The SUN will be shining for a whole week on November 16th -22nd, as a giant illuminated art installation comes to St Mary’s Church!

For the first time ‘SUN’, an ambitious and unique experience created from a collaboration between astrophysicists and artists, will be seen on the south coast. You can see visit the SUN at St Mary’s Church, Fratton Road, Portsmouth, PO1 5PA on the 16th from 7.30-9.00pm, and on the 17th- 22nd between 5.00pm-9.00pm

Using data from NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory, leading UK solar astrophysicist Professor Robert Walsh and artist Alex Rinsler came together to create the breathtaking 7-metre floating model of the Sun. This, combined with an original soundscape from electroacoustic composer Ebe Oke, will provide visitors to St Mary’s with an opportunity to wonder at the beauty of our universe

It has been brought to Portsmouth by St Mary’s Church in partnership with Fratton Big Local and will be part of the 8th annual Festival of Light. This year’s much-loved Lantern Parade is on Friday Nov 17th, leaving the Victory Business Centre at 7pm, and processing down Fratton Road, being lead by the Batala Portsmouth samba band, who will also be playing Under the SUN at 8.15pm.

This is just one of the free events and family-friendly science talks happening under the SUN at St Mary’s Church during the installation. Others include:

There is no charge to see the SUN but there will be opportunities to make donations to help support future projects in and for the community of Fratton.

Professor Walsh from the University of Central Lancashire, who will be attending the event, said:

“You see a full representation of the sun with no computer generation. We like people to walk under SUN and experience the ‘wow’ factor.

“SUN was premiered in Autumn 2019 before lockdown, but the team have only started to take the installation on tour in 2022. We see SUN as a vehicle for people to explore and learn something new about their place in space and the connection to our closest star.’

This is not the first time St Mary’s has been home to a spectacular light installation. Over the last two years, the church has become a venue for bright new exhibitions including Where There is Light, an immersive experience reflecting on the refugee experience; Ship of the Gods, a projected tour through a mythical ship and maritime history; and another extraterrestrial exhibit in the Museum of the Moon.

Commenting on this, Father Bob, Vicar of St Mary’s and Chair of Fratton Big Local, said:

‘After the amazing Museum of the Moon last year and the thousands of people who came to experience it, we are delighted that this year we have been able to welcome SUN. It has never been seen on the south coast and we are looking forward to welcoming the local community and beyond to come and enjoy the stunning installation in a beautiful space.’

To find out more about SUN visit https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551611827904

or (from Mnday 6th) https://www.portseaparish.co.uk/event/sun/,