Dynamic Earth: Exploring Earth's Climate Engine

Show Details

11/16/23

• 7:30-8:30 PM (doors open at 7 PM)
• Tickets on sale starting October 20 at Vallitix
• Cost: $8 for adults, $6 for children and seniors + Vallitix handling fee

On Thursday evening, November 16 from 7:30 to 8:30 PM, the William M Thomas Planetarium will show "Dynamic Earth: Exploring Earth's Climate Engine" from the creators of the popular "Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity". Doors will open 30 minutes before the show starts for seating and will be closed during the one-hour program with no late admittance. Tickets are available for $8/adults and $6/seniors and children 5-12 years old from Vallitix only (tickets will NOT be sold at the door) starting October 20. The William M Thomas Planetarium is on the second floor, northwest end of the Math-Science Building, Room 112. The map below shows you where the ticket office and the planetarium are. No food, drink, or gum/candy are allowed in the planetarium. Children must be 5 years or older, though the Dynamic Earth presentation is geared for 7th grade and above. Also see the Online Campus Map for more information on the location of the planetarium, and our Parking Information page.

The one-hour show will begin with a short tour of the evening sky using the planetarium's Goto Chronos star projector followed by the 24-minute all-dome presentation from Denver Museum of Natural Science called "Dynamic Earth: Exploring Earth's Climate Engine" using our Spitz SciDome projector. Dynamic Earth, narrated by Liam Neeson, explores the inner workings of Earth's climate system. With visualizations based on satellite monitoring data and advanced supercomputer simulations, this cutting-edge production follows a trail of energy that flows from the Sun into the interlocking systems that shape our climate: the atmosphere, oceans, and the biosphere. Audiences will ride along on swirling ocean and wind currents, dive into the heart of a monster hurricane, come face-to-face with sharks and gigantic whales, and fly into roiling volcanoes. [A visualization (as opposed to a Hollywood-type movie) uses only real data and computer simulations of real processes, not some artist's imagination.] 

Dynamic Earth integrates the physical and biological sciences in exploring the impact of solar and terrestrial energy sources on the climate. Examinations of the Earth-Sun system, plate tectonics, and the carbon cycle are presented as foundational background to the primary focus of the program: the intricate connection between Earth's energy trails and the environmental systems that shape its climate. Stunning satellite data visualizations, supercomputing simulations, and photorealistic animations are combined to allow the audience unprecedented insights into the inner workings of Earth's dynamic climate system.

Dynamic Earth is the result of a two-year long collaboration between Spitz Creative Media, the Advanced Visualization Lab at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois, NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio, and Thomas Lucas Productions, Inc. Produced in association with the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and NASA Earth Science. See the Dynamic Earth website for several trailers and more information about the show.

Webpage contact: Nick Strobel