Week 9: Blue World and a Blue Dot

 One of the most famous images in the world is the Pale Blue Dot taken by Voyager at the suggestion of Carl Sagan which makes us reflect on the history of humanity and the importance of all of our human fights and disagreements from the point of view of the universe 



                                    https://www.planetary.org/worlds/pale-blue-dot


But the Pale Blue Dot is not the only famous image that made us reflect on the state of humanity and the world and in fact lots of artistic and scientific imaging is taken from space in order to evaluate worldwide phemomena. A very famous artist and scientist that took incredibly beautiful renderings of sections of Earth was astronaut Chris Hadfield. Chris Hadfield was a decorated general and pilot before commanding two space missions, one of them as station chief to the International Space Station also being named top astronaut and chief of mission to NASA. But the two aspects of his profession that made him famous (besides being blinded for a few hours during a space walk) was singing Space Oddity by David Bowie from the ISS and his photography work . [1] [2]

Chris Hadfield took images from all of Earth's continents, but the ones from Europe and North America took me by surprise as being particularly striking because of just how surprised I was by places I have been to. I knew Berlin was cosmopolitan and incredibly busy at night (I had stayed there during a train trip to Vienna with my older sister) but I never knew just how sprawling the lights could be until I saw this picture from the air

                Hadfield, Chris. “Photos” Chris Hadfield, https://chrishadfield.ca/photos/.

I also knew that the waters of the Bahamas were famous for being incredibly blue and crystalline, but it's hard to ignore just how blue they are in this image. The vibrant aqua color you see just in the edge of the islands contrasting with the green from land makes you almost want to see what's around them and swim in the ocean. And also makes you realise just how small these islands are compared to the vastness of the ocean around them 

                

                Hadfield, Chris. “Photos” Chris Hadfield, https://chrishadfield.ca/photos/.

But what surprised me the most, even if I could logically wander what happened was about a place I have never been to in my own backyard: The Golden Gate Bridge. As an engineering marvel, an art deco style piece and a National Parks monument, it has been a long time objective of mine to see the Golden Gate Bridge with my own eyes and admire the construction of it's (in my head) massive towers. Now see this image. [4]

                    Hadfield, Chris. “Photos” Chris Hadfield, https://chrishadfield.ca/photos/.

It's tiny. It's the thin line connecting the two strips of rock through the middle of the page. This incredible work of engineering was reduced to a thin line on a page, which really puts the impact of an entire career in perspective. And the importance of knowing how to communicate this kind of visceral learning through images is vital as acknowledged by the author himself who says: "art is a fundamental way to express the wonder of being human. If you really want to communicate with someone, it’s best not to show a graph, but to express something artistically.” which touches on the start of our class, as the pinnacle of science produces art worthy of an exhibition. 

It[1[  [1]Hadfield, Chris. “An Astronaut's Guide to Chris Hadfield.” Chris Hadfield, https://chrishadfield.ca/photos/.

[2] NASA. “Hadfield Current Bio- NASA.” NASA, https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/64090main_ffs_bio_hadfield.pdf.

[3]Hadfield, Chris. “Photos” Chris Hadfield, https://chrishadfield.ca/photos/.

[4] “Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District: Golden Gate.” Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District | Golden Gate, https://www.goldengate.org/.

[5]Fera, Rae Ann. “Lessons in Combining Art and Science (and Taking Amazing Photos) from Rockstar Astronaut Chris Hadfield.” Fast Company, Fast Company, 12 Nov. 2014, https://www.fastcompany.com/3038304/lessons-in-combining-art-and-science-and-shooting-dope-photos-from-rockstar-astronaut-chris-.

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