From touching the red sand of Western Australia to floating in the Milky Way, the newest addition at the National Museum of Australia takes viewers on a journey through lands and space as you have never seen them, in a full 360-degree virtual reality experience. Down to earth again, you will be able to catch your breath as you bask in the sun with penguin hatchlings in Antarctica.
Brought to us by acclaimed filmmaker Briege Whitehead and her production company, White Spark Pictures, Beyond the Milky Way comes to the East Coast for the first time. In the still, quiet, and remote Australian outback, you will find yourself at the site of one of the greatest scientific endeavours humans have undertaken, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project.
The global science project plans to build the most capable radio telescopes, 10 times faster than any current telescope. The technology will help explore further into space-time than once thought possible, and hopes to finally answer the big questions: when was the universe born, and is there more life out there?
For 25 minutes, you are taken on an epic journey from the sands into the Milky Way where you see our place in the universe and just how many galaxies surround us. Then you are taken behind the scenes to where the work is being done to explore those galaxies and beyond.
Though the project involves 16 nations, only two will host instalments. Australia houses 131,072 two-metre-tall Christmas tree-shaped antennas, and South Africa will have 197 dish antennas.
The film is on location on the land of the oldest living stargazers, the Wajarri Yamaji people. The viewer gains insight into the stargazing of both traditional and emerging technology from an elder, scientists involved in the project, and the soothing voice of Professor Brian Cox.
Returning to the NMA is the company’s first virtual reality film, The Antarctica Experience, which takes us to one of Australia’s permanent research stations on the frozen continent. Experience what life would be like living in the coldest place on earth, and fly over glaciers in a helicopter on the way to research how ice can help us learn more about the impact rising temperatures will have on the earth.
Relax as you watch ice caps float in and out of the bay, and spot Adélie penguin chicks as they rest in preparation for their first solo journey. The visual feast finishes with a breathtaking display of Aurora Australis, the Southern Lights glowing along the skyscape.
Don’t forget to turn your head, or whole body to capture the full essence of the videos. Can you catch the shadow of a drone on the red sand, spot shooting stars, how far the Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) stretch, and how many penguins float on the icecaps?
Immerse yourself in Beyond the Milky Way and The Antarctica Adventure virtual reality films at the National Museum of Australia from Boxing Day: nma.gov.au
Canberra Daily is keen to hear from you about a story idea in the Canberra and surrounding region. Click here to submit a news tip.
