Friday

What could other worlds look like? Exoplanetology — the study of planets orbiting stars other than our sun — is rapidly progressing, and researchers are discovering increasing numbers of planets: the count currently stands at over 4000. Very little is known about these distant worlds — perhaps their mass, or their radius, but conditions on the surface are still left somewhat to our imagination.

The nearest star to the Earth after the Sun is Proxima Centauri, a mere four light years away, and we now know it too hosts a planet. Much smaller and redder than our Sun, Proxima is categorised as an M dwarf. Unlike the Sun, an M dwarf emits most of its light in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum, rather than the visible range. Life on Earth has evolved to make the most of the Sun’s energy — but how would life have evolved on a planet with a very different kind of light available?

This art-science project explores this idea using Kodak Aerochrome, a false-colour infrared film developed for aerial photography. Sensitive to light extending into the infrared regime, where foliage reflects strongly, it produces images that mimic the red or purple hued plant life that we might find on other planets. Discontinued in 2011, there are only around 100 rolls of Aerochrome remaining in existence. Exploiting the film’s unique qualities, we take the opportunity to illustrate an imagined future, where humans have ventured into interstellar exploration and arrived on alien worlds.