WEEK 9 SPACE AND ART

SPACE AND ART


When our distant relatives first started walking on two feet, their eyes were no longer focused on the ground but instead fixated up into the heavens. From this point on, we have always been fascinated with the heavens. Thousands of years of this fascination has led to many generations of scientists working together to explore and understand the cosmos.
The Copernican Heliocentric model. The first published model to place the Sun in the center of the solar system
instead of the earth.

Nicolaus Copernicus was the first human to scientifically introduce the heliocentric model of our solar system in 1512. This was an incredible change in human thinking, and directly contradicted the teaching of Latin Christendom. The Catholic church had always stuck to their guns about our little island home earth being the center of the universe, but scientists like Copernicus fought to tell people the truth about our infinite cosmos and our little place in the universe.

One interesting thing I learned from this weeks lecture is the connection between early science fiction authors and later scientific findings. For instance, Jules Verne wrote from “The Earth To The Moon” in 1865. In this book, Verne described the effects of weightlessness on the moon. Verne, an artist, predicted weightlessness on the moon nearly 100 years before the Neil Armstrong would take his first steps on the moon. Verne is not alone either, there is a long history of science fiction authors predicting scientific discoveries. I would actually argue that more frequently than not, scientists follow artists like Verne and use their work to guide their scientific research.
The Cosmic Calendar from Tyson's "Cosmos". The calendar tells the history of you universe by relating it to one calendar year. Human history doesn't begin until 9 pm on Dec 31st. Also, notice the artistic aesthetics used to create the calendar.

Another cool revelation I had was inspired by this week’s lecture. In this week’s lecture, Professor Vesna mentioned the popular scientist Carl Sagan and his work in the video titled “Pale Blue Dot:  a vision of the human future in space”. This led me to learning more about Carl Sagan which led me to his revolutionary TV series titled “Cosmos” that aired in the 1980’s. This television show was revolutionary because Sagan led audiences through an engaging guided tour of the various elements and cosmological theories of the universe. The general public was introduced to cutting edge technology and revolutionary theories about the cosmos. I then discovered Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s “COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY” which recently aired on National Geographic and is now available on Netflix. In Tyson’s Cosmos, he acknowledges the profound impact that Sagan had on him personally. Tyson’s Cosmos is a beautiful combination of Art and Science. The show is guided by a imaginary space vehicle on which Tyson can visit anything in the universe. Tyson explains incredible scientific theories, laws, and history by using beautiful artistic renditions and animations. “COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY” combines art and science to create an informative and amazing TV series. I 
encourage everybody with a Netflix account to watch “COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY”.
A supernova from Tyson's Cosmos. What an incredible image!


Sources:

“Nicolaus Copernicus.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017, www.biography.com/people/nicolaus-copernicus-9256984. Accessed 3 June 2017.

Uconlineprogram. “8 space pt1 1280x720.” YouTube, YouTube, 29 July 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZIqTR332l8. Accessed 3 June 2017.

“Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.” National Geographic Channel, 26 Aug. 2015, channel.nationalgeographic.com/cosmos-a-spacetime-odyssey/. Accessed 3 June 2017.

Sagan, Carl. “Cosmos (TV Mini-Series 1980– ).” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0081846/. Accessed 3 June 2017.

Allain, Rhett. “Weight in Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon.” Wired, Conde Nast, 16 July 2011, www.wired.com/2011/07/weight-in-jules-vernes-from-the-earth-to-the-moon/. Accessed 3 June 2017.


Image sources:
http://imgur.com/m49jd97
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Copernican_heliocentrism_diagram-2.jpg

https://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/1367436/cosmos-space-time-odyssey.jpg

Comments

  1. AudieJune 6, 2017 at 6:09 PM

    great blog post, its well organized and flows well! It is quite a feat that individuals such as Jules Verne were able to correctly guess the weightless effects of the moon without being there. Science is one beautiful thing.

    ReplyDelete

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