What if you could see the night sky with X-ray eyes?

The X-ray Zodiac is an outreach project introducing the public to the hidden worlds that astronomy studies. By linking X-ray studies with the familiar zodiac constellations, we can demonstrate that X-rays are just another kind of light – and engage their own creativity in seeing what scientific exploration can reveal.

The project was first conceived of by Martin Ward (Durham University), and was helped into reality by Hugh Dickinson (Open University) and Ged Matthews (Durham University). I was the artist and the data scientist for the project.

By searching the ROSAT all-sky survey bright source catalogue (Voges et al. 1999) for X-ray objects within the constellation boundaries, we found what the sky would look like if you could see the X-ray light. With these new stars, I designed an all-new zodiac that lives alongside the ancient one.

The stars here are very different – many are neutron stars, X-ray binaries, or supermassive black holes. Therefore, many are also much further away than the stars we see; many of these new constellations may still be recognisable in millions of years.