Don Dixon (born 1951) is an American astronomical artist practicing

space art Space art, also known as astronomical art, is a genre of art that Visual representation, visually depicts the universe through various Style (visual arts), artistic styles. It may also refer to Work of art, artworks sent into Outer space, space. ...

in the tradition of

Chesley Bonestell Chesley Knight Bonestell Jr. (January 1, 1888 – June 11, 1986) was an American painter, designer, and illustrator. His paintings inspired the American space program, and they have been (and remain) influential in science fiction art and illust ...

. Born in

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in and the county seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Delawa ...

, Dixon has created cover art for''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

'',''

Sky & Telescope ''Sky & Telescope'' (''S&T'') is a monthly magazine covering all aspects of amateur and professional astronomy, including what to see in the sky tonight and new findings in astronomy. Other topics covered include: *observing guides for planets, ...

'','' Omni'', ''

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence E. Spivak, Lawrence Spiv ...

'',''

Astronomy Magazine ''Astronomy'' is a monthly American magazine about astronomy. Targeting amateur astronomers, it contains columns on sky viewing, reader-submitted astrophotographs, and articles on astronomy and astrophysics for general readers. History ''A ...

'', and many other publications. Dixon's paintings have been used to illustrate the covers of several science fiction books, such as the

Mars Trilogy The ''Mars'' trilogy is a series of science fiction novels by Kim Stanley Robinson that chronicles the settlement and terraforming of the planet Mars through the personal and detailed viewpoints of a wide variety of characters spanning 187 year ...

Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American science fiction writer best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. Many of his novels and stories have ecological, cultural, and political themes and feature scientists as heroes. Robinson has ...

and the

Galactic Center Saga The Galactic Center Saga is a series of books by author Gregory Benford detailing a galactic war between mechanical and biological life. * '' In the Ocean of Night'' (1977) — 1977 Nebula Award nominee, 1978 Locus Award nominee * '' Across the Se ...

Gregory Benford Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941) is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the department of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of ''Reason ...

. He directed and co-wrote the immersive animated film

Centered in the Universe ''Centered in the Universe'' is a fulldome presentation that premiered the evening of October 29, 2006, at the "Galactic Gala," which marked the reopening of the renovated Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. The 33-minute planetarium program util ...

, which premiered in 2006 at the Samuel Oschin Planetarium at

Griffith Observatory Griffith Observatory is an observatory in Los Angeles, California, on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the sou ...

, where he served as Art Director from 1991 to 2021. He is a founding member of the

International Association of Astronomical Artists The International Association of Astronomical Artists (IAAA), 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 art ...

(IAAA) and was elected a Fellow of that organization in 2000.

References

*"NASA Does it Better:Space Artists Face Reality" by Jia-Rui Chong,

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

, June 18, 2006 *"Visions of Space" David A. Hardy Paper Tiger 1989 *"Space Art" Ron Miller

Starlog ''Starlog'' was an American monthly science fiction magazine that was created in 1976 and focused primarily on ''Star Trek'' at its inception. Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs were its creators and it was published by Starlog Group, Inc. in Aug ...

Magazine *"Universe" Don Dixon Houghton Mifflin 1981

External links

*
Putting the Universe on Canvas, Interview on Planetary Radio
(July 24, 2006)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Don 1951 births Living people 20th-century American male artists 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists American male painters American people of Italian descent Painters from California People from Easton, Pennsylvania American role-playing game artists American science fiction artists Space artists

See also

References

External links