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Camborne School and Community College in Cornwall is the proud host of the trans-Neptunian object (TNO) Varuna. There are thousands of such TNOs orbiting in the cold depths of the Solar System beyond the planet Neptune.
In Hindu mythology, Varuna was the keeper of cosmic order; he was also responsible for rain and the oceans.
The installation has been created by sculptor Graham Jobbins who is perhaps
best known for his impressive 65-foot The Workers Tower at last year’s Glastonbury Festival.
Graham has worked closely with pupils from the college (with generous support from Creative Partnerships) and also with pupils from two schools in India with whom the college has recently set up dialogues as a result of their participation in the Spaced Out project.
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LEFT to RIGHT - Sculptor Graham Jobbins adds some finishing touches to his representation of Varuna at Camborne School & Community College in Cornwall.
Pupils rehearse songs...
...and Indian dance prior to the unveining of Varuna in March 2005.
Varuna was discovered on 28 November 2000 by R S McMillan, director of Spacewatch in Arizona.
Varuna was a Hindu god of the oceans and rivers - the Keeper of Cosmic Order.
It is the largest Kuiper Belt Object so far discovered and is only slightly smaller than Pluto’s satellite Charon.
Varuna is the ‘missing link’ between Pluto and over 70 000 similar smaller bodies known as Trans-Neptunian Objects or ‘plutinos’.
With an estimated diameter of 900 km, Varuna is slightly smaller than Ceres, the largest Main Belt asteroid.
