Our last topic in class dealt with Space and Art. The images seen in lectures of our Universe
truly are amazing. The “Powers of Ten”
clip showed just how tiny our planet Earth really is when compared to the rest
of the Universe. An American astronomer,
Edwin Hubble, assisted mankind’s ability to study space and gain a better understanding
of the world around us. In 1919, a
common belief was the Universe consisted of only the Milky Way Galaxy. Through the use of the 100-inch Hooker
Telescope, Hubble was able to “identify several spiral nebulae” that were too
distant to be a part of the Milky Way galaxy.
These findings had a major impact on scientists’ view of the Universe.
The race to explore our Universe was aided by competition
between the two great powers during the Cold War, Russia and the U.S. Missile capabilities that could send
aircrafts into space had major implications on bordering nations. If the missiles could accurately send
aircrafts into space, the fear was that countries could bomb other countries
with the same precision. This week’s
lecture showed news clips detailing the fears of the U.S. government after they
received reports showing Russia’s aerospace capabilities. The fears of the U.S. government lead to heavy
investments in the U.S. educational system as well as U.S. aerospace agencies. Private companies were soon consolidated
under the financing of the U.S. government which led to huge amounts of growth
and success in the aerospace race. The
image of an American Flag on the moon signals the serious approach the U.S.
took to its endeavors.
Today, entrepreneurs are taking exploration of space to new
horizons. One such entrepreneur is Elon
Musk, CEO of SpaceX. His company which
is located in West Los Angeles has the ambitious goal of “putting a man on Mars
within 10 years”. While the idea seems
outlandish, at one point getting a man to the moon seemed just as crazy. Getting a man to Mars would be an amazing
feat, especially in my lifetime. With
the success of NASA’s Mars Rover Curiosity, and the rate at which science and technology
are progressing, it might only be a matter of time before we seen an American
flag on Mars.
SOURCES:
“David Tsunamy – Space Art Wallpaper”. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
<http://my.opera.com/davidtsunamy/albums/showpic.dml?album=770846&picture=124108802>.
“Powers of Ten (1977)”. UC Online. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/63226/wiki/unit-9-view?module_item_id=970456>.
"Edwin Hubble Wikipedia". Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Hubble>.
“Hubble_at_the_100-inch_Hooker_Telescope”. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.resonancepub.com/hubble.html>.
“Hubble_at_the_100-inch_Hooker_Telescope”. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.resonancepub.com/hubble.html>.
Vesna, Victora. “Lecture Part 2. Space + Art”. UC Online.
Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/63226/wiki/unit-9-view?module_item_id=970456>.
“Neil Armstrong had a secret”. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/bge/2009/05/_photo_credit_neil.html>.
“Elon Musk Discusses a Mission To Mars – D11 Conference”.
YouTube. 30 May 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csR-Jpk6Jjs>.
The powers of ten video was truly intriguing. The scope within each frame changes, changed my perspective of these arbtitrary areas and put into perspective how immense space is. This unfathomable largeness, I believe, is major reason why many artists and much of popular culture has focused in on space and the cosmos.
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