TBT to Paule Ka’s Pre-Fall 2017 collection in Paris this past January which jumped out to my astronomer eyes as a throwback to the pulsar map on Voyager’s golden record. Obviously, I’m biased, but the dress (top image) looked especially similar.
The pulsar map (aka the line drawing with notches at various points along the lines) was first included on the plaques for the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft, launched in 1972 and 1973, respectively. It depicts the location of the Sun (and therefore Earth) with respect to the center of the Milky Way (the longest line) and 14 local pulsars. The length of the lines is represents distance and the “notches” are actually binary for the timings specific to each pulsar. In 1977, the pulsar map was again sent into space as part of the golden record affixed to each of the Voyager spacecraft.
Even though the Pioneer plaque came first, the golden record occupies a larger part of pop culture now. We’ve posted other designs inspired by it before!
I’m willing to admit this is a stretch and that Paule Ka may be completely unaware of the similarity, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. And now I want this dress.
- Summer
