Beyond the boundary of the Solar System

01/04/2010

New Planetarium Show at ‘Imiloa

Hilo, Hawai‘i – December 26, 2009 – ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center introduces a new planetarium show IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System, premiering Saturday, January 9, 2010. IBEX viewers will discover how the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission was developed and how the spacecraft was created to collect high-speed atoms that are being used to create a map of our solar system’s boundary.

The show is narrated by two inquisitive teenagers, and audiences will hear from the scientists and engineers who developed the IBEX mission and created the spacecraft. Viewers will also get the latest updates on the mission’s discoveries. Show times are 1 pm and 3 pm Tuesday to Sunday.

IBEX’s mission is to create the first maps of the boundary between the reach of our Sun and the rest of the galaxy. The invisible boundary of our solar system is created by the interaction between particles from the Sun that are streaming outward, the solar wind, and material between the stars – the interstellar medium.

Studying this region of space will allow scientists to understand how the solar wind and interstellar medium interact, and to map the overall shape of the “bubble” called the heliosphere, which is the first layer of protection against high-energy cosmic rays. IBEX is also mapping the flow of interstellar neutral gas, which blows like a fast wind through our solar system thereby giving us insight into the state of our cosmic neighborhood.

Why is this important?

“The heliosphere is our home in the galaxy, and understanding how it protects us as we orbit the center of the Milky Way is important as future space travel beyond Earth is planned,” says Shawn Laatsch, planetarium manager.

‘Imiloa Astronomy Center will also offer its signature show, Maunakea: Between Earth and Sky,” daily at 11 a.m, and at 2 p.m. Awesome Light: Discoveries from the Telescopes on Maunakea, a 3D offering. ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays). For more information, visit the Web site at www.imiloahawaii.org or call (808) 969-9700 (for recorded information) or 808-969-9703 if you have further questions.

Media Contact:
Vinnie Recinto
808-969-9714
vrecinto@imiloahawaii.org