Star
Axis maps earth-to-star alignments
in human scale by bringing the geometry of the stars
down into physical form. The chambers and tunnel provide
places to experience Earth's spins in different time frames --
one hour of Earth's rotation, the shape of a season, the
historical increments of the 25,920 year cycle.
It's a place to explore the intertwining of space and time.
At the center of Star Axis
an inverted cone is carved deep into the capstone of the mesa and
lined with rock masonry. Within this cone the Star Tunnel
rises eleven stories. You enter the Star Tunnel at the bottom
and climb the stairs, which are in perfect alignment with the
Earth's axis and its outward extension to the stars. At the top
of the Star Tunnel will be a stone circle that frames the sky.
You can spatially experience the
25,920 year time
frame of precession by climbing the stairs of the Star
Tunnel. From the first stair you see the smallest circle of
Polaris's circumpolar orbit. ItŐs about the size of a dime held
at arm's length. From the top stair the largest circle of Polaris's
orbit encompasses your entire field of vision. Wherever you stand
in the Star Tunnel, the circle of sky framed by the opening at
the top of the stairs precisely represents Polaris's orbit for
a particular period of history. Dates engraved in each stair will
identify the years you're viewing. Thus, the visitor can view the
orbit of Polaris as it existed for Nefertiti, or Plato, or Leonardo
da Vinci, or as it was in the Stone Age and will be again in A.D.
13,000.
