“Imagine” is a generative art collection of 222 pieces, created for Axiom Space to celebrate the launch of the Ax-2 mission. It showcases fictional star maps that transport viewers to worlds yet to be discovered. In the far future, as humans venture ever farther out into space, we will encounter new worlds and new skies. This collection offers a glimpse of what those skies might look like — each star map a vision of the universe as we have yet to see it. Each piece invites the viewer to engage their imagination and find objects, animals, and mythical heroes within the shapes and patterns of the unique constellations drawn between the stars.
“Imagine” speaks to the limitless potential of human exploration and the infinite possibilities that await us in the cosmos. It is a celebration of the human capacity for creativity and imagination and a reminder that our journey into space is just beginning — a journey that stretches out into the infinite expanse of space and beckons us to dream big and reach for the stars.
You can find the press release about the collection on the Axiom Space website here.
Although this collection represents fictional star maps, several parts of the algorithm are based on reality. The stars are sampled from an underlying distribution that is based on our own Milky Way. The algorithm that “finds” the constellation shapes (the stick figures) within these stars has been carefully crafted to represent the way real constellations behave; Crossing lines are not allowed, angles between line segments cannot be too steep, having a weighted, but slightly random, chance of choosing the next star based on its size/magnitude, and several more subtle rules that the constellation algorithm goes through to draw the stick figures in each star map.
Three different “alphabets” are possible, one based on our current language, and two more mathematical ones based on squares and circles. There are four versions of the outer ring, with one rare one only possible when the map is circular that also shows markings for the months and days in the year.
In the background, you can also see markings for Deep Space Objects, such as nebula, globular & open clusters and galaxies. Using tiny squares, circles and ellipses, each with its own numeric code.
