Silver Screen Science Fiction

Now the eighth film in the main Star Wars franchise, this latest instalment proved divisive for fans old and new and here at the Royal Observatory, we'll be stirring things up even more with a look at the science behind the fiction! The Last Jedi describes a dark time for the Rebellion as they are being hounded relentlessly by the First Order, while Rey (Daisy Ridley) finds that the great jedi master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) doesn't exactly meet her expectations. After the screening, you'll hear about the physics of space dogfights, remote projections and how to go about building a lightsabre.

 

 

 

 

Film runtime: 2hr 32mins

 

Film Rating: 12.

 

Drinks and confectionary available at the ticket desk before the film starts.

In this cereberal science fiction drama, linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) and physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) lead a team dedicated to finding a way to communicate with truly alien lifeforms, described as "heptapods". As they are just one team out of twelve worldwide, dealing with their own alien vessel and pair of heptapods, the race is on to find out whether these visitor are friend or foe. After the film, a Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomer will take a look at the linguistics featured in the film, the reality of finding 'intelligent' life elsewhere and the potential challenges of holding a conversation with a truly alien race.

 

 

 

Film runtime: 1hr 58mins

 

Film Rating: 12A.

 

Drinks and confectionary available at the ticket desk before the film starts.