◯ unpaid artwork
▼ St James’s Parish
Look up at the moon. Lunalón is a large-scale, high-precision model of the lunar surface, created using data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Positioned high above street level, it becomes a luminous, distant body that enters the urban space much like the real Moon: present and striking, yet unattainable. Its surface is based on detailed images of craters, lava plains, lunar ‘seas’ and sites associated with the Apollo, Luna and Chinese Yutu-2 missions. However, viewed from a distance, the individual details primarily come together to form an image of this familiar celestial body, reminding us of our long-standing need to observe, map, and bring the Moon closer through technology.
The Brno Observatory and Planetarium is a leading institution dedicated to popularising astronomy, science, and space exploration. As well as offering digital planetarium programmes, astronomical observations and educational activities, the Observatory develops projects that communicate scientific themes through striking visual and spatial experiences.
In 2019, the Observatory was behind the creation of Lunalón, a monumental, inflatable model of the Moon, which was made to celebrate the 50^(th) anniversary of the first human landing on the Moon. Lunalón was the first in a series of large-scale models of celestial bodies, laying the foundations for the Festival Planet Brno, an event that brings together science, contemporary technologies, and immersive experiences in public spaces.
