11 Incredible Printed Astronomical Illustrations
The immense size and mesmerising beauty of the universe has captivated imaginations for centuries. Some look up and try to fathom their place in the unfolding galaxy above, while many study the skies in the pursuit of knowledge and others still, beguiled by such a rich cosmic tapestry, use ink to create stunning, realistic visual representations of space.
Some within the community prefer to create accurate projections of planets, stars, moons and galaxies, others choose to draw and paint fantastical alien worlds and futuristic landscapes.
What binds this otherwise disparate group of artists together is a deep knowledge and understanding of space, which informs their artistic output. Most use computer software to aid in the creation of their work and regularly consult with NASA photographs as well as field geologists, astronomers and astrophysicists.
The eleven amazing astronomical illustrations explored below cover a range of styles, from realist to surrealist and even impressionist, with each awe-inspiring image of the final frontier combining creativity and imagination. Feast your eyes!
1. Collision Theory [Fahad Sulehria, 2006]
Image: Nova Celestia
One of the more common theories as to how the Earth-Moon system formed, is the ‘collision theory’. It maintains that a planetary object the size of Mars collided with Earth, as shown in the image above, throwing matter from the Earth’s crust into space, which later gathered and became the Moon.
2. GJ 876 [Fahad Sulehria, 2006]
Image: Nova Celestia
This planet might look like Earth, but it’s not. It is, however, the most Earth-like extrasolar planet found to date. It orbits the imaginatively named star GJ 876 and is located in the constellation of Aquarius, 15.2 light years away. It orbits its parent star at a distance of 3.2 million km, giving it a surface temperature of 200°C to 400°C.
3. Halley’s Comet [Fahad Sulehria, 2006]
Image: Nova Celestia
Halley’s Comet, pictured above, is the most famous short-period comet and the only one that’s visible to the naked eye. It becomes visible every 75 to 76 years and was last seen in 1986. Like all comets, Halley’s Comet is simply a huge ball of ice and dust. When it gets close to the sun, this ice starts to evaporate, creating a visible trail.
4. Valles Marineris [Robert L Hurt, 1997]
Image: Robert L Hurt
Valles Marineris (Latin for Mariner Valleys) is an enormous 4,000km long, 200km wide, 7km deep canyon, found on the surface of Mars. It’s the largest known crevice in the solar system, dwarfing anything found on Earth. Located on Mars’s equator, on the east side of the Tharsis Bulge, it stretches for nearly one quarter of the planet’s circumference.
5. Playing With Fire [Björn Jónsson, 2003]
Image: Björn Jónsson
In this image you can see the Galileo spacecraft flying by Io, the innermost of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons. Galileo arrived at Jupiter on 7 December 1995, six years after its launch, although this flyby did not take place until October 1999.
With a diameter of 3,642km, Io is the 4th largest moon in the solar system. The explosions visible on its surface never actually occurred, but were simply added by the artist for dramatic effect.
6. Saturn [Björn Jónsson, 2007]
Image: Björn Jónsson
If you could see Saturn from a distance of just 670,000km, this is what it would look like. The planet itself is composed of hydrogen, but its rings are formed of a mixture of ice, rocks and dust. Galileo Galilei was the first person to identify these rings in 1610, although he actually described them as “ears”!
7. Rhea, [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory]
Image: NASA
“Do not adjust your screens!” NASA designed this image to be viewed through red/blue 3D glasses. It was made using KPT Bryce animation software and Adobe Photoshop. It shows Rhea, the second largest of Saturn’s 61 known moons. Two of Rhea’s largest craters, Izanagi (the larger) and Izanami (the smaller), are clearly visible.
8. First Light [Pat Rawlings]
Image: Pat Rawlings
Made especially for the NASA Office of Exploration, this print showcases the more imaginative side of astronomical art. A pair of intrepid explorers can be seen in the early morning mist, scaling one of Mars’s many canyons.
9. Blues For Neptune [Bob Eggleton]
Image: Bob Eggleton
Blues for Neptune is a painting inspired by Voyager 2’s encounter with Neptune in 1989. It shows Triton, the coldest moon in the solar system. The painting’s blue colour scheme was purposefully selected to reflect this frosty region of space. Neptune, a planet with an atmospheric temperature of –218°C, is clearly visible in the background.
10. Orion’s Belt [Tobias Soderberg]
Image: Neotox
Made in Adobe Photoshop, this image shows Orion’s Belt, a famous asterism of three bright stars in a row. From left to right, the three stars are Zeta Orionis, Epsilon Orionis and Delta Orionis. Easily visible to the naked eye, they are also known as The Three Kings and, in Latin America, The Three Mary’s.
11. The Milky Way [Tobias Soderberg]
Image: Neotox
The Milky Way, often referred to simply as The Galaxy, is the galaxy in which our Solar System is located. It has a diameter of 100,000 light years and contains 200 to 400 billion stars.
Shockingly huge though it may be, it’s just one of billions of galaxies in the observable universe. The Milky Way is visible in the night sky as a hazy band of white light.
About the author:
Tom is a huge tech and gadget geek with a broad range of interests including travel, art and design. Much of his time is spent blogging on CreativeCloud but he also enjoys writing for other blogs in the design niche.
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