MATTHEW JENKIN reviews the latest planetarium show Violent Universe and discovers the perils of space are closer than you think.

AS IF there wasn’t enough doom and gloom already with one of the worst financial crises in history, the Royal Observatory’s latest planetarium show presents a frightening vision of the future should all hell break loose in the universe.

Violent Universe asks viewers to think twice before gazing up at the night sky and marvelling at its beauty.

Rather than a graceful celestial dance, the 30 minute film reveals space to be a terrifying place of potentially catastrophic events.

Narrated by Star Trek Captain Jean Luke Picard himself, Patrick Stewart, the potential end of life on Earth is described with such calm and soothing reassurance, he could just as easily be gently nudging us to sleep with a soothing bedtime story.

But with colliding galaxies threatening to rip solar systems apart, meadering black holes swallowing up anything it their paths and collosal asteroids hurtling towards us, our tiny planet is more vulnerable and helpless than we imagine.

This blue rock floating through the vast vacuum of space could be wiped out in an instant.

Using stunning computer imagery, the worst case scenarios are thrilling brought to life.

While astronomy boffins may find the film’s simplified explanations of these cosmic catastrophes frustrating for the lack of in-depth details, it is an ideal introduction to an endlessly fascinating realm of science.

Of course, the odds of any of the fantastical events described in the film ever happening are thankfully slim, but as the lights come up in the enourmous dome-shaped auditorium, viewers are left mulling over the very real possibility of an explosive collision.

Friday the 13th is usually the sort of day you blame for tripping over your laces or losing your wallet, but in 2029 our luck will come dangerously close to running out when a 320 metre-wide asteroid narrowly misses us.

So that’s good news, right? Well, not exactly, explains Stewart.

While we’re safe for now, the over-sized boulder will be back and next time it could spell the end of the world.

Violent Universe. The Peter Harrison Planetarium, the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Opens tomorrow and runs until July 22. For more information, visit nmm.ac.uk