Atoll

Year: 2022
Medium: C-type print
Dimensions: 21H x 28W in | 30H x 40W in | 45H x 60W in
Original Artwork Price: $2,500 | $3,500 | $6,500 (framed)

"Astronomers call this the Lagoon Nebula, a cloud of interstellar gas and dust in the constellation Sagittarius. For me it resembles a Pacific atoll, a ring-shaped island with a central lagoon. At the center of the nebula is swirling, iridescent oxygen surrounded by a dusty crest of glowing hydrogen and sulfur.

To create this image, I collected photographic exposures using my astrophotography equipment in Monterey, California, as well as the equipment of a colleague in Brisbane, Australia and at an observatory in the Atacama Desert, Chile. In the end, all the exposures came together to help visualize the power and drama of this spectacular nebula."-Gary Lopez