NASA Scientist Simulates a Kaleidoscope of Sunsets on Other Worlds
- Visualizations by:
- Geronimo Villanueva
- Written by:
- Lonnie Shekhtman
- Edited by:
- James Tralie
- Scientific consulting by:
- Geronimo Villanueva
- Produced by:
- James Tralie
- View full credits
Geronimo Villanueva, a NASA planetary scientist, created these sunset simulations while building a computer modeling tool for a possible future mission to Uranus, an icy-cold planet in the outer solar system. To validate the accuracy of his tool, Villanueva simulated known sky colors of various planets and moons, some of which are shown in this video.
The simulations show these worlds turning away from the light of the Sun, which is what’s happening when we see a sunset. As these worlds rotate, photons get scattered in different directions depending on the energy of the photons and the types of molecules in the atmospheres. The result is a lovely palette of colors that would be visible to those standing on these worlds.
The simulations show these worlds turning away from the light of the Sun, which is what’s happening when we see a sunset. As these worlds rotate, photons get scattered in different directions depending on the energy of the photons and the types of molecules in the atmospheres. The result is a lovely palette of colors that would be visible to those standing on these worlds.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Visualizer
- Geronimo Villanueva (Catholic University of America) [Lead]
Writer
- Lonnie Shekhtman (ADNET) [Lead]
Editor
- James Tralie (ADNET) [Lead]
Scientist
- Geronimo Villanueva (Catholic University of America) [Lead]
Producer
- James Tralie (ADNET) [Lead]
Technical support
- Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET)
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