Download Astronomical Art

Astronomical Art
Astronomical/Space art can be designed around the New Zealand Science Curriculum unit Planet Earth and beyond.
Science often inspires artists to create new works of art, the area of astronomical art is still in its infancy, having begun only when humans gained the
ability to look beyond our world and artistically depicted what they saw. Space artists are attempting to communicate ideas somehow related to space,
often including an appreciation of the infinite variety and vastness which surrounds us.
What you need
Images of planets, stars, constellations and Nebula
Star charts
The free downloadable software www.stellarium.org
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/
http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/UTILS/search.cgi
A variety of Astronomical/Space artists (see Helena Kauppila’s work attached) or images of work of night time skies from Earth eg; Van Goph’s Starry Night
or Night over the Rhone. Frazer Gunn is an astrophotographer; for a pdf of the night sky at Lake Tekapo go to: www.frasergunn.co.nz/ChurchandStars/
ChurchandStars.pdf
Introduction
Step1 Spend several days looking at or studying the night time sky. If you have access to a computer, download the software Stellarium or book a
session with Science Alive and their Space Dome to get the ultimate astronomical experience. If you are working from home and want the real thing,
take a few minutes after dark to step outside with your children and look up. If you observe the night time sky for several evenings in a row (Stellarium can
be set to show you real time and location) the children will notice that the sky looks different each night. The moon may appear to be getting larger or
smaller, changing shape or not even visible. The stars may seem brighter and more noticeable (or dimmer and harder to see). A star might not even be a
star but a planet!
Can the children notice groups of stars that appear together and seem to form a shape or object? There are 88 western constellations known in modern
day. In New Zealand the easiest to spot are Orion (Orion’s belt is three stars in a row), this is best viewed in the summer months. Above Orion is the
constellation Canis Major (The big dog), which contains the brightest star in our night time sky, Sirius. In the winter months look out for the large curling
tail of the scorpion in the constellation Scorpius.
Step 2
Use works of art (See artwork attached to this file) to show the children how artists have been inspired by space. Discuss and compare and contrast
different works and artists. Children will begin to decide if they prefer the abstract or the more realist pictures, which may inspire their thought processes
for their own creations. Imaginative ways to attract children to art works or even space images and sustain and provoke interest may be to focus on small
details of the work before showing the entirety. Cover the work with a sheet of paper and have a viewing window over a small detail, then move the
window to open up another area. Perhaps take the children on a narrative journey through the work, talking about details or stories
around the artists inspiration behind the image. You could even get the children involved in thinking how the artist felt when
painting/producing the image.
Step 3
The next step is for children to select a space image or something that has inspired them about space and start to design their artwork. Let the
children select their artistic medium. This could be digital, canvas, mixed media etc. Try to encourage some scientific validity to be included in their work
ie a specific constellation, nebula, planet, exoplanet or star. Older children may need to grid up (www.wikihow.com/Scale-Drawings-Using-the-GridMethod) images of constellations in order to plot where they need to place the specific spots to represent the stars, or they may need to measure distances
between stars and planets in their space image to try and replicate these specifications in their artworks. For very young children, grids and planning are
not necessarily an option and you can just let their creative juices flow straight onto the paper. Spend time on the artwork so students have time to really
get the opportunity to produce quality pieces of work.
Step 4
Have a class exhibition where pupils can view each others art. Encourage discussions but remind children that any feedback needs be balanced
and appropriate. Children may wish to have their original space image next to their own creation. Invite parents in, students will have the opportunity to
give their parents a narrative tour of their artwork, this will allow them to share not only their artistic skills but also their scientific astronomical knowledge.
The link between science and art is not as vast as people assume, science, not just astronomy, is based on coming up with ideas and testing them out to see
if they work; this is how many works of art have been created.
Curriculum Links
Science: Children will gain a basic understanding of astronomy and start to recognise familiar stellar objects, distances in space and be encouraged to use
a basic astronomical vocabulary.
Mathematics: Students will have the opportunity to work with measurements, size, number, quantities, graphing and plotting.
English: This study will provide a context for and application of skills such as speaking and listening, making presentations and narrations and using and
applying research skills.
History: This unit could look at space exploration time lines; the race to the Moon. Pupils could compare how space images/art has changed over time as
technology has given us more access to the farthest reaches of space.
ICT: Students can use and apply research skills, taking astro-photographs. They can have the opportunity to use digital software to simulate space or use
digital software to complete their artistic works.
Space Resource Sites There are hundreds of space related websites, below are just a few of these.
http://geology.com/teacher/astronomy-space.shtml
www.sciencealive.co.nz/free-resources
www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
www.kidsastronomy.com/
www.sciencekids.co.nz/astronomy.html
www.astronomy.com/observing/astro-for-kids
Artist Information Helena Kauppila
Helena Kauppila attended The California Institute of Technology studying for a Bachelor of Science and Mathematics. She also attended Columbia
University in the City of New York and gained a PhD in Mathematics. As well as being an artist she continues to teach at Columbia University as an adjunct
(part-time) assistant professor.
Helena is inspired by nature; space is only one field she explores. Helena creates colourful and vibrant abstract paintings of what the skies of distant
‘exoplanets’ (a planet which orbits a star outside the solar system) could look like. Helena has used the online tool Endeavour (http://www.astronexus.com/
endeavour) to meticulously plot where stars would appear in the skies of these distant planets. Using this online tool to inspire her paintings leads to
some scientific validity to her dynamic works of art.
During the development of the timeline of her space inspired work, Helena met with research scientists and kept up to date with the latest discoveries, of
which one was NASA’s Kepler mission.
Even though it seems likely that the galaxy is teeming with exoplanets, finding them is not easy. The Kepler mission used the ‘transit method’ to aid the
detection of new planets. Planets are millions of times dimmer than the stars they orbit and incredibly distant. The transit method involves sensitive
instruments that can detect a periodic dip in brightness of a parent star as the planet passes between the star and the observer. From this method
scientists are able to calculate the size and orbit of a planet.
Helena kept up to date with technology and used the internet to study habitable exoplanets to give her some suggestions about newly discovered
planets, their terrain, size and orbit and how many other planets also orbited the same star.
Helena adores working with a palette of colours and so decided to look at images produced by probes and observers launched into space. These probes
have produced stunning images of colour and light. Much of this light is the most ancient light observed in the history of the Universe, emitted 380,000
years after the Big Bang. The idea of ancient light still visible now gave the artist some extra input to inspire some of her newer work.
References
• www.helenakauppila.com, http
• //planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/page/methods
• http://phl.upr.edu/projects/habitable-exoplanets-catalog
• http://sci.esa.int/planck/
Helena Kauppila
Aquarius
This is one of the
paintings by Helena
in her ‘star chart series’
taken from the Earth
perspective.
For NZ perspective downloadable Star
Charts go to:
www.stardome.org.nz/astronomy/
resources/star-charts/
or view NZ star charts at:
www.astronomynz.org.nz/star-charts/starcharts.html
Helena Kauppila Aquarius_2014_Oil on linen 14 x14 inches
Helena Kauppila
Tau Ceti E
This painting
was inspired by a
rumoured planet
which is orbiting
the Sun like star
Tau Ceti.
The planet is said
to have similar
qualities to Earth
and orbits in the
stars habitable
zone.
In 2012 an international group of
scientists led by Mikko Toumi, of
the University of Hertfordshire,
announced the potential discovery
of five planets around the nearby
star Tau Ceti. This stellar system
is approximately 12 light years
away from Earth. (One light year
is equivalent to approximately 10
trillion kilometres.)
Helena Kauppila Tau Ceti E 2014 oil on linen 14 x14 inches
Helena Kauppila
Kepler -22B
During the creation of
the painting Kepler-22B,
Helena was focused on
creating a continuous
colour distribution. She
was inspired by how stars
emit white light, which
is the full spectrum of
visible light.
(Imagine a rainbow, this shows the full
spectrum of visible light)
Kepler-22b is an extrasolar planet orbiting
G-type star Kepler-22. It is located about 600
light years from Earth in the constellation of
Cygnus.
It was discovered by NASA’s Kepler Space
Telescope in 2011 and was the first known
transiting planet to orbit within the habitable
zone of a Sun-like star.
Helena Kauppila Kepler 22b 2014_oil on linen 14x14inches
Helena Kauppila
Kepler-62E
Kepler-62E is an
exoplanet thought to be
a watery world. Helena
uses the theme of water
with the initial use of
cobalt blue to create this
painting.
Kepler-62E is one of thousands of exoplanet
candidates discovered by the Kepler space
telescope, whose primary mission between was
to seek exoplanets (especially Earth-like ones)
outside of the solar system.
The Kepler-62 system has five planets, Kepler62E is about 1.6 times the size of Earth and
orbits its parent red dwarf star about once
every 122 days. It is in fact possibly one of two
exoplanets that orbit in the habitable zone of
the parent start.
For more information on the Kepler system go to:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/kepler62-kepler-69.html
Helena Kauppila_Kepler 62E_2014_oil on linen 14 x14 inches
Helena Kauppila
Gliese 667 To Arneb
This painting is from
the ‘star chart series’
Helena created. She has
combined the scientific
locations of the stars with
the unknown quality of
what it would look like
to live in another Solar
System.
Gliese 667 is a triple-star system in the constellation
of Scorpius . All three of the stars have masses
smaller than the Sun. The planetary system Gliese
667 hosts at least 6 to 7 planets. Three of the planets
are Super-Earths and are located in the habitable
zone.
Arneb is a white supergiant star in the constellation
Lepus the Hare. In New Zealand it is found above the
constellation Orion and can be located between the
stars Rigel (Orion) and Sirius (Canis Major).
Helena Kauppila Gliese 667 To Arneb 2013 oil on linen 20 x 22 inches
No:9
No:7
No: 1
No:8
No: 3
No:10
The Orion Creation Series
Digital Art By Anna Baker
The Orion Creation Series
Narrative explanation of pieces 1, 3, 7, 8, 9 and 10 (See small images attached)
No.1 Have you ever tried to take a photograph without using a tripod? After many unsuccessful attempts at using a camera to take pictures of the night
time sky, you look at your photographic image only to see a series of blurred lines and marks. No.1: represents this frustration. The chaotic image shows
the movement, not of the stars but of the artist.
No.3 The constellation is hidden within the picture but seems to be being swallowed up by the spiralling nebula. Showing its later destruction as the
stars within it die and become recycled into a nebula, ready to create new stars.
No.7 What do we know about space? Humans are on a voyage of discovery, constantly exposing new and exciting finds in the world of space. Then we
try and piece these new discoveries together, into a bigger picture of the universe and its creation.
No.8 How far away is space? How can we get those stellar pictures to Earth in such clear and vivid images? Have you ever had bad reception on
your television? This image represent the mind blowing idea that the images sent from space are distances beyond our imagination. No.8: is the image
scattering between the Orion Nebula and Earth.
No.9
A supernova of a nebula! An actual supernova is when a single star explodes. Possibly caused by gravitational collapse, the star’s luminosity
increases and most of the star’s mass is blown away at very high velocity. Imagine billions of stars in a mass Supernova!
No.10 How hot is a nebula? A thermographic camera forms an image using infrared radiation, similar to a common camera that forms an image using
visible light. Instead of the normal range of the visible light camera, infrared cameras operate at different wavelengths. The amount of radiation emitted by
an object increases with temperature; therefore, thermography allows you to see variations in temperature.
No.11 See larger image. When you look up into the night time sky, doesn’t it seem like a blanket of black darkness, with a few spots of light? Yet if you take
a closer look, there is an abundance of colour. Humans sometimes need a little help from technology to be able to see it in its full glory.
The Orion Creation No.11
This art work is part of a
series created using the
software ‘Photoshop’.
Inspired by the
constellation Orion, one
of the most prominent
star patterns in the sky.
Anna is familiar with the
software ‘Stellarium’, and
this prompted her to use it
to locate the Nebula (plural
Nebulae) within Orion.
She was inspired by the
wonderful colours and
the idea that Nebulae are
partly remnants of dying
stars that are recycled to
form new stars.
*Nebula
an interstellar cloud of
dust, hydrogen, helium and other gases.
Nebulae are often great star-forming
regions.
Orion Creation No.11 Anna Baker