This work traces the path of the fictional astronomer M and contemplates past truths and thoughts about astronomy.

One day, I happened to see an old astronomy photograph on display in the reference room at an observatory. Using the magnifying glass attached to the display, I peeped at the stars captured on the dry plate. I realized I was looking, through photography, at the scene today in the same way as the astronomers of old would have looked at it. It felt as if I were reaching back into the memories of a stranger, and I wondered what kind of person took this astronomy photograph and when and where. My imagination piqued by the murky existence of this astronomer, I set about researching and creating this work.

The invention of photography in the 19th century caused rapid progress in the field of astronomical research. This is the historical context of my work. Before photography was invented, astronomical observations were normally taken by looking with the naked eye through a telescope or other apparatus and making hand-drawn sketches. Once applying photography to astronomical research began to take off however, observation records of greater fidelity became possible. Moreover, these records could be stored, duplicated, and transported, allowing information, in the form of comparing and analyzing photographs, to be shared with other astronomers. As photosensitive materials became more precise, photography began to make evident the shape and aspect of dim astronomical objects that had been impossible to detect with naked-eye observations.

After learning about these facts through my research, I realized photography made it possible to gaze at stars as if in your hands. I can't help feeling this was the realization of a long-cherished desire of astronomers.

As I worked on this project, I chose M for the name of the astronomer I had imagined on that day while looking through the magnifying glass. Despite surveying the grand entity known as the universe, I was using a magnifying glass to peer at tiny stars captured in a photograph. I named the fictional astronomer M from this combination of micro and macro perspectives.

Another interesting historical detail is that many of the people who initially applied photography to astronomical research were amateur astronomers. This is why I tried to reflect in my work the pure desire to capture stars in photographs through a long series of trials and errors.