This realistic and cartographically accurate painting of the Milky Way was created for the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. The artist worked with astonomers Jeff Goldstein at the Laboratory of Astrophysi
cs and Leo Blitz of the University of Maryland in mapping about 300 of our home galaxy's actual star clusters and nebulae in their real positions in the galaxy's spiral arms. Our Solar System is located far from the galactic center in the "Orion Spu
r" (at a point near the center of the painting,where lines connecting diagonally opposite corners cross).
This image is, at present, the most detailed and accurate view of our galaxy ever created on this planet. Copies are now on display at the Jodrell Bank Observatory Visitors Center in England,the Awabe Observatory in Japan,and the Toravere Observatory in
Estonia.
A beautiful 28 inch x 40 inch print of this painting, together with detailed information about the objects in it and a finder chart, is available through the Planetary Society (send e-mail to tps.lc@genie.geis.com).
You can also find it at the Space Stuff Store.
"Earthfish"
Jon Lomberg had completed a diving trip to the Red Sea and was painting in Jerusalem when he created this vision of the analogy between a fish in the ocean and our planet in space. It has been used on the cover of the textbook "The Search for L
ife In The Universe" by Donald Goldsmith and Tobias Owen, and was the logo for the International Bioastronomy Symposium held at the University of California in 1993.
"The Great 1991 Eclipse"
The great solar eclipse of 1991 was visible from the Big Island of Hawaii, where artist Jon Lomberg lives and works.
Jon painted this image in honor of that event. The image shows Earth during totality, seen against the background of the actual stars and planets that were in the sky behind the eclipse. The night side of Earth--the side that did not see the eclipse--is
visible, from the Persian Gulf at the left to Japan at the right. A 20" x 26" limited edition lithograph of this image (900 signed and numbered copies,) is available through The Planetary Society (send e-mail to tps.
lc@genie.geis.com).
"Starship Augury"
In the far future, a starship travels through the clouds of a nebula. The starship has been grown rather than constructed, using the DNA of an auger seashell as a design template. This image was painted by Jon Lomberg. This original artwork is avai
lable for purchase. Serious inquiries only. Write P.O. Box 207, Honaunau, Hawaii, 96726 or e-mail lomberg@aloha.net.
"Dinosaur's Last Sunset"
Artist Jon Lomberg painted this image for the book "Comet" by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan. A dinosaur contemplates a spectacular shower of comets in the evening sky 65 million years ago, unaware that a comet is about to strike the Earth and
wipe out most of the species alive, including the dinosaurs. The individual depicted (stethonychosaurus) had something like hands and a larger brain size for its body weight than most of its contemporaries.
"Oort Cloud"
Many of the comets that did not collide with or become a part of the planets in our solar system reside in the vast Oort Cloud (seen here from space). Graphic by Jon Lomberg and Simon Bell for the book, "Comet," by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan.
"Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Collides with Jupiter"
Artist Don Dixon painted this image of a fragment of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 approaching Jupiter right after
another fragment has struck. This artwork was featured prominently in The Planetary Society's Jupiter Watch
program.
You can find a print of this painting in the Space Stuff Store.
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On the walls of The Planetary Society's virtual musuem hangs our collection of out-of-this-world, original artwork.
