The Art of Planetary Landscapes

Here are some shots from the exhibit "The Art of Planetary Landscapes" at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tuscon, AZ. They are now part of the permanent collection.

Venus & Exhibition Updates

First finalized image in the Venus Series

"The Hot Sister" The Venus Series

Exhibitions

New York Hall of Science The Cosmos Artist Reception- Queens, NY
I recently just got back from a trip in New York to attend the artist reception for The Cosmos. The exhibit was very well curated and I felt very honored to be part of a group show with so many other talented artists.

HEREarts Center- Manhattan, NY
I recently just received confirmation of having an exhibit at the HEREarts center for my body of work, Alien Landscapes. The exhibit is titled "Space Landscape" which will be a group show with two other artists and will be curated by Bobby Lucy. The exhibit will be May 27 to July 6.

University of Arizona- Tuscon, AZ
Four pieces from Alien Landscapes will be featured in The Art of Planetary Science, which will be Geysers of Light, Explosive Vaporization, A Lonely Cloud of Methane Gas, and The Hot Sister. The show will be Dec 4th and will become part of the permanent collection at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona.

Venus Photo Shoot

Here's the setup for the Venus Photoshoot.

Incense was used to create the atmospheric perspective.

Before incense

After incense

Crop & Quick Level Adjustment

Building Venus' Landscape

This past month went a little slower than expected due to unforeseen circumstances, but progress has been made on Venus nonetheless. I had cut foam pieces to fit inside the tank, and covered them in a layer of plaster so paprika wouldn't fall through the holes. I then spray painted it with a color similar to the paprika so no white would show through (& it was a darker color so it helped give depth to the ground). I also sculpted of clay a mountain range inspired by one of the landscape photos. Over the weekend I built the landscape using foam pieces, paprika, the tank and the clay sculpture. I also did a test run in the tank before building it by burning an incense cone and having poster board as a "lid" to the tank. The one cone put out plenty of smoke, and was successful in creating Venus' fog & haze. I also noticed how fine the silver grey ashes were. I decided to save them, I have a feeling I have use for it for the Mercury series later on.
Anyways I did some test images to make sure I got the shape and look of the landscape right. Tomorrow I'll be setting up lights and taking the photos!

Behind a tank full of smoke simulating atmospheric perspective

first set photo - too perfect

second set photo- roughed up the front a little to give more depth to the photo

Also, my research poster will be at the Texas A&M College of Architecture Research Symposium.

Final Poster

Venus Landscape Reference & Research Poster Draft

This past weekend I coated foam piece bottoms in plaster, that way paprika doesn't go through the holes of the foam and I'm able to move the pieces easier/tank clean up.

In the meantime the paprika came in, and it looks great. I also collected landscape photos for reference on building the shape of Venus's landscape.

I've also been working on a research poster for the College of Architecture Research Symposium. Here's a draft. I wanted to get the layout done first. I did a rough draft on the text, I still need to go through and edit the text better.

Venus Materials

After doing a bit of kitchen raiding in material comparisons, I decided paprika was the best choice to use for Venus that was still a refined powder that was decently cheap in bulk. So I ordered 5lbs of paprika to use for Venus landscape. I also noticed bacon bits matched in color to the paprika, so I'll be using bacon bits as rocks for Venus surface. This week I plan to sculpt out Venus's landscape through foam to use as a base until the paprika arrives.

New Day, New Planet: Venus Research

VENUS Research

http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/45-What-is-the-surface-of-Venus-like-

Cool Cosmos is an IPAC website. Based on Government Sponsored Research. Support of NASA and JPL

The surface of Venus is a very hot and dry place. Most of the surface is made up of gently rolling plains. Venus has several large lowlands and two large highland areas which are about the size of Australia and South America. Venus has several mountains and volcanoes and much of its surface is covered with old lava flows. The highest mountain on Venus is Maxwell Montes. It is more than 7 miles high and is higher than Mt. Everest. Venus does not have many craters because most meteors burn up in its thick atmosphere, and many of the meteor craters which did exist have been covered by lava flows. The atmosphere of Venus is too thick for us to see its surface, however, radar can pass through the thick atmosphere of Venus, allowing us to find out what the surface is like.

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/venus/surface.html

Overview of Surface

The surface of Venus is rather smooth in many places, though not nearly as smooth as originally expected . However, we find evidence for many of the same geological features found on Earth: canyons, volcanoes, lava flows, rift valleys, mountains, craters, and plains. There is substantial evidence for local tectonic activity but the surface appears to be a single crustal plate, with little evidence for large-scale horizontal motion of crustal plates as found on the Earth. Why the two planets differ in this aspect of their geology even though we believe them to have similar interiors is not well understood. The usual explanation is that Venus is a little behind the Earth in geological timescale, and its tectonic activity is just getting started.

Much of the surface of Venus appears to be rather young. The global data set from radar imaging reveals a number of craters consistent with an average Venus surface age of 300 million to 500 million years.

There are two "continents", which are large regions several kilometers above the average elevation. These are called Istar Terra and Aphrodite Terra. They can be seen in the preceding animation as the large green, yellow, and red regions indicating higher elevation near the equator (Aphrodite Terra) and near the top (Ishtar Terra).

Examples of Surface Features

We now survey a few of the prominent types of surface features that have been discovered on Venus.

Mountains

Venus has high mountains, many of which appear to be volcanic in origin. The bright region near the center in the polar hemispheric view (a) above is Maxwell Montes,the highest mountain range on Venus; it reaches an elevation of 11 km above average elevation (2 km more than the elevation of Mount Everest above sea level on Earth).

Volcanos and Lava Flows

There is strong evidence that volcanoes have erupted on Venus in the geologically recent past, and strong indirect evidence from observations like changing chemical composition of the atmosphere and the detection of lightning in certain regions that volcanoes are presently active on Venus, though we do not yet have direct proof. (Here is a map of volcanic structures on Venus.) One piece of evidence for recent volcanic activity is the presence in many regions of features that look like relatively new lava flows. The two images shown below illustrates a volcano about 3 miles in diameter near Paragon Chasma (left) and an image of apparent recent lava flows in the Sif Mons region.

In all of these radar images you should bear in mind that bright spots correspond to regions that reflect more radar waves than other regions. Thus, if you could actually see these regions with your eyes the patterns of brightness and darkness would probably not be the same as in these images. However, the basic features would still be the same.

Rift Valleys

There are rift valleys as large as the East African Rift (the largest on Earth). The image shown below illustrates a rift valley in the West Eistla Region, near Gula Mons and Sif Mons.The perspective in cases like this is synthesized from radar data taken from different positions in orbit. 

The East African Rift on Earth is a consequence of tectonic motion between the African and Eurasian plates (the Dead Sea in Israel is also a consequence of this same plate motion). Large rift valleys on Venus appear to be a consequence of more local tectonic activity, since the surface of Venus still appears to be a single plate.

Meteor Craters

The surface of Venus has been smoothed by recent lava flows and by interaction with the corrosive atmosphere. However, there are various examples of meteor craters. The following images show a field of craters (left) and the largest crater found (right).

Several lines of evidence point to ongoing volcanic activity on Venus. During the Soviet Venera program, the Venera 11 and Venera 12 probes detected a constant stream of lightning, and Venera 12 recorded a powerful clap of thunder soon after it landed. The European Space Agency's Venus Express recorded abundant lightning in the high atmosphere. While rainfall drives thunderstorms on Earth, there is no rainfall on the surface of Venus (though sulfuric acid rain falls in the upper atmosphere, then evaporates around 25 km above the surface). One possibility is that ash from a volcanic eruption was generating the lightning. Another piece of evidence comes from measurements of sulfur dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, which dropped by a factor of 10 between 1978 and 1986. This may imply the levels had earlier been boosted by a large volcanic eruption.

Wiki and Drifting on Alien Winds
CULTURE
Venus is the only planet with a female name.  The astronomical symbol is the same symbol used in biology for the female sex; a circle with a cross below it. Greeks named the planet after Aphrodite, goddess of beauty, love, grace and sexual exhilaration.
Mayan civilization created their calendar based on the movements of Venus. Venus is also known as the morning star or twilight star, since it’s the brightest at dawn and dusk. The Pawnee, a North American native tribe, until as late as 1838, practiced a morning star ritual in which a girl was sacrificed to the morning star
Venus is important in many Australian aboriginal cultures, such as that of the Yolngu people in Northern Australia. The Yolngu gather after sunset to await the rising of Venus, which they call Barnumbirr. As she approaches, in the early hours before dawn, she draws behind her a rope of light attached to the Earth, and along this rope, with the aid of a richly decorated "Morning Star Pole", the people are able to communicate with their dead loved ones, showing that they still love and remember them. Barnumbirr is also an important creator-spirit in the Dreaming, and "sang" much of the country into life.
Landis, Geoffrey A. (2003). "Colonization of Venus". AIP Conference Proceedings 654 (1). pp. 1193–1198. doi:10.1063/1.1541418.

Colonization

Owing to its extremely hostile conditions, a surface colony on Venus is out of the question with current technology. The atmospheric pressure and temperature approximately fifty kilometres above the surface are similar to those at the Earth's surface and Earth air (nitrogen and oxygen) would be a lifting gas in the Venusian atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide. This has led to proposals for "floating cities" in the Venusian atmosphere. Aerostats (lighter-than-air balloons) could be used for initial exploration and ultimately for permanent settlements. Among the many engineering challenges are the dangerous amounts of sulfuric acid at these heights


Drifting on Alien Winds by Michael Carroll

Average surface temperatures reach a searing 864F. At night, the rocks are so hot that the landscape glows a dull red. Planet is dry. Sulfuric acid rains from an eternally overcast and gloomy sky the rain never reaches the surface, it evaporates before it could. Earth’s twin sister, and is the closest planet to us. Venus has volcanoes that are powered by the planet’s internal heat. Venus’s atmosphere is blanketing by a dense canopy of almost pure carbon dioxide that traps heat from the sun in self-reinforcing greenhouse cycle.
The atmosphere is covered in the thick layers sof clouds. The base of the lowest cloud deck is 30 miles above the surface, the air is clear. The clear air pours sulfuric acid rain that never makes the ground. High temperatures and updrafts assure the rainfall on Venus becomes virga, rain that evaporates before it makes landfall.
Rather than familiar billowing walls of opaque white, the clouds of Venus are more like thin fog or haze stretching from one horizon to the other. We can’t see surface of Venus from the outside is not because clouds are dense, but because there is so much of them. Winds carry clouds around the globe every 4 days known as “superrotation”. Winds are at 100km/h where is pressure is 16 times more than the surface of the Earth.
In 1995 bizarre readings made it look like it was snowing metal. The radar had bright reflections, and dude to Venus’s drastic pressures specific metals may exists as a vapor. A haze of metallic vapor. Theorized a hardware issue but three other probes experienced similar power spikes at the same altitude.

Final Neptune Photos

Both photos include the beach ball sized methane gas bubbles.
Also submitted to Warsaw Photo Days.

Neptune & Exhibit Update

The Jupiter series artwork currently on exhibit with Four Points Contemporary http://www.fourpointscontemporary.com/current-exhibitions/

Also, I'm processing the Neptune photos I recently did using the cloud tank method. Here's a work in progress, that I feel is almost done. I'm very happy with the results!

 

This photo is suppose to represent Neptune's lower cloud deck, which in theory would have methane gas bubbles coming from it.

Exhibit & Publication Update

I have "Geysers of Light" piece part of a group exhibition "The Cosmos" which will be hosted online as well as the New York Hall of Science from August 31st to March 2nd.
www.asci.org/artikel183.html
Press Release
The Cosmos was in The New York Times and they also mentioned my artwork
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/science/science-events-quirky-prizes-and-inspired-artworks.html?ref=science&_r=0

I also have an interview with Peripheral ARTeries magazine based out of the UK. I'm on the cover as well as from pg 20-27. My interview is mostly focused around my artwork I did for the Mars and Jupiter series.
http://issuu.com/artpress/docs/peripheral_arteries_art_review_-__a

Neptune Cloud Tank

I wasn't getting the look of Neptune with previous experiments that I felt was true to the visualization. I felt the photos were looking too dense and was very reminiscent of the Jupiter series. So I decided to copy an old hollywood visual fx known as the cloud tank. Descriptions on the process and history of it can be found off of these links:
http://rhizome.org/announce/opportunities/59735/view/
http://singlemindedmovieblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/old-school-effects-cloud-tank.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qou5sDOO8k

Basic process was to create a layer of salt and fresh water, and use evaporated milk to create the clouds. the densities kept the milk in the middle, and I bounced light around the tank using white boards and blue gels. Special thanks to Jared Wright for helping me with this process.

Neptune Studio Revamp

Imagine If Planets Were As Close As The Moon
http://media.talkingpointsmemo.com/slideshow/if-planets-were-as-close-to-earth-as-moon
Neat idea.

Currently I'm rebuilding my studio set up so I can get more even lighting. This includes building a table strong enough to hold my tank, and setting up a white box out of foam board (or science fair display boards) to help bounce light to get a more even illumination.  In the spare time I've been reading Drifting on Alien Winds which just came in a few days ago and managed to catch an interesting documentary on the weather channel about other planet's weather.

This week I'm submitting Jupiter and Mars series to IEEE VIS 2013 (July 15 http://visap2013.sista.arizona.edu/) and Science Inspires Art: The Cosmos (July 21 http://www.asci.org/artikel1187.html)

Neptune Update

I was able to get in contact with an artist and scientist at JPL, and I was able to get some feedback as well as some great resources. One resources was the book Drifting on Alien winds, fortunately the Neptune chapter was available online so I could use it in my research right now, but I did order the book. This book has been the best resources I've come across, the author is an artist that specializes in space illustrations, so his book is very descriptive on the atmospheres across different planets and moons.

I've put off shooting for two reasons, one I was waiting on a timer to come in for a better dslr (the t3i's had too much noise to my liking, so I was waiting on the 5d timer to come in) and second was to get feedback/advice from a scientist that studied the planet. I haven't had much luck getting in contact with a scientist, I imagine summer is difficult to get a hold of people. But I did design an experiment, and I will be doing Neptunes first test shoot Monday, July 1st. Right now I'm looking two methods. First is a tank full of water with a layer of oil at the top, and dropping condensed milk through that way there's more of a cloud effect. Second method is to suspend cotton using fishing line off of mesh in a water tank to get a cloud effect. That will give me more control.

In addition I've been submitting to contest, galleries, proposals etc. I did hear back from one that I did get selected for, which is Peripheral ARTeries magazine which is an art review of new artists.

Initial Neptune Research

After conducting initial research, the main question I have is what would the color of the surface (or rather inside) of Neptune would look like. I'm unsure whether the blue would carry on through to the interior of the planet, since the methane gas clouds is responsible for the blue, supposedly there's ice and an unknown substance as well that could change the color.
 

Neptune

Neptune is a gas giant planet, so it doesn’t have a solid surface. The blue-green ball that we see in photographs of Neptune is really the top of the clouds on Neptune. If you could dive down beneath the surface of Neptune, you would find an interior with increasing temperatures and pressures right down to the rocky core at the center.

So, we’re clear that the surface of Neptune isn’t solid. There’s no standing on Neptune. That said, the “surface of Neptune” that we see is one the most active and dynamic places in the Solar System. For some reason, that astronomers haven’t figured out, the interior of Neptune is unusually hot. Even though Neptune is much further from the Sun than Uranus and receives 40% less sunlight, its surface temperature is about the same. In fact, Neptune gives off 2.6 times more energy than it takes in from the Sun. Even without the Sun, Neptune glows.

This high amount of interior heat matched with the coldness of space creates a huge temperature difference. And this sets the winds blasting around Neptune. Maximum wind speeds on Jupiter can be more than 500 km/hour. That’s twice the speed of the strongest hurricanes on Earth. But that’s nothing compared to Neptune. Astronomers have calculated winds blasting across the surface of Neptune at 2,100 km/hour.

When NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft visited Neptune in 1989, it also discovered the planet’s Great Dark Spot, a huge storm like Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. But unlike Jupiter, the Dark Spot didn’t seem to be very stable, and had already disappeared by 1994 when the Hubble Space Telescope tried to locate it.

Deep down inside Neptune, the planet might have a solid surface. At the very core of Neptune is thought to be a region of rock with roughly the mass of the Earth. But temperatures at this region would be thousands of degrees; hot enough to melt rock. And the pressure from the weight of all the atmosphere would be crushing. There would be no way to walk around on the “surface of Neptune”.

Source: NASA
http://www.universetoday.com/22070/surface-of-neptune/

The interior is presumed to contain a rocky core with an icy mantle topped by a deep layer of liquid hydrogen. Voyager 2's instruments detected a complex magnetic field. Like Uranus, the field is tipped with respect to the axis of rotation and offset from the center (the tilt is 50 degrees for Neptune, compared with 60 degrees for Uranus). However, the field is somewhat weaker than for Uranus.
As for Uranus, it is speculated that this magnetic field my originate in a conducting shell not far below the clouds, rather than deep in the interior as for Jupiter or the Earth. In that case, the conducting material would not be metallic hydrogen, as for Jupiter, or iron and nickel, as for the Earth. As noted earlier for Uranus, a mixture of water, methane, and ammonia under the right pressure could be responsible.

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/neptune/surface.html

Neptune's blue appearance comes from the layer of methane gas that sits above the clouds. Methane absorbs red light, so only the bluish colors show up when viewing the planet.


Much is still unknown about Neptune, because the strong pressure makes it impossible for us to land on the planet. It is thought that there is an ocean of really hot water on Neptune's surface. The planet's pressure makes it impossible for the water to boil away.

The only spacecraft to visit Neptune was the Voyager 2 in 1989. Voyager confirmed that Neptune's atmosphere was very cold and very windy. In fact, the surface of Neptune reaches 200 degrees below zero! Regardless of the frigid temperatures, Neptune's core remains very warm. Neptune actually gives off more heat than it receives from the Sun.

Yahoo Answers

Chemistry

• According to the Smithsonian Museum, hydrogen, helium and methane dominate Neptune's ambiguous surface. At near-surface conditions, these chemicals exist as gases. Frozen methane forms clouds that are visible from space, just like frozen water does on Earth. The Great Dark Spot storm system is a distinguishing surface feature on Neptune. The storm was a hurricane-like feature similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The storm's dark feature offers a glimpse into the deeper layers of Neptune's atmosphere. As one travels down into the giant planet, pressure and internal heat transform the hydrogen and methane gases into a compressed fluid.

  http://www.ehow.com/about_6325426_surface-neptune-like_.html#ixzz2WWvMmDfe

Planets get their color from what they are made of -- their composition. Both Uranus and Neptune get their blue-green color from methane, but Neptune is a more vivid and brighter blue, which points to Neptune having an unknown component.

Neptune does not have a solid surface, but its atmosphere (made up mostly of hydrogen, helium and methane) extends to great depths, gradually merging into water and other melted ices over a heavier, approximately Earth-size solid core.

Neptune's atmosphere extends to great depths, gradually merging into water and other melted ices over a heavier, approximately Earth-size solid core. Neptune's blue color is the result of methane in the atmosphere. Uranus' blue-green color is also the result of atmospheric methane, but Neptune is a more vivid, brighter blue, so there must be an unknown component that causes the more intense color.

Summer 2013 Schedule Plan of Action

Jupiter Series: Final Images