Supernova: A Matter of Life and Death
An Original Multimedia Planetarium Program for SciDome!
Supernova: a Matter of Life and Death is an original multimedia planetarium production, written and produced by Mary MacDonald of the Framingham State University Planetarium and Kim Kowal Arcand of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, featuring music by FSU’s Christian Gentry and narration by Debra Wise, Boston-area actor and Artistic Director of the award-winning Underground Railway Theater.
SciDome users can access a selection of “Chapters” - scenes from the program which can be presented as stand-alone mini-shows about particular topic. The entire 30-minute program is also available by request.
About Supernova: A Matter of Life and Death:
For thousands of years, humans have looked up at the night sky and been comforted by the familiar patterns they see, night after night, year after year. In our fast-paced modern world, the stars seem to be one of the few constants in our lives. Take a closer look, however, and you will see that these stars are not as unchanging as they appear. In recent years, innovative telescopes and detectors such as the NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory have opened our eyes to the fascinating processes that surround the life and death of stars.
About the Chapters
Ch. 1 Kepler’s Supernova: Observe SN 1604 (Kepler’s Supernova), as it would have appeared over 17th Century Beijing over the course of several months.
Ch. 4 The Electromagnetic Spectrum: Observe the Sun in multiple wavelengths, turn your dome into a giant EM Spectrum, and see NASA’s fleet of space telescopes that observe the Universe in many different kinds of light.
Ch. 5 Into the Orion Nebula: Find the Orion Nebula in the sky, then fly into the heart of this star-forming region in a stunning 3D visualization created by Frank Summers of the Space Telescope Science Institute using real data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes.
Ch. 9 Cassiopeia A in Many Colors: What do you see when you look at the spot where a supernova occurred hundreds of years ago? It depends on what type of telescope you use. Observe the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A as seen by Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra.
Ch. 11 Beyond 2 Dimensions: Today, we can move beyond using just two dimensions when looking at our Universe, and add the dimension of time. Observations over time allow us to observe the movement of material through space, create 3D visualizations, and more!