A Cornell Cinema screening of the box office hit “Project Hail Mary” will include a talk by Cornell astronomers on their search for real rocky worlds habitable for humans, as well as a prize drawing. The screening, at 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 28, will be followed by an open house at the Fuertes Observatory for live viewing of the cosmos.
“Project Hail Mary,” directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, stars a high school science teacher played by Ryan Gosling who wakes up alone on a spaceship, light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission and must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction, but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
“Based on the novel by Andy Weir, “Project Hail Mary” is a heartwarming interstellar adventure that is at once funny and deeply profound,” said Molly Ryan, director of Cornell Cinema in the College of Arts and Sciences. “It is incredible that we can connect this seemingly futuristic film to cutting-edge astronomy research happening on campus right now. It illustrates just how far researchers have come with exploring life in the cosmos, and positions science fiction as an imaginative realm for helping determine where we could go next.”
Before the film, Lisa Kaltenegger, professor of astronomy and director of the Carl Sagan Institute, and Abigail Bohl '26, research intern at the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, will discuss their research on rocky exoplanets in the habitable zone and efforts to identify more than 45 rocky worlds that have potential to support life beyond earth.
Attendees will be entered in a drawing to win a copy of Kaltenegger's book “Alien Earths: The Science for Planet Hunting in the Cosmos” (2024).
After the film, the audience is invited to join the Cornell Astronomical Society for an open telescope night from 8 p.m. to midnight at the Fuertes Observatory, 209 Cradit Farm Drive, on campus.
Tickets are available from Cornell Cinema.
The special screening is presented by Cornell Cinema in collaboration with the Cornell Astronomical Society, the Carl Sagan Institute and the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science.
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