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November 30, 2006
NASA's
"Footprints" Movie Walks to U.S. Museum Theatres
Imagine
looking at thunderstorms on your
television meteorologist's radar screen as they sweep through your home
state.
Now imagine what they'd look like if you were in orbit around the
Earth,
looking down from space. That's how NASA's new movie "Footprints"
lets you look at all kinds of things on Earth and on other planets.
What's
really cool about NASA's
"Footprints" movie is that it shows things like hurricanes, how
satellites collect data from space, changing ocean temperatures, a
close-up of
Earth's moon and other planets—all projected on a spherical
screen hanging from
a ceiling in museum theatres.
It's like sitting in a spaceship and watching the changes happening on
Earth or
on other planets right underneath you, as the sphere that the movie is
played
on is in the middle of the theatre, surrounded by chairs.
"Footprints" is currently being shown at the NASA Goddard Visitor's
Center in Greenbelt, Md. and will be released nationwide on December 7
in the
cities of Norfolk and Harrisonburg Va., St. Paul, Minn., Honolulu and
Hilo,
Hawaii, San Jose, Calif., Baltimore, Md., and Alpena, Mich.
This film was created at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, Md.
Using an advanced media projection technology called "Science On a
Sphere" developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
(NOAA), "Footprints" is the first fully produced film of its kind.
While
watching the movie, viewers will see
satellite data and other visual effects projected on a globe. During
scenes
when nighttime falls on the face of the Earth viewers will see city
lights
around the world come to life. In another scene a hurricane will be
born and
race across the Atlantic making landfall in the U.S.
Other moons and planets make exciting cameos too, with special
presentations
about Earth’s moon and Mars.
During this16 minute film, viewers will get an understanding of what
scientists
at NASA and NOAA study and what motivates them to explore. The film is
narrated, and scored with a sleek soundtrack; audiences can connect
with the
movie’s content and well as get swept up in the drama and
excitement of
humanity’s drive to explore.
NOAA
invented and developed the sphere within
the past few years. Dr. Alexander MacDonald, a NOAA scientist at the
Earth
System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo.
originally conceived of
Science on a Sphere. He said it’s intended to present global
science as it
should be presented and to get students interested in learning more
about the
Earth’s environment and the solar system. NOAA originally
used the system for
projecting satellite data so scientists and educators could get a true
picture
of how Earth's atmosphere and oceans were changing. When Michael
Starobin, a
Senior Television Producer at NASA Goddard, learned of the Science on a
Sphere,
he had an idea. That idea was to create a movie built largely of real
satellite
data with the intention of telling a compelling story about Earth and
space
exploration.
“It hadn’t been done before,” said
Starobin, “so no one really knew how high
the mountain was we had to climb. But it turns out that the view from
the top
is spectacular.” Starobin and his team delivered not only a
first-of-its-kind
feature, but also a new set of tools and rules for making more features
down
the road.
Now, for those fortunate enough to live in the cities where
"Footprints" is going to be shown, they can actually see the Earth
and planets just as if they were astronauts.
For
more information and images, please visit on the Web:
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/technologies/footprints.html
For
more information about
"Footprints", Science on a Sphere, and a listing of museums
presenting this exhibit visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/visitor/exhibits/footprints.html
##
Contact:
Rob Gutro
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
301-286-4044
Robert.J.Gutro@nasa.gov
This text is
derived from:
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/technologies/footprints.html
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