Featured Space Artist: Akira Inaka

It was October 08, 1972. I was junior high school student. When I was watching TV, I heard that Giacobini-Zinner meteor shower would appear at night in Japan. I was so excited about this news and asked my father to lend me his camera. I was staying up all through the night to look up the sky clasping the camera and was waiting a chance for a good shot. Contrary to my expectation, shooting stars hardly appeared. Since that night, my astrophoto life has started.

In the 1990's, technological development realized the production of high-efficiency instruments such as cameras and astronomical telescopes, and their price went down accordingly. It is no exception that the quality of the film also improved. From that time, I began to grope my new expressions of astrophotograph.

On January 28, 1995, before dawn, I witnessed a spectacular conjunction of the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter in Scorpius. Immediately I was fachinated with the tree-demensional array. I thought if I could fly to Scorpius, I would visit these planets along the way. I took pictures of this spectacle, though my finished work looked, of course, far inferior to the real scenary. Pictures could not recreate the moment when I saw the three-demensional array even with the camera in advanced performance. From that moment, I gave myself over to the expression of three-dimensional sky. At that time, computer usage to make astrophotographs became popular in Japan. I thought this would open the way to achieve my wish.

In July 1996, I made a 3D astrophotograph of Scorpius based on the fifth edition of Yale Bright Star Catalogue (1991). As this picture was processed by photo-retouching, it should be called art rather than photograph, though I was excited by its three-dimensional universe made by myself. Like all possessed, I took pictures of constellations and made their 3D arts. In 2003, I had published a 3D photo book of all constellations.

While making 3D constellations, I was dreaming of making 3D deep-sky objects such as nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters. Stars around deep-sky objects are so far from the earth that their distances are unkown in most of the cases. Even if I can make their 3Ds, they would be merely artistic works, because there is no scientific grounds. However, I couldn't stop dreaming.

In February 2004, I published a 3D photo book of HST images.

I am happy to be able to make 3D arts of HST images. Because HST images are not only valuable scientific data for all astronomers but also a precious heritage of art for all mankind. All of my 3D arts have no scientific background. Structures of deep-sky objects and distances of stars probably differ with actual ones.

Akira Inaka, Ninomiya Kanagawa Japan, in December 2004

INAKA's 3D SPACE WORLD: http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~AQ6A-INK/indexusa.htm

The featured art is copyright of the artist. Mail to inaka@star.email.ne.jp or go to http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~AQ6A-INK/indexusa.htm for more information.

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