Painting Across Astronomical Units

By Glendon Mellow | November 4, 2014 |

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

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Triple Star System, visualization by ESO/L.Calçada, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)

What we find in space continues to challenge our imaginations, and we haven’t even discovered extraterrestrial life yet.

Last week, in Caleb Scharf’s post Astrobiology Roundup: Planets, Moons, and Stinky Comets, he featured the bizarre visualization above. Burning space gases often seem blended and painterly to my eye, like an oil painting on a vacuum canvas. Nebulae employ chiaroscuro, scumbling and even stipple techniques across astronomical units. This image evokes that spectacularly, with cool dust swirling among the triple star system, fringed in fire.

Visit the post at Life, Unbounded for the science behind this Image of the Week.

About the Author: Glendon Mellow is a fine artist, illustrator and tattoo designer working in oil and digital media based in Toronto, Canada. He tweets @FlyingTrilobite. You can see Glendon's work-in-progress at The Flying Trilobite blog and portfolio at www.glendonmellow.com. Follow on Twitter @symbiartic.

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The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

Tags: astronomy, illustration, image of the week, IotW, stars, visualization