If the role of art is to extend our senses and our experiences into the realm of the unknown and the unfamiliar, to imbue us with a sense of awe and wonder at the glory and grandeur of nature, and to push the boundaries of what we know and feel, then deep space exploration has provided some of the most spectacular and humbling kinds of art that humans have ever produced. The images included here are from the farthest reaches of our Solar System, where humans have never traveled: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Although the photos were taken by uncrewed space probes, robots did not produce the art; people did. Robotic missions and instruments are built by and operated by virtual explorers back here on Earth, who get to plan and compose the photos, choose the timing and the framing, set the exposures, and digitally process the images afterward. These images celebrate the scientists and engineers who push human civilization-including the ways in which we produce and experience art-beyond the physical limits of our planet.
展开▼
