Jonathan Reeve Price, Venus Deconstructed, 12” x 12”, 24” x 24”, 2015, aluminum print

In the center, we imagine Venus. But when we zoom in, we discover that the picture is not really a photograph, but an artificial data set, a collection of radar images, laboriously assembled by the folks at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

For four years, starting in September, 1990, the Magellan spacecraft orbited Venus, creating high-resolution images of the surface, measuring the height of features in the landscape, tracking thermal emissions, and mapping the variations on gravity. But when NASA sent the Magellan spacecraft down to explore the deeper levels of the Venusian atmosphere, they lost radio contact.

The Solar System Visualization Project and the Magellan science team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Multimission Image Processing Laboratory fitted together the images from the Magellan's synthetic aperture radar, and then stitched those mosaics into a rectangular grid of latitude and longitude.

But there were some gaps in the coverage, so the team filled the patches with data from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter's data—or they just picked a value half way between neighboring numbers. To bring out the small variations on structure, the team simulated hues based on color images recorded by the Soviet Venera 13 and 14 spacecraft.

The result is an illusion, a mirage of numbers cloaked in colors to form a shape we find comprehensible. We can imagine that if we were in a spacecraft, looking down, we might see something like this globe. But the truth is more pixelated.

Source: images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00007/PIA00007~orig.jpg

Process

We print on aluminum, then protect the surface with a matte lamination. We attach mounting hardware to the back, and add the artist's signature on a label identifying the picture, and giving its number in the edition.

We package the print in tissue paper and extra layers of cardboard. We ship via US Priority Mail, insured.

Please allow two weeks for printing, packaging, and shipping.

When you receive your order, please check to make sure that the picture is just what you are hoping for. If you have any problem with the picture, please contact jonathanreeveprice@gmail.com. Within 14 days of delivery, we accept returns for a full refund.

These images work best without a frame. Each print comes with mounting hardware already attached to the back, so you can hang it up right away. No need for wiring, or framing.

For details on payment, insurance, and shipping, please see Policies.