Lighting phenomenon observation of the winter solstice

• Day: December 17
• Hours: from 7:30 a.m. (consult programme)
• Space: Terraces and Aljub
• Free activity with prior registration (to attend the conference)

Es Baluard Museu organizes in collaboration with the Balearic Mathematical Society XEIX, the observation of the light effect that originates coinciding with the winter solstice at La Seu de Mallorca and that can be seen from the terraces of the Museum. A phenomenon that occurs in the month of December and which allows you to contemplate the sunrise through the two rosettes of La Seu – the rosette major and the rosette of the main facade -, thus creating a kind of giant kaleidoscope of light and color .
Once the light effect has been viewed, the conference “Forma, belleza y función de las matemáticas en la arquitectura” is scheduled to be given by Professor Encarnación Reyes (E.T.S. Architecture. Universidad de Valladolid). The talk will highlight the link between mathematics and architectural creation, corroborating the presence, involvement and usefulness of geometry in architectural projects and artistic designs, from Classical Antiquity to the present.

From the oldest constructions to medieval Romanic churches and Gothic cathedrals, Renaissance symmetry, proportion and perspective, Baroque domes, and up to modern architecture or the architectural avant-gardes of the 21st century, it can be confirmed that mathematics has had an indisputable influence on architectural composition and creation. This can be seen through a mathematical tour that will mainly focus on the cathedral of Mallorca. The function, beauty and form that connect these two disciplines, architecture and mathematics, will allow you to visualize and enjoy with the eyes of a tourist-mathematician the geometric and constructive characteristics of the imposing Majorcan Cathedral.

Timetable

• 7:30 a.m. Museum doors open
• 8:00 a.m. Concentration at the Baluard de Sant Pere
• 8:15 a.m. Observation of the light phenomenon from the terraces of Es Baluard Museu
• 8:30 a.m. Conference “Forma, belleza y función de las matemáticas en la arquitectura” by María Encarnación Reyes Iglesias

The light effect of the solstice was discovered, studied and disseminated by the Sociedad Balear de Matemáticas SBM-XEIX, which since 2007 has gathered followers around the phenomenon, with the aim of disseminating mathematical knowledge.