To capture his images of auroras, nebulas, and comets, photographer Juha Tanhua points his camera lens downward, not upward. Despite their astrophysical appearance, Tanhua’s “oil paintings” are actually parking lot oil spills. The stars are roughened bits of asphalt, and the colors come from thin film interference in a layer of oil (similar to the way colors appear in soap bubbles). It’s amazing how much beauty he captures in examples of urban pollution. (Image credit: J. Tanhua; via Colossal)