III - Forever spinning … Starry nights

Who has not been fascinated by starry skies? If the Nebra sky disc is supposed to be one of the oldest cosmic representation, its interpretation remains cryptic. Does it really tell us how/what early human generations did understand about the celestial mechanics? More than describing the spinning sky, the disc seems to show the different evolution of the moon crescent among few stars…

Nebra sky disc, froze 30cm diameter, ca 1600 BCE,

Credit Wikipedia

Before applying scientific methods and using tools for their investigations, our ancestors did also see in the sky all kind of fairy animals being the active players of  mythological legends. The play was repeated every night, all along the year, with noticeable differences according to the seasons... a rich matter for well inspired artists!

Andreas Cellarius, Südlich Sternhimmel (from Marmonia Macrocosmica,1660),

Stadtbibliothek zu Berlin

Today, large telescopes and satellites are used to look at the deep space. This is the modern way to try to better understand our universe (including Earth). In the picture below, the spinning move of the Earth can be recorded  with a camera pointing a the pole with a long pause.

Starry night at ESO, Very Large Telescope, 23/08/2010 

Credit: ESO

Coming back to the artist's impression, who better than Vincent Van Gogh has represented the spinning moves of the starry night...The spinning effect is produced by an amplified deformation of the reality. This effect of distortion produced on our senses will be developed any further by various German Expressionist groups just after the turn of the XXth century.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), starry night, 1889, 

The Museum of Modern Art, NY

Robert Delaunay may give us in his painting below a modern artist version of the Nebra disc (elementary circular shapes or geometrical fragments). His work is mainly based on  abstraction. Tough the title uses "figurative" words (Sun and Moon) does this representation still give any feeling of spinning?

Robert Delaunay (1885-1941), Formes circulaires, Soleil, lune, 1912/13,

Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

Finally, Paul McCartney  tells us also something on  the "spinning world" in the lyrics of the song the "Fool on the hill" composed in 1967:

"but the fool on the hill 

Sees the sun going down 

And the eyes in his head 

See the world spinning round"

This short trip simply invites us to keep on admiring with kids' eyes all  kinds of "forever spinning" starry skies...