2023-07-03 17:33:08
Scientists are rigorous people, but they like to add a little poetry to their achievements. This is the case for the Euclid satellite, launched into space on July 1: a galaxy of fingerprints, a few verses and music accompany it on its cosmological peregrinations.
It is a black plate, more or less in A4 format. An art story for an extraordinary space adventure, in search of the composition of dark matter and energy, as well as the reason for the accelerated expansion of the Universe. The work is attached to the Euclid satellite, whose successful launch took place on Saturday at Cape Canaveral.
The translation of poet Simon Barraclough’s lines inscribed on the Fingertips Galaxy plaque: “We must put our fingers on the keys, our marks in space, for the harm it does, perhaps for survival – There is no there is no non-extraordinary light, ordinary matter – We illuminate to observe the visible darkness”. [Lisa Pettibone – ESA]
The “Fingertips Galaxy”, an entire galaxy assembled with fingerprints, was created by the visual artist Lisa Pettibone and scientist Tom Kitching, responsible for the instrument VIS carried away by Euclid: “After his life Euclid will only be floating in space. What if beings from the future find him? How will they know anything regarding the humanity of people?”, he wonders in a video unveiling the project (see below).
Lisa Pettibone summarizes the work thus: “It adds an element of humanity to a dark and vast space, where, as far as we can see, there is no other intelligent life.”
Since the very first finger left its paint mark in 2019 on a large sheet of paper, more than 250 scientists and engineering people have contributed to this work of art. Its collaborative nature wants to reflect the collaborative nature of the Euclid project as a whole: “to build something unique in both cases”, explain the European Space Agency (ESA).
From painting to precision engraving
If a galaxy has been chosen, it is because Euclid, a fabulous imaging machine, will observe billions of them up to 10 billion light years in the past in order to draw up a 3D map of the Universe: “Although Euclid was always beautiful in concept and material, it didn’t say much regarding the people involved and humanity as a whole. We wondered if we might do something artistic that would speak to people”, remarks the artist.
>> Saturday, Lisa Pettibone said she was proud to have been able to participate in the Euclid mission:
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“We wanted something authentic, that wasn’t perfect and that wasn’t too regular,” continues Lisa Pettibone: “The result is a work of art with a wonderful energy that captures all the energy of people. involved.”
The sheet of paper was photographed and etched onto a plate using lasers from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL): the same lasers as those used to engrave the parts of the satellites. The plaque was attached to the craft and revealed at the “Goodbye Euclid” event on July 1, 2022, when it left Thales Alenia Space in Turin for Cannes to undergo its final tests.
>> A plaque engraved in a manner similar to that of Euclid for the first Irish satellite, EIRSAT-1:
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A poem and musical notes
Euclid project scientist René Laureijs suggested adding text to the plate to explain the ideas behind it.
In the idea of the artistic nature of the project, the British poet Simon Barraclough wrote a poem dedicated (see box)a short excerpt of which was chosen to be engraved on the plate in a typewriter typeface that swirls around the galaxy of fingerprints (see picture above).
>> An ESA video in English on the work “Fingertips Galaxy”; at the end Simon Barraclough reads part of his poem:
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Last artistic nod, a list of songs named Music for Euclid: Exploring the Dark Universe was assembled by ESA. It includes a whole series of titles having a more or less close relationship with this cosmological mission: David Bowie wonders what is really going on with “What’s Really Happening?”, Muse sings “The Dark Side” and “My Universe”, Porcupine Tree and The Cult respectively offer “Dark Matter” and “Dark Energy”, while the group Amaral, very popular in Spain, takes an interest in the Universe above them with their hit ” El Universo sobre mí”.
>> “The Universe above me”, du groupe espagnol Amaral:
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What to wait – with also Leonard Cohen, Prince, Adele, A-Ha, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen and a few others – while waiting for the very first data from Euclid, transmitted to our planet Earth in a few months.
>> Read also: Perseverance’s parachute contained a hidden message
Stéphanie Jaquet, from Florida, for RTSinfo
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