Integrating Art and Science
Starting with the Odyssey and the Monkey King, many cultures anchor their identity through epic journeys. The journey of the Parker Solar Probe falls into that category for data artist Greg Niemeyer and composer Chris Chafe, longtime collaborators eager to turn data into human experiences.
What would it feel like to join the journey of the Parker Solar Probe? By looking at the mission with a sense for drama, the artists convey what it might be like: The vastness of space with no up or down, the incredible speed as we approach the Sun and loop around, the Sun's atmosphere filled with extraordinary magnetic fields and plasma bursts, and the strange feeling that the journey never ends—even if the Parker Solar Probe falls silent. To complete this vision, Dr. Chelle Gentemann (NASA) supported the team with access to the most recent mission data.
William Wu, a UC Berkeley astrophysics student and game developer, joined to make the whole experience interactive. During the concert, participants can watch the journey, catch magnetic fields and plasma bursts, and generally follow the Probe along on this very accelerated log of its journey.
Fluid Time
The Parker Solar Probe mission lasted seven years in real life, but "To the Sun" renders every day of the Probe's long journey in about ten minutes. The journey features the 21 trips around the Sun completed and shared publicly so far. Each trip lasts about 88 days, and each trip comes closer to the Sun. The team took artistic license to slow down the journey at the beginning and accelerate it toward the end. After the 21 trips, the data stops abruptly.
Visualization
UC Berkeley student Faye Held, originally from NYC, joined the team to connect the classic aesthetic of Carillon bells with contemporary high tech and the eternal Sun in a graphic style that emphasizes photographic textures and stark graphic elements. She also created a special event poster which you can download here. There is even a limited edition silkscreen version available for purchase.
Performance
Rock star carillonists like Prof. Tiffany Ng(University of Michigan) train for years to master the massive 100-ton bells in the bell tower. In the performance, she will follow the unique score of the journey the same way participants do: with tremendous attention. However, if she misses a beat, people will hear it for miles around.