Several large paintings by the astronomer/artist Ralph Aeschliman are on display in Spanel Planetarium.
Ralph describes himself as a frustrated amateur astronomer from the Pacific Northwest.
Fresh out of WWU with an art degree, he took his 6-inch refractor to Flagstaff, Arizona in 1989 to look for a job and clear skies.
His timing was perfect. He was hired by the astrogeology group of the U.S. Geological Survey and began work as an airbrush cartographer.
His
detailed map of the moon is available on this website.
During Ralph's 11 years at the USGS, he moved from using a Paasche AB airbrush and electric eraser to a computer.
