Artwork Inspired by Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

Artist Mik Petter created this unique, digital artwork using data from the JunoCam imager on NASA’s Juno spacecraft. The original JunoCam image was taken on July 10, 2017, at 10:10 p.m. EDT. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Mik Petter

Artist Mik Petter has created a vibrant new piece of art based on JunoCam images of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS). The piece makes use of fractals, which are recursive mathematical creations; increasingly complex patterns that are similar to each other, yet never exactly the same.

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Stunning Original Drawing of the Latest SpaceX Launch

An original pencil illustration of the SpaceX CRS-3 Falcon 9 Dragon launch on April 18, 2014. Credit and copyright: Wendy Clark.

Here’s something you don’t see much anymore: an original pencil drawing of a launch. This drawing by Wendy Clark from the UK is reminiscent of the pre-spaceflight days, before we had actual images of launches, and just our dreams of spaceflight. This isn’t the first time Clark has drawn a launch (here’s an article we posted of her drawings of the MAVEN launch and the final space shuttle launch) but this one is almost a contrast in themes: the latest technology in launches from the upstart SpaceX team vs. an old-school, old fashioned, by-hand product.

For this drawing, she reiterated what she told us previously: “Don’t let anyone tell you drawing a rocket is easy!” Clark said on Flickr. “The Strongback was a complete dog of an object to draw, such a maze of engineering.”

She also captured the ‘dirty’ side of launches: “Dust and gravel being thrown up everywhere, and the lovely Falcon 9 rocket was a little grubby on lift-off and I’ve tried to reflect that in the drawing,” she said.

Thanks to Wendy Clark for sharing her work on Universe Today’s Flickr site. See more of her drawings and photography on her own Flickr page.