SOLAR MAX
By John Petrakis
Though it sounds like the title of an animated series about an action-adventure
hero who is powered by the rays of the sun ("Look, behind that corona,
it's Solar Max!"), this is in fact the latest Omnimax film to play
at the Museum of Science and Industry. And if you're looking for really
impressive close-ups of an awfully angry star, set to pounding music and
creepy sound effects, "Solarmax" is your ticket to ride.
Of course, what the film really hopes to do during its 45-minute running
length is provide a short history of the sun, spiced up with plenty of
never-before-seen images of the big guy itself, courtesy of high-powered
telescopes and higher-flying satellites.
(As I watched "Solarmax" in all its visual glory, I found myself
thinking back to Frank Capra's benign but famous 1950s educational film
"Meet Mr. Sun," which introduced many baby-boomers to our steamy
neighbor 93 million miles away.)
This film is chock full of information that science guys will love. For
instance, did you know that every 11 years or so, the sun's poles reverse
with a whole lotta shakin' goin' on, which is called a solarmax? That
the sun's interior could hold 1.3 million Earths? Or that energy generated
in the sun's core takes more than a million years to reach its surface?
The film also gives a thumbnail sketch of man's gradual understanding
of the sun's position in the universe, from Aristotle (wrong) and Copernicus
(right), on through Galileo and Newton, all the way to Cluster II, a collection
of spacecraft flying in geometric formation that scientists hope will
discover more about the physical relationship between the Earth and the
sun.
But the big-ticket items here are definitely the full-ceiling shots of
the sun itself, spewing out flames and showing off. And when these take-no-prisoner
images are juxtaposed with aerial shots of famous ancient landmarks, from
Ireland to Mexico, that welcomed the sun's rays as a promise that all
was still right in the world, it makes for a very impressive montage.
I could have used a bit more history and a little less hard science, but
as a family outing to take the (older) kids to, "Solarmax" is
pretty hot stuff.
"Solarmax"
3 stars (out of 4)
source: www.metromix.com