Space Artist, sky observer and photographer. Processor of space images. Interested in Astronomy, Planetary Geology, history and in what the future may bring. https://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mwkscxuogk26The Sunset of September 27, 2026 was an epic spectacle whose intensity and beauty were memorable. The cloud ceiling had a wide opening toward the West that admitted Sunlight which underwent progressive color changes as it briefly in turn illuminated layers of otherwise invisible cloud textures.28 Sep 2026 07:32 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwkscxuogk26https://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mwhbkshac226This morning's Sunrise was interesting not only because of the broad high wispy clouds and the setting Full Moon, there was also a nice display of 'Crepuscular rays', shadows of clouds projected across the sky upon high altitude particles occupying a layer between about 20 and 30 km altitude.26 Sep 2026 21:54 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwhbkshac226https://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mvxdpcldgs2pOn September 16 and 19th, 2026, launches from Vandenberg took place essentially at Sunset, so the actual ascents were unimpressive. However the lighting on the spreading plumes as twilight progresses is always intriguing. The shifting golden, red and luminous blue radiance warrants attention.20 Sep 2026 13:50 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvxdpcldgs2phttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mvtg3aay6k2dI have been shooting time lapse sequences of the twilight sky lately. There seems to be an enhanced presence of high altitude floating material making the 'Purple Light'. Nothing major but enough to notice. The day to day differences in the twilight and cloud shadow presence is worth looking for.19 Sep 2026 00:22 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvtg3aay6k2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3muymiiel6s2wThe Sunset of September 7 was an amazing spectacle. As the cloud ceiling of the passing tropical storm dissolved, a window for the last sunlight opened up with fortuitously glorious results. Odd cloud shapes sculpted by winds and moisture had their edges highlighted in crimson radiance.08 Sep 2026 08:35 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3muymiiel6s2whttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3muofuxbgac2rOn September 3, 1976 Viking Lander 2 touched down on the Surface of Mars. When the lander separated from the orbiter the latter began a roll that interrupted lander data for several hours. After a wait the first panoramas arrived, showing not the dune field hoped for but an endless flat rocky plain.04 Sep 2026 07:10 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3muofuxbgac2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mu7uu4k2d22lMy portrayal of the Partial Lunar Eclipse of August 27-28, 2026. These were painted in Photoshop based on my observations through a 10 inch telescope and binoculars. Among the variable clouds I saw just enough of the event to get the observation I wanted, a look at the colors in the Earth shadow.29 Aug 2026 12:28 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu7uu4k2d22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mtrnfkkwxs22On this date, August 23 1966, The Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft obtained this first view of Earth from Lunar orbit. On the left is my treatment of the the wider angle photo taken the same time as the more widely circulated high res image. Also a contemporary poster describing the photo's context.23 Aug 2026 20:37 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtrnfkkwxs22https://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mtexghmyak2hThe Sunset of August 17 2026 featured a modest formation of semi lenticular clouds to the West, however they caught the very reddened last sunlight in a dramatic display. For a few magical minutes the color intensity took my thoughts into realms of numinous wonder.18 Aug 2026 19:32 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtexghmyak2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mt6sxp6plc2xThe Monsoon weather pattern noted earlier continues, isolated storms arising and leaving narrow water scoured paths. The Sunset of Saturday, August 15, was a nice show. To the North a grouping of Cumulus towers huddled into a surging peak with a streamlined 'cap' of ice clouds forming at the apex.16 Aug 2026 08:56 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt6sxp6plc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mt3ubh3xbc26During the recent Total Solar Eclipse the South Korean Danuri spacecraft obtained a nice view of Earth from Lunar orbit with the Moons shadow just visible on Earth. Here is their image, with attribution added, my colorized version and the nearly simultaneous EPIC-DSCOVR image used for the color.15 Aug 2026 04:42 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt3ubh3xbc26https://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mszomh6rzc2xThe sunset of August 13, 2026 was quite a spectacle. Masses of dissolving monsoon weather admitted the last reddened sunlight through their widening gaps, which went on to illuminate a wide region of fortuitously placed cloud masses.14 Aug 2026 07:55 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mszomh6rzc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3msuefmkyuc2dThe scattered Monsoon weather pattern noted yesterday continued today, August 11, 2026. The last sunlight gave a nice display as it backlit a disintegrating thunderhead which was still shedding a mass of rain.12 Aug 2026 05:09 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3msuefmkyuc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3msrzq2lnrk2hThe weather is changing across the High Desert. Isolated thunderstorms are appearing in the afternoons and leaving trails of dampened countryside. In the distance a nice thunderhead rose into the sky some tens of miles away, catching the last rays of the Sun as it's top flattened and spread.11 Aug 2026 06:53 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3msrzq2lnrk2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3msr5tw2sek2zA panorama from the dawn of August 9, 2026. The morning twilight is lighting the clouds to the East at left near the overexposed crescent Moon, while at right to the South the light pollution from the Indio and Coachella areas illuminates the cloud undersides and brightens the sky near the horizon.10 Aug 2026 22:34 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3msr5tw2sek2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mspjyryj4k2xThe Moon at dawn August 9, 2026 from the High Desert.10 Aug 2026 07:06 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mspjyryj4k2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3msly5rfiis2r A Viking art related footnote... Author and flying saucer photo fabricator Billy Meier, in a video represented as showing photos from his space voyage, used stuff from books as things he claimed to see on a 'space trip'. One of these was a painting of the Viking orbiter that I did in 1975 for NASA!08 Aug 2026 21:08 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3msly5rfiis2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mskkdh4dm22rThe Sunset of August 7, 2026 featured only a few fairly distant clouds low on the Western horizon, but with a 55-250 mm lens I could zoom in on an intriguing adornment, an 'Sun Pillar' forming a fuzzy vertical bar of light as the reddening sunlight was reflected by roughly aligned ice crystals.08 Aug 2026 07:28 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mskkdh4dm22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mshmleuaxk2sThe twilight of July 20 was a pleasant surprise, not just because of the dramatic clearing of clouds that had shortly before made a nice Sunset, but because of the fine display of crepuscular rays spread across the pink/golden twilight.07 Aug 2026 03:31 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mshmleuaxk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3msfegnhi3c22I finally got around to processing some sky photos made over the last few weeks. It's been 100 F (38 C) and higher every day for what seems like a couple weeks and the hot wind is relentless. Occasionally some clouds appear, and before they evaporate nice sunrise/set displays happen roughly weekly.06 Aug 2026 06:00 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3msfegnhi3c22https://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3msaldohjtc2k 'There Will Come Soft Rains' tells of the final day of an automated house carrying on the routines for long dead tenants, in a short story within Ray Bradbury's 'The Martian Chronicles'. The date mentioned in the cheerful morning announcement by the house robotic voice is today, August 4, 2026.04 Aug 2026 08:20 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3msaldohjtc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3ms5v46dqtk2d51 years ago I painted a trio of Viking related works for NASA HQ including the widely reproduced one of the landing on Mars. I have reimagined the Landing portrayal in updated form using digital methods of visualization and painting. I chose the same angle but with reality replacing anticipation.03 Aug 2026 06:37 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms5v46dqtk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mrswpz6yx22zThe Moonrise of July 27th as the last rays of the Sun left the High Desert.29 Jul 2026 22:06 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrswpz6yx22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mrjq6j5dzs2bWhen the Viking landing sites were well photographed, maps of the surroundings could be compiled. I made a grayscale overview based on comparisons between the two camera panoramas, and with reference to sample field maps. A color oil painting of the lander was then done incorporating such work.26 Jul 2026 06:15 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrjq6j5dzs2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mrhakt22k22nA few more Viking 1 Mars surface images. Vikings 1 & 2 yielded a variety and duration of observations that gave the first 'Ground Truth' about this intriguing neighbor world's surface and atmosphere. It's early digital camera design worked well with the brightness range of the surface details.25 Jul 2026 06:30 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrhakt22k22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mrc4ofxq7s2uTonight, July 22 marks the 6th anniversary of a mystery in the sky that I was apparently one of the very few to notice. I saw and took photos of a fuzzy compact 'glow' about the apparent size of the Moon. It rose reddened at first from local atmospheric effects, then slowly moved North and faded.23 Jul 2026 05:38 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrc4ofxq7s2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mr6xkpg3xc26After the 1st context panoramas, the next anticipated image was the first color photo. This arrived and was printed initially too blue, then the next adjusted image came out too reddish. Later work quantified the surface and sky colors in results consistent with the observations of later missions.21 Jul 2026 23:28 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr6xkpg3xc26https://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mr5dezyem22gHere is one more pre mission Viking related painting, the 9 X 36 foot oil painting on canvas I executed over a couple weeks or so at JPL. This was, as before, a summary of my understanding and assumptions about the landing site. I deliberately painted the scene with an eye level horizon. #Sciart21 Jul 2026 07:54 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr5dezyem22ghttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mr4wr6g2d22gMars as imagined just before the landing. This painting, one of a trio done for NASA HQ, ended up being used for the JPL landing press badge. What a thing that was to see when I arrived and signed in!21 Jul 2026 04:08 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr4wr6g2d22ghttps://bsky.app/profile/ddavisspaceart.bsky.social/post/3mr4agiq2qs2xAnd of course in addition to the Viking 1 landing there is also the highlight of all space related anniversaries today, that of the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon. The memory of this event is a highlight of of many people in my age group. The Moon became part of human affairs then, and will again.20 Jul 2026 21:29 +0000at://did:plc:b6uhpmzt77asuuno7ix5h2ty/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr4agiq2qs2x