Hansen Planetarium has a surprise for the thousands of Utahns expected to attend Stephen Hawking's lecture on Monday: views of the famed physicist working at Cambridge University, England.
Hawking is familiar to many as the author of some of the most advanced astronomical theories about black holes and the creation of the universe. He is known to millions from a guest appearance on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," where he played a computer simulation of himself, shown along with Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton."I took some of the footage from our film in England and used it in a warm-up for the lecture," said Diane Beam, the planetarium's staff education specialist. "So it's footage that has never been seen before, and it will run right before his lecture."
Hawking is shown in his professor's study, and other views to be shown include shots of Trinity Chapel that no one was allowed to film previously, she said.
Other shots include views of Hawking traveling to the university. "He comes in every day in his wheelchair, and we have him winding his way through the city, against the backdrop of this ancient Cambridge University," she said.
In his last visit to Salt Lake City two years ago, approximately 12,000 were turned away from a free lecture at Abravanel Hall. This time, the venue is the much-larger Huntsman Center at the University of Utah, which still has tickets available, according to Beam. Anyone wishing to purchase a ticket should either call Smith'sTix at 467-8499 or the Huntsman Center, 581-6641.