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The Hong Kong Space Museum's latest sky show, "Astronomyths", which will be shown from tomorrow (July 1) to December 31, will take the audience on a stellar journey from ancient to modern times.
Following an introduction on ancient Greek myths and the constellations seen in autumn, the sky show will focus on modern space probes and telescopes, the birth of black holes and extra-solar planets in the so-called "habitable" zone, as well as spectacular nebulae, clusters and galaxies.
Decorated by millions of glittering stars, the night sky is never boring. The clear starry sky in early autumn makes this season the best of the year for stargazing. Although there is no exceptionally bright star in the sky, the constellations in autumn are especially interesting, with stories of their origins dating back to ancient Greek myths.
The constellation of Pisces looks like two fish swimming in a sea of stars. Did you know that the story of its origin came from that of two Greek Gods, Aphrodite and Eros, trying to hide during the battle of the Titans by turning themselves into fish and jumping into a river? According to Greek legend, their tails can be seen tied with a silk ribbon, swimming together forever in the sky. Then there's the tale of how, on Mount Olympus where the Greek Gods lived, a young male cup-bearer called Ganymede served the Gods and became the constellation of Aquarius.
Thanks to modern space probes and telescopes, scientists are able to discover celestial bodies deep in space. The SWIFT Space Telescope developed by NASA in the United States, for example, discovered a very powerful and violent gamma-ray burst in 2005 near the constellation of Pisces, indicating the death of a giant star - which collapsed and became a black hole. In another case, using the Hubble Space Telescope, a nebula looking like a helix was found in the constellation of Aquarius. As a star approaching "death", it has become a beautiful planetary nebula because its outer layers are continuously expanding.
The show, which weaves together interesting ancient myths and modern scientific findings, will enable the audience to learn more about the autumn sky.
The 41-minute sky show, "Astronomyths", will be shown in conjunction with a 16-minute seasonal planetarium show. It will be screened daily at 2.40pm and 6.10pm at the Space Museum's Stanley Ho Space Theatre. There will be an additional screening at 11.10am on Sundays and public holidays. The museum is closed on Tuesdays (except public holidays).
Tickets are available at the Space Museum Box Office and at all URBTIX outlets for $24 (front stalls) and $32 (stalls). Full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 or above and people with disabilities will receive a half-price concession.
The Space Museum is located at 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. For further information, call 2721 0226 or visit the website at hk.space.musuem.
Ends/Thursday, June 30, 2011
Issued at HKT 17:00
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