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| Striking views of our Solar System | Striking views of our Solar System |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Fog on Mars, storms on Jupiter and fiery flares on the Sun - stunning close up images of our nearest planetary neighbours are going on show at London's Natural History Museum. | Fog on Mars, storms on Jupiter and fiery flares on the Sun - stunning close up images of our nearest planetary neighbours are going on show at London's Natural History Museum. |
| What would you see if you travelled to the surface of Mars? Or were able to drift in and out of Saturn's rings? | What would you see if you travelled to the surface of Mars? Or were able to drift in and out of Saturn's rings? |
| A new exhibition - Otherworlds - focuses on the creative work of US-based artist Michael Benson. He mixes art with science - to make crisp, colourful and seamless digital images from data sent back to Earth by Nasa and ESA spacecraft. | A new exhibition - Otherworlds - focuses on the creative work of US-based artist Michael Benson. He mixes art with science - to make crisp, colourful and seamless digital images from data sent back to Earth by Nasa and ESA spacecraft. |
| The museum's Poppy Cooper, who helped put the show together, says the 77 images are meant to represent what humans would see if they went to visit those places. | The museum's Poppy Cooper, who helped put the show together, says the 77 images are meant to represent what humans would see if they went to visit those places. |
| Scroll down and travel deep into the Solar System yourself. | Scroll down and travel deep into the Solar System yourself. |
| Moonlight on the Adriatic | Moonlight on the Adriatic |
| As seen from the International Space Station, this first image looks back to Earth. | As seen from the International Space Station, this first image looks back to Earth. |
| The boot of Italy is clearly visible. The bright lights in the bottom right hand corner is Milan. | The boot of Italy is clearly visible. The bright lights in the bottom right hand corner is Milan. |
| The Adriatic Sea sparkles in the moonlight - although, as Poppy Cooper points out, moonlight is of course reflected sunlight. | The Adriatic Sea sparkles in the moonlight - although, as Poppy Cooper points out, moonlight is of course reflected sunlight. |
| Mosaic composite photograph. ISS 023 crew, 29 April 2010 | Mosaic composite photograph. ISS 023 crew, 29 April 2010 |
| Credit: Nasa JSC/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures | Credit: Nasa JSC/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures |
| Typhoon over Bay of Bengal | Typhoon over Bay of Bengal |
| This immense vortex of Tropical Cyclone 03B slammed into India's east coast at the end of 2003, with wind speeds approaching 120 kilometres an hour. | This immense vortex of Tropical Cyclone 03B slammed into India's east coast at the end of 2003, with wind speeds approaching 120 kilometres an hour. |
| Below, the top of the island of Sri Lanka is relatively cloud free. | Below, the top of the island of Sri Lanka is relatively cloud free. |
| Photograph. Terra, 15 December 2003 | Photograph. Terra, 15 December 2003 |
| Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, Lucian Plesea, Modis Land Rapid Response Team/Nasa GSFC/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures | Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, Lucian Plesea, Modis Land Rapid Response Team/Nasa GSFC/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures |
| Eclipse of the Sun by Earth | Eclipse of the Sun by Earth |
| "Incredibly violent, energetic and quite frightening" is how Poppy Cooper describes the next image, which shows giant solar flares leaping out from the surface of the Sun. | |
| The view - based on an ultraviolet exposure taken in space by the Solar Dynamics Observatory - shows the Sun appearing to be in the Earth's shadow. | |
| The shadow is due to the increased density of the Earth's atmosphere - from left to right in the image - which blocks UV light. | |
| Ultraviolet exposure. Solar Dynamics Observatory, 2 April 2011 | Ultraviolet exposure. Solar Dynamics Observatory, 2 April 2011 |
| Credit: Nasa SDO/Nasa GSFC/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures | Credit: Nasa SDO/Nasa GSFC/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures |
| Ground fog in Valles Marineris | Ground fog in Valles Marineris |
| It is foggy on Mars. | It is foggy on Mars. |
| This next image shows the planet's Valles Marineris canyon system - which is about as wide as Australia, and at almost 4,000km long, is the largest in the Solar System. | This next image shows the planet's Valles Marineris canyon system - which is about as wide as Australia, and at almost 4,000km long, is the largest in the Solar System. |
| A fog hugs the canyon floor, which is more than 6.5km deep in places - more than three times deeper than the Grand Canyon in the United States. | A fog hugs the canyon floor, which is more than 6.5km deep in places - more than three times deeper than the Grand Canyon in the United States. |
| Mosaic composite photograph. Mars Express, 25 May 2004 | Mosaic composite photograph. Mars Express, 25 May 2004 |
| Credit: ESA/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures | Credit: ESA/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures |
| Global dust storm on Mars | Global dust storm on Mars |
| Mars can also bear witness to giant dust storms which can last for months. | Mars can also bear witness to giant dust storms which can last for months. |
| This image was put together using data from a Nasa mission in 1977. | This image was put together using data from a Nasa mission in 1977. |
| "The scale is amazing. It just reminds you how active all these other worlds are," says Poppy Cooper. | "The scale is amazing. It just reminds you how active all these other worlds are," says Poppy Cooper. |
| "Our planet is not unique in that respect - other planets are constantly changing and moving." | "Our planet is not unique in that respect - other planets are constantly changing and moving." |
| Mosaic composite photograph. Viking Orbiter 2, 19 February 1977 | Mosaic composite photograph. Viking Orbiter 2, 19 February 1977 |
| Credit: Nasa/JPL/Dr Paul Geissler/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures | Credit: Nasa/JPL/Dr Paul Geissler/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures |
| Late afternoon on Mars | Late afternoon on Mars |
| This more peaceful image was taken late afternoon during a Martian day. | This more peaceful image was taken late afternoon during a Martian day. |
| In the distance is Husband Hill - named in memory of Columbia Space Shuttle Commander Rick Husband. | In the distance is Husband Hill - named in memory of Columbia Space Shuttle Commander Rick Husband. |
| He died with six other astronauts in 2003, when Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. | He died with six other astronauts in 2003, when Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. |
| Mosaic composite photograph. Spirit Rover, 16 April 2006 | Mosaic composite photograph. Spirit Rover, 16 April 2006 |
| Credit: Nasa/JPL/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures | Credit: Nasa/JPL/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures |
| A Warming Comet | A Warming Comet |
| There are hundreds of comets flying around the Solar System - celestial bodies moving about the Sun in stretched orbits. | There are hundreds of comets flying around the Solar System - celestial bodies moving about the Sun in stretched orbits. |
| This image is of the oddly twin-lobed Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko - which was discovered in 1969. | This image is of the oddly twin-lobed Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko - which was discovered in 1969. |
| It starts to vent gas and dust as it heats up - about a month before perihelion, the point at which it is closest to the Sun along its orbit. | It starts to vent gas and dust as it heats up - about a month before perihelion, the point at which it is closest to the Sun along its orbit. |
| Rosetta, 7 July 2015 | Rosetta, 7 July 2015 |
| Credit: ESA/Rosetta/Navcam-CC BY-SA IGO 3.0/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures | Credit: ESA/Rosetta/Navcam-CC BY-SA IGO 3.0/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures |
| Stormy Jupiter | Stormy Jupiter |
| Jupiter's Great Red Spot can be clearly seen here. | Jupiter's Great Red Spot can be clearly seen here. |
| A persistent anti-cyclonic storm, it impedes the progress of the white clouds to its right - funnelling them into streaming tendrils below. | A persistent anti-cyclonic storm, it impedes the progress of the white clouds to its right - funnelling them into streaming tendrils below. |
| The churning dynamo is three times the size of Earth and has been raging for at least 348 years. | The churning dynamo is three times the size of Earth and has been raging for at least 348 years. |
| Photograph. Cassini, 1 January 2001 | Photograph. Cassini, 1 January 2001 |
| Credit: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures | Credit: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures |
| Europa, an ice-covered ocean moon | Europa, an ice-covered ocean moon |
| This next image shows the jumbled faults and curving ridges that sprawl out across the icy surface of Europa - one of the dozens of moons of Jupiter. | This next image shows the jumbled faults and curving ridges that sprawl out across the icy surface of Europa - one of the dozens of moons of Jupiter. |
| It is slightly smaller than our own Moon. | It is slightly smaller than our own Moon. |
| Mosaic composite photograph, Galileo, 29 March 1998 | Mosaic composite photograph, Galileo, 29 March 1998 |
| Credit: Nasa/JPL/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures | Credit: Nasa/JPL/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures |
| Crescent Jupiter and Ganymede | Crescent Jupiter and Ganymede |
| Jupiter - the Solar System's largest planet - dwarfs its largest moon Ganymede, seen here on the right. | Jupiter - the Solar System's largest planet - dwarfs its largest moon Ganymede, seen here on the right. |
| Ganymede is the ninth largest object in the solar system and is bigger than the planet Mercury. | Ganymede is the ninth largest object in the solar system and is bigger than the planet Mercury. |
| Like Europa, Ganymede's surface is composed of water ice, and is thought to have a sub-surface ocean. | Like Europa, Ganymede's surface is composed of water ice, and is thought to have a sub-surface ocean. |
| Mosaic composite photograph. Cassini, 10 January 2001 | Mosaic composite photograph. Cassini, 10 January 2001 |
| Credit: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures | Credit: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures |
| Dark side of the rings | Dark side of the rings |
| "It looks a bit like a marble or a hat you might wear to a wedding - the colours are beautiful," says Poppy Cooper of this image which looks down on Saturn's northern regions. | "It looks a bit like a marble or a hat you might wear to a wedding - the colours are beautiful," says Poppy Cooper of this image which looks down on Saturn's northern regions. |
| Dust and ice make up the distinctive rings which circle the planet - into which you could fit 763 (and a bit) Earths. | Dust and ice make up the distinctive rings which circle the planet - into which you could fit 763 (and a bit) Earths. |
| "Their relative dimensions are thinner than a sheet of paper. They are hundreds of kilometres long, but only about 10 metres deep." | "Their relative dimensions are thinner than a sheet of paper. They are hundreds of kilometres long, but only about 10 metres deep." |
| Mosaic composite photograph. Cassini, 20 January 2007 | Mosaic composite photograph. Cassini, 20 January 2007 |
| Credit: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures | Credit: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures |
| Enceladus vents water into space | Enceladus vents water into space |
| "A lot of people have been drawn to this image of Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, because it looks a bit like the Death Star in Star Wars," says Cooper. | "A lot of people have been drawn to this image of Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, because it looks a bit like the Death Star in Star Wars," says Cooper. |
| The moon is bathed in direct sunlight on the left, with reflected sunlight from Saturn illuminating it on the right. | The moon is bathed in direct sunlight on the left, with reflected sunlight from Saturn illuminating it on the right. |
| At the top of the moon, erupts a vast spray of water into space - which immediately freezes. | At the top of the moon, erupts a vast spray of water into space - which immediately freezes. |
| "Enceladus is very reminiscent of our own moon but it is much more active," says Cooper. | "Enceladus is very reminiscent of our own moon but it is much more active," says Cooper. |
| "It is believed to have a sub-surface ocean - which leaves people wondering if it might have the conditions to host life." | "It is believed to have a sub-surface ocean - which leaves people wondering if it might have the conditions to host life." |
| Mosaic composite photograph. Cassini, 25 December 2009 | Mosaic composite photograph. Cassini, 25 December 2009 |
| Credit: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures | Credit: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures |
| Uranus and its rings | Uranus and its rings |
| "I like this because it's so perfect and symmetrical - like a computer graphic - but it is actually real," says Cooper of this image of the planet Uranus. | "I like this because it's so perfect and symmetrical - like a computer graphic - but it is actually real," says Cooper of this image of the planet Uranus. |
| "The blue comes from the methane in the atmosphere - reacting with the light from the Sun." | "The blue comes from the methane in the atmosphere - reacting with the light from the Sun." |
| The third largest planet in our Solar System, Uranus was discovered in 1781 by the astronomer William Herschel - but its faint rings were only spotted in 1977. | The third largest planet in our Solar System, Uranus was discovered in 1781 by the astronomer William Herschel - but its faint rings were only spotted in 1977. |
| Mosaic composite photograph. Voyager, 24 January 1986 | Mosaic composite photograph. Voyager, 24 January 1986 |
| Credit: Nasa/JPL/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures | Credit: Nasa/JPL/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures |
| A Plutonian Haze | A Plutonian Haze |
| This final glowing image is of the chilly dwarf planet Pluto - on the edge of our Solar System. | This final glowing image is of the chilly dwarf planet Pluto - on the edge of our Solar System. |
| "I love the idea there might be blue skies on Pluto - it's romantic," says Poppy Cooper. | "I love the idea there might be blue skies on Pluto - it's romantic," says Poppy Cooper. |
| "It's so other-worldly it couldn't be Earth. It looks cold, distant, inhospitable." | "It's so other-worldly it couldn't be Earth. It looks cold, distant, inhospitable." |
| But the blue haze - captured last year by Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft - is light from the giant Sun, hidden here behind tiny Pluto. | But the blue haze - captured last year by Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft - is light from the giant Sun, hidden here behind tiny Pluto. |
| Mosaic composite photograph. New Horizons, 14 July 2015 | Mosaic composite photograph. New Horizons, 14 July 2015 |
| Credit: Nasa/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures | Credit: Nasa/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures |
| Other Worlds: Visions of our Solar System can be seen at the Natural History Museum, London, from 22 January - 15 May 2016. | Other Worlds: Visions of our Solar System can be seen at the Natural History Museum, London, from 22 January - 15 May 2016. |