Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/14320
Scientific Visualization n n n n it really ends up doing, if you do it right, is raise the quality of your projects by giving you more options. We can render more quickly and reliably, and give the production team the ability to make more informed decisions. It doesn’t really save us time, but brings up the overall quality of the work by allowing us to iterate more effectively.” Over the years, the Hayden Planetarium has explored the outer reaches of the universe, enabling visitors to experience the cosmos like never before as a result of the efforts of scien- tists here on Earth. Indeed, thanks to advanc- es in observing and computing technologies, astrophysics has entered a phase of tremen- dous discovery and expansion during the past 10 years alone. To that end, mathematical and visual models of the universe and its physi- cal processes, like those featured in the space shows, now are made from enormous obser- vational and theoretical sets of data, which can be manipulated to get results in weeks Galactic Gazing Since the dawn of time, humans have been captivated by the wonders of the night sky. In the early days, people would gaze upward at the sight of twinkling dots of light, taken by the maj- esty but unable to comprehend the magnitude of the scene. More recently, planetariums were built to assist us in celestial navigation and comprehension. Statistics claim there is one planetarium in the US for every 100,000 citizens. But then again, what some call a “planetar- ium” can hardly be compared to the state-of-the-art theaters springing up in the US and around the world. During the last few years, the Hayden and Gates Planetariums began re- placing older hardware with next-gen supercomputer-based digital equipment, and in the process, are able to offer visitors experiences like no other. Among the facilities that have undergone this type of digi- tal makeover is the Morrison Planetarium in San Francisco, which closed its doors in 2003 at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, and reopened them two years ago following a $20 million renovation. In fact, the Morrison was only part of a renovation proj- ect that unified the Academy’s three public attractions—the Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium, and Kimball Natu- ral History Museum—under a 2.5-acre undulating green roof. The new facility is one of the most environmentally friendly museums on the planet. In a unique setup, the planetarium dome is cantilevered out over the aquarium’s Philippine Coral Reef tank. Today, the Morrison facility is one of the largest all-digital planetariums in the world. The screen is a 75-foot-diameter dome (tilted 30 degrees) within a 90-foot-diameter shell. At one time, the Morrison Planetarium’s custom-made star projector opened the universe to area stargazers. Now, six high-resolution F30 sx+ DLP projectors from Projection Design fulfill that task. They project imagery at 1400 x 1050 resolution (though are capable of projecting at 1920 x 1200) onto a state-of-the-art dome from Spitz. The dome panels fit together seamlessly—without any visible seams. (Plans are under way, too, at Morrison Planetarium to eventually migrate to 4K projectors.) Custom-designed, optical-blending tech- nology melds the six streamed slices of data into one very large, uniform image. Similar to the Hayden and Gates Planetariums, the Mor- rison astronomers are able to take audiences on real-time guided tours of the universe, play pre-rendered shows, and even generate their own content for unique shows that are produced in-house. Behind the scenes, back-end server clusters are respon- sible for the planetarium’s stellar operations. The first is a six- channel Definiti graphics cluster from Sky-Skan that feeds content into the system. The second cluster runs the Sciss Uniview software for scripting and recording presentations, and playing them back in real time. Both work alongside a Global Immersion server rack as data visualization platforms for flying through the universe. That system comprises HP xw8600 workstations equipped with dual-core Xeons and Nvidia Quadro FX 5600 cards. Like all new planetariums, the dome has been designed for a diverse range of uses and audiences for today and tomor- row, and will be used by scientists to broadcast live NASA feeds related to content from missions, as well as eclipses and other events. In addition, it will be used to connect visi- tors to Academy research expeditions around the world. Currently, the planetarium is showing Journey to the Stars, developed by the American Museum of Natural History in New York. In addition, it is showing Fragile Planet, the Acad- emy’s inaugural planetarium show produced in-house, which takes viewers on an adventure through space. —KM July 2010 43 and months, rather than years or centuries. So, the next time you look up at the night sky and see a falling star, go ahead and make a wish. But this time, you may want to wish for further advances in and commoditiza- tion of visualization, as it can make many dreams—particularly those of scientists and researchers—come true. n Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor for Computer Graphics World. Image © AMNH.