NeurAstra
S02 → Altanube Pando
S06 → Nimbus.Archives
S07 → N400
S08 → AofAP
Being a Celestrograph:
Keeping Track of Celestial Events & the Passage of Time
GRAPHIC EXPERIMENTS / CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT
Watching the shape of a tree trunk, following the path of the wind; we have often mentioned our attachment to contemplative activities in several of our initiatives. Beyond its recreational purpose, observing the sky is a stimulating exercise that trains us to observe and capture celestial events with accuracy and creativity.
To describe this art of observation and transcription, we coined the term celestography. Its etymology speaks for itself:
> celestial: from the Latin “caelestis”, which means “heavenly” or “pertaining to the sky or heavens”. It relates to objects or phenomena that are found in the sky and in space.
> -graphy: comes from the Greek word “graphia”, which means “writing” or “description”. “-graphy” is often used to denote a field of study or the process of recording or describing something.
Celestography—to our knowledge— is not a terminology used in the meteorological field. However, we can find the term in the intriguing work of August Strindberg. August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright known for conducting an eccentric experiment in Dornach, Austria. He laid out photographic plates to capture images of the night sky without using a camera or lens. He called this technique “celestography”, aiming to record celestial phenomena directly. The resulting images appeared to depict galaxies and other phenomena, suggesting a new form of celestial light. Strindberg sent these to the astronomer Camille Flammarion, but received no response, likely because the images were actually “chemigrams”, formed by chemical reactions and dust on the plates, rather than celestial events.
Although different from our definition of celestography, August Strindberg’s work highlights something that resonates with our initiatives: creativity and the power of experimentation with varied materials and mediums.
Our activity as celestographs is not pioneering nor innovative. It took its roots in the unique work of André des Gachons.
André des Gachons (1871–1951) was a notable French artist, meteorologist, and astronomer. Born in Ardentes, France, he began his career as a painter after studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Influenced by the Symbolist movement, des Gachons’ artistic work included landscapes, still lifes, and genre scenes, which he exhibited at various salons and art exhibitions.
In addition to his artistic pursuits, des Gachons had a profound interest in meteorology and astronomy. He meticulously documented weather patterns and celestial events, combining scientific accuracy with artistic representation. His detailed diaries and sketches of the sky provided valuable insights into cloud formations, weather changes, and astronomical phenomena of his time.
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
© André des Gachons — Observations météorologiques
Our activity as celestographs is not pioneering nor innovative. It took its roots in the unique work of André des Gachons.
André des Gachons (1871–1951) was a notable French artist, meteorologist, and astronomer. Born in Ardentes, France, he began his career as a painter after studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Influenced by the Symbolist movement, des Gachons’ artistic work included landscapes, still lifes, and genre scenes, which he exhibited at various salons and art exhibitions.
In addition to his artistic pursuits, des Gachons had a profound interest in meteorology and astronomy. He meticulously documented weather patterns and celestial events, combining scientific accuracy with artistic representation. His detailed diaries and sketches of the sky provided valuable insights into cloud formations, weather changes, and astronomical phenomena of his time.
→ Citizen Science Project
Inspired, we started our own collection of meteorological observations, with less talent than des Gachons but with the same motivation.
We invite you to participate in this initiative and start your records of celestial events as well. You can use the following template of “Observations Météorologiques” as designed by André des Gachons, and please, do not hesitate to share them with us; we are always curious to see the mood of the sky all around the globe.
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© NeurAstra 2024