Monument to the Stars
August 30, 2026, marks the start of the journey for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman or NGRST) that will reside in relatively close proximity to the John Webb Space Telescope (Webb or JWST) at Lagrange point (L2) – (see Seeing Beyond 2021). While Webb uses mid-infrared and near-infrared to see deep into the universe performing high resolution narrow field investigations, Roman uses near-infrared to chart wide, panoramic sections of the universe. As an analogy, JWST is to a zoom camera lens, as NGRST is to a wide-angle camera lens. According to NASA, Roman “will also be able to block starlight to directly see exoplanets and planet-forming disks, complete a statistical census of planetary systems in our galaxy, and settle essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics." Here on Earth, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory located near Cerro Pachón, Chile uses visible light from an 8.4-meter mirror to also map wide sections of the southern sky. For centuries, humans have been fascinated with the heavens with ancient Earth-based astronomical observatories such as Chaco Canyon, El Caracol at Chichen Itza or Ulugh Beg Observatory. This brings me to the question: What would an ancient astronomical observatory look like if recreated in the modern age?
Photo: courtesy of Charles Ross
Star Axis is a monumental earthwork first conceived by Charles Ross in 1971 and located between Las Vegas and Santa Rosa in northern New Mexico. Ross spent the first five years trying to identify a site suitable for his grand idea. I visited Star Axis in June 2026, where Ross tells a story of driving throughout the southwestern US and finally New Mexico to scout the perfect site. It was in northern New Mexico where Ross met a cowboy while surveying a cattle ranch. After hearing about the idea, the cowboy proceeded to hand him a business card (yes, a cowboy with a business card) for Ross to contact the cowboy’s father, W.O. Culberton, who owned the ranch. Ross explained to Culbertson that he had a vision to build a sculpture that would mark Earth’s axial procession by observing the current North star, Polaris and he needed about a square mile of land to develop the sculpture. Culbertson replied, “Well, hell, we’ve got plenty of those.”, and deeded the land to Ross to build Star Axis in 1976.
This modern artwork is intended to observe the star as ancient civilizations would have centuries before. There is no modern technology in the built environment, no computers, scientific equipment, or light sequences – only the stars above to view in the dark skies. The artwork is comprised of five main sections including the Star Tunnel, the Solar Pyramid, the Shadow Field, the Hour Chamber and the Equatorial Chamber and serves as a lasting monument for astronomy as well as to mathematics and engineering.
Photo: courtesy of Charles Ross
In the early 1960s, Charles Ross studied physics and later mathematics at UC Berkeley when he enrolled in a sculpture class to complete the requirements for graduation. Creating sculpture allowed Ross to transform the theoretical into the physical and completely sparked his creative use of mathematics. After earning a BA in Mathematics, Ross continued his education at UC Berkeley to earn a MA in Sculpture.
Star Axis is scheduled to open in 2026 marking its 50th anniversary. Anticipate that visits will be limited and by reservation only. Until public visits are available, please check out the Dwan Light Sanctuary at United World College in nearby Montezuma, New Mexico.
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