"Astronomical art, on a human scale, must often rely on images and non-visual data obtained at great distances. Enceladus is no exception. While we have seen spectacular detail in Cassini's close encounters, the view experienced from the surface must involve an educated leap of faith.

The painting uses the average human field of view, which is a bit less than 40 degrees. I began this digital painting by combining seven grayscale images from Cassini of Saturn itself. I then drew a topographic map of a section of the Tiger Stripes, relying as heavily as possible on Cassini images, but going beyond them for the kind of resolution I wanted in my landscape."


Michael Carroll   © 2006
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