THEODORE BOYER, 2016
www.theodoreboyer.com

Planet Nine is a hypothetical large planet in the far outer Solar System, the gravitational effects of which would explain the improbable orbital configuration of a group of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) that orbit mostly beyond the Kuiper belt. On January 20th 2016 researchers Konstantin Batygin and Michael E. Brown explained a massive outer planet would be the likeliest explanation for the similarities in orbits of six distant objects, and they proposed specific orbital parameters. The predicted planet would be a super-Earth with an estimated mass of 10 Earths, a diameter two to four times that of Earth, and a highly elliptical orbit with an orbital period of approximately 15,000 years. 

My work at Residency 108 was inspired by Brown and Batygin's astronomical findings. I used a drone to film a specific area as a frame of reference for two motorcyclists to create an elliptical pattern in the earth where the planets of the inner solar system and the 9th planet would hypothetically orbit. My overall concept is to merge technical and natural materials, to reimagine the cosmic dance of these astral bodies through the landscape. I will use this video as Part I of III, that will incorporate animations of the actual planets orbiting in our solar system. Below are still images from Part I.