How an Astronomer Hallucinated Marxism Into the Cosmos

Anton Pannekoek (1873–1960) was a Dutch astronomer and Marxist thinker who believed that the way people see the stars is influenced not just by telescopes, but also by their experiences and social context. He made detailed drawings of the Milky Way that look both precise and vague, like a mix of an X-ray and a charcoal sketch. Pannekoek argued that the Milky Way is not a fixed, purely objective object. Instead, what we perceive is shaped by the human brain, which organizes the fluid reality of the universe into patterns based on individual experience, history, and culture.

At a time when astronomy was becoming more mechanical and reliant on photography, Pannekoek developed methods that combined human observation with instruments to create what he called the “mean subjective image.” He collected multiple accounts of the Milky Way from different observers and combined them into maps showing the intensity of light, which he then turned into drawings. This approach highlighted both the human and mechanical aspects of observation, emphasizing that scientific images are not purely objective, but influenced by interpretation and technique.

Pannekoek also believed that science should not be limited to a privileged class. He argued that anyone could learn to practice astronomy and that a society organized around shared knowledge would be more equitable. His political and scientific work often overlapped, reflecting his Marxist beliefs about material reality, social conditions, and collective perception.

Today, Pannekoek is remembered as a Marxist-astronomer whose work challenges the idea that science is completely neutral. His drawings of the Milky Way show a more human-centered, interpretive approach to seeing the universe. By blending political theory with astronomy, he offered a new way to understand both the stars above and the social world below, highlighting how observation, experience, and ideology are deeply connected.