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Space Art Week

The solar system is one of the most popular themes among space artists, for both fictional and nonfictional images. Of course the eight planets of our solar system are well known, but space artists also like to portray their lesser-known orbiting moons with unique angles on the majestic planets. What distinguishes the planets from each other, and how do artists consider the intricate physics in their artworks? Jupiter, Saturn and their moons are by far the most portrayed objects of our solar system here on DA. But also the other planets have been the subject of interesting space art concepts. See for yourself!

Our Solar System on DeviantArt

Mercury and Venus

The smallest planet of our solar system and the one closest to the sun, Mercury, needs 88 Earth days to orbit the sun. Mercury's surface shows signs of heavy bombardment by asteroids and comets shortly following its formation. With almost no atmosphere and a cratered surface it looks a lot like our own moon. However, the planet's geology is the least understood of the terrestrial planets in the solar system, but suspected to be inactive for billions of years. Having no known natural satellites, Mercury is often portrayed as being eaten or 'overshadowed' by the sun.
Earth's sister planet Venus is a terrestrial planet that needs 225 days to orbit the sun. It is the hottest planet of our solar system (735K/462°C/863°F surface temperature) because of its proximity to the sun and its dense atmosphere. The latter is so thick that its pressure is comparable to being one km below Earth's oceans. The reflective sulfuric acid clouds prevent its surface from being seen from space in visible light, although it actually has striking characteristics due to previous volcanic activity. Like Mercury, Venus does not have any satellites, so artist depictions often portray Venus' surface itself.

Earth and Mars

Formed about 4.5 billion years ago, our blue planet Earth is the densest planet in the solar system and the only one so far known to harbor life. The unique combination of distance from the sun, its geology and physical properties has allowed for thriving life since at least 3.5 billion years. Below you'll find a few artist impressions of how our beautiful blue planet is seen from outer space.
The red planet Mars is the second smallest of our solar system and the last of the terrestrial planets with a thin atmosphere. With surface features similar to the moon, as well as Earth's deserts, valleys and polar ice caps, Mars is suspected of past habitability potential. It has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, possibly captured Asteroids because of their irregular shape.
Everyone knows about Earth's Moon, which because of its bright appearance in the sky has had a big cultural influence on many aspects in the history of human civilisation. Its surface, however, is actually dark and only reflects light from the sun similarly as worn asphalt would. Our moon is among the biggest and densest in the solar system: its gravitational influence on our planet is relatively strong (producing tidal forces, e.g., ocean tides) due to its considerable mass compared to that of Earth (1:81). The Moon's origin is debated - a popular belief is that it formed from leftover debris of a collision between Earth and the ancient Mars-sized planet Theia 4.3 billion years ago.

Asteroid Belt and Ceres

Between Mars and Jupiter lies the Asteroid or Main Belt containing numerous irregularly shaped bodies - asteroids and minor planets. The four biggest asteroids, Ceres, Vesta, Pallas and Hygiea contain half the mass of the entire belt.

Jupiter and Saturn

The first of the giants, Jupiter, is the largest planet of our solar system but still has only a mass one thousandth that of the sun. Jupiter is primarily composed of hydrogen and helium, thereby denoted as gas giant, and does not have a solid surface. It is a good example of an oblate spheroid (many planets are), meaning it is a slightly flattened sphere and not perfectly symmetric. Jupiter has at least 67 satellites that we know of, the largest of them being the Galilean moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Different surface structures and geologies make the moons great starting points for Jupiter themed artworks.
Famous for its visible rings, Saturn is the second largest planet of our solar system and, like Jupiter, another gas giant comprised of hydrogen and helium. Ammonia crystals in its upper atmosphere give the planet a pale yellow hue, while otherwise bland and lacking in contrast. Its nine main rings are mainly composed of water ice with some small part of rock debris. The origin of the rings could be a previously destroyed moon of Saturn. The planet has a total of 62 satellites that we know of. The largest, Titan, is even larger than Mercury and is remarkable for being the only moon in the solar system to have a dense atmosphere.

Uranus and Neptune

Like Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus is comprised of hydrogen and helium, however also of many heavier elements such as oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur and is therefore classified as an ice giant. Uranus has a ring system that is less visible than that of Saturn, and the planet's features are almost invisible showing no signs of cloud bands or storms of the other gas giants. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon are the largest of Uranus' 27 known satellites.
Neptune, the eighth and farthest planet from our sun orbits the sun once every 165 years. Like Uranus, it belongs to the class of ice giants for its higher composition of ices in the atmosphere and the interior. Neptune gets its blue appearance from methane in the outermost regions. Unlike Uranus, its weather patterns are clearly visible. The planet's biggest moon Triton takes 99% of the total mass orbiting around Neptune and is modestly larger than the dwarf planet Pluto.

Pluto and Kuiper Belt
Formerly the ninth planet of our solar system, Pluto belongs to the Kuiper Belt, which is an asteroid belt beyond Neptune far more massive than the Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Pluto was degraded to a dwarf planet with the discovery of Eris in 2005, another Trans-Neptunian object that is more massive but slightly smaller than Pluto. Pluto's largest moon is Charon.

You're still here?
Congrats, I didn't expect anyone would make it to the end of the article.

As a reward you may now enjoy the solar system of DeviantArt!
Which planet do you live on?

:D (Big Grin) — Description
body div#devskin11334843 hr { }

Space Art Week

The solar system is one of the most popular themes among space artists, for both fictional and nonfictional images. Of course the eight planets of our solar system are well known, but space artists also like to portray their lesser-known orbiting moons with unique angles on the majestic planets. What distinguishes the planets from each other, and how do artists consider the intricate physics in their artworks? Jupiter, Saturn and their moons are by far the most portrayed objects of our solar system here on DA. But also the other planets have been the subject of interesting space art concepts. See for yourself!

Our Solar System on DeviantArt

Mercury and Venus

The smallest planet of our solar system and the one closest to the sun, Mercury, needs 88 Earth days to orbit the sun. Mercury's surface shows signs of heavy bombardment by asteroids and comets shortly following its formation. With almost no atmosphere and a cratered surface it looks a lot like our own moon. However, the planet's geology is the least understood of the terrestrial planets in the solar system, but suspected to be inactive for billions of years. Having no known natural satellites, Mercury is often portrayed as being eaten or 'overshadowed' by the sun.
Earth's sister planet Venus is a terrestrial planet that needs 225 days to orbit the sun. It is the hottest planet of our solar system (735K/462°C/863°F surface temperature) because of its proximity to the sun and its dense atmosphere. The latter is so thick that its pressure is comparable to being one km below Earth's oceans. The reflective sulfuric acid clouds prevent its surface from being seen from space in visible light, although it actually has striking characteristics due to previous volcanic activity. Like Mercury, Venus does not have any satellites, so artist depictions often portray Venus' surface itself.

Earth and Mars

Formed about 4.5 billion years ago, our blue planet Earth is the densest planet in the solar system and the only one so far known to harbor life. The unique combination of distance from the sun, its geology and physical properties has allowed for thriving life since at least 3.5 billion years. Below you'll find a few artist impressions of how our beautiful blue planet is seen from outer space.
The red planet Mars is the second smallest of our solar system and the last of the terrestrial planets with a thin atmosphere. With surface features similar to the moon, as well as Earth's deserts, valleys and polar ice caps, Mars is suspected of past habitability potential. It has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, possibly captured Asteroids because of their irregular shape.
Everyone knows about Earth's Moon, which because of its bright appearance in the sky has had a big cultural influence on many aspects in the history of human civilisation. Its surface, however, is actually dark and only reflects light from the sun similarly as worn asphalt would. Our moon is among the biggest and densest in the solar system: its gravitational influence on our planet is relatively strong (producing tidal forces, e.g., ocean tides) due to its considerable mass compared to that of Earth (1:81). The Moon's origin is debated - a popular belief is that it formed from leftover debris of a collision between Earth and the ancient Mars-sized planet Theia 4.3 billion years ago.

Asteroid Belt and Ceres

Between Mars and Jupiter lies the Asteroid or Main Belt containing numerous irregularly shaped bodies - asteroids and minor planets. The four biggest asteroids, Ceres, Vesta, Pallas and Hygiea contain half the mass of the entire belt.

Jupiter and Saturn

The first of the giants, Jupiter, is the largest planet of our solar system but still has only a mass one thousandth that of the sun. Jupiter is primarily composed of hydrogen and helium, thereby denoted as gas giant, and does not have a solid surface. It is a good example of an oblate spheroid (many planets are), meaning it is a slightly flattened sphere and not perfectly symmetric. Jupiter has at least 67 satellites that we know of, the largest of them being the Galilean moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Different surface structures and geologies make the moons great starting points for Jupiter themed artworks.
Famous for its visible rings, Saturn is the second largest planet of our solar system and, like Jupiter, another gas giant comprised of hydrogen and helium. Ammonia crystals in its upper atmosphere give the planet a pale yellow hue, while otherwise bland and lacking in contrast. Its nine main rings are mainly composed of water ice with some small part of rock debris. The origin of the rings could be a previously destroyed moon of Saturn. The planet has a total of 62 satellites that we know of. The largest, Titan, is even larger than Mercury and is remarkable for being the only moon in the solar system to have a dense atmosphere.

Uranus and Neptune

Like Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus is comprised of hydrogen and helium, however also of many heavier elements such as oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur and is therefore classified as an ice giant. Uranus has a ring system that is less visible than that of Saturn, and the planet's features are almost invisible showing no signs of cloud bands or storms of the other gas giants. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon are the largest of Uranus' 27 known satellites.
Neptune, the eighth and farthest planet from our sun orbits the sun once every 165 years. Like Uranus, it belongs to the class of ice giants for its higher composition of ices in the atmosphere and the interior. Neptune gets its blue appearance from methane in the outermost regions. Unlike Uranus, its weather patterns are clearly visible. The planet's biggest moon Triton takes 99% of the total mass orbiting around Neptune and is modestly larger than the dwarf planet Pluto.

Pluto and Kuiper Belt
Formerly the ninth planet of our solar system, Pluto belongs to the Kuiper Belt, which is an asteroid belt beyond Neptune far more massive than the Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Pluto was degraded to a dwarf planet with the discovery of Eris in 2005, another Trans-Neptunian object that is more massive but slightly smaller than Pluto. Pluto's largest moon is Charon.

You're still here?
Congrats, I didn't expect anyone would make it to the end of the article.

As a reward you may now enjoy the solar system of DeviantArt!
Which planet do you live on?