Part Of 'Science On A Sphere' Project
NASA has created a unique
"spherical" movie about Earth's changing ice and snow cover as
captured by NASA spacecraft. "Frozen," a 12-minute, narrated film,
premieres at science centers and museums March 27.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD produced the
film for the "Science on a Sphere" projection system, a fully
spherical video technology developed by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. The six-foot spheres are installed in
more than 30 locations around the world.
Ice covers about 20 percent of the Earth's surface and plays a
major role in the world's climate. NASA operates a sophisticated
fleet of spacecraft that make global measurements of ice and snow
in remote and treacherous locations not easily accessible to
scientists on the ground. Data from these NASA satellites play a
critical role in climate change research.
"Frozen" probes all parts of Earth where water exists in solid
form as snow or ice, known as the cryosphere. The movie takes
viewers from the everyday experience of sensing heat and cold to a
discussion of how satellites "see" heat and cold with advanced
sensors. It then projects dramatic displays of satellite data of
Earth, including changing Arctic sea ice and global snow cover,
onto the sphere. Images generated by NASA's Aqua satellite and the
Landsat series are featured in "Frozen."
"With 'Frozen,' we're not only breaking new ground in terms of
spherical filmmaking but also transforming an otherwise technical
subject into a powerful and poetic drama about the state of Earth,"
said Goddard's Michael Starobin, one of the film's producers.
Science on a Sphere uses a six-foot diameter carbon fiber sphere
that hangs in a dark theater surrounded by four projectors. A
computer system drives video content for the projectors to create a
seamless image around the sphere.
"Science on a Sphere is a powerful and exciting new medium for
telling all sorts of stories," said Starobin, who also produced and
directed "Footprints," NASA's first movie for the system in 2006.
"Footprints" explored the origin of hurricanes, the origin of gamma
ray bursts and the human imperative to ask hard questions. NASA
installed its first sphere at Goddard in 2006.
NOAA originally conceived Science on a Sphere to help illustrate
Earth science principles by showing planet-wide data. Museums and
universities have created hundreds of data visualizations for the
platform since it first debuted in NOAA facilities, providing
educational opportunities for millions of visitors. However, very
few fully produced, narrated movies have been developed for the
system.