Gaia, an artwork by Luke Jerram

About

Gaia is a seven metre diameter sphere, featuring 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the earth’s surface. It will hang under the central tower inside the Cathedral.

The artwork provides the opportunity to see our planet on this scale, floating in three-dimensions.

The installation creates a sense of the Overview Effect, which was first described by author Frank White in 1987. Common features of the experience for astronauts are a feeling of awe for the planet, a profound understanding of the interconnection of all life, and a renewed sense of responsibility for taking care of the environment.

The artwork is 1.8 million times smaller than the real earth with each centimetre of the internally lit sculpture describing 18km of the earth’s surface. By standing 211m away from the artwork, viewers will be able to see the Earth as it appears from the moon.

During evening opening times, the 3D installation will rotate once every four minutes, which is 360 times faster than our real planet. The specially made surround sound composition by BAFTA award winning composer Dan Jones will also be played. For more information about the artwork, please visit http://my-earth.org/

The imagery for the artwork has been compiled from Visible Earth series, NASA.

Gaia has been created in partnership with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Bluedot and the UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres.