Aurora Planet (1998)
This is the view from a planet in a close orbit around a magnetic flare star. These stars have such
gigantic episodes of magnetic activity that they must have huge starspots, some of which have
actually been imaged. Life on a nearby planet would be impossible. The atmosphere is almost entirely
gone, stripped away. But there is still a residual exosphere, making this an ideal spot to go
aurora-spotting – if you have a decent space suit.
This was one of my very first digital paintings, created – before I invested in a Wacom tablet –
entirely with a mouse in Photoshop!
