Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Mar 1, 2007 19:25:07 GMT -6
Into the Heart of Black Holes - New Adler Show
A new film at the Adler Planetarium opening today takes you on a virtual ride through our violent and ever-changing universe while getting up close and personal with one of its most complex components.
Narrated by actor Liam Neeson, Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity whirs you past supernova, around gamma ray bursts and through wormholes -- all via supercomputing technology, of course. The most powerful computers in the world were used to generate models of actual black holes. Some of the segments required 90 hours of supercomputer calculation for each second on the screen.
The film is presented in the planetarium's all-digital StarRider Theater.
As we travel the universe, we quickly learn that the instigator for most things cosmic is gravity. Not only can the invisible force cause an apple to fall on your head when you're resting under a tree, it can be powerful enough to warp the very fabric of the universe.
We also learn that behind every black hole is a supernova, an exploded or exploding star. Supernova are called super for a reason. They are about 25 times the mass of the sun. When they burst, outer parts stream away at a high speed. But the core collapses inward, compressing so much that it becomes a black hole.
What exactly is a black hole? It's a bottomless pit from which escape is impossible - unless, of course, you can figure out a way to travel faster than the speed of light, because that's how fast you'd have to go to get out.
Not to worry. Black holes are not like potholes - you'd have to travel great distances over long periods of time via rocket-propelled machinery to encounter one.
Astronomers estimate there are tens of millions of black holes.
In addition to illustrating how they are formed, the 20-minute film shows what it might be like to reach the event horizon - the point of no return.
The film also tells us how it is we know all this, seeing as how no one's ever actually seen a supernova or black hole firsthand.
Thanks to Einstein's genius, data picked up by the Swift telescope, which can detect telltale gamma ray bursts that erupt when a black hole is formed, scientists can plug information into supercomputers and provide even the most down-to-earth visitors with a bird's-eye look at infinity.
Source: www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/entertainment/276154,2_5_AU01_ADLER_S1-182.article