BellaOnline Forums Education Astronomy Hidden Universe 3D

Hidden things intrigue, fire the imagination, and move us to uncover them. In "Hidden Universe 3D" you can see what powerful technology has made visible. And you can see it in 3D on a giant screen. A wonderful experience.

Hidden Universe 3D – film

The film doesn't say where the images of the Sun came from for the sequence showing our star. But as I'd guessed, the educational material says that they came from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. The SDO monitors our star in ten different wavelengths. It also sends IMAX-quality images back every ten seconds.

The Very Large Telescope is located on top of a mountain in Chile's Atacama Desert, one of the highest and driest places on Earth. In this picture, you can see the Milky Way in all its glory. It also shows one of the telescopes using the laser which is part of the adaptive optics system. This system combats the effects on the image of air turbulence. It provides a focus for the optics which are computer-controlled to keep changing the shape of the mirror in order to keep the image steady.

Hidden Universe shows the award-winning Residencia at the VLT which houses telescope staff and visiting astronomers. It was also a location for the James Bond film Quantum of Solace.The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has a video showing off the Residencia and its James Bond connection.

BTW there were no explosions on the site - there was also a mock-up of the Residencia in the London studios for that. I'm also not sure how much actual running around was done at the Paranal location, which is pretty high and dry.

Hidden Universe is was made by Swinburne Astronomy Productions. I've just heard that it's the 6th highest grossing Australian documentary of all time. It was through Swinburne University of Technology that I earned my MSc in astronomy, so I'm delighted at this success.

If anybody in Melbourne is reading, the film has returned to the Melbourne IMAX. I can also affirm that it's playing in the Science Museum in London. If you have an nearby IMAX near you, it's worth checking it out.

Good afternoon Mona,

I read your article which was fab! I was wondering when this film was released (and where) and if it's being shown on TV etc yet.

Allyson, the film was first released in 2013. It's been showing in IMAX theaters since then, and science centers and planetariums. But there is also a blu-ray version and apparently can be streamed from some providers. But it's 3D, so I don't know how that works.

Okay Mona,

Thanks for all of that information. My husbands really good at streaming! LOL...our cable provider has known him well! lol...I said HAS!

There are ways around everything in life! Don't you agree my lovely British friend! (giggling)