Many Western cultures were still not quite ready to look through the telescope. It was empirical observation that anyone with sight could see. This time, it wasn’t just Copernicus’ math that proved we Earthlings were not the center of the Universe. This is the year Galileo published findings that described his telescope observations. In 1610, Western-encultured minds had a second chance to reorient themselves in relation to the cosmos. But how did this change public imagination? Was everyone suddenly dreaming at night of Earth moving around the sun? What real, embodied meaning did this scientific reality hold for the public? It seems to be a reasonable question to ask today, given how humans presently inhabit the planet, and given the quickening pace of the Anthropocene? This has lead us to wonder to what degree most educated people alive today know in/through their bodies what Copernicus, so controversially concluded in 1543? The Copernican Revolution placed the sun, rather than the Earth, at the centre of our solar system. And we’re gaining an increasing, background awareness (and sensation) of Earthly movement throughout the day. And it’s becoming easier to sense and experience the Earth’s spin in real time than to try to imagine it or analyze it cognitively. These transitions have started to register for us less “times” of day and more a the literal, ongoing movement of the planet. They are now events that we look forward to twice a day. Our particular Earth-location’s transitions from night to day and day to night has quickly and easily captured our interest and imaginations. So far, we’ve been up at or before dawn every day. We have left evening events early, in order to be away from artificial lights by the time the sun “sets.”Įach evening, we have closely observed the transition into darkness. It has been relatively easy to conform the structure of our lives to the form of the project. Here are a few zuihitsu-like musings from within the process. We are 14 days into our Turning into the Night project and it already feels like we are engaged in a life and perspective-altering project.
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