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My creative work in the last few years has been divided among three areas: scientific research at PSI and at the International Space Science Institute in Bern, Switzerland; my paintings; and my writing. My current science research involves history of surface features on Mars, origin of the moon, and the widely accepted paradigm of a cataclysmic “late heavy bombardment” at 3.9 billion years ago --- a cataclysm that probably never happened. As of 2018, I am on the imaging team of the European Mars Express mission, but relatively inactive due to cuts in NASA support for American participants. My paintings include astronomical scenes (used for magazines, book covers, etc.) and plein air (outdoor, on-site) landscapes, many completed during my international travels. My writing includes 3 college texts in planetary science and astronomy, which each went into 4-6 editions;  popular science books; non-fiction history, and two published novels. Two more novels are in the pipeline. You can explore all these efforts in more detail by clicking on the listings below.




*   SHORT FORMAL Curriculum Vitae (CV)




Astronomical paintings

*   Pictorial Catalog of Paintings Available for Publication

*   Descriptive Catalog of Paintings Available for Publication

*   Gallery of Astronomical Observatories

*   Gallery of Planets and Moons

*   Gallery of Mars

*   Gallery of Asteroids and Comets

*   Gallery of Stars and Galaxies

    Terrestrial Landscapes

*   Volcano Gallery

*   Sonoran Desert Gallery

*   Earth: A Travel Gallery

*   Tucson Gallery

*   Arizona and the Southwest: A Travel Gallery

*   Old Mexico Gallery

*   France Gallery

*   Paris Gallery

*   Switzerland Gallery

*   Hawaii Scenic Gallery

*   Hawaii Volcano Gallery

  * Selected Exhibitions






View of Saturn from its satellite, Iapetus.


Hawaii::  Eruption plume of pit crater, Halemaumau, as painted in 2012 from the rim of Kilauea caldera in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  This "pit crater" has been active intermittently since it was first known.  

This view shows the "usual" recent, calm eruption with smoke from active lava eruptions on the floor of the pit (out of view here).  The white cloud is mostly water vapor, but as the rising cloud catches t he wind and moves in the distance, the water vapor evaporates, leaving darker, browner fumes and particulate smoke.  Halemaumau attracted global attention in June 2018, when it exploded during eruptions elsewhere on the island, causing closure of the Park.  Since then, most of the walls of the pit, in the central foreground of this view, have collapsed into the pit, dramatically enlarging the crater.  The activity has subsided and the Park reopened in September 2018.  (Copyright William K. Hartmann)


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