Photographing galaxies that we cannot see with the naked eye has been a great passion of his for years…
Astrophotographer Mustafa Aydın was born in Zile, Tokat in 1974 into a family of photographers. His interest in science, space and photography began in his childhood. He also spent time in his father's studio outside of school.
He later came to Ankara to study physics engineering at Hacettepe University. Today he has his own consulting company and his own school for astrophotography.
“Stardust” artwork is sent to the moon
The excitement is now high for Aydın, who has been photographing the sky in places far from light pollution for about 10 years… Aydın's photographs, whose photographs are exhibited around the world, go to the Mare Crisium region on the lunar surface, which he calls “Stardust “, as part of the MoonMars project.
His work will bring humanity's creativity to the Moon as part of a special collection totaling 47 works of art.
What is the MoonMars Project?
The MoonMars Museum is an initiative that brings together art and science on celestial bodies such as the Moon and Mars. The aim of the project is to carry humanity's artistic heritage to other parts of the universe by bringing the works of artists from around the world to the Moon.
The collection, printed on nickel plate, will be delivered to the moon on Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander, housed in a small, pyramid-shaped monument called the LifeShip.
The pyramid will remain forever in the area called Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises). Future generations of astronauts and moon visitors will be able to visit this museum.
Astrophotographer Mustafa Aydin
The spacecraft was launched today on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and the journey will take approximately 46 days.
The 46 works of art in the MoonMars Museum's first collection were intended to represent the 46 chromosomes of human genetics. With the participation of American photographer Houston Vandergriff, this number increased to 47. Houston Vandergriff is an artist with Down syndrome.
How did he take the picture “Stardust”?
Astrophotography is not a branch of photography where you can just buy a camera and get started right away. Mustafa Aydın explains that this industry has a very steep learning curve.
“You need to gather information in many different areas, from choosing equipment, to information about the objects you are photographing, to information about what month of the year you can photograph that object. That's why it can sometimes take a few months, sometimes even a year, to take meaningful photos.
Aydin filmed the artwork, which aims to remotely fly to the moon, in the Atacama Desert in Chile, home to the world's largest telescopes.
The photo “Stardust”, my work that will fly to the moon, was taken using a 24 inch (approximately 60 cm) diameter reflecting telescope, which can be connected and recorded remotely, and a black and white camera and special filters. It was rendered in a color palette called the Hubble palette, designed specifically for the Hubble Space Telescope. The work, called Stardust, was created through hours of careful calibration, alignment, stacking and post-processing.
Astrophotographer Mustafa Aydin
“I get goosebumps when I think about my work on the moon.”
Mustafa Aydın stated that he was proud to be the first Turkish artist to send a work of art to the moon: “It is really proud and exciting to leave a mark. When you look at the moon, you see something that belongs to you.” on a celestial body that is about 400,000 kilometers away.” “The thought that something has happened or will happen already gives me goosebumps,” he says.
The first man to walk on the moon met Neil Armstrong
Mustafa Aydin also tells how he met Neil Armstrong, who first set foot on the lunar surface in 1997.
“I was refereeing during the Aerial Olympics in Turkey and Neil Armstrong came to that event and I chatted to him for about an hour to an hour and a half. It was as if the lunar mission that had begun for me at that point had reached its end. “I have a similar feeling at the conclusion of one of my artworks flying to the moon.”
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