Melbourne Sun Installation Can Be Controlled By iPhones or iPads

As part of the 'Light in Winter' Festival in Melbourne Australia, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer has created one of his largest projects ever: a three-dimensional, animated scale model of the Sun, tethered in the sky above Federation Square, called 'Solar Equation.' Lozano-Hemmer employs a giant helium-filled balloon, approximately 47 feet in diameter (100 million times smaller than the real Sun), upon which he projects a simulation of the turbulence, flares and spots on the solar surface comprised by observatory images from NASA.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Rafael piece if it didn't involve interaction with the public. "Using an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, people may disturb the animations in real-time and select different fluid dynamic visualizations," writes Lozano-Hemmer. The five projectors used for the animation are joined with audio loops of "rumbles, crackles and bursts" also simulated from solar activity.