Exoplanet 360°

A stunning video offering a virtual reality tour of six exoplanets has received more than 1 million hits on YouTube. Dr Nathan Mayne, a Senior Lecturer in Astrophysics at the University of Exeter, created the video in collaboration with the Centre for Intermedia and Creative Technology and Engine House VFX, based in Cornwall.

Nathan has been fascinated by astronomy since childhood, and his current research combines astrophysics and climate science in order to understand the atmospheres of planets orbiting distant stars, or exoplanets.

After seeing Nathan on BBC’s Stargazing Live, Engine House VFX got in touch to offer their expertise in creating visualisations of his research. The result is the Exoplanet Explorer 360° Planetarium Video, created in partnership with University of Exeter and We the Curious (previously @Bristol Science Centre). The film takes the viewer on a scientifically accurate, virtual reality tour of six exoplanets, meaning you can surf the giant waves of Kepler-62e, and gaze across the lava fields of 55 Cancri e.

The film is now We the Curious’ most popular science video, with more than one million views.