2017 Pi Day Star Chart Carree Projection

The digits of Pi are interpreted as a star catalogue. Starting from the beginning of π, each block of 12 digits is taken to be the (x,y,z)... more

by Martin Krzywinski

Title

2017 Pi Day Star Chart Carree Projection

Artist

Martin Krzywinski

Medium

Digital Art - Digital

Description

The digits of Pi are interpreted as a star catalogue. Starting from the beginning of π, each block of 12 digits is taken to be the (x,y,z) coordinates of a star and its absolute magnitude, which defines its brightness at a fixed distance. After sampling 12 million digits, which yields 1,000,000 stars, the stars are projected onto the celestial sphere to generate longitude and latitude coordinates from the perspective of an observer who is placed at center of the stars. The distance to the star is used to calculate the apparent magnitude�how bright it will appear on the sky chart.

Of course, a star chart would not be complete without constellations. While the digits of ππ are taken to be a universal catalog of stars, it is up to the observer to subjectively interpret the patterns and find stories in the sky. Among the 40,000 stars drawn in the chart, 80 extinct species are honored as constellations�creatures range across time periods and geographical location and play together in the sky.

The chart shows 40,000 stars and 80 constellations.

For details about the chart, see http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/pi/piday2017

Uploaded

March 14th, 2017