FYFD

Category: Art

  • Jupiter in Infrared

    Jupiter in Infrared

    These recent composite images from the James Webb Space Telescope show Jupiter in stunning infrared detail. They’re the result of several images taken in different infrared bands, then combined and rendered in visible light. In general, the redder colors show longer wavelengths and the bluer ones show shorter wavelengths.

    Jupiter’s cloud bands appear in beautiful detail. The Great Red Spot looks white in infrared. And the planet’s polar auroras shine bright in both images. The wide-angle shot additionally shows two of Jupiter’s moons and the planet’s rings, which are a million times fainter than the planet itself. If you look carefully, you may also see faint points of light in the lower half of the image. These are likely distant galaxies “photobombing” Jupiter’s close-up. (Image credit: NASA/ESA/Jupiter ERS Team 1, 2; via Colossal)

    This composite image of Jupiter was taken in infrared bands and rendered into visible light. In general, the redder colors represent longer wavelengths and bluer ones shorter wavelengths.
    This composite image of Jupiter was taken in infrared bands and rendered into visible light. In general, the redder colors represent longer wavelengths and bluer ones shorter wavelengths.
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    “Titan”

    Saturn’s moon Titan is a fascinating foil to our planet. It’s the only other body in our solar system with liquid bodies — lakes and seas — on its surface. But where Earth’s oceans are filled with water, Titan’s frigid lakes are liquid hydrocarbons. This video, “Titan,” is a short film inspired by the moon’s seas and is made up of various liquids and chemical reactions filmed under magnification. Sit back and enjoy the flow! (Image and video credit: S. Bocci/Julia Set Lab)

  • Under the Sea

    Under the Sea

    Deep below the ocean surface, light is in short supply. But dive photographer Steven Kovacs specializes in capturing the ethereal creatures that live in this darkness. Many of his subjects are larval fish, whose forms defy our hydrodynamic expectations. Why would young (presumably less energetic) fish have so many long, drag-inducing appendages? Clearly there’s more to life under the sea than streamlining alone!

    Perhaps our instincts are wrong and these shapes are not as detrimental as they look at first glance. Flexibility can make a drastic difference in hydrodynamics, after all. And some of these species are preparing themselves for a life not spent entirely underwater, anyway. (Image credit: S. Kovacs; via Colossal)

  • Saffman-Taylor Instability

    Saffman-Taylor Instability

    Air and blue-dyed glycerin squeezed between two glass plates form curvy, finger-like protrusions. This is a close-up of the Saffman-Taylor instability, a pattern created when a less viscous fluid — here, air — is injected into a more viscous one. If you reverse the situation and inject glycerin into air, you’ll get no viscous fingers, just a stable, expanding circle. Although you sometimes come across this instability in daily life — like in a cracked smartphone screen — the major motivation for studying this phenomenon historically has been oil and gas extraction. (Image credit: T. Pohlman et al.)

  • Stunning Waves

    Stunning Waves

    Photographer Lloyd Meudell captures breathtaking images of ocean waves off his home shores of New South Wales. The waveforms and lighting combine to create infinite variety in shape and texture. Some waves look like towering mountain landscapes; some look like glass sculptures. Every one of them draws you into the ocean’s power. (Image credit: L. Meudell; via Bored Panda)

  • Liquid Sculptures

    Liquid Sculptures

    Snapshots of splashes are nothing new, but few have mastered the art of freezing incredible shapes in water the way Markus Reugels has. His splash photography is mind-boggling, especially knowing that he uses Photoshop only for minor corrections like contrast and removing sensor noise. Fortunately, he’s generous in sharing his expertise. Check out lots more incredible photos and plenty of how-to guides (mostly in German) over at his site. (Image credits: M. Reugels)

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    “Art of Paint”

    Filmmaker Roman De Giuli is always coming up with spectacular and visually fascinating new ways to manipulate ink and other liquids. In “Art of Paint,” he applies thin layers atop a custom plate that can be tilted in any direction. The results sometimes resemble acrylic paint pours, sometimes Marangoni flows, and sometimes look more like salt fingers or Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. The extreme variety of forms is quite unique among these sorts of films and is well worth taking the time to view in fullscreen. (Image and video credit: R. De Giuli)

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    “Timedrift II”

    As a teenager, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. The final ascent began around midnight, and we climbed through the dark, through sunrise, and into the early morning. I remember pausing at one point, just as the sun was rising, and looking out at the clouds thousands of meters below. From that height, they looked like an ocean, rippled with lavender waves. Timelapse films like this one, by filmmaker Martin Heck, remind me of that morning and the sense that I had of the sky as an ocean, flowing, crashing, and surging in ways we cannot appreciate until we slow down and look closer. (Image and video credit: M. Heck/Timestorm Films)

  • “Metamorphe”

    “Metamorphe”

    A smoke-like haze drifts over surreal landscapes in the “Metamorphe” series by Reuben Wu and Jenni Pasanen. Though fluidic in appearance, these pieces are a merger between Wu’s drone light photography and Pasanen’s AI-assisted digital creations. Even so, the images are extremely evocative of fluid motion, connected as they are to human senses (like smell, hearing, and touch) that often rely directly on fluid dynamics. For more, check out the artists’ sites and Instagram. (Image credits: R. Wu and J. Pasanen; via Colossal)

  • Aqueous Chandeliers

    Aqueous Chandeliers

    Colorful dyes falling through water form chandelier-like, branching shapes. These formations are the result of a slight density difference between the heavier dyes and the surrounding water. As the dye falls, Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities cause the mushroom-like blobs and their branches. With creativity and photographic skill, Mark Mawson turns these ephemeral shapes into bold liquid sculptures, frozen in time. See more of his work in these previous posts, on his website, and on Instagram. (Image credit: M. Mawson)