LUCA designers create image of exoplanet – DeWereldMorgen.be

The realization was not obvious. A first model was developed in a software application where applications took place in real-time in an interactive environment. However, this model did not allow them to pay sufficient attention to developing a visual imagery that was coherent with certain findings of the research team within the given time.

Ultimately, the designers opted for a post-production program that is used in video games, films and television productions. Two virtual celestial bodies were drawn and maps were created that show these bodies moving and changing as time passes. A virtual camera recorded this.

Klaas Verpoest and Johan Van Looveren were able to further refine this artistic representation in collaboration with Professor Decin. Colors, cardinal directions, even the relationship between the two celestial bodies were refined and adjusted and that process led to an image that clearly approximates the characteristic properties of this exoplanet, both static and in motion.