SOLAR MAX

brightens Reno screen
Reno Gazette-Journal
Tuesday September 12th, 2000

Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center is launching “Solarmax,” a new large-format film about the sun and its violent eruptions.

Reno audiences will be the first in North America to see the 43-minute film says Art Johnson, director of the UNR planetarium. The film opens Friday in Chicago.

Every 11 years, the sun’s poles reverse with incredible violence; the peak of the storm is called a solarmax. For the first time, audiences will be able to look directly at the sun and see it through the large-format camera.

The film is a breathtaking giant-screen adventure that explores the human quest through time for knowledge about the awesome vastness and mysterious power of the closest star.

When Australian director John Weiley and his crew began developing “Solarmax,” they received access and cooperation from NASA and the European Space Agency.

The team collected data for 28 days, a full solar revolution, to create the images. Crews also traveled to Peru, Aruba, England, Norway, Poland, Antarctica, Greenland, Australia, Spain and Japan while exploring the sun.

“Solarmax,” which had its premiere last month in London, opens today in a double bill with “Starflight: A Journey through the Universe.” Starting times are 2:30 and 7 p.m. weekdays and 1, 2:30, 4 and 7 p.m.

Saturdays and Sundays. “Starflight” is first on the bill, followed by “Solarmax,” with a total running time of about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

source: www.rgj.com