Black Hole Gyroscope / Armillary Sphere

Editorial Science Illustration • Quanta Magazine • 2022
Painting of a gold armillary sphere on a beige background, containing a blue galaxy and a spherical black hole at its center. Gears are faintly visible beneath the galaxy.

FOR
Quanta Magazine, 2022
Thanks to editor Natalie Wolchover!

WORK
Art direction, concepts, illustration

TOOLS
C4D, Clip Studio Paint

INFO
Art direction and illustration for a Quanta Magazine article by Thomas Lewton: What Drives Galaxies? The Milky Way’s Black Hole May Be the Key.

I designed this steampunk / aetherpunk / magitech contraption to hold a miniature galaxy with a central black hole. The gears are driven by the black hole and rotate the galaxy — or is it the other way around?

Painting of a gold armillary sphere on a beige background, containing a blue galaxy and a spherical black hole at its center. Gears are faintly visible beneath the galaxy.

Alt version

Sketches for the concept: What makes a galaxy work?

Sketches

© Olena Shmahalo