Space + Art

Copernicus
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Copernicus.jpg

Last week we learned about nanotechnology and art and today we raised the scale by the trillions and began to explore space and art. It all began with man, Copernicus, who created the first model of the solar system with the sun as the center. You could call him the Father of Modern Astronomy. His contributions were honored to a huge degree in the astronomical community in several ways including: his face on Polish money, a crater on the moon named after him, his name on satellites, and more! His work opened the door to the universe.

Sputnik
http://seattletimes.com/ABPub/2008/07/01/2008027721.jpg

I want to jump to the Cold War, because I found it really interesting how astronomy was used as a tool beyond science and art. After Russia had countered the U.S. and developed it's own atomic bomb the Cold War began. Russia made an interesting move and created the first ever satellite, Sputnik, which was not bigger than a beach ball. This flying beach ball had two interesting features which were a very loud beeping noise and a surface which reflected light from over 157 miles away, so the U.S. people saw it and heard it all the time. It was really interesting that such a small device had enough impact to cause mass-paranoia in the United States.

Laika
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/Laika.jpg

The Russians next move to test out how well people would survive in Space was putting a stray dog Laika in the aircraft and monitoring her activity as the satellite hit space. The battery in the satellite ran out 6 days later and all life support systems failed killing Laika. I didn't like this bit, because although it was necessary it was still animal cruelty and I thought they could have found a better way.

Universe
http://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/hartley2lores.jpg

Who knows what's in store for the future. We've been building more advanced rockets, shooting laser beams from the sky, and almost discovering alien life forms on annual basis. Who knows what the world of space has in store for us, but we have a whole lot left to explore.

Sources:
1. Copernicus. Digital image. WikiMedia. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Copernicus.jpg>.
2. Sputnik. Digital image. Seattle Times. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://seattletimes.com/ABPub/2008/07/01/2008027721.jpg>.
3. Laika. Digital image. WikiMedia. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/Laika.jpg>.
4. Universe. Digital image. Cloud Front. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/hartley2lores.jpg>.
5. Newman, Phil. "Laika, the First Dog in Space." Laika, the First Dog in Space. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. <http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/space_level2/laika.html>.