- Amazing images by artist Michael Benson use raw data from Nasa and European Space Agency (Esa) missions
- They’re designed to show what humans would see if we ventured to Mars or Neptune, for example
- They include erupting water geysers on Enceladus, creepy craters on the moon’s South Pole and Saturn’s rings
- Pictures are on show at the Natural history Museum’s Other Worlds Exhibition, and in an accompanying book
From frost on Mars to one of Saturn’s moon’s ethereal atmosphere, beautiful close-up images of the solar system show our planetary neighbours in a new light.
The spectacular pictures were created by New York-based artist Michael Benson, who mixes art with science and are designed to show what humans would see if we ventured to Mars or Neptune, for example.
Mr Benson processed raw data from Nasa and European Space Agency (Esa) missions to make the breathtaking pictures, which explore the beauty of the solar system.
They include erupting water geysers on Enceladus – Saturn’s sixth largest moon – creepy craters on the moon’s South Pole, frosted Martian dunes and stunning pictures of the Earth from space.
The Natural History Museum, where the 77 pictures are on show, said it ‘demonstrates that the visual legacy of six decades of space exploration constitutes a visually stunning, important chapter in the history of photography.’
The artist explained he worked on the images to get them as close to true colour as possible.
‘Subjects are so alien to our experience, that’s necessary to get to a point where they look as they might to the human eye if we could go to ourselves these places,’ he said.
Visitors to the Other Worlds exhibition, which runs between 22 January and 15 May, will view the pictures while listening to an original music by Brian Eno – a pioneer of ambient music. The images are also available in a book.
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