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This feature is designed as a modern scientific theme center
for the West Virginia State Pavilion. As a self-contained educational
and entertainment display, it will tell its own message of the
unique part that the State is playing in Man's efforts to gain
more knowledge about his place in space.
WINDOW ON THE UNIVERSE has been planned as a continuously
operating program, lasting six or seven minutes, and so structured
that a visitor may enter or leave at any time without having
to wait for the beginning of the program. This will greatly increase
the visitor flow, and will minimize the accumulation of large
groups in lines awaiting the commencement of each showing. No
personnel will be required for the actual presentation, but one
technician should be available at all times on a stand-by-basis,
for servicing and maintenance. Any required number of attendants
should man the doorway, direct visitors to the exit or police
the room itself.
The structure housing WINDOW ON THE UNIVERSE is planned as
an integral part of the West Virginia Pavilion. The external
part of the chamber should suggest the message that will be presented
inside by having the alcoves feature jumbo enlargements of some
of the most dramatic astronomical photographs from the world's
greatest observatories. Such enlargements are readily available
commercially at modest cost.
WEST VIRGINIA should be prominently displayed in cut-out letters,
strikingly illuminated, and WINDOW ON THE UNIVERSE should be
permanently presented, or shown in moving lights directly beneath.
Rapid turnover of audience, ability to present a unified story
to a maximum number of visitors, dramatic effects in panoramic
projection of colored lights, omni-directional sound effects
and sustained interest, secondary only to scientific acceptability,
have been kept in mind in the presentation here outlined.
Since visitors will be entering and leaving at any time, and
adequate light must be available for them without detracting
from the effectiveness of the program, all effects are planned
to be shown without the necessity of waiting for dark adaptation.
since the time of the demonstration is deliberately short, it
is not necessary to have seats, but rather rails on which visitors
may lean, or to which they may hold. This will maintain an orderly
line in the chamber, adequately spaced so that there will be
ample room for visitors to enter or leave without discomfort
or annoyance.
Both film and sound will be designed for continuous operation
without necessity of rewinding. The film will tell its story
in animated color; the sound will be a combination of special
sound effects, background music and narrative. The narrative
will be in terms understandable to the non-scientific public,
but acceptable to the scientist.
The entire program will be divided into about twenty sequences,
none of which, with the exception of the first and last, which
will blend into each other, will last more than fifteen or twenty
seconds.
Soft musical background will be provided for the voice of
the narrator. Where other sound effects are indicated, the music
will be faded out so that full attention may be focused upon
the effect and its meaning.
Script
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VISUAL
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SOUND
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A. |
Color organ effect. Moving colored lights in time with music. |
Music fades to very low level when narrator begins explanation
that within very recent years Man has found a new window through
which to learn about the universe -- radio astronomy. Up to very
recently all information came through the medium of visual radiation
-- light. |
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B. |
Moving lights fade and give way to a densely populated star field. |
This is the starry sky as seen in visible lights, some stars
bright, some faint, some near, some far. But these don't look
familiar because our viewpoint is not that of earth -- we are
far out in space. |
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C. |
Arrow singles out one faint star. |
This star is our sun, just an average star, but important to
us because it is ours. Around it travel a number of planets,
including our earth. Let's travel toward it with the speed of
imagination. |
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D. |
Stars stream outward as we speed toward sun, which grows brighter
and ultimately larger as we approach. Earth becomes visible,
moving around sun. |
We come closer and closer to the sun and ultimately see the earth. |
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E. |
Earth looms larger and larger until we can see more and more
detail. |
At first just a tiny moving dot of light, then a disc, then clouds,
seas, continents, North America, United States, West Virginia. |
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F. |
Zooming picture of mountains of West Virginia, and ultimately
aerial view of Green Bank and telescope. |
From this spot, on this planet, men are reaching out to gain
more knowledge about the universe in which we live and of which
we are a part. |
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G. |
View of pattern of radio telescope dish against sky, with changing
pattern as it moves from one direction to another. |
This is the great dish which brings in more data from different
sources than the human eye ever saw or the old optical telescopic
cameras ever could photograph. |
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H. |
View of console from behind silhouetted operator. |
The radio astronomer is a new kind of astronomer, with brand
new tools at his command. |
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I. |
Irregular wiggly lines on oscilloscope change pattern when noise
begins. |
The message from the radio dish is brought to us by noise. As
the dish points into space and beyond the stars we know, it sees
or hears or feels that there are other spots in the sky, invisible
to our eyes, telescopes or cameras which sent out radiations
that this type of instrument alone can receive. |
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J. |
Star field, with red spot moving back and forth across the sky.
It crosses one visually empty area. |
As dish is focused on sky, frying or sizzling noise is heard.
As point of focus crosses empty area, noise increases momentarily
on each passage. There must be something there, even if it can't
be seen. Thus a new radio source is mapped. |
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K. |
Establish permanent location of radio source. Spot keeps moving,
add more. |
Thus a new map of the sky has recently been superimposed upon
the old star positions. |
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L. |
Add more sources, and fade out stars. |
These are regions which are sending very, very strong invisible
radiations, to be transformed into noise by the radio telescope,
and telling us more about things we never knew existed. |
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M. |
Add more radio sources, and fade in stars. |
New knowledge about new objects, and new knowledge about old
objects, enabling audacious man to unlock secrets he never knew
existed. |
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N. |
Field of galaxies, clusters against stars, with red spot being
shown as it passes over certain regions. |
Brief bursts of sound indicating that radio sources will also
be found about very distant, and only vaguely understood objects.
As more and more knowledge is gained, a new inquisitiveness is
generated. Are we alone? |
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O. |
Superimpose vaguely moving cellular forms on background of sky.
Fade out stars, nebulae, clusters, retaining pulsing cells. |
We know that we exist, and we fondly think of ourselves as intelligent.
We know we live on a planet which will support cellular life.
The astronomer is positive we are not alone, and there must be
innumerable other places in the cosmos that can, and probably
do, support cells, and therefore possibly life forms which have
scientific inquisitiveness like ours. |
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P. |
Fade into a single object, resembling both cell and planet, which
pulsates rhythmically. |
Any evidence that this is true? None but reason. But radio astronomy,
as a sort of extracurricular job, had accepted the task of listening
and waiting, and mostly waiting. Random noise becomes regular,
in time with pulsating. |
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Q. |
Oscilloscope pattern becomes regular in time with pulsation and
noise. |
Maybe, someday, and no one knows when, or even if, a pattern
will be found. The listening is now going on in Project Ozma,
at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank, West
Virginia. |
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R. |
Superimpose silhouette of radio dish, then fade into star field
plus radio sources, and silhouette of dish. |
Word from our fellow inhabitants of the universe may come or
it may never come. But in West Virginia the window is being used
for the benefit of all mankind, here and throughout this planet. |
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S. |
Fade out stars, then radio sources and dish, and fade in projection
kaleidoscope in color organ effect, in time with music. Continue
about 60 seconds, then blend into (A) and repeat. |
If West Virginia's window should some day prove that others elsewhere
are trying to reach us, the greatest minds of this planet will
join in West Virginia to try to carry our scientific message
to them. Man's mind will grow to match his expanding horizons
of knowledge. May his spirit grow so that the scientific message
will be one of fraternity in the universe. Music to transition
to beginning. |
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