Celestia Forums

I am sorry to inform you that John Whatmough, space artist and owner of the Extrasolar Visions website passed away, following an accident, on Tues 13 Sept 2005.

His meticulous artwork and dedication to realism was an example to us all, and he will be sadly missed. John was also a member of this forum, and used Celestia in imaginative and innovative ways; his images were truly state of the art.

Its a sad day.
Mr. Whatmough's site was a place I regularly visited, a long time before I discovered Celestia. I was recently thrilled to discover that he was using Celestia for some of his visualisations.

He brought a sense of wonder to the real universe, and the loss of his voice should be mourned.

Jon

:`(

This is terrible news, John Whatmough's impressions of extrasolar planets inspired me in creating my own addons. I'm thinking of dedicating my revised Lera Solar System I've been working on to him, as I got an idea off one of the techniques he used to improve the appearance of the central star in my solar system.

I came across extrasolar visions a while back when it was still on jtwinc. His site was one of those that got me interested in space art.

Terrible loss.

I read this post minutes after it was posted, but held off replying in the hope that it would turn out to be a mistake, but now it seems it is not.

Truly a terribly undeserved demise in time and manner. The Extrasolar Visions web site was (and is!) one of those 'must see' references for the latest and most comprehensive data on extrasolar systems. I hope that the site may remain preserved and accessible in some way, let alone continue to be maintained in some fashion, as a dedication to John Whatmough's talents and enthusiasm.

Possibly the saddest news I've read on Celestia to date.

Spiff.

I was hoping it had been a mistake ever since a reporter from the Union Leader emailed me about the event last week. Unfortunately, it had been confirmed, finally, several different ways.

I knew John only in a passing, online manner, being one of the first people to join his forum at extrasolar visions. But still this event has, and continues to effect me greatly. It is hard to know that someone that you've admired for ten years is suddenly gone.

I fervently hope that his website continues on, but I have a hunch it is only a matter of time before it goes. I urge anyone who hasn't been there, who hasn't seen it, to go and take a look. It is a remarkable place.

...John...

I hope somebody will take care of his website.

I wouldn't expect it of his family, really. It would seem to be too heart-breaking to me.

At the very least, I hope it is archived. Had I the storage space, I'd email them and ask if I couldn't have the site files, and simply have it available online for people. If nothing else, no one should be deprived of his art.

...John...