27th November 2018 – Neon
Left – The Twin Dome and Neon emission spectrum. Right – Original drawings for the Twin Dome
As it turned out The Shine Project continued with new interest and new opportunities beyond the end of the International Year of Light. In November 2018, and building on the continued interest, it was decided that the time was right to start making use of the Twin Dome. It would prove to be the new home of the Shine Project. The first intervention was on the exterior of the building and using the very prominent, curved, south-facing wall.
Spectroscopy remained the key to the astronomy-art-music collaboration and it was decided that a single, large emission spectrum, wrapped around the 7 metre long wall, would be perfect for the first use of the Twin Dome.
Hydrogen was the emission spectrum which had featured most prominently throughout the Shine Project and, as Hydrogen is by far the most abundant element in the universe, for good reason. However, as the emission spectrum of Hydrogen is made up of just the four lines of red, light blue, dark blue and violet, it was decided that something more colourful and energetic was needed. So rather than the first element of the periodic table, the tenth was chosen: Neon. This would give nearly 50 fairly evenly spaced spectral lines and it could also be called the world’s biggest Neon sign – or maybe St Andrews’ biggest Neon sign.