Created by Yingjie Bei and Yifan Hu at ITP, Moon Phases allows the audience to input any date and it will show the moon phase for that night (from the northern hemisphere’s perspective).

The project started from Yingjie’s very first processing sketch which included a 2D drawing for moon phases. From there, he expand the approach investigating a different perspective where audience can experience the moon phases’ changing in a tangible and poetic way.

Changing process of the moon phase is beautiful logically and aesthetically. It not only reflects in the complicated astronomy system and the passage of time, but also in the interpretation of human beings…. I want to create a experience of crossing the time and space dimensions for viewers through a easy interaction. At the same time, inspire the viewer to think of the time, the world and universe that we live in.

The date input starts with Arduino, transferred into Processing for the moon phase calculation and then transferred back to Arduino to control the servo beneath the turn table to position the light. More detailed information about the project and the making of  is available on Yingjie’s blog and Yifan’s site below.

Project Page | Yingjie Bei | Yifan Hu