Fever Immersive Centre will host an immersive and 3D interactive, virtual reality experience that offers a journey through space from Wednesday to Sunday until 30 December. Groups of up to six people will be able to explore the cosmos together in this initiative developed by Fever, alongside the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO).
Starstruck is the name of a shared virtual reality journey in which each participant wears a light, wireless VR visor that presents a 3D digital universe. As they move freely through a physical room, the visual elements respond, creating the feeling of walking among the stars.
Visitors will be guided by a virtual host called Astro. The journey begins at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Astrophysical Observatory and travels to the stars, exoplanets, the Pillars of Creation, a black hole and more. Participants will be able to interact with each other like digital avatars, reinforcing the shared and social side of the experience. Monitoring of the integrated movement and visual limits inside the visor help to ensure the safety of visitors.
It also offers a quick detour to the Sun to witness solar flares 30 times larger than Earth; hear the Sun's vibrations; and feel the energy that powers all life on our planet, captured directly from NASA's Parker Solar Probe, the satellite responsible for making the closest-ever pass to the Sun and which is still operational today.
Starstruck was developed by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) and Fever, with Smithsonian Enterprises overseeing the collaboration. SAO content experts provided scientific supervision throughout the development. Visuals and narratives are backed by real data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory and SAO research.
Approximate Duration: 1 hour (virtual reality experience lasts 40 minutes)
Recommended Age: Over the age of 10
