The IMAX Theatre at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science attempts to justify both the spending of taxpayer money and risking the lives of astronauts who attempt to repair an ailing Hubble Telescope. IMAX effectively cements their argument using incredible images projected by Hubble that have never been seen by the human eye. The largest screen and sound system theater in the world cannot help but make the audience feel good and forget about the costs of keeping the colossus telescope alive. IMAX also uses Leonardo Dicaprio, a well known figure, to narrate their argument. Rather than using an anonymous narrator, IMAX felt it would be much more effective to use a popular celebrity. In an attempt to get their message across through another source like the media, NASA uses IMAX to simply blow away their audience to the point that they cannot help but be on board with the progress of the Hubble Telescope. With a struggling economy many Americans are asking if funding the Space Shuttle Program worth our while. After the tragic loss of seven astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia many are asking if the program is safe enough to keep it running. Through the enormous IMAX Theater presentation, NASA will tell you ABSOLUTEY!
The IMAX starts off with images of the Orion Nebula taken by Hubble. Hubble’s amazing images of the Orion Nebula are not ordinary pictures. The advanced lense of the telescope allows the audience to maneuver around the nebula and see the images like they are actually there. You could see the bowl inside the nebula carved out by the vicious 500 mile per hour winds. The audience then gets a close up view of newborn stars, otherwise known as “tadpoles”. Inside each star’s cocoon is an infant solar system. The advanced camera of the telescope shows planets forming around these “baby stars”. The IMAX explains that these three dimensional photos could be the answer to how life began; that right there would justify the tax pay dollars and the risk of our men up above the Earth’s atmosphere. Hubble took 10 years and 10,000 people to be completed. And the IMAX convincingly shows that it would be a mistake to simply let its battery die, only to eventually burn up in Earth’s scorching atmosphere.
Orion’s Nebula was not the only amazing image shown by IMAX. Hubble captures the death of stars, forming a shape resembling a butterfly as it burns out the last of its life. The 119’ X 96’ screen projects the mysterious black hole serving as the garbage disposal of the universe. Hubble even has the ability to measure the temperature of every star through an infrared censor, determining which stars are young and which ones are dying. NASA makes it clear that without the country’s investment in Hubble, none of these discoveries would ever have been possible.
The IMAX show also lets the audience know how truly small our unique planet is with respect to the rest of the universe. It takes you on a journey through our neighboring solar system Andromeda. Other incredible space explorations you take include the Virgo Cluster and Messier87. Hubble even has images of light that crossed Earth’s path billions of years ago. One cannot help but be in awe of what Hubble has done for space exploration.
There is no more affective place to try and get this message across than in an IMAX Theater. Through an almost overwhelming screen and elite sound system, IMAX has the ability to capture the heart and minds of any ordinary person. IMAX also has credibility as they have done documentaries on important issues in the past (ex: the award winning documentary “Dolphin”).
IMAX also legitimizes NASA’s cause using a very popular figure in Leonardo Dicaprio. He is an actor that is on top and in the prime of his career. People love to watch Dicaprio amaze on screen and that is no different with Hubble. Using a low profile narrator does not capture your audience in the same way that a movie star does. Knowing that Dicaprio is narrating the show surely attracts a larger audience.
IMAX’s documentary “Hubble” gives the audience a prospective of how rare and tiny our planet actually is. NASA convinces doubters about the Hubble program through imagery, advanced technology, and a credible speaker. Hubble has the ability to answer questions such as how do planets form, where did we come from, and how do the chemicals that make us form. NASA urges you that space exploration must go on or else we will never answer some of the world’s deepest questions.
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