APOD: Starry Night Over the Rhone (2010 Sep 21)

[APOD Robot]

Starry Night Over the Rhone

Explanation: How can the majesty of the night sky best be captured in a painting? This was a continual challenge for Vincent van Gogh, a famous painter in the late 1800s who pioneered stirring depictions of star filled skies into several of his works. Pictured above is van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhone, where the French town of Arles is depicted complete with gas lights reflecting off the Rhone river. van Gogh's night sky appears alive with turbulent stellar images contrasting with lofty dark blue hues. Above the river, one can discern the stars of the familiar Big Dipper asterism. Following a line connecting the two Big Dipper stars on the right, the North Star Polaris could be easily found, the height of which can then be estimated and actually gives the latitude where the painting was created.

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[Guest]

Not again...............

[CSC]

Pardon me, but it seems incorrect to me to connect the 2 lower stars on the Big Dipper "ladle" to a so called star considered to be the North Star on the right of the Vincent Van Gogh's painting, "Starry Night Over the Rhone". Correct me if Im wrong, but isn't it the two last stars of the "ladle" that point vertically (in this view) to the end of the Little Dipper's handle, POLARIS? - Which then would be cropped off of the top of the painting and not seen? I certainly do not see "Ursa Minor" in this painting. Just wondering...

[tnzkka]

What should have been mentioned: (Stars/)constellations are painted as their mirror-image

[Czerno-1]

Pardon me, but it seems incorrect to me to connect the 2 lower stars on the Big Dipper ...

Methinks you did not read the caption right, as it says correctly "the two Big Dipper stars on the right", NOT the 2 lower stars. Of course the Polar would be above the frame of the painting.

[mexhunter]

Perhaps it is much speculation, but so it seems that Mizar and Alcor, are treated differently in color and texture. Of course at that time it was clear that Mizar and Alcor were forming a binary system, according to Wikipedia, Mizar was the first binary star discovered with the telescope; most Probably by Benedetto Castelli in 1617 Who Asked Galileo Galilei to observe it.
Greetings
César

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizar_ (star)

[bilweeler]

Excellent choice for the APOD. The APOD often brings us unbelievably beautiful photos of the universe; here van Gogh brings us a beautiful rendition of his own sky. Nice...

[orin stepanek]

You can figure the latitude where Van Gough painted the big dipper.

Following a line connecting the two Big Dipper stars on the right, the North Star Polaris could be easily found, the height of which can then be estimated and actually gives the latitude where the painting was created.

[sarahstitcher]

click on "easily found" in the description of the painting, and there's a diagram showing the relationship between the two dipper stars and Polaris. The distances are known, so even if Polaris is not in the painting, the other two stars do work as pointers.
Van Gogh is my all-time favorite painter, all my life I have loved his images. Thanks!

[Beyond]

Art - History - Space - All in one place. My-my-mymy-my.

[emc]

Today’s APOD is an interesting cultural diversion from the usual modern astronomy. Art and science have long been allies and it’s not difficult to bridge between them… just think of the art and craft involved with scientific outer space probing instruments. There are some fantastic “Van Gogh” and “Da Vinci” types buried in our culture’s wide bandwidth foundation designing and creating today. We’ve seen many results from their work here at APOD… artists, craftsmen, engineers, scientists and others. And you know it’s a good thing that everyone on the planet doesn’t want the same job and the same parking spot for their vehicle at that job. I kind of like that some folks want to be artists and paint their impression of the stars or capture them with photographs and that some folks want to know what makes the stars tick. And I’m happy to visit here reaping the benefits. Good APOD today. A starry night viewed across a river… not an uncommon subject here.

[biddie67]

While I've never particularly cared for this painting (there are others that van Gogh painted of the night sky that I like much more), there is no doubt in my mind that the night sky pulled on him, heart and soul.

[NoelC]

Sigh. Oh, to be able to partake of the brilliance of a clear sky above a land with no electric lighting whatsoever, where candlelight dominates!

5 years ago Hurricane Wilma shut all the lights off here, all too briefly. Here's a before and after image showing the difference in light pollution.



-Noel

[Beyond]

Hey Noel, that quite literally looks like night and day. So, there were benefits to the "dark" ages. We just didn't have the technology to take advantage of it then.

[lazy_ant]

Um, no one seems to have pointed out that if you carry out the suggested calculation, you actually get the wrong answer! Based on the painting, the altitude of Polaris would be around 48 deg. But the latitude of Arles (the known location of the scene) is 43 deg. 40 min. N. The difference of 4 or 5 deg. is not insignificant. A latitude of 48 deg. puts you closer to Paris: Orleans, to be specific. Definitely not in Provence, anyway.

I enjoyed this APOD nonetheless. As one who likes to watch the sky, I always find it interesting to look at paintings or movies try to see whether, e.g., the phase of the moon gives me an extra clue as to time of year or location (or if it is even possible!).

[mexhunter]

In another forum, Manuel Liceras makes these references, which is found, it would have concluded that van Gogh was looking towards the South-west and the Big Dipper was on his right, so decided to translate into artistic license in its landscape.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... x_2008.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starry_Nig ... _the_Rhone

Greetings
César

[emtilt]

As mexhunter mentioned, the sky is not accurate in this painting, but rather is shifted for the sake of the composition. In the painting, we are looking towards Arles in the Southwest, not north as the sky would suggest.

[emc]

on a similar subject...

"with eyes that know the darkness in my soul"

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

perhaps a more popular Van Gogh

[bystander]

on a similar subject ...

perhaps a more popular Van Gogh

APOD: Starry Night Scavenger Hunt (2010 Jun 15)
Starry Night (APOD 2009 October 11)
Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh (APOD 26 Jun 2006)

[emc]

Thanks bystander… I like you a lot!

I like this too... a madman’s determined depictions depicted in two dimensions…

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Image is everything and nothing at all… sanity is so taken for granted and usually out of context.

"For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." Vincent Van Gogh

[Beyond]

Hey emc, did Van Gogh actually paint all those morphing pictures in the video?
And just exactly what is a >Equine Locutionist?< Is it something like a "horse wisperer?" I've heard of a "Locutist" from the StarTrek series, but that would seem to be different from a Locutionist.

[bystander]

And just exactly what is a >Equine Locutionist?< Is it something like a "horse wisperer?"

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

I've heard of a "Locutist" from the StarTrek series, but that would seem to be different from a Locutionist.

Did you mean Locutus?

[Ann]

Very thought-provoking but nevertheless devastating images, Noel. Does it take that much destruction to get non-light-polluted skies?

Beautiful van Gogh videos, Ed.

I'll look at bystander's video now!

Okay, I looked at it. Funny, but, you know? Eh? Is this something I should know? Ed the Horse?

I'm reminded of a horse which supposedly could count and calculate. Any reasonable question you asked him, he could answer. Like, you know, what is 8 times 7? Or 96 divided by 6? The horse patiently tapped out 56 or 16 with his hoof, while all the bystanders (hey, bystander) kept count. Only it turned out that the horse couldn't count when his owner wasn't present. The owner gave the horse subtle little signals to keep tapping with his hoof until he had tapped out the correct answer - and the owner may even have been unaware that he gave the horse these signals.

Ann

[mexhunter]

I have researched a little about it and found this information.
It seems that Van Gogh made the painting by the end of September 1888. In those days, at 21:00 hr. Ursa Major was in the position shown in the painting of Van Gogh.
To the southwest would find the Milky Way, which with some imagination could see in the middle of the paint with a milky blue color.
The software information is:
Ursa Major, October 1, 1888:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mexhunter/ ... otostream/

View to the South, October 1, 1888:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mexhunter/ ... otostream/

VanGogh Guidance and photographs of the view reflected in the canvas:

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/22840917

Google Earth Earth Map of Arles and location:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/501 ... 8c3a_b.jpg

Greetings
César

[Beyond]

Did you mean "Locutus?"

Locutus--locutist, I don't know what either one means and it's been a long time since the Borg. At least i was close.
So, according to the video - are you trying to tell me that emc is a talking horse