Monday, August 29, 1083
Daily Nebraskan
Page 7
Computer graphics carry
scar shows into year 2000
ByStzzi ICrtise
A long time ar,o in a galaxy far, far
away, rebel fighter pilots planned the
destruction of the Imperial Death Star.
In the darkened briefing room of
Gen.Ackbar's star cruiser, a computer
graphic of the man- made planet flash
ed on the viewed screen.
Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, Chew
bacca, Princess Leia and millions of
"Return of the Jedi" fans studied the
detailed two-dimensional dia.gra.rn, plot
ting the demise of Darth Vader and the
Empire.
Technology capable of creating the
Death Star diagram may seem as fan
ciful as Luke Skywalker's light saber,
but Jack Dunn, coordinator for the
Ralph Mueller Planetarium, has seen
it.
Digistar 1, a new computer deve
loped within the last four years, can
project images in two dimensions, creat
ing them with dots, lines and alpha
numerics, Dunn said. Digistar 1 pro
duced the graphics for the "Jedi" scene
and created the 'Genesis effect' dem
onstration in "Star Trek II: The Wrath
of Khan."
Dlistsr 1 "Hoped For"
Dunn saw Digistar 1 at a conference
several weeks ago in Richmond, Va.
Digistar 1 projects images of stars for
planetarium shows, but could be used
in many different fields, including
chemistry, medicine, engineering and
even football simulating actual plays
and games, he said,
At this time, Digistar 1 is only some
thing Dunn "can hope for." If pur
chased, the computer could benefit
the whole university, not just the pla
netarium, he said.
Comparing Digistar I to equipment
currently used at Mueller planetarium
is like "comparing the Model-T to the
Saturn Five," Dunn said. They are dif
ferent generations of rocket design."
The planetarium uses the Star Pro
jector in its shows. It is adequate for
the present and has given many years
of good service, Dunn said.
One main difference between pla
netarium presentations given with
Digistar 1 and the Star Projector is the
way they simulate the night sky.
With the Star Projector, the night
sky is seen as it b from earth. With
Digist ar 1, the sky can be seen from any
point in space. The image can be
rotated, so specific parts of the sky can
be examined in more detail or totally
eliminated from the image.
Educational programs
Mueller Planetarium runs multime
dia programs that incorporate the
Star Projector, music, slides, movies
and laser light shows.
"They are basically slide format
combined with special effects," said
Lisa Hooker, assistant for educational
services at the planetarium.
Shows are sometimes produced live
because existing sky conditions are
interesting to many people, Dunn said.
Planetarium shows provide educa
tional and entertaining information
about astronomy that is presented on ,
a general, not technical level, so it can
be easily understood, Dunn said. The
September program is on black holes,
a subject that could get very technical,
Dunn said. But it has been written in
general terms so any audience can
understand it.
Dunn has worked 1 1 years at Morril
Hall, where the planetarium is located.
He has a bachelor's degree in science .
from Midland College in Fremont and
a master's degree from UNL.
Hooker received her degree in speech
communication and public relations
from UNL last May. She has worked at
the planetarium for two and a half
years in educational and public rela
tions. She coordinates shows for high
school and elementary groups and
writes publicity notices and scripts.
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