SANTA CRUZ — Hopping on a bumper car and setting the GPS
destination to outer space, "Toy Story" character Buzz Lightyear
would have been thrilled by a scene at the Santa Cruz Beach
Boardwalk. A Science Channel TV crew and UCSC Astronomy
Professor Greg Laughlin were equally excited Friday morning,
using the Speed Bump ride as a visual analogy to illustrate the
concept of gravity assist in outer space. The crew approached
Laughlin and the Santa Cruz Boardwalk to shoot an episode of
"Through the Wormhole." Hosted by Morgan Freeman, the series
explores scientific questions. The episode "Can we outlive the
sun?" is expected to air in the show's fourth season in 2013.
"In billions of years, the sun will get so bright and luminous
that life on Earth will be in big trouble," Laughlin said. To
preserve life forms, humans would have to find a way for Earth
to move away from the sun by expanding the orbit, Laughlin said.
That's where asteroids, gravity and the Boardwalk's bumper cars
come in. "You could cause our plane