About Star Axis
Star Axis is an earthwork built to observe the stars.
Created by artist Charles Ross, all of Star Axis’s shapes and angles are determined by earth-to-star alignments built into the architecture so they can be experienced in physical form and human scale.
Ross’s artwork involves light, time, and planetary motion. Star Axis, his largest project, was conceived in 1971. After a four-year search throughout the southwest, Ross broke ground in 1976. Built with earth, granite, sandstone, stainless steel, and bronze, Star Axis is 11 stories high and 1/10th mile across.
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Star Axis has five main elements. The Star Tunnel is precisely aligned with Earth's axis. Here the viewer can walk through layers of celestial time, making visible the 26,000-year cycle of precession, Earth's shifting alignment with the stars. The Solar Pyramid marks the daily and seasonal movements; its collected shadows over the course of a year drawing the shape of the Shadow Field. From inside the Hour Chamber you can view one hour of Earth's rotation, and from inside the Equatorial Chamber you can observe the stars that travel directly above the equator.
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​“I realized I had to build Star Axis when I discovered that Polaris pulses in the human visual field—from a circle smaller than a dime held at arms length at present, to a circle that encompasses our entire field of vision 13,000 years from now. It wasn’t enough to just know about this. I wanted to walk through it.” - Charles Ross
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STAR AXIS DOCUMENTARY FILM (6 minutes)
Special thanks to the Gale Family Foundation for making this film possible.
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Visiting ​
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Star Axis is currently under construction and closed to the general public. We anticipate opening to the public in several years.
T​hank you for your patience.
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Fundraising is currently underway to complete construction this year and plan for the future of Star Axis.
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Your contribution to our fundraising campaign will provide opportunities for you to visit Star Axis from June to September 2026.
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Please click "Contribute" below
for info on supporting and visiting Star Axis this year.
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Support ​
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2026 is a milestone year for Star Axis.
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We plan to complete construction on this magnificent earthwork this year, 50 years after artist Charles Ross broke ground on a mesa in eastern New Mexico.
Conceived in 1971, Star Axis is the realization of more than five decades of vision, dedication, and creative genius.
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Your contribution will fund this final year of construction and help prepare Star Axis for its next chapter: welcoming the public in the years ahead to experience this remarkable alignment of art, architecture and the cosmos.
Please click "Contribute" below
to support Star Axis today.
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Thank you!
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Land Light Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to the completion of Star Axis, and opening it to the public.
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All donations go directly toward Star Axis.
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Land Light Foundation is committed to supporting Star Axis, an immersive sculpture that allows one to experience how Earth's environment extends into the space of the stars.
We greatly appreciate the loyalty and enthusiasm of Star Axis supporters.
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Land Light Foundation
69 Wooster Street, #7
New York, NY 10012
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General Inquiries: info@staraxis.org
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Jamie Clements, CEO, Land Light Foundation: Jamie@staraxis.org
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Press Inquiries: staraxis@resnicow.com
Links
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STAR AXIS DOCUMENTARY FILM (6 minutes)
Special thanks to the Gale Family Foundation for making this film possible.​
Thank you Dyanna Taylor and David Aubrey for creating this Star Axis film.
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