Stardome predicts sun these school holidays

27th August, 2008

Stardome Observatory - Media Release

Stardome predicts sun these school holidays

School children will get the chance to see the Sun close up these holidays with footage from international satellites and telescopes, brought to New Zealand by Auckland’s Stardome Observatory.

Heart of the Sun is being shown in the Stardome’s full dome digital theatre with spectacular footage and stills from the Yohkoh Satellite, SOHO Space Telescope and TRACE spacecraft.

Incredible scenes have been captured including the wave-like movement of the Sun’s corona, which is magnified by the 360° projection field of the Stardome theatre.

The film’s commentary reveals the Sun’s enormous power with mind-boggling facts, including a description of the sun as “a ball of plasma big enough to swallow a million earths, churning out the energy of 80 billion hydrogen bombs every second”.

“Heart of the Sun shows how ancient cultures used to talk about the sun as the ‘engine of life’ and everything modern science revealing about the Sun now serves to make it even more impressive,” says Stardome astronomy educator Dylan Storey.

The Stardome will run three sessions daily throughout the holidays with an astronomy educator on hand to answer questions. Children who attend the Heart of the Sun will also be invited into the Stardome’s Space Room to create a piece of sun art.

Since opening the full dome digital theatre last year, the Stardome has secured a series of films never before seen in New Zealand. Evening screenings for September include New Horizons, a look at life on other planets, The Sky Tonight, and Heart of the Sun.

School holiday session details:

Sessions include a screening of Heart of the Sun and a visit to the Space Room to create a piece of sun-art.

Dates: 29 Sept – 03 Oct and 06 Oct – 10 Oct
Times: 10.00am – 11.30am 12.00pm – 1.30pm 2.00pm – 3.30pm
Price: $15 each or - Groups of (20+) $10 per person
For bookings please phone 09 624 1246,

Visit www.stardome.org.nz for more information about all Stardome screenings.

ENDS

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