Sep
03
2009
By Jon Lomberg
In 1991 I painted a portrait of the Milky Way for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.
Two depictions of the Milky Way Galaxy. The top half is the painting at the Smithsonian Institution. The bottom half is a view of the Galaxy Garden in Hawaii.
During the project I worked with expert astronomers and the painting was based on the best knowledge available of our galaxy. But effective though it was, it hung on the wall. I knew the most vivid way to teach people about their home galaxy was to make a model they could explore from inside.
Thus the idea for the Galaxy Garden was born.
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Aug
23
2009
By Jon Lomberg
Jon Lomberg imagines a future where humans have colonised Mars.
A few centuries from now, Mars might be a bustling frontier. If our species can survive there, it will spread slowly, pushed by the spirit of scientific inquiry, or the urge to explore. Landing sites will turn into bases and eventually into communities.
Mars
Mars has as much dry surface area as the Earth. Even aided by satellites, it will take a very long time to explore the planet. Meanwhile, all the unmanned landers and rovers from earlier missions will still be where they were centuries before, buried in sand perhaps.
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Aug
11
2009
By Jon Lomberg
10 days of science is thoroughly excited to introduce renowned ‘astronomy-inspired’ artist Jon Lomberg as its special new guest blogger.
Thirty-two years ago something extraordinary happened to me.
It was August 20, 1977 and I was sitting in the viewing stands at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. I was watching the launch of NASA’s Voyager 2 mission to the outer solar system and beyond. Atop the Titan Centaur rocket, the shiny and new Voyager spacecraft was inside the nose of the launch vehicle, packaged as carefully as a Ming vase (though worth a thousand times more!)
Jon Lomberg in 1979 standing next to a replica of the Voyager spacecraft at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Wrapped in its protective cocoon, the spacecraft awaited its fate.
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