Saturday June 3, 2017


Gaze at celestial wonders through Mount Wilson Observatory's two large telescopes,
while live musical accompaniment creates a score for a once in a lifetime experience.



This intimate series pairs experimental musicians with telescope observation sessions. Audiences will have the opportunity to gaze through the telescope at celestial objects, which may include nebula, star clusters, planets, or the moon, depending on the time of night. These are the largest telescopes in the world that are available for public use. Each of these eight micro-concerts and viewing sessions has very limited capacity of 20-25 people and is ticketed at $40 per person. Click "buy tickets" to read more about each performer.

Three minute exposure of Messier 8 Sagittarius from 60-inch Telescope (left) and 100-inch Telescope (right). Image courtesy Carnegie Science.
Three minute exposure of Messier 8 Sagittarius from 60-inch Telescope (left) and 100-inch Telescope (right).
Image courtesy Carnegie Science.


 

60-inch Telescope Viewing Sessions
with live music performances


Mount Wilson’s 60-inch telescope provides incredible views of some of the most beautiful objects in the night sky and is among the largest in the world accessible for public viewing. This nebula image was produced during an actual observing session.

 

100-inch Telescope Viewing Sessions
with live music performances


The 100-inch Hooker Telescope, the world’s largest from 1917 to 1949, forever altered our understanding of the nature and size of the Universe and launched a revolution in astronomy that continues through today. Imagine looking through the telescope used by Edwin Hubble in the 1920s to measure the expansion of the Universe.

 

Tara Jane O'Neil is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and artist who creates melodic and experimental music. She has released seven albums internationally, was a founding member of Rodan, and has collaborated extensively with other musicians. Her new self-titled album was released by Gnomonsong in April 2017.

Performance: 7:30 PM
& 60-inch Telescope Viewing
*Moon Viewing*

Odeya Nini is an experimental vocalist and contemporary composer. Her solo vocal work extends the dimension and expression of the voice and body, creating a sonic and physical panorama of silence to noise and tenderness to grandeur. Her debut album Vougheauxyice (Voice) was released on pfMENTUM.

Performance: 7:00 PM
& 100-inch Telescope Viewing
*Moon Viewing*


 

White Magic is artist, vocalist, pianist, percussionist, and composer Mira Billotte. White Magic has released numerous recordings with Drag City, including Through the Sun Door, Dat Rosa Mel Apibus, and Dark Stars, and most recently, I'm Hiding My Nightingale on LEAVING Records.

Performance: 8:50 PM
& 60-inch Telescope Viewing

Constance Demby is a pioneer in new age music, best known for her album Novus Magnificat: Through the Stargate, whose 30th Anniversary Edition is forthcoming in June 2017. "Travel on a Beam of Sound to the Heart of the Universe," as she performs her custom designed Sonic Steel Space Bass.

Performance: 8:20 PM
& 100-inch Telescope Viewing


 

Sun Araw, a solo project of Cameron Stallones, blossomed out of the experimental psychedelic rock collective Magic Lantern, as an attempted geosynchronous orbit with the Eternal Now: oblique six-dimensional transmissions from changeless environs. Beginning with The Phynx, releases span from psychedelic drone to melted afrobeat, from warped dub to minimalism.

Performance: 10:10 PM
& 60-inch Telescope Viewing

Ernest GIbson is a recording artist known for both his solo work and as a member of the primitive psych group Net Shaker. Gibson's recordings frequently exhibit an otherworldly quality, achieved through self-sampling, tape manipulation, alternate tunings, pitch scaling and various methods of instrument preparation. Releases include Island Records, Pastoral IV, and Women I Know.

Performance: 10:00 PM
& 100-inch Telescope Viewing


 

Matthewdavid: L.A. composer and LEAVING Records label founder Matthew David McQueen is largely known for his experimental production, including releases on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label. After nearly a decade of evolution, Trust the Guide and Glide is at once a powerful statement of identity and a new door into cosmic consciousness.

Performance: 11:20 PM
& 100-inch Telescope Viewing


Sunday June 4, 2017


Travel On A Beam of Sound to the Heart of the Universe

Constance Demby

Sunday June 4, 2017 at 2 P.M.
100-inch Telescope Dome

In a very special encore appearance, symphonic sacred space music pioneer Constance Demby invites audiences to "travel on a beam of sound to the heart of the universe" as she performs her custom designed Sonic Steel Space Bass inside the 100-inch Telescope dome. As the instrument is played, the acoustics of the telescope dome will be activated in an immersive vibratory experience where the audience may ponder the cosmos. This Sunday afternoon performance is ticketed at $20 per person.
Please note: this is a daytime performance, there is no viewing through the telescope.

Constance Demby and her Sonic Steel Space Bass


 

Making Space at Mount Wilson: An Exploration of Concepts of Space in Mathematics and Cosmology

A Seminar and Workshop by Margaret Wertheim

Sunday June 4, 2017 at 12 P.M.
Astronomical Museum Theatre

What does it mean to say something has 2 dimensions, or 3? Einstein’s general theory of relativity describes our universe as having 4 dimensions, while string theory says we live in a 10 or 11-dimensional space. In modern mathematics and cosmology “space” is a foundational concept, but what do scientists mean by this term? And what are the “dimensions” they speak about here? At Mount Wilson, Hubble discovered that space is expanding, and around black holes space stretches. How can we understand such statements? In this two-part event, science writer and artist Margaret Wertheim will lead a seminar about the history of scientific and mathematical concepts of space, followed by a participatory workshop where participants will explore non-Euclidean geometry by constructing paper models of hyperbolic space.

Session One: Seminar: 12pm - 2pm
Here we will discuss the history of Western concepts of space from Dante to string theory, via Descartes, Newton, Einstein and Kaluza-Klein ideas.

*Session Two: Workshop 3pm - 5pm
Here we will construct paper models of non-Euclidean spaces. 

Details:
No prior experience is needed.
All materials will be supplied.
*Registration required for workshop from 3pm - 5pm.
Workshop size: Max 40 people.

Constance Demby and her Sonic Steel Space Bass

Margaret Wertheim, Institute for Figuring