Helios by Luke Jerram

Helios, the internationally touring artwork by Luke Jerram — the artist behind Museum of the Moon and Gaia — brings the sun to Goole Market Hall as one of the flagship events of the town’s bicentenary year. The giant internally lit sphere is covered in extraordinarily detailed imagery of the solar surface, drawn from NASA observations and the work of astrophotographer Dr Stuart Green, so visitors can get up close to sunspots, spicules and filaments that could never be viewed safely with the naked eye. The Goole installation is listed at around six metres in diameter, with each centimetre representing roughly 2,300 kilometres of the sun’s surface.

The sculpture is paired with animated lighting and a specially composed surround-sound experience, and even features imagery linked to the May 2024 solar flares that lit up UK skies with the Northern Lights. Helios is brought to Goole by East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s arts team as part of the Goole 200 programme, and entry is free. Daily opening times are to be confirmed — check the Goole 200 what’s-on listings before visiting.