Take a trip to galaxies far, far away when Deep Sky opens in IMAX Thursday at the Fleet Science Center’s newly renovated Heikoff Giant Dome Theater.
The highly anticipated documentary brings the images captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to IMAX, offering audiences an opportunity to experience never-before-seen cosmic landscapes, including recently discovered exoplanets, or planets around other stars.
Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn and narrated by Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Williams, the film follows the high-stakes global mission to build the telescope and to launch it into orbit 1 million miles from Earth.
And the scale of Deep Sky may be best experienced on the giant IMAX screen.
“If there ever was a subject tailor-made for IMAX screens, this is it,” Kahn said. “The IMAX format allows you to appreciate the astonishing resolution of NASA’s new telescope and to immerse yourself in cosmic landscapes that leave you filled with awe.”
Deep Sky also goes behind the scenes, capturing the telescope’s construction, launch and the release of the first full-color images on July 12, 2022, seen by billions around the world.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the beauty and magnitude of space,” Williams said. “I’m excited to work with Nathaniel and IMAX to tell the story of the captivating images taken by this new telescope.”
The film is written, produced and directed by Kahn, produced by Bonnie Hlinomaz and executive produced by John Turner, Matt Mountain, Sandra Evers-Manly and Gerry Ohrstrom. It has a run time of 40 minutes.
Screenings begin Thursday and continue daily at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. IMAX movies at the Fleet cost $20, in addition to admission to the center.
The project, co-financed by IMAX, included grant funding by the Northrop Grumman Foundation. NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute also assisted in the making of the film.
Note: Inset photo, scene from trailer for “Deep Sky,” a look at the James Webb Space Telescope (Screen shot, via YouTube).