“I finally got my kids excited about what I’m doing.”
Michael Massimino – Repair Astronaut for the Hubble Space Telescope – talking about the Hubble 3D trailer that was shown before his screening of Avatar.

Let me get this out of the way, Hubble 3D was a better Imax 3D experience than Avatar (even though I loved it). And it has Leonardo DiCaprio narrating to boot. But with a name like Hubble 3D I feel this will deter the non-geeky folks from seeing this. But that’s why I’m here to tell you that you’ll love this experience. It’s time to bring back the love of astronomy to the mainstream and with Hubble 3D, it takes you even further than you’ve ever witnessed into the deepest parts of the universe, making me wish that there is a Tatooine or Vulcan planet out there.

The film covers the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), a telescope that can magnify the deepest parts of space. It was launched in 1990 and helped astronomers get a better understanding of the known universe. The majority of the film takes place in 2009 where the brave astronauts of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, including Michael Massimino, go on the Hubble’s last scheduled repair mission. This mission also includes an upgrade for the camera that allows a larger field of view and the ability to see through radiation. Joygasm!

On Imax 3D, I felt like I was really in space, traversing through the different star systems. Since this was made for Imax, it actually filled up the whole screen and filled up my whole field of vision. “My perception of Earth changed and we’re not this protective place that I thought we were,” said Michael Massimino at the Q&A.

The last time I studied astronomy was in grade school, so to see these new galaxies and different kinds of stars was out of this world. There was a newly-born solar system with a baby star that looked like it was devouring all the planets around it with a whirlpool of clouds. Another was a cluster of stars competing for space, creating a ripple effect around the galaxy. The coolest most breathtaking visual was the nebula (space clouds) that was so huge that it contained many stars inside it. Imagine tiny flocks of birds flying over the Earth’s clouds in the night sky.

The astronauts’ journey was also a very dangerous and delicate process. To repair the HST, the astronauts had to have steadier hands than a cardiac surgeon. One mistake can cost millions and the amount of care they took to prevent space debris means everything needs to be tied and secured.

This is a great documentary adventure to take your friends and family. Make a date on March 19^th and check out Hubble 3D at your local Imax screenings. So the question remains, is there life on other planets?

Grade: A+

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