Cosmic Catastrophes

Produced by the Hansen Planetarium
Salt Lake City, Utah

Detailed Description:

The audience is informed they are the Council for a colonization ship from the planet Sarton. Their sun is reaching the end of its life, so they prepared a ship to transport the population to a new world. They have been traveling through space for 9,000 years, on their way to a system of planets where one offers an opportunity for a new start. There is a secondary planet, but it is 13,000 years farther away.

The Council is asked to evaluate the primary planet to determine if it is fit for colonization. Information gathered as the ship drew near indicates an existing civilization, and several hazards that must be evaluated. The inhabitants call their planet Earth.

The council is asked to review the likelihood of cosmic disasters that could destroy their new colony from a list of supernovae, changes in the sun’s radiation, or the movement of the sun through a cloud of cosmic dust.

The system of planets is reviewed, revealing that of nine planets only one can support the Sarton colony, and that planet has experienced mass extinction events several times in its history. One of the more recent events, the disappearance of a life form called dinosaurs, is offered for evaluation. The council must choose between theories about asteroid collisions or large eruptions of magma for analysis.

As the ship draws even closer, the Council is informed that the inhabitants of Earth are threatening their existence with pollutants. The Council must select one of three potential problems for study; a reduction in atmospheric ozone, a greenhouse warming of the planet’s atmosphere, or the effects of a global cooling brought about by nuclear war.

After a summary of the findings, the Council is asked to make their final evaluation. Should the ship make contact with the beings of Earth, should they move on to their secondary destination, or would they wait a while to see what happens?