Whenever a new planet is discovered, astronomers work with artists to envision what that exoplanet might look like. They work off information like mass, how far the planet is from its star, or whether it could support water. This kind of planet art has become something of a cottage industry these days.
And there are debates within the industry about whether the art should look more photo realistic or impressionistic.
“The point of these illustrations is to create excitement, to grab the general public’s attention. But there is a danger that many people sometimes do mistake some of these illustrations for real photos,” says Luis Calçada, an artist with the European Southern Observatory.
“For us, it’s quite the biggest compliment if people do confuse our illustrations for a real image,” he jokes.
Four different artists envisioned the same planet, Gliese 1214b. The exoplanet is 40 light years from Earth and is believed to have a watery atmosphere:
Clockwise from top left: NAOJ; L. Calçada/ESO; David Aguilar/CfA; D. Aguilar/ESA, NASA
Robert Hurt and Tim Pyle, artists with NASA’s Spitzer Space Center, created the image of the first planet comparable to Earth’s size that was also within the habitable zone of a star. Listen to them explain why they made the changes they did from first draft to final image.
“Artist with NASA” might be the best job title. -Emily
