Jon Lomberg
Encyclopedia
Jon Lomberg is an American
space art
ist and science journalist. He was Carl Sagan
's principal artistic collaborator for more than twenty years on many projects from 1972 until 1996. In 1998, the International Astronomical Union
officially named Asteroid Lomberg in recognition of his achievements in science communication.
. During a visit to Toronto
, Canada
after college, he was invited by science fiction author Judith Merril
to display his artwork at a conference she organised for the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
. Lomberg moved to Toronto later that year and, after assisting Merril in a radio documentary for the CBC Radio One
program Ideas
, went on to create many documentaries on topics such as NASA
's Viking program
and Halley's Comet for the program.
In 1972, Lomberg showed some of his paintings to astronomer Carl Sagan
, who then asked him to illustrate The Cosmic Connection. This was the beginning of their quarter century of collaboration
on many projects, including the Cosmos series
(for which Lomberg created the talent pool and as chief artist won a Primetime Emmy Award
); the Cosmos book
; Broca's Brain
; NASA
's interstellar Voyager Golden Record
; the original cover art
for Sagan's novel Contact
; and the opening sequence from Earth
through the Solar System
and its galaxy and beyond for the Contact film
. At Sagan's request, Lomberg designed the original sailing ship logo for the Planetary Society
in 1981.
The Smithsonian Institution
commissioned Lomberg in the early 1990s to paint “A Portrait of the Milky Way,” a scientifically accurate artistic representation of the Milky Way
galaxy as seen by a hypothetical observer from a vantage point 10 degrees above the galactic plane
and 60,000 light years from the galactic center
. The 6 ft (1.8 m) by 8 ft (2.4 m) painting, which was described in a peer review
ed academic paper in 1994 as “the best representation of our galaxy to date” and “a first map like those of explorers long ago,” was displayed in the National Air and Space Museum
from 1992 through 2002 and remains part of its permanent collection of aviation
and space art
. Lomberg also designed the Galaxy Garden, a three dimensional walk-through Milky Way
scale model which is part of the Paleaku Peace Gardens Sanctuary in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Lomberg co-designed the MarsDial
aboard the Mars Exploration Rover
s Spirit
and Opportunity
and was the project director and editor-in-chief for the Visions of Mars CD-ROM
and mini-DVD
aboard the spacecraft Phoenix
, which is scheduled to land on Mars
in May 2008. He was also on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
planning teams with Frank Drake
, Ben Finney
, Ward Goodenough
, Louis Narens
, Frederick Newmeyer
, Woodruff Sullivan
, and others.
Jon Lomberg is a founding member of the International Association of Astronomical Artists
, a member of the Planetary Society
advisory council, and designs exhibits and gives presentations for the Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Center in Hilo, Hawaii for the Mauna Kea Observatory
and Gemini North
. He lives in Hawaii with his wife and two children.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
space art
Space art
Space art is a general term for art emerging from knowledge and ideas associated with outer space, both as a source of inspiration and as a means for visualizing and promoting space travel. Whatever the stylistic path, the artist is generally attempting to communicate ideas somehow related to...
ist and science journalist. He was Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
's principal artistic collaborator for more than twenty years on many projects from 1972 until 1996. In 1998, the International Astronomical Union
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
officially named Asteroid Lomberg in recognition of his achievements in science communication.
Biography
Jon Lomberg grew up in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. During a visit to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
after college, he was invited by science fiction author Judith Merril
Judith Merril
Judith Josephine Grossman , who took the pen-name Judith Merril about 1945, was an American and then Canadian science fiction writer, editor and political activist....
to display his artwork at a conference she organised for the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto is a teachers' college in Toronto, Ontario.-History:OISE/UT traces its origins to the founding of the Provincial Normal School in 1847...
. Lomberg moved to Toronto later that year and, after assisting Merril in a radio documentary for the CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
program Ideas
Ideas (radio show)
Ideas is a long running scholarly radio documentary show on CBC Radio One. Co-created by Phyllis Webb and William A. Young, the show premiered in 1965 under the title The Best Ideas You'll Hear Tonight...
, went on to create many documentaries on topics such as NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Viking program
Viking program
The Viking program consisted of a pair of American space probes sent to Mars, Viking 1 and Viking 2. Each spacecraft was composed of two main parts, an orbiter designed to photograph the surface of Mars from orbit, and a lander designed to study the planet from the surface...
and Halley's Comet for the program.
In 1972, Lomberg showed some of his paintings to astronomer Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
, who then asked him to illustrate The Cosmic Connection. This was the beginning of their quarter century of collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
on many projects, including the Cosmos series
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is a thirteen-part television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter. It was executive-produced by Adrian Malone, produced by David Kennard, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles and Gregory Andorfer, and directed by the producers, David...
(for which Lomberg created the talent pool and as chief artist won a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
); the Cosmos book
Cosmos (book)
Cosmos is a popular science book by astronomer and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carl Sagan. Its 13 illustrated chapters, corresponding to the 13 episodes of the Cosmos TV series on which the book was based, explore the mutual development of science and civilization...
; Broca's Brain
Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science
Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science is a 1979 book by astrophysicist Carl Sagan. Its chapters were originally articles published between 1974 and 1979 in various magazines, including Atlantic Monthly, New Republic, Physics Today, Playboy and Scientific American...
; NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's interstellar Voyager Golden Record
Voyager Golden Record
The Voyager Golden Records are phonograph records which were included aboard both Voyager spacecraft, which were launched in 1977. They contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form, or for...
; the original cover art
Cover art
Cover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...
for Sagan's novel Contact
Contact (novel)
Contact is a science fiction novel written by Carl Sagan and published in 1985. It deals with the theme of contact between humanity and a more technologically advanced, extraterrestrial life form. It ranked No. 7 on the 1985 U.S. bestseller list....
; and the opening sequence from Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
through the Solar System
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
and its galaxy and beyond for the Contact film
Contact (film)
Contact is a 1997 American science fiction drama film adapted from the Carl Sagan novel of the same name and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Both Sagan and wife Ann Druyan wrote the story outline for the film adaptation of Contact....
. At Sagan's request, Lomberg designed the original sailing ship logo for the Planetary Society
Planetary Society
The Planetary Society is a large, publicly supported, non-government and non-profit organization that has many research projects related to astronomy...
in 1981.
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
commissioned Lomberg in the early 1990s to paint “A Portrait of the Milky Way,” a scientifically accurate artistic representation of the Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
galaxy as seen by a hypothetical observer from a vantage point 10 degrees above the galactic plane
Galactic coordinate system
The galactic coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system which is centered on the Sun and is aligned with the apparent center of the Milky Way galaxy. The "equator" is aligned to the galactic plane...
and 60,000 light years from the galactic center
Galactic Center
The Galactic Center is the rotational center of the Milky Way galaxy. It is located at a distance of 8.33±0.35 kpc from the Earth in the direction of the constellations Sagittarius, Ophiuchus, and Scorpius where the Milky Way appears brightest...
. The 6 ft (1.8 m) by 8 ft (2.4 m) painting, which was described in a peer review
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
ed academic paper in 1994 as “the best representation of our galaxy to date” and “a first map like those of explorers long ago,” was displayed in the National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
from 1992 through 2002 and remains part of its permanent collection of aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
and space art
Space art
Space art is a general term for art emerging from knowledge and ideas associated with outer space, both as a source of inspiration and as a means for visualizing and promoting space travel. Whatever the stylistic path, the artist is generally attempting to communicate ideas somehow related to...
. Lomberg also designed the Galaxy Garden, a three dimensional walk-through Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
scale model which is part of the Paleaku Peace Gardens Sanctuary in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Lomberg co-designed the MarsDial
MarsDial
The MarsDial is a sundial that was devised for missions to Mars. It is used to calibrate the Pancam cameras of the Mars landers. MarsDials were placed on the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, inscribed with the words "Two worlds, One sun" and the word "Mars" in 22 languages.The sundial design...
aboard the Mars Exploration Rover
Mars Exploration Rover
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission is an ongoing robotic space mission involving two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars...
s Spirit
Spirit rover
Spirit, MER-A , is a robotic rover on Mars, active from 2004 to 2010. It was one of two rovers of NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission. It landed successfully on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity , landed on the other side of the planet...
and Opportunity
Opportunity rover
Opportunity, MER-B , is a robotic rover on the planet Mars, active since 2004. It is the remaining rover in NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission...
and was the project director and editor-in-chief for the Visions of Mars CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
and mini-DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
aboard the spacecraft Phoenix
Phoenix (spacecraft)
Phoenix was a robotic spacecraft on a space exploration mission on Mars under the Mars Scout Program. The Phoenix lander descended on Mars on May 25, 2008...
, which is scheduled to land on Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
in May 2008. He was also on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, is the world's third deep geological repository licensed to permanently dispose of transuranic radioactive waste for 10,000 years that is left from the research and production of nuclear weapons...
planning teams with Frank Drake
Frank Drake
Frank Donald Drake PhD is an American astronomer and astrophysicist. He is most notable as one of the pioneers in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, including the founding of SETI, mounting the first observational attempts at detecting extraterrestrial communications in 1961 in Project...
, Ben Finney
Ben Finney
Ben Rudolph Finney is an American anthropologist known for his expertise in the history and cultural and social anthropology of surfing, Polynesian navigation and canoe sailing, and in the cultural and social anthropology of human space colonization...
, Ward Goodenough
Ward Goodenough
Ward H. Goodenough is a U.S. Anthropologist, who has made contributions to kinship studies, linguistic anthropology, cross-cultural studies, and cognitive anthropology. Born May 30, 1919, in Cambridge Massachusetts, he attended Groton School in Groton Massachusetts. He then earned a B.A. in 1940...
, Louis Narens
Louis Narens
Louis Narens is Professor in the Department of Cognitive Sciences and the Department of Logic and the Philosophy of Science at the University of California, Irvine.He is one of the major exponents of measurement theory in mathematical psychology...
, Frederick Newmeyer
Frederick Newmeyer
Frederick J. Newmeyer is Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at the University of Washington and adjunct professor in the University of British Columbia Department of Linguistics and the Simon Fraser University Department of Linguistics...
, Woodruff Sullivan
Woodruff T. Sullivan III
Woodruff T. Sullivan III is a U.S. physicist and astronomer, known primarily for his work in astrobiology, galactic astronomy, as well as for his role in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence ....
, and others.
Jon Lomberg is a founding member of the International Association of Astronomical Artists
International Association of Astronomical Artists
The International Association of Astronomical Artists , is a non-profit organization whose members implement and participate in astronomical and space art projects, promote education about space art and foster international cooperation in artistic work inspired by the exploration of the...
, a member of the Planetary Society
Planetary Society
The Planetary Society is a large, publicly supported, non-government and non-profit organization that has many research projects related to astronomy...
advisory council, and designs exhibits and gives presentations for the Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Center in Hilo, Hawaii for the Mauna Kea Observatory
Mauna Kea Observatory
The Observatories at Mauna Kea, , are an independent collection of astronomical research facilities located on the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawai'i, USA. The facilities are located in a special land use zone known as the "Astronomy Precinct," which is located in the Mauna Kea...
and Gemini North
Gemini Observatory
The Gemini Observatory is an astronomical observatory consisting of two telescopes at sites in Hawai‘i and Chile. Together, the twin Gemini telescopes provide almost complete coverage of both the northern and southern skies...
. He lives in Hawaii with his wife and two children.
Awards and honors
The awards and honors which have been bestowed upon Jon Lomberg include:- 1979: American Institute of Graphic ArtsAiga‘Aiga is a word in the Samoan language which means 'family.' The aiga is the family unit of Samoan society and differs from the Western sense in that it consists more than just a mother, father and children. The Samoan family, also referred to as an 'extended family' is based on the culture's...
Certificate of Excellence for the cover of Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of ScienceBroca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of ScienceBroca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science is a 1979 book by astrophysicist Carl Sagan. Its chapters were originally articles published between 1974 and 1979 in various magazines, including Atlantic Monthly, New Republic, Physics Today, Playboy and Scientific American...
.
- 1981: Primetime Emmy AwardPrimetime Emmy AwardThe Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
from the Academy of Television Arts and SciencesAcademy of Television Arts and SciencesThe Academy of Television Arts & Sciences was founded in 1946, just one month after network television was born. It is a nonprofit organization devoted to the advancement of telecommunications arts and sciences and to fostering creative leadership in the telecommunications industry...
for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Creative Technical Crafts for the TV series CosmosCosmos: A Personal VoyageCosmos: A Personal Voyage is a thirteen-part television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter. It was executive-produced by Adrian Malone, produced by David Kennard, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles and Gregory Andorfer, and directed by the producers, David...
.
- 1983: Graphic Design USA magazine DESI Award for nuclear winterNuclear winterNuclear winter is a predicted climatic effect of nuclear war. It has been theorized that severely cold weather and reduced sunlight for a period of months or even years could be caused by detonating large numbers of nuclear weapons, especially over flammable targets such as cities, where large...
artwork in PARADEParade (magazine)Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
magazine.
- 1984: Vermont World Peace Film Festival Prize for Best Video Documentary for the videotape of the multi-media show Nuclear Winter with Carl Sagan.
- 1987: Columbia University Graduate School of JournalismColumbia University Graduate School of JournalismThe Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
Armstrong Award for Documentary for the IdeasIdeas (radio show)Ideas is a long running scholarly radio documentary show on CBC Radio One. Co-created by Phyllis Webb and William A. Young, the show premiered in 1965 under the title The Best Ideas You'll Hear Tonight...
program Halley's Comet.
- 1996: American Association for the Advancement of ScienceAmerican Association for the Advancement of ScienceThe American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
Best Children's Science Book Award for the "Life In The Universe" curriculum for grades 4-9, in the Life Science category.
- 1998: International Astronomical UnionInternational Astronomical UnionThe International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
officially renamed Asteroid Lomberg, formerly asteroid 6446 1990QLMeanings of asteroid names (6001-6500)Minor planets not yet given a name have not been included in this list....
.
- 2002: Astronomical Society of the PacificAstronomical Society of the PacificThe Astronomical Society of the Pacific is a scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on the Pacific Coast, but today it has members all over the country and the world...
Klumpke-Roberts AwardKlumpke-Roberts AwardThe Klumpke-Roberts Award was established from a bequest by astronomer Dorothea Klumpke-Roberts and recognizes outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy...
.
External links
- Official Jon Lomberg website
- Official website of the Galaxy Garden at the Paleaku Astronomy Center in Captain Cook, Hawaii.
- Space Art Gallery with several Jon Lomberg paintings.
- Two views of A Portrait of the Milky Way on the Kepler MissionKepler MissionThe Kepler spacecraft is an American space observatory, the space-based portion of NASA's Kepler Mission to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. The spacecraft is named in honor of the 17th-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler...
website. - Transcripts of two Robyn WilliamsRobyn WilliamsRobyn Williams AM is a science journalist and broadcaster resident in Australia who has hosted the Science Show on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 1975, Ockham's Razor and In Conversation .-Background:Robyn Williams was born in Buckinghamshire, England, and educated in Vienna and...
shows with Jon Lomberg for the Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
: - Voyager - A message from Earth - 19 November 2005 at the Sydney ObservatorySydney ObservatorySydney Observatory is located on a hill now known as 'Observatory Hill' in an area in the centre of Sydney. The site evolved from a fort built on 'Windmill Hill' in the early 19th century to an astronomical observatory during the nineteenth century...
- Jon Lomberg, In Conversation - 5 January 2006