STScI: Visualizations of the Universe Form Heart of New “Deep Field” Film
This visualization of a spectacular spiral galaxy, called the Whirlpool Galaxy, appears in the “Deep Field” film. Based on a 90-megapixel image from the Hubble Space Telescope, the visualization sequence sweeps viewers past the swirling structure of dark dust lanes, yellowish older stars, bluish younger stars, and vibrant red star-forming regions. Credit: NASA, ESA, and F. Summers, J. DePasquale, and D. Player (STScI)
On Friday, November 16, a unique film and musical experience, inspired by the Hubble Space Telescope’s iconic Deep Field image, premiered at the Kennedy Space Center. The film, titled Deep Field: The Impossible Magnitude of our Universe, features a variety of Hubble’s stunning imagery and includes 11 computer-generated visualizations of far-flung galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters developed by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), in Baltimore, Maryland. Those visualizations not only depict the awesome beauty of the universe, but also express the three-dimensional nature of celestial objects.
Deep Field is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between Grammy award-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre, producers Music Productions, multi award-winning artists 59 Productions, and STScI.
The film paints the incredible story of the Hubble Deep Field, an extraordinary portrait of the universe revealed by Hubble when it was pointed at a tiny and completely dark patch of sky for a total exposure time of about six days. What it revealed was an image that contained over 3,000 galaxies scattered across space and time.
The film’s symphonic score is augmented by an epic, fifth iteration of Whitacre’s ground-breaking Virtual Choir (VC5). VC5: Deep Field invited singers from around the world to submit their performances of Deep Field, to be heard at the climax of the piece. Over 8,000 voices from 120 countries, aged 4 – 87, are seen and heard in this global choir.