“A vast celestial body, emitting an unworldly light”. That’s how some have described the 65 foot wide “Night Sun”, a work of art from the Brighton artists Heather and Ivan Morison, and constructed by Bristol based hot air balloon specialists Cameron Balloons.
After weather delays, the “test flight” was carried out on Wednesday night before the official launch on Saturday. The artwork houses a lighting rig and is tethered by a steel cable to a platform floating on Milton Creek, which in turn will be towed by a barge, allowing it to move. After Saturday, it will be launched repeatedly at dusk on days yet to be decided, rising higher and higher each time. Then as dawn breaks, the “Night Sun” will set below the skyline, gradually moving closer to Sittingbourne over the course of the month.
The project is part of a regeneration scheme around Milton Creek Country Park and is hoped to bring hundreds of curious night-time visitors. The artwork, at its peak height (about 400 feet) will be visible for some 20 miles around, and will light up the ground beneath it.
