From the Distant Past

A public art installation featuring Hubble observations of distant galaxies, quasars and stars is going to the USA. From the Distant Past features a laser projecting spectra from distant celestial objects onto the facades of buildings. While the green lines might appear abstract at first, they represent light, split into its constituent colours, that has travelled across space for billions of years from some of the most distant galaxies ever observed.

The idea for the installation was generated by German concept artist Tim Otto Roth, in collaboration with astronomer Bob Fosbury, the former head of the Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility.