Planets and Moons ID: 10477

LARGEST: A Spherical Movie About Jupiter

Released on September 4, 2009

NASA's home for spherical films on Magic Planet. Download the Magic Planet-ready movie file here.

Three hundred and eighty million miles from Earth, the solar system's largest planet spins like a sizzling top in the night, massive and powerful beyond all comparison short of the sun itself. It's therefore only fitting—and certainly about time—that the fifth planet receive its proper cinematic due, set naturally on the most appropriate cinematic platform. With the movie LARGEST, Jupiter comes to Science On a Sphere.

LARGEST examines the gas giant like a work of art, like a destination of celestial wonder. Starting with the basics, the movie examines the gross anatomy of the immense planet. From swirling winds to astounding rotational velocity to unimaginable size, Jupiter demands nothing less than a list of superlatives. But where general description sets the stage, LARGEST parts the curtains on humanity's experience with the fifth planet. The movie takes us on a journey to this immense sphere via dramatic fly-bys with some of the most astounding robotic probes ever designed. Then, with NASA instruments trained on the striped behemoth, the drama really begins.

NASA released LARGEST on September 15, 2009. It is one in a series of spherical movies created entirely by staff at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. But while the process to create a fully spherical movie is something of an in-house Goddard creation, the Science On a Sphere projection system itself is an invention of the space agency's sibling NOAA.

This film has been prepared exclusively for playback on spherical projections systems. It will not play properly on a traditional computer or television screen. If you are interested in downloading the complete final movie file for spherical playback, please visit ftp://public.sos.noaa.gov/extras/.

For more information about the movie itself, visit the main website at www.nasa.gov/largest.

LARGEST introduces mainstream audiences to the planet Jupiter. The following trailer showcases some of the visual themes contained in the movie and points to the film's main website.

This film has been prepared exclusively for playback on spherical projections systems. It will not appear in its proper format on a traditional computer or television screen. If you are interested in dowloading the complete final movie file for spherical playback, please visit :

ftp://public.sos.noaa.gov/extras/

For More Information

http://www.nasa.gov/largest

http://ftp://public.sos.noaa.gov/extras/

Credits

Victoria Weeks (HTSI): Animator
Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC): Animator
Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Animator
Ernie Wright (UMBC): Animator
Lori Perkins (NASA/GSFC): Animator
Walt Feimer (HTSI): Animator
Victoria Weeks (HTSI): Video Editor
Chris Meaney (HTSI): Narrator
Michael Starobin (HTSI): Producer
Amy A. Simon (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
David R. Williams (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Pankaj K. Jaiswal (SAIC): Project Support
James W. Williams (GST): Project Support
Stuart A. Snodgrass (HTSI): Project Support
Michael Starobin (HTSI): Writer

Official Movie Credits:
Written, Produced & Directed by Michael Starobin Edited by Victoria Weeks Narrated by Chris Meaney Motion Graphics Victoria Weeks The Scientific Visualization Studio/NASA GSFC Director of Data Visualization Horace Mitchell Visualization Team Greg Shirah Tom Bridgman Ernest Wright Lori Perkins Software Development Greg Shirah Eric Sokolowsky Sound Design, Incidental Music Michael Starobin Computer Voice Mara Bayewitz Animation Walt Feimer IT Management Pankaj Jaiswal Jim Williams Stuart Snodgrass Recording Engineer Mike Velle Account Management Mike Velle Science On a Sphere Project Liaison Maurice Henderson Scientific Consultants Dr. Amy Simon-Miller, GSFC Dr. David R. Williams, GSFC Educational Content Development Sallie Smith, Pamela Clark Other Contributors Steve Albers, NOAA Reta Beebe, New Mexico State University Gordon Bjoraker, GSFC Shawn Ewald, Caltech/JPL Brendan Fisher, Caltech/JPL Heidi B. Hammel, Space Science Institute Andy Ingersoll, Caltech/JPL Allen Lunsford, Catholic University/GSFC Louis Mayo, HTSI/GSFC Glenn S. Orton, Caltech/JPL Carolyn Porco, Space Science Institute Dennis Reuter, GSFC Michael D. Smith, GSFC Ashwin R. Vasavada, Caltech/JPL Keith Noll, Space Telescope Science Institute Microscopic Footage Peter A. Siver, Department of Botany, Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut Music Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, 2nd Movement Op. 125 Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 2, 2nd Movement Op. 36 Felix Mendelssohn, The Hebrides Overture, Op. 26 Felix Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 4 3rd Movement, Op. 90 Dr. Keith J. Salmon, Conductor Shockwave-sound.com Additional Thanks Mika and Tamara Kostamo NASA Cassini Imaging Team Cosmos Studios Wayne Lanier NASA Opportunities in Education & Public Outreach for Earth and Space Science Program The NASA New Horizons Mission Executive Producer for Honeywell Technology Solutions Patrick Kennedy Executive Producer for NASA Television, GSFC Wade Sisler Science On a Sphere was Developed by NOAA