Weekly Blog_ Space and Art

Art has a huge implementation on the study and understanding of space. Even during historical times, our ancestors had tried to understand and make use of the cosmos. For example, the North Star has been utilized for centuries by travelers to guide their direction. Some stars in the night sky were lined together to be imaged by our ancestors. Known as constellations, our ancestors added lines between stars to form pictures, figures, or gods. The Greeks would sometimes create constellations representing their, mythological heroes and gods. 



In the modern era, art has been utilized to firstly understand our cosmos. There are numerous books and media depicting the color, sizes, and distances of the planets in our solar system. There are also museums depicting our planets. For example, the Griffith Observatory, located in LA, has a section dedicated to showing visitors the sizes of planets relative to each other. 



In my opinion, art is very important for the visualization and understanding of space. Space is a very huge place that we as humans are very microscopic relative to size. We are in an era where photography of planets, asteroids, and celestial views is possible. However, photography can not directly give us the gran spectacle of the universe. Modeling can give people an idea of how vast the outside world truly is. One example is to show how the solar system is very microscopic relative to the known universe. An example of this is shown by a youtube video posted by the youtube channel, Molten Science, titled "Universe Size Comparison 2020." This video shows side by side comparison of celestial bodies. Progressively, the video shows the next biggest body than the previous one. 

People can find the universe itself to be a form of art. From our capability to take photos of objects at a limited distance in space, scientists are capable of taking beautiful images. For example, an image take by NASA in 2007 clearly shows the rings of Saturn. The colorful and bright rings can be taken as a form of art by scientists. 









                                            Works Cited

“Universe Size Comparison - 2020.” YouTube, Molten Science, 28 Nov. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRKAguSygHQ.

“The Planets: Griffith Observatory - Southern California's Gateway to the Cosmos!” Griffith Observatory, 10 Feb. 2021, griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/gunther-depths-of-space/the-planets/.

Krco, Marko. “What Are Constellations Used for? (Intermediate).” Curious.astro.cornell.edu, curious.astro.cornell.edu/the-universe/117-the-universe/stars-and-star-clusters/constellations/375-what-are-constellations-used-for-intermediate.

“What Exactly Is the North Star?” Scientific American, Scientific American, 3 Jan. 2006, www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-exactly-is-the-north/.

Beauty In the Universe, NASA, 23 Mar. 2008, www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/170654main_image_feature_771_ys_full.jpg.

Griffith Observatory Review & Tips, Tom Bricker, www.travelcaffeine.com/griffith-observatory-review-tips/.

“The Big Dipper Asterism in the Constellation Ursa Major. Starry Night Software / A.Fazekas.” WHAT ARE CONSTELLATIONS?, MARIA TEMMING, 17 July 2014, skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-resources/exactly-constellations/.

Administrator, NASA Content. Beauty in the Universe, NASA, 3 Nov. 2015, www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_771.html.


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