Wizualne przedstawienia współczesnej nauki. Analiza okładek książek popularnonaukowych z astronomii, astrofizyki i kosmologii .......... 117

VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS OF CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE. AN ANALYSIS OF THE COVERS OF POPULAR SCIENCE BOOKS IN ASTRONOMY, ASTROPHYSICS AND COSMOLOGY

The purpose of this article is to describe and interpret visual representations of science on the covers of popular science books in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology. A visual analysis has shown that the popular iconosphere of these sciences selectively uses various iconographic, scientific, para-scientific and everyday traditions as well as secular and religious themes. The visual themes present on the covers draw on the ideas and concepts that function in European culture, such as the beauty and order of the universe, and the relationship between man and the universe. Many of them are intertextual in nature, are quotations from ancient cosmic iconography or refer to contemporary photos taken with astronomical telescopes. Elements of old and modern ideas about the universe are reinterpreted and synthesized in a new, popularizing and pop-cultural context.