As the world still mourns the passing of David Bowie, we can take some comfort that he’s posthumously received the most appropriate tribute ever: a constellation named after him, shaped in his iconic lightning bolt.
The MIRA Public Observatory in Brussels, Belgium, worked with a local radio station to register the constellation, which consists of seven stars located in the vicinity of Mars. From DDB Brussels:
It was not easy to determine the appropriate stars,” says Philippe Mollet from MIRA. “Studio Brussels asked us to give Bowie a unique place in the galaxy. Referring to his various albums, we chose seven stars - Sigma Librae, Spica, Alpha Virginis, Zeta Centauri, SAA 204 132, and the Beta Sigma Octantis Trianguli Australis - in the vicinity of Mars. The constellation is a copy of the iconic Bowie lightning and was recorded at the exact time of his death.
I know this is at least partially just a publicity stunt, but I don’t care—this is perfect. In fact, I think we should get rid of all the old, crappy constellations and replace them with Bowie-themed new ones. You can’t tell me that the night sky wouldn’t be improved if we got rid of Orion and replaced him with the Goblin King.
[HuffPo]
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