The PSI website recently featured PSI Research Assistant Gilbert Esquerdo’s aerial photo of Meteor Crater, Arizona. The image reminded us of a painting by PSI Senior Scientist Bill Hartmann, who created this view, working from nature, at Meteor Crater on Sept. 14, 2011. The effort was part of a workshop, including planetary scientist such as Dan Durda and Dave Kring, sponsored by the International Association of Astronomical Artists (IAAA). The view shows boulders uprooted and flipped out of the crater at low velocity, and scattered on the crater rim. The IAAA group, co-founded by Hartmann, holds workshops in various planetary environments in order to help astronomical artists create more accurate and responsive artworks in response to planetary exploration.
