Oscar Ihermitte: Urban Stargazing

"Over time, society has developed a complex rhythm that demands we live in an environment artificially lit twenty-four hours a day preventing us from experiencing the natural lights coming from billions of light years away, shining and twinkling as soon as the Sun sets to the west.

The Urban Stargazing project focuses on bringing back the stars in the city sky by recreating existing constellations and adding new ones, narrating old and contemporary myths about London. Twelve groups of stars have been installed at different locations in the city, and can only be observed by the naked eye at night time."

"The map is showing each constellation with their corresponding coordinates. 

To go on a stargazing walk, enter the latitude/longitude of any constellation on a web mapping application."

"Each constellation is a triangulated struture made out of clear ø 0.6mm nylon line, ø 0.2mm polyethylene braid, ø 0.75mm fibre optic and a solar powered LED. During the day, the battery is being recharged by the solar panel and the circuit 

switches ON the LED when it is dark enough to observe stars. In order to have the constellation in the air, the team uses a telescopic catapult to fix the structure on top of trees."

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