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Starry, Starry Plight
Hubble telescope cuts off ear for unrequited love from universe.

“Looking at the stars always makes me dream,” Van Gogh said, “Why, I ask myself, shouldn’t the shining dots of the sky be as accessible as the black dots on the map of France? Just as we take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to reach a star.”

Quietly from its exile, orbiting 375 miles above our little planet, the doomed Hubble telescope blinks, offering new observations on old light. And as reported recently in the scientific community: not unlike Van Gogh who painted �The Starry Night’ from his own asylum in Saint-Remy… fondly remembering the outdoors.


A final Shuttle mission to service the Hubble was cancelled in January, thus cutting short its spectacular life. Ex-senator and former rocket jockey, John Glenn said, “I think this kind of thing is wrong. It just pulls the rug out from under the scientists. I think they are just sort of scratching their heads, wondering why they put their faith in NASA.”

“Now I think I know what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they’re not listening still.
Perhaps they never will.”
- Vincent (Starry, Starry Night), by Don McClean

Even now, in failing health, scientists expect that the Hubble is diligently working on its next masterpiece.

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ENTRY DETAILS
ARCHIVE ID 1859 FILED UNDER Miscellaneous
PUBLISHED ON Mar.05.2004 BY E. Tage Larsen
WITH COMMENTS
Comments
bryony’s comment is:

what?

If you are not familiar with this project, you can get more info on Nasa's Hubble Project site.

On Mar.05.2004 at 02:04 PM
Darrel’s comment is:

Umm...I think you meant to post this on your space blog, not your graphic design one.

;o)

On Mar.05.2004 at 02:08 PM
eric’s comment is:

Also, a petition to save the hubble can be found here. and more information on its achievements and unfortunate demise here.

re Darrel's comments. sure it's not about the newest printer or application but the technologies and optics coming out of programs such as NASA drive the computers that you use on a daily basis.

Many of the news vehicles are pushing the comparison of Van Gogh to recent Hubble images. As i was talking to somebody earlier, aesthetics and perception drive "graphics".

On Mar.05.2004 at 02:22 PM
graham’s comment is:

the hubble images have been a constant source of inspiration. they are heartbreaking, frightening, implacable in the face of our attempts to impose order on what little we can perceive, yet daring us to try.

i wish i could find it-i'll have a look-there's one that is filled with thousands (tens? hundreds of thousands?) of points of light, tiny against black. stars? no-each yellow glow is a galaxy.

On Mar.05.2004 at 02:34 PM
M Kingsley’s comment is:

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/color_universe_020625-1.html

Darrel wrote:

Umm...I think you meant to post this on your space blog, not your graphic design one.

Actually, the Hubble images are more photoshop than one would think.

So I guess everything does revolve around graphic design.

On Mar.05.2004 at 02:39 PM
Sam’s comment is:

Mmmm...space blog.....

On Mar.05.2004 at 02:56 PM
eric’s comment is:

obviously, astronomy is due credit for how we developed culturally from theology through the arts. Many of the major art movements are derived from observations or advancements in optics.

The research from the The Institute for Solar Physics has had me in thrall for the last two years. how will i use it in "graphic design"? i don't know. but it infuses me.

Graham, please share the pic when you find it.

On Mar.05.2004 at 02:59 PM
Armin’s comment is:

Sorry for the now-live, now-not-live of this thread. It's all set.

On Mar.05.2004 at 03:38 PM
Jen’s comment is:

I love these images...their drama, their allure, the complexity that forced them into being...

Maybe the strange color schemes could show up in the next brochure I design or just find a place in the filing cabinet of my mind to be drawn upon later.

On Mar.05.2004 at 04:13 PM
marian’s comment is:

Mmmm...space blog.....

Mmmmmm .....

Eric, have I ever told you that I think you're a genius?

I find this kind of thing incredibly inspiring, and I keep forgetting about it for some reason. I honestly believe this is a very good use of billions of dollars--it's so interesting. And it's one of those things where science and art come together so nicely. graham, I thik I used to have that multiple galaxy pic on my desktop several years ago. I can't find it now, but there are lots of great pics if you follow Bryony's link, all of which are available at a pretty large size.

Also, the descriptions of the photos are pretty cool, too -- they remind me of those amusing one-liners used to display typefaces in catalogues:

"Massive Infant Stars Rock Their Cradle"

"Ant-like Space Structure Previews Death of Our Sun"

"Ghostly Reflections in the Pleiades"

"Hubble Finds Young Stars in Cosmic Dance"

On Mar.05.2004 at 08:49 PM
marian’s comment is:

graham, was it this one?

On Mar.05.2004 at 08:55 PM
eric’s comment is:

marian, that's great. it's like somebody lit a box of Lucky Charms on fire and threw it in the night sky.

On Mar.05.2004 at 09:02 PM
graham’s comment is:

marian-it might have been, but i think i remember one which really looked like stars, filling the image; it's in a book at home, and at the moment i'm a long way from home, and i think it's gonna be a long long time 'till touch down . . .

On Mar.06.2004 at 01:58 PM
marian’s comment is:

graham, please tell me you're posting to Speak Up from an airplane ... that would be incredibly cool.

On Mar.06.2004 at 02:43 PM
aizan’s comment is:

Coloring photographs lies more closely with Information Design than Graphic Design.

Anyhow, just for fun, if anyone wants to learn more about astrophotography, the archives of the APML is where you want to start. http://astro.umsystem.edu/apml/

"Solar tomography is sexy and juicy."

On Mar.06.2004 at 11:43 PM
eric’s comment is:

damn you! there goes the rest of my week. Ladies and gentlemen, i present Subaru Flat field. One of an infinite number of possibilities in that fiery canopy oer'head:

thanks for the link Aizan. there goes my week.

On Mar.08.2004 at 09:54 PM
jesse’s comment is:

Holy crap. I feel so ... insignificant.

Thanks for this topic, Eric. I signed the petition.

On Mar.09.2004 at 08:47 AM