to interpret their observations.
Towards the end of the show, the audience experiences a simulated flight through clusters of galaxies, into the Milky Way Galaxy, our solar system, skimming the surface of Mars, where the probable and tragic loss of oceans beckon the audience to wonder about the future of our planet, and then finally returns to Earth, landing on the front lawn of Griffith Observatory
.
The presenter once again appears with the glowing ball and delivers an epilogue, reminding the audience that Earth and everything on it, including its inhabitants, was made from the clouds of dust and gas that lace the Milky Way; we are stardust, and the universe is our home.
The Visual Effects Producer, Bill Murphy, had to create a schedule and budget for a production "that was not fully scripted requiring images never before created for a physical space that was not yet built." Delays in the delivery of the laser video projectors required animators to continue making color adjustments until a few days before the premiere, as the projectors themselves kept changing.
to photograph the building before constructing it in Maya (software)
as it might have appeared in 1925, when Edwin Hubble worked there. "Dixon insisted on authenticity; from the location of planets in the sky to the kind of feather in Galileo's quill pen, everything was meticulously researched," according to Executive Producer Ann Hassett. Animators studied photographs provided by Galileo expert Dava Sobel
to ensure that architectural details of the astronomer's house were modeled correctly.
Fulldome
Fulldome refers to immersive dome-based video projection environments. The dome, horizontal or tilted, is filled with real-time or pre-rendered computer animations, live capture images, or composited environments....
presentation that premiered the evening of October 29, 2006 at the "Galactic Gala" which marked the reopening of the renovated Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory is in Los Angeles, California, United States. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The 33-minute planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
program utilizes a Zeiss
Zeiss projector
A Zeiss projector is one of a line of planetarium projectors manufactured by the Carl Zeiss Company.The first modern planetarium projectors were designed and built in 1924 by the Zeiss Works of Jena, Germany in 1924. Zeiss projectors are designed to sit in the middle of a dark, dome-covered room...
Universarium star projector and an innovative laser video projection system developed by Evans & Sutherland
Evans & Sutherland
Evans & Sutherland is a computer firm involved in the computer graphics field. Their products are used primarily by the military and large industrial firms for training and simulation, and in digital projection environments like planetariums.-History:...
to create an immersive environment. A live presenter narrates the script.
Synopsis
As the audience is seated, the planetarium dome is suffused with a cool blue light, with a suggestion of clouds. The presenter walks to the center of the theater and flourishes a glowing ball about the size of a grapefruit, which he/she alternately lights and dims to accent a description of how various cultures interpreted celestial phenomena such as the cycle of day and night. At the conclusion of the introduction, the orb fades, the theater darkens, and the audience experiences a simulated sunset projected by the laser video system. As the sunset proceeds, the star projector rises to simulate the night sky. The lecturer asks the audience to imagine how mysterious the stars must have seemed to ancient people, and then demonstrates, using the star projector, how people invented constellationsConstellations
Constellations: An International Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of critical and democratic theory and successor of Praxis International. It is edited by Andrew Arato, Amy Allen, and Andreas Kalyvas...
in an effort to make sense of the randomly scattered stars. In accelerated time, we see the complex motions of the sun, moon, and planets.
The scene dissolves to ancient Alexandria, Egypt. We see the Great Library and the Pharos Lighthouse. In a courtyard, next to a pool surrounded by torches, we see the 2nd Century astronomer Claudius Ptolemy adjusting an armillary sphere
Armillary sphere
An armillary sphere is a model of objects in the sky , consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centred on Earth, that represent lines of celestial longitude and latitude and other astronomically important features such as the ecliptic...
to chart star positions. Behind Ptolemy is a small table on which rests a scroll. We approach the scroll and see that it depicts a geocentric model of the universe. Paintings on the scroll morph into 3D representations of the sun, earth, and planets, which hover above the scroll and rotate within a complex system of crystalline spheres, illustrating the earth-centered model of the universe that persisted until the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
.
The flame from a lamp pans across the field of view and dissolves to a candle flame burning above the workshop table of Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
in Italy around the year 1610. We move into a courtyard where Galileo is observing with his telescope. On an easel lit by a lantern we see his sketches of the moons of Jupiter and the phases of Venus. These drawings also morph into 3D objects to demonstrate how Galileo's observations transformed our perception of the planets and helped establish the Copernican
Copernican
Copernican means of or pertaining to the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus* For the Copernican system of astronomy, see heliocentrism* For the philosophical principle, see Copernican principle* For the lunar geological period, see Copernician...
model of the solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
.
The film transports the audience through a series of environments, such as Mount Wilson Observatory
Mount Wilson Observatory
The Mount Wilson Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The MWO is located on Mount Wilson, a 5,715 foot peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles...
in the early 1920s, when Edwin Hubble
Edwin Hubble
Edwin Powell Hubble was an American astronomer who profoundly changed the understanding of the universe by confirming the existence of galaxies other than the Milky Way - our own galaxy...
discovered the true nature of the Andromeda Galaxy
Andromeda Galaxy
The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Andromeda. It is also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224, and is often referred to as the Great Andromeda Nebula in older texts. Andromeda is the nearest spiral galaxy to the...
and the expansion of the universe. Over the desk of an anonymous modern researcher we see a representation of the Big Bang
Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
. The device of transforming raw data, such as sketches and photographs, into 3D objects is used to suggest how scientists must apply imagination to interpret their observations.
Towards the end of the show, the audience experiences a simulated flight through clusters of galaxies, into the Milky Way Galaxy, our solar system, skimming the surface of Mars, where the probable and tragic loss of oceans beckon the audience to wonder about the future of our planet, and then finally returns to Earth, landing on the front lawn of Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory is in Los Angeles, California, United States. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest...
.
The presenter once again appears with the glowing ball and delivers an epilogue, reminding the audience that Earth and everything on it, including its inhabitants, was made from the clouds of dust and gas that lace the Milky Way; we are stardust, and the universe is our home.
Technical challenges
According to Andrew Hofman, Visual Effects Supervisor, "Centered in the Universe" presented unique challenges. "Some long-established practices in conventional film making are simply not available in the dome venue." For instance, changing lenses is not an option in a dome show; there is only one lens: the 180-degree fisheye, which makes near objects appear distorted while objects only a few feet from the virtual camera appear very tiny. Developing a visual style to work within this limitation was integral to the success of the show. The sheer size of the image files was also daunting. Each frame was composed of 17 million pixels, as opposed to the mere 3 million required for conventional cinema. "Software behaved erratically, machines ran out of RAM; hard drives filled up and networks, even air conditioning, were overtaxed."The Visual Effects Producer, Bill Murphy, had to create a schedule and budget for a production "that was not fully scripted requiring images never before created for a physical space that was not yet built." Delays in the delivery of the laser video projectors required animators to continue making color adjustments until a few days before the premiere, as the projectors themselves kept changing.
Artistic challenges
Although every frame of the film was created using computer graphics, conventional artwork played an important role in developing the look and feel of the show. Art Director Chris Butler did extensive research to design props and sets that would allow the 3D animators to create historically authentic environments. The animators visited the dome of the 100 inches (2,540 mm) telescope at Mount Wilson ObservatoryMount Wilson Observatory
The Mount Wilson Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The MWO is located on Mount Wilson, a 5,715 foot peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles...
to photograph the building before constructing it in Maya (software)
Maya (software)
Autodesk Maya , commonly shortened to Maya, is 3D computer graphics software that runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS and Linux, originally developed by Alias Systems Corporation and currently owned and developed by Autodesk, Inc. It is used to create interactive 3D applications, including video...
as it might have appeared in 1925, when Edwin Hubble worked there. "Dixon insisted on authenticity; from the location of planets in the sky to the kind of feather in Galileo's quill pen, everything was meticulously researched," according to Executive Producer Ann Hassett. Animators studied photographs provided by Galileo expert Dava Sobel
Dava Sobel
Dava Sobel is a writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. She graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and Binghamton University...
to ensure that architectural details of the astronomer's house were modeled correctly.
Musical score
Centered in the Universe features an original orchestral score blending avant-garde and classical motifs composed by Alan Ett, Scott Liggett, and William Ashford from Alan Ett Music Group. The soundtrack is available from the iTunes store.External links
- Griffith Observatory's Description of the program
- Production Credits
- imdb listing
- Review of "Centered in the Universe" by Don Davis (artist)Don Davis (artist)Don Davis is an artist known for his portrayals of space related subjects. His work is characterised by attention to detail and authentic portrayals based on what is known of the subject...
- collection of articles on the observatory at the LA Times
- Live Lecturers sent into a Black Hole by Danny King at Bloomberg News
- Make Astronomers the Stars Op/Ed by Margaret Wertheim in the LA Times
- Acting Up at Griffith Observatory
- Griffith Observatory: Entertainment, Education or Both?
- Under God - Article in The Washington Post