About the show

Touching the Edge of the Universe

Touching the Edge of the Universe is a new planetarium show produced in cooperation with 30 planetariums and now on general distribution worldwide. The combination of the planetariums’ experience with astronomical education and target group outreach, combined with ESA’s vast scientific knowledge and communication know-how are taking audiences everywhere on a stunning visual journey into our universe.

Show technology

The University of Applied Sciences at Kiel was selected for the production based on their expertise and creativity in making superb full-dome digital planetarium shows. For Touching the Edge, several techniques were used for the first time in a European planetarium show. Real actors were filmed with a ‘Red-One’ high-resolution digital camera in front of a green screen; after keying the green background, a sophisticated digital environment surrounds the actors - as shown in the sample clip below, which shows one of ESA’s test facilities for Europe’s Mars rover ExoMars. In another scene, Galileo Galilei’s Tuscan villa comes to life as it must have been four hundred years ago.


Extract from the German-language version of ESA’s Touching the Edge

Filming with the Red-One camera required a special set up with 220° fisheye lens, used on location at ESOC, ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (Darmstadt, Germany) - the mission control centre where final preparations for the launch of the Herschel and Planck satellites were completed. Herschel and Planck were lifted into orbit by an Ariane 5 launcher on 14 May 2009 and are now returning some of the best scientific data ever gathered by in-orbit telescopes.
Together with a dolly and camera jib arm, the immersive character of this technique was pushed to its extremes during shooting. The audience ‘feels’ the 3D movements - a little like on a roller coaster.

Scientific and technical fidelity

All satellites depicted in the show, plus the Mars rover and the Ariane launcher, were faithfully modelled in the highest-possible resolution to fully exploit the sharpness of the 4K dome resolution. The Ariane launch is a stunning, orchestrated highlight comprising movement, music and visual effects - including single-particle rendering of the exhaust and always-upright orientation of the rocket, which remains vertical on the planetarium dome.

In addition to the immense work that has gone into the technical details of the production, a major effort has also been made in the story - in its dramaturgy and emotional flow, in the demanding but easy-to-comprehend content, and the overall ‘look and feel’ aimed at a diverse, general-public target group.

Finally, there is also an analogue version for classic planetaria, which has been designed and produced independently but that profits from the production and effects of the digital show.

Interested?

If your planetarium is interested in showing this production, please contact us for further information.