the visual poetry of orion seen by an amateur astronomer...

yesterday, i found this beautiful 8x10 inch photograph in a scrapbook at the flea market. dated 1939, it's a photo of 'the great nebulae of orion', as seen through a telescope. the exposure time was 2 hours and 5 minutes, and while i know it's not true, i like to imagine the photographer staring up at the stars for that exact amount of time, deciding to close the shutter at just the right moment, knowing internally that the image would be just right.

beneath the photo is a quote from something i know not what:
"a single misty star
which is the second in a row of stars
that seem a sword beneath a belt of thee".

it's a small world...

in philadelphia today, i visited the ryerss museum. a great victorian family's collection, mainly from travels around the world circa 1900. a lot of asian antiques, seashells, books, souvenirs, china, etc. a wonderfully intimate and all over the place collection.

the best thing by far was a tiny globe of the earth, a small sphere with what appeared to be hand colored etching bits pasted on the surface. the amazing thing was the interior of the holder had the zodiac and stars all over it - one of the most beautiful little star maps i've ever seen. the sphere was between the size of a golf ball and a base ball.

unfortunately, my new camera crapped out a few days ago so i have the old beater with me here, and as you can see it takes rotten pics in less than perfect lighting conditions... and as it really wasn't being my friend, after the pics of the holder were taken, it ran out of memory, so no images of the globe either... you'll have to use your imagination. i wish i could've put this in my pocket and taken it home!

moon dust...

these images were taken by the russian spacecraft lunik III in october of 1959 and reproduced in flying saucers magazine in 1962.

i have to say i have a lot of love for images that are full of artifacts of a less than perfect translation process... it gives them atmosphere, and a sense of abstraction that feels like some kind of inner voice is also being captured by the process. the photos we see here have an even grittier presence due to the fact that they were reproduced very poorly in a cheap magazine, and printed on newsprint. in this case, something might be lost in terms of scientific details (and indeed the article questions if there is any value in such "poor quality" photos), but much beauty is certainly gained in the process... their ethereal presence is like a hybrid of of 19th century spirit photos and a fax machine.

speaking of process... according to ray palmer, who wrote the article, "the vagueness of the photos is due to the fact that development had to take place in space using a very unique method of chemical development because of the weightless factor and the heat that existed inside the capsule that would have ruined ordinary negatives, and transmission had to be by radio wave, subject to enormous interference from static and conflicting signals".

before the surrealists...

two images from the beautiful 1897 book "new astronomy" by professor david p. todd...

the top image (which looks a bit like a johannes itten bauhaus exercise) shows how to find "true north" using a desk and the path of the sun moving through morning and afternoon.

the bottom image (which reminds me of a magritte painting as well as this one by max ernst) shows how to find "accurate time", again using the sun; but also a few plumb lines and a "strong box" wedged into an open window frame.

there are so many amazing images in this book that i'm certain to post more in the future...

a notebook on the subject of astronomy...

a chart of mars laid down on the stereographic projection.

zones

phases of the moon

an eclipse of the moon

the seasons

a few hand drawn notes, diagrams, and maps from a kid's notebook dated 1910. the cover states: these notes are taken from taken from young folk's astronomy. i hope little rudolph pelunis got a good grade on his book report, because these drawings are pretty darn wonderful...