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SciArt of the Day: The Painting that Inspired Sagan's COSMOS

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


"Young stars burst forth from a nebula, like seeds spreading through the galaxy. Just as seeds grow flowers that make more seeds, nebulae form stars that eventually form new nebulae. Cosmic cycles of life and death are apparent at all scales.

This painting was the inspiration for the dandelion motif that runs through the TV series COSMOS. Carl Sagan did not want his "spaceship of the imagination" to have a realistic, technological feel, and this painting brought forth the idea that the spaceship, when seen from outside, resembled a seed, blowing through the cosmos."

-Artist Jon Lomberg

 

Artist Jon Lomberg was Carl Sagan's favorite painter and still collaborates with NASA today, as featured on Symbiartic previously.


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Starseeds by Jon Lomberg

Acrylic on board.

You can see more about this painting and purchase prints at Jon's website.

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All through September, we’re bringing you new science-art of the day, challenging ideas about science communication.