Across the Universe

In light-polluted Kansas City, the Gottlieb Planetarium at Union Station (30 West Pershing Road) is like ice water in hell. “I’ve heard astronomers describe ground-based observation as being like standing at the bottom of a swimming pool and trying to see the sky through the water,” says planetarium specialist Damon Bradshaw. That changed with the orbiting Hubble space telescope. One of the planetarium’s current shows, Hubble Vision 2, projects some of the remarkably clear Hubble imagery, including the famous Hubble deep-field view that was shot by the telescope in 1995. The image captured a minuscule section of space that would look empty to the naked eye. In scientist-speak, the image is of 144 arc-seconds — or, as Bradshaw explains, the equivalent of “holding your thumb and forefinger as close together as possible, at arm’s length.” The long exposure revealed thousands of galaxies never before seen, some of them among the oldest ever observed. Hubble Vision 2 screens today through Sunday. Call 816-460-2020 for showtimes. Gottlieb Planetarium
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Sept. 25. Continues through Sept. 30, 2007