The Story of Space Art
"Science, unseen, presented through art."
“科学看不见的，用艺术呈现。”
——《太空美术简史》
Preface
"Space art is a relatively young field of art,
emerging just over a hundred years ago.
However, it has a long and complex history,
deeply rooted in literature, art, and science."
前言
“太空美术是一个相对年轻的艺术领域，
一百多年前才崭露头角，
但是他却走过了一段漫长而又极其复杂的历史，
并且与文学，艺术和科学等学科渊源颇深。”
Part 1: Examination in the 19th Century
In 1865, French writer Jules Verne published the novel "From the Earth to the Moon,"
which presented scenes of space travel through illustrations.
第一章:十九世纪的审视
法国作家儒勒·凡尔纳于1865年出版小说《从地球到月球》，
第一次以插图形式展现太空旅行情景。
When was the first space art painting born?
In 1877, still by Jules Verne, he published "Around the Moon."
One of the illustrations depicted Saturn with a halo,
becoming Earth's first genuinely artistic representation of space.
那究竟什么时候诞生太空美术画？
1877年，依然是凡尔纳那个哥们，
出版《太阳历险记》。
里面有一幅是自带光环的土星，
成了地球第一幅真正意义上的太空美术画。
Part 2: Independence in the 20th Century
At the beginning of the 20th century,
some painters started focusing on astronomical themes in their artwork.
Space art was no longer just assisting illustrations for science fiction stories
but gradually became an independent form of art.
第二章:二十世纪的独立
20世纪初，
一些画家画家开始专攻天文主题画作。
这个时候，太空美术不再是辅助科幻小说的插图，
而是逐渐成了独立的艺术。
In a time when technology was not highly developed,
an amateur astronomy enthusiast, Bolton, pioneered a technique:
creating high-end space art by making plaster models,
taking photographs, and manually adding stars.
在技术还不怎么发达的时代，
一位业余天文爱好者博尔顿首创了一个技艺：
用石膏做模型，用相机拍照，手动加上小星星，
由此生成高端大气上档次的太空艺术创作。
Part 3: The Pioneer of Space Art
The first expert in space art was "Frenchman" Lucien Rudaux.
He was a remarkable individual
who transformed from a commercial illustrator into a respected astronomer.
A crater on Mars is named after him to honor his achievements.
第三章:太空美术鼻祖
太空美术第一位专家是——「法国」卢西恩·吕都。
他是一个弯道超车的大佬，
从商业插画家，
转行变成一个备受崇敬的天文学家。
为了表彰他的成就，
火星上有一个撞击坑以他的名字命名。
Rudaux brought unprecedented awareness to a broader audience
and remained unrivaled in authority for 20 years.
His paintings were said to rival those produced by NASA,
and any comparison to his artwork
made science fiction magazine illustrations look amateurish.
仰望星空的人那么多，
为什么当时吕都就脱颖而出？
因为他带给广大读者前所未有的认知，
而且在20年里，
没有人能挑战他的权威性。
据说他的画，
简直就像是NASA出品，
科幻杂志拿出最好的插画和他任何一幅相比，
都显得像业余选手。
Part 4: The Father of Space Art
Whether you're a layperson or a scientist,
your knowledge of future spacecraft comes from Chesley.
The father of space art was not a remarkable transformation but always had a unique edge.
His diverse career trajectory shows what it means to be a versatile talent:
He initially worked as an architect, then ventured into Hollywood,
using his rendering skills for film special effects.
He later became the highest-earning special effects artist in Hollywood.
He further delved into the field of astronomy,
driven by passion and a deep understanding of perspective and photography.
第四章: 太空美术之父
无论外行人还是科学家，
对未来飞行器的认识都是来自邦艾斯泰。
太空美术之父不是弯道超车，
而是从一开始就在开挂。
看看他的履历，
才知道什么叫跨界人才：
最初是个建筑师，
后来入好莱坞闯荡，
用做建筑时的渲染技能干起影视特效，
进阶成为好莱坞收入最高特效师，
接着又凭着热爱和他对透视和拍摄的了解，
风风火火进入天文领域······
Experts say,
"If it weren't for Chesley and his pioneering space art,
NASA's emergence might have been delayed by ten years,
or maybe it wouldn't have happened at all."
行家提到：
“如果没有邦艾斯泰和他开启的太空美术实践，
NASA的出现可能会晚十年，
甚至有可能，根本不会存在。”
A few weeks before his passing,
an asteroid was named "Chesley" in his honor.
"This is an appropriate tribute.
We should give Chesley his own world
because he brought so many worlds beyond Earth to people."
- Astronomer Sagan
在他去世前几周，
一颗小行星命名“邦艾斯泰星”。
“这个做法再合适不过了，
应该给邦艾斯泰一个他自己的世界，
因为他带给人们这么多地球以外的世界。”
——天文学家萨根
Part 5: Moon People
The Great Moon Hoax occurred on August 25, 1835,
with a colossal lie about "moon people."
The story goes like this:
Astronomer A went to South Africa,
and a reporter B fabricated a series of fake news,
claiming that A used an extraordinary telescope in South Africa to discover moon people on the Moon.
These moon people had hair, wings, and even naked moon girls...
第五章:月球人
月球大骗局出现于1835年8月25日，
这是一个关于“月球人”的巨大谎言。
事情是这样：
天文学家A去了南非，
一个记者B炮制了一系列假新闻，
说A在南非用超牛逼的望远镜发现月球上有月球人，
有毛有翅膀，
甚至还看见裸体月球女郎···
This news spread like wildfire in the United States and Europe
until it was admitted as a hoax on September 16.
Astronomer A had no idea about the whole thing
and was utterly bewildered upon returning from Africa.
这消息一下火遍美国，又疯传欧洲。
直到9月16日报刊才承认是骗局。
A天文学家啥也不知道，
从非洲回来时完全是懵的。
(Because this wasn't the information age,
otherwise, this news would have spread worldwide in a second,
instantly becoming a trending topic on social media.)
（还好这不是在信息时代，
不然这消息肯定一秒传天下，
瞬间微博头条+朋友圈刷屏）
Before the hoax was debunked,
people's excitement was uncontrollable,
especially in Italy,
where they printed numerous "moon people" images
that were entirely products of their imagination.
在骗局被戳破之前，
大家的兴奋度已经难以抑制，
特别是意大利那边，
印出了大量全靠意淫的“月亮人”图片···
Part 6: Extraterrestrial Life
"There are two possibilities for the universe:
either we are alone, or we are not.
Both are equally terrifying."
- Arthur C. Clarke
第六章: 外星生命
“关于这个世界有两种可能：
要么我们在宇宙中是孤独的，要么不是。
两种都同样恐怖。”
——阿瑟·C·克拉克
In the infinite space of human imagination,
alongside space colonization,
the existence of extraterrestrial life is a perpetually popular topic.
在人类无限想象空间站，
太空殖民的同时，
外星人是否存在也是个经久不衰的热门话题。
As early as the 17th century,
mathematicians raised the question of extraterrestrial life
in "Discourse on Multiple Worlds."
Since then, people from various fields have speculated and imagined extensively.
早在17世纪即有数学家在
《关于多重世界的探讨》
中明确提出外星生命的问题。
之后在时代进程中各行人士众说纷纭，脑洞大开。
In the 1950s, with the rise of the flying saucer craze,
though no extraterrestrials occupied Earth,
we've already created our narratives of extraterrestrial beings in TV, movies, and comics.
到了20世纪50年代飞碟热兴起，
虽然没见到外星人占领地球，
但是我们早就自编自导，
让外星人占领了我们的电视，电影，漫画。
This fascination continues unabated until today.
Due to the hype surrounding "extraterrestrial beings,"
which gradually moved away from the scientific context,
scientists became reluctant to discuss this matter.
这种狂热延续至今，丝毫没有减退。
由于“外星人”被吹得太火，
渐渐远离科学范畴，
所以科学家渐渐不愿意讨论这个问题。
