Chasing Polymele’s Shadow
Join us as we travel with the Lucy Occultation project where citizen scientists play a crucial role for NASA’s LUCY mission.
On February 3, 2023, over 100 telescopes across two continents were deployed to observe the Trojan asteroid Polymele and its satellite during an occultation. Learn about occultations which occur when an object, like an asteroid, passes in front of a star, momentarily blocking its light and sending a shadow towards Earth’s telescopes.
Ring of Fire Eclipse
On October 14, 2023, individuals and communities across North America will have the chance to see an annular solar eclipse. This type of eclipse is commonly referred to as a “ring of fire” eclipse and is different from a “total” solar eclipse. This video outlines the differences between the two, discusses best practices for viewing the eclipse, and prepares audience members to have an amazing experience on eclipse day!
Total Eclipse of the Sun
A total solar eclipse is one of nature’s most incredible events. On April 8th, 2024, observers across North America will have the opportunity to experience this phenomenon. This video will teach audience members what to expect on eclipse day, how to safely view the eclipse, and why it will be worth it to travel to the path of totality!
What Causes Eclipses?
What is an eclipse? Why do they happen? This edition of Science Through Shadows will dive into the mechanisms that cause an eclipse, address common misconceptions surrounding eclipses, and shed light on the differences between types of eclipses.
Cosmic Mashups
Supermassive black holes are found in most galaxies and we're beginning to uncover how the merging of galaxies activate galactic centers. This engaging fulldome film was produced by Fiske Planetarium in collaboration with CU Boulder APS Professor, Dr. Julie Comerford and former graduate student Dr. Becky Nevin through support from an NSF award.
Available in 1K, 2K, and 4K. Run time: 25 minutes
Worlds of Curiosity
Fulldome Films
5000 Eyes: Mapping the Universe with DESI
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is creating the most detailed map of our nearby universe. Installed on the Mayall telescope on Kitt Peak in Southern Arizona, DESI's 5000 independently operated robots can measure the light from millions of galaxies at once. Join us as we explore the science, instrument, and people behind this global endeavor.
Climate Change in Our Backyard: VR Experience
As we develop a much larger picture about our Earth as a whole, we are coming to see it as a complex, interconnected, remarkable world, and one that humans have impacted directly. Explore the role of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, the natural temperature variations that the Earth has experienced over millions of years, and how humans are affecting our planet today.
Cosmic Mashups
Supermassive black holes are found in most galaxies and we're beginning to uncover how the merging of galaxies activate galactic centers. This engaging fulldome film was produced by Fiske Planetarium in collaboration with CU Boulder APS Professor, Dr. Julie Comerford and former graduate student Dr. Becky Nevin through support from an NSF award.
Available in 1K, 2K, and 4K
Run time: 25 minutes
Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph instrument aboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) helps us understand what the universe was like billions of years ago and how it has changed over time. By following the path taken by light from a quasar, this film journeys across the cosmic web, touching on concepts such as spectra, formation of the elements, the electromagnetic spectrum, the distribution of gas around galaxies, and many of HST's showcase images.
Drifting North: Into the Polar Night
Step out onto an ice floe in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, and watch and listen as scientists race the fading light to set up one of the most ambitious international climate collaborations ever, MOSAiC. The Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate launched in September 2019. Led by the German Alfred Wegener Institute, the mission froze an icebreaker into the Central Arctic Ocean, to better understand the remote region and the role it plays in global climate and weather patterns.
Available in a VR Experience too!
Drifting North: The Arctic Pulse
Follow an international team of scientists from over twenty countries who embark on an epic year-long expedition to the Central Arctic, MOSAiC. The Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) team froze the German Icebreaker R/V Polarstern into the sea ice for a year. For a year, the team drifts with an ice floe and strives to understand the Arctic climate system and its future.
The 360-degree planetarium dome show is the first planetarium feature film that captures the entire year of the central Arctic climate, transcending the Arctic’s Polar Night and Day, and the experiences of the MOSAiC team as they face one of the most extreme and unique regions on our planet.
Forward! To the Moon
Kari Byron from MythBusters and Crash Test World launches us on a journey beyond the Earth towards a sustainable future in space.
NASA’s 21st century Artemis program, named after the Greek moon Goddess and twin of Apollo, is the next step in our mission to explore the universe and land the first woman and person of color on the surface of the Moon. Produced by Fiske Planetarium in collaboration with TEND Studio.
Max Goes to the Moon
Max (the dog) and a young girl named Tori take the first trip to the Moon since the Apollo era. Along the way, the story sets the stage for the more sophisticated science of the “Big Kid Box” sidebars, which cover topics including “Phases of the Moon,” “Wings in Space?,” and “Frisbees and Curve Balls on the Moon” — all thoughtfully explained so that grownups and children can learn together about science. Toward the end, Max and Tori’s trip proves so inspiring to people back on Earth that all the nations of the world come together to build a great Moon colony from which “the beautiful views of Earth from the Moon made everyone realize that we all share a small and precious planet.”
Worlds of Curiosity
Worlds of Curiosity dives into the questions of "What it would be like to live on an Earth with no Moon?" or "What if the Earth was tilted on its side (like Uranus)?" Join Mateo and Dr. Alicia Woods as they explore how our lives would be different on these Earths, talk about other hypothetical planets that could exist, and marvel at the even stranger worlds that astronomers have discovered beyond our solar system.
1K, 2K, 4K, and 1080p
Run time: 15 minutes
NASA Explorations Series - short films
Ep 1 - Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment
NASA satellites measure the changing levels of groundwater. Educator guide
Ep 2 - Big Science, Small Packages
A new wave of tiny, inexpensive satellites conducts amazing science. Educator guide
Ep 3 - MU69
New Horizons tells us about Pluto and sets its sight on a new target. Educator guide
Ep 4 - Parker Solar Probe
Humans have sent a spacecraft into the Sun’s atmosphere to study the corona and solar wind. Educator guide
Ep 5 - Rocks from the Moon
Join us as we explore the legacy of NASA's Apollo Lunar Missions: Rocks from the Moon. Educator guide
Ep 6 - The Dawn of Orion
The Orion spacecraft follows in Apollo’s footsteps, but with technology upgrades that will allow it to support up to six crew members for three weeks. Educator Guide
Ep 7 - TESS Discovering Distant Worlds
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite - Join us as we investigate how researchers are discovering thousands of new worlds throughout our galaxy, using the faintest of signals. Educator Guide
Ep 8 - SOFIA: Learning From the Invisible
By looking at the universe in infrared light, astronomers are able to see objects that are otherwise invisible. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a modified Boeing 747 designed to carry an infrared telescope high above the surface to fly above the water vapor low in the Earth's atmosphere. Educator Guide
Trailers and Extras
Forward! To the Moon
NASA’s 21st century program to take humans forward to the Moon is called Artemis, after the Greek moon Goddess and twin of Apollo. Artemis is not an end in itself, but just the first step towards a sustainable future in space.
Fiske Planetarium and NASA will premiere a full length fulldome film about this grand venture in late 2021.
The fulldome and VR version of the 5-minute preview are available now.
MOSAiC - Drifting North
More than two dozen scientists, engineers, educators, and others from the University of Colorado Boulder and NOAA will join scientists from sixteen other nations for the international Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) mission in 2019-2020.
Follow the journey!
Moon Dome
Transform your dome into an 8K moon phase.
MUSCLES
How can we use the light from distant stars to search for potentially habitable exoplanets? In this short film, we explore how researchers are using the Hubble Space Telescope's Measurements of the Ultraviolet Spectral Characteristics of Low-mass Exoplanetary Systems (MUSCLES) Survey to study properties of red dwarf stars and how their intense x-ray and ultraviolet flares may affect the chemistry of planets' atmospheres. Differentiating the stars that may lead to false positive detections of biomarkers will help future space telescopes such as the James Webb Telescope to know which stars are more promising to search for habitable worlds.