Show Poster
Produced by
Producer logoMelbourne Planetarium
Scienceworks, Museum of Victoria

Starlight

Uncover the mysteries of the stars!

The best stories come from the heart, especially when they're about the stars! Enjoy this personal story about the stars... and starlight... and what they teach us about the universe, told by a woman who got her love of the sky from her father.

movie frameFor thousands of years we have looked to the stars at night in wonder and awe. Their mysteries have inspired curiosity across all cultures and civilizations.

Narrated by multi-award winning Australian actress Sigrid Thornton, Starlight is a story of stars, starlight, and cosmic exploration. Her character Margaret grows up to share the skies with her children and grandchildren. We see the skies through her eyes as she steps back in time to relive childhood fears of the dark that awoke her curiosity about the night sky.

movie frame Join Margaret as she takes you on an out-of-this-world journey to discover constellations and ancient cultures, the births and deaths of stars, and the innermost workings of our Sun.

Starlight features stunning fulldome visualizations of stars and other cosmic objects. As Margaret teaches us about the stars, we drift through a stellar nursery, a rich gaseous nebula collapsing into stars. We experience the process of nuclear fusion at the hearts of stars, and witness the full fury of a supernova explosion.

movie frameFrom scenes inside Margaret's childhood home to stylish and artistic reproductions of the Sun and stars, we learn how elements form, and get rich views of the most distant galaxies. Starlight enchants all the senses as audiences explore the innermost secrets of the stars and humanity's relationship to them.

Originally produced with Southern Hemisphere skies, this new version features Northern Hemisphere constellations, including Ursa Major and its asterism the Big Dipper. It also points out Polaris, Sirius, and Supernova 1993J in galaxy M81. It discusses Christiaan Huygens's first attempts to study starlight and determine distances in space. It also introduces the concept of spectroscopy, using the rainbows of colors that appear when we send sunlight through prisms.

movie frameSigrid Thornton is one of Australia's best-known actors, with credits in more than 60 movies and TV shows. She has won many awards for her work on both stage and screen, and her performance enhances the storytelling at the heart of Starlight.

Loch Ness Productions is pleased to make this lovely and approachable show available to you and your audiences. Let Margaret and the Melbourne Planetarium take you on a touching and personal journey to the stars — and back.

GENRE icon

Running time: 27:00
Suitable for: Youth, General Public
Information about: Stars, starlight, spectra, Sun, supernovae
Year of production: 2015

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