Category Archives: fulldome shows

Visualization Depicting the Universe

Visualization and Reality

Artist's impression of the planet Kepler-78b and its host star. Art by Karen Teramura (UHIfA)
Artist’s visualization of the planet Kepler-78b and its host star. The artist extrapolated what this planet might be like based on data about the parent star and the planet’s position around it. Art by Karen Teramura (UHIfA)

A planetarium colleague of mine posted a comment on Facebook about how he was accused of “faking data” as he described immersive storytelling on their institution’s dome through visualization.  Essentially, he was using star motion as a metaphor for the passage of time (as he explained it). Since I write and produce fulldome shows, the accusation and his explanation piqued my interest. I use visualizations in all my work (fulldome, books, articles, etc.) and it never once occurred to me to think of it as “fake”. If it’s based on data, what’s fake? What’s real?

OF COURSE, ALL of what we show on the dome is not real. It’s based on data.  Every planetarium instrument (whether opto-mechanical or digital) does this. Whether they show pinpoints of light recreating the positions of stars in the actual sky or something as complex as a flight through a nebula, planetariums are among the vanguard of the theaters using data to recreate reality. The minute I take my Digistar and put it into traveling mode, I’m recreating what it might be like if I could engage my starship at Warp 9 (or whatever speed limit the Federation is allowing now) and fly among the stars. I’m simulating flight through space AND time. Just as my colleague was intending to communicate with his video clip and demonstration. So, I guess I’m a little puzzled by the accusation, especially since it came from another planetarian presumably used to seeing star motion on a dome.

It’s also intriguing because this week I’m judging a group of videos for a science film festival, and without their good visualizations  of everything from weather events to dinosaurs and comets, these films wouldn’t be nearly as interesting (both scientifically and as vehicles for storytelling) as most of them are. So, let’s talk about visualization.

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Creating Universes

Enabling Dome Explorations

Occasionally I switch hats from being a writer of astronomy and space science “stuff” to being a “creator” of other worlds and galaxies. This week is one of those times. I’m taking software training in some packages that help animators create worlds, stars, galaxies, and nebulae, and place them in fulldome planetarium software systems. It’s intense work, and I will by no means be an animator when I’m finished, but it’s a start!

It’s also a LOT of fun!

Fulldome shows are all the vogue now at many planetarium facilities, and with the advent of digital video some years ago, all the scenes that used to play out in my head as I WROTE shows are now possible as full animated sequences that fill the dome with amazing visualizations. It’s kind of fun to be on THIS end of the creation pipeline, seeing how to make dreams and ideas real.

Been to a planetarium lately?  If not, why not?  The visions of the universe await you — from live star talks to fully realized and rendered explorations of the cosmos. Get out there and support your local dome!  It’s the least you can do while I’m here learning how to create the cosmos, one pixel at a time!