Ever wonder what else is out there in the galaxy? Discover the phenomena that is space with SpaceRip! Thomas Lucas Productions melds the wonders of space with the science behind it. Combining footage and photographs from the world’s best and most advanced satellites and telescopes, SpaceRip is shedding a new light on the spaces beyond our Earth. It may not be as bright as the Sun, but this week the Limelight is on SpaceRip!
Can you give viewers a bit of a background on you and your amazing SpaceRip Channel?
Well first off, SpaceRip is my way of bringing the absolute best space and science videos to YouTube. I’m a science TV producer from way back, and have covered subjects ranging from hammerhead sharks, to severe weather, to black holes. I also write and direct ultra high-res fulldome shows for science museums and planetariums. The latest is called “Solar Superstorms”, and will open this summer in theaters in France, Germany, and the US. It features supercomputer simulations that take us inside the sun to explore the causes of violent solar eruptions that are now considered a danger to our electronic infrastructure.
How long have you been making videos on astronomy?
I’ve been hooked on space since the mid-90s. I saw an article about new Hubble Space Telescope observations of a nearby galaxy that showed that it has a black hole in its center that weighs in at 4 billion times the mass of the sun! I have since wrote and directed astronomy shows for PBS, NOVA, Nat Geo and Discovery. I directed a fulldome show called “Black Holes: the Other Side of Infinity” (Narrated by Hollywood A-lister, Liam Neeson) that’s a blockbuster in the museum world.
How did you get started on YouTube? What was your inspiration for starting a channel about Space?
Back in 2008, I saw its potential to reach huge audiences, quickly! I can still remember we did a little mashup of a robotic demolition derby that we filmed. We uploaded in the morning and by noon had something like 25,000 views.
What is your favorite video that you’ve created?
Right now a favorite is “Interstellar Spaceflight” because it tackles some of the underlying philosophical debates of space exploration. Because of the long time horizon of long distance spaceflight, it brings into focus our fears and aspirations about the future of humanity.
What is your favorite subject within astronomy to learn or talk about?
I love black holes, and so does the audience.They are strange, unimaginably powerful, and incredibly important to the way the universe evolved.
What is the one thing you know now, that you wish you knew when you started your channel?
Because it’s me directing the channel, it could only have gone one way. It has a sharp focus on high quality information and beautiful visuals, and no compromises.
What do you want to say to the people watching SpaceRip?
Come and share our fascination with the images of space, and the grand structures that form our larger environment!
What can we expect next from you?
We have another longer video exploring the revelations of Hubble in its two and a half decades in space. Stay tuned!
Lastly, one piece of advice for aspiring astronomers or people interested in space?
Study the humanities and explore the grand themes of human history and human aspirations. Those themes play out in the history of astronomy. In addition, today, space is a kind of window into our own deep origins as well as the nature of our planet.
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