University of Ulster Fine Art Students Present "Comet PANSTARRS is Coming" at Armagh Observatory

Students from the BA Hons in Fine Art, School of Art and Design at the University of Ulster, under the guidance of Associate Lecturer Aisling OтАЩBeirn, will present the first performance of a new dynamic art project "Comet PANSTARRS is Coming" on the ObservatoryтАЩs Human Orrery at 12 noon on Tuesday 12th March.

The work, which follows a visit by these students to the Observatory last November, will provide an artistтАЩs interpretation of the arrival of Comet 2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) in the inner solar system from the Oort cloud, a swarm of comets which surrounds the solar system and extends more than halfway to the nearest star. The project has developed the studentsтАЩ art and design skills as well as providing an opportunity to showcase their interpretation of EarthтАЩs place in space and its immediate near-space environment in the context of our neighbouring planets and occasional visitors from deep space, such as comets and asteroids.

This is an outdoor project for which an audience is welcome. There is no need to book, and the performance, which is part of Creativity Month NI and supported in part by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), is free to all. It will start at 12 noon at the ObservatoryтАЩs Human Orrery and last for approximately half an hour.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Aisling OтАЩBeirn at the University of Ulster; E-mail: a.obeirnulster.ac.uk, URL fineartbelfast.org; or John McFarland at the Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh, BT61 9DG. Tel.: 028-3752-2928; FAX: 028-3752-7174; E-mail: jmfarm.ac.uk.

Last Revised: 2013 March 5th