The Art of Planetary Science (TAPS)

The Art of Planetary Science is an annual art exhibition run by UA's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory that celebrates the beauty and elegance of science. It was founded by graduate students in 2013 as a public outreach project to engage the local community in our work, and continues to be organized and run by volunteer students each year. The goal behind the show is to present a different side of science to the public, and to show you what we think is beautiful about the solar system. As scientists, it is our job to create knowledge, a process that requires thought, creativity, attention to detail, and imagination. Scientists are encouraged to produce artwork for the show that is created from scientific data, or incorporates scientific ideas, to give you new perspective on why we are passionate about our work. We also ask artists to submit artwork that is inspired by those same themes, and to show us how they view science from their own lens. This event is a very powerful way to bridge the gap between the local science and art communities, and to show how very interconnected the scientific and artistic processes are.