LOCH NESS PRODUCTIONS BLOG

A Crater in Noctis Labyrinthus

You’ve probably heard about the Uwingu.com project to name craters on their Mars Map. It’s a unique fundraiser to support science research and education through the sales of crater names on the Uwingu Mars Map.

Today, Uwingu and Mars One, the private effort to send people to Mars within the decade, announced that the Mars One missions will add the Uwingu Mars Map to its mission toolkit. This is an important step in mission planning and also provides huge public access to what will likely be an amazing exploration of Mars. The public response so far has been phenomenal, tapping what I suspect has been a deep well of interest in the Red Planet and space exploration. People are touched by the idea that they can suggest a place name on the Uwingu Mars Map.

TheSpacewriter’s crater on the Uwingu Mars map.

We here at Loch Ness Productions are long-time supporters of missions to Mars. We based one of our most popular fulldome shows, called Marsquest, on the exploration of the Red Planet. That show featured original music by Mark C. Petersen, who composes under the name Geodesium.  I wrote the show, and as a science writer for hire, I’ve written about Mars and its exploration many times over the years in articles, exhibits, and books. You can read more of my science writing at TheSpacewriter.com

Geodesium’s crater on the Uwingu Mars map.

So, Mars fans that we are, once we heard about Uwingu Mars Map project, we checked it out. I talked at great length with the project CEO (Alan Stern, an old graduate school colleague of mine), and he made it very clear that Uwingu is selling the opportunity to put a name on a map. He also was very clear that the money raised is intended to support underfunded science research and science education. We thought about it for a while, finding that this method of raising money is not terribly different from planetariums selling the chance to name stars on their domes as fundraisers. Or seats in their theaters. Or bricks in their walkways.

So, over the weekend, we named a pair of craters on the Uwingu Mars Map. It’s our (small) way of helping get much-needed funding to scientific and educational research threatened by budget cuts.

We’re pleased to show off our certificates here, for two craters in the famous Noctis Labyrinthus—the Martian Labyrinth of the Night. It’s an appropriate place: we’re both stargazers, our craters are close together, and they continue our long and abiding interest in all things Red Planet!

Why Name Things Ahead of Time?

Uwingu is providing a needed service to the Mars exploration community that people don’t really think too much about. Consider this: a complex mission to another planet is going to require place names for navigation and mission control. By populating a much-needed Mars atlas with names suggested by the public, the project serves mission interests and engages people around the world in the audacious task of exploring the Red Planet. That’s the kind of synergy that gets big projects done! I’ve written more about this synergy on TheSpacewriter’s Ramblings, so go there for a more in-depth analysis.

The IMERSA Summit is about two weeks away, and we at Loch Ness Productions are pleased to be sponsors of the event. We are founding members of the organization, and I’m working on the local organizing committee.

There are many good panel discussions, “best practices” presentations, fulldome videos (including one of ours called Losing the Dark), and a host of other events of interest to fulldomers. Mark will be participating in several sessions, while I’m hosting several producer presentations and a Clips session in the Gates dome at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Opening night at Fiske Planetarium. Courtesy Matthew Benjamin.

Of particular interest to us is Fiske Night. It happens on Sunday, March 9th and features a visit to Fiske Planetarium on the University of Colorado campus. It’s a great opportunity to see what 8K fulldome systems can do. This newly renovated facility features a Sky-Skan Definiti 8K fulldome system and a Megastar planetarium instrument that projects 22 million stars on the dome. The Megastar replaced the facility’s venerable Zeiss Mark VI star projector installed in 1976, now a featured exhibit in the planetarium’s lobby. Together, the Definiti 8K and Megastar systems provide a universe of content and flexible teaching choices for the university planetarium.

We’re pleased to be co-sponsors of Fiske Night, along with our colleagues at Electrosonic and Laser Fantasy. For us, it’s like going home. Back in the 1970s, we got our start at Fiske and learned how to work with the dome medium from some pretty incredible people. Much to the delight of our families and friends, we got married under the Fiske dome in 1978. I worked there as a producer and educational coordinator in the late 1980s before heading back to graduate school at CU.

We’re pretty excited that IMERSA attendees will have a chance to visit Fiske and see what a state-of-the-art theater it is. It began its life with some of the latest technology available at the time, and it’s great to see it continue that tradition. If you’re coming to IMERSA, don’t miss out on Fiske Night!

Loch Ness Productions is pleased to announce the installation of an Evans & Sutherland Digistar 5 Workstation in its Colorado studios as part of a cooperative agreement between the two companies. “It’s an agreement with its eyes on the future,” said Carolyn Collins Petersen, CEO of Loch Ness Productions. “We plan to use the powerful new Digistar 5 for visualization in our upcoming productions, starting with a new Hubble show. Digistar 5 will be used to create starfields and other space scenes for it.”

In addition to fulldome productions, the company also plans to use the system to produce non-fulldome astronomy and space science outreach projects for online and other venues.

According to Loch Ness Productions president Mark C. Petersen, getting a Digistar system has been on the company’s list for several years. “After attending the Digistar 5 demonstration at the 2012 International Planetarium Society conference, I was impressed with what Digistar could add to our production toolbox,” he said. “When I saw its real-time volumetric rendering capabilities, and fly-arounds of 3D models of Hubble Space Telescope objects included in the system, I immediately saw how useful it would be for the work we do.”

That experience laid the groundwork for the Digistar 5 system acquisition. As part of the agreement between the two companies, Loch Ness Productions will provide scripting services to E&S for an upcoming show and collaborate on other projects. “This benefits both companies,” said Carolyn. “We get to add a new system to our show production capabilities, while at the same time providing E&S with valuable services.”

Loch Ness Productions has a history of working on cooperative projects with E&S. “It goes back more than three decades,” said Mark. “We saw the prototype Digistar projector on the workbench, years before the first installation in the early 1980s. I created original music for Digistar and Digistar II demo soundtracks, and Carolyn wrote their fulldome show Universe. We work hard to get along well with all the hardware vendors in our field, through show productions, distribution and other collaborative arrangements. This agreement continues that tradition with a great company we’ve known for many years.”

About Evans & Sutherland

Evans & Sutherland in conjunction with its wholly owned subsidiary, Spitz Inc., creates innovative digital planetarium systems and cutting-edge, fulldome show content. E&S has developed Digistar 5, the world’s leading digital planetarium with fulldome video playback, real-time computer graphics, and a complete 3D digital astronomy package fully integrated into a single theater system. This technology allows audiences to be immersed in full-color, 3D computer-generated interactive worlds. As a full-service system provider, E&S also offers Spitz domes, SciDome, hybrid planetarium systems including Goto optical mechanical projectors integrated with Digistar 5 and a full range of theater systems from audio and lighting to theater automation. E&S markets include planetariums, science centers, themed attraction venues, and premium large-format theaters. E&S products have been installed in over 1,300 theaters worldwide. For more information about E&S systems and content, contact Michael Daut (mdaut@es.com), Director of Show Production / Marketing, Evans & Sutherland Digital Theater (+1-801-588-1627).

E&S and Digistar are registered trademarks of Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation.