Solar Orbiter: We are all children of the Sun

There is a beautiful and terrifying giant that lives in space, 150 million kilometers from Earth. A giant that provides light, warmth and nourishment to life on the earth, in the oceans and in the air. But the giant could also endanger our modern technological society with powerful solar flares. So while the sun has been a source of inspiration since the dawn of human civilization, we must do our best to better understand the giant.

Metropole Orkest and the European Space Agency (ESA) are joining forces to pay tribute to this extraordinary celestial body. Using the most beautiful music inspired by the sun and fascinating images from the Solar Orbiter spacecraft and Seán Doran, ESA scientist Mark McCaughrean takes you on a space mission.

Composers Tijn Wybenga and Corrie van Binsbergen are invited to write new music for this concert series. Tijn: “I’m fascinated by scientific insights about aurora and sonification and I’m going to incorporate that into my music.” Corrie van Binsbergen has also delved into the research of the Solar Orbiter mission. “My perspective is a combination of science and mythology. I am inspired by, among other things, the Myth of Phaëton”, Corrie explains.

Solar Orbiter, a mission of the European Space Agency in collaboration with NASA, was launched in February 2020 and is now in orbit around the sun. Never before have people been able to take pictures so close and also study the polar regions of the sun. In the coming years, scientists hope to use the data that Solar Orbiter collects to answer some profound questions about the behavior of the sun. Questions that are important for all mankind, after all, we are all ‘children of the Sun’.

This project is made possible with support from Fonds 21 and Performing Arts Fund NL.