Illustrators get us up close with 'Tatooine' and other alien planets

By Ashley Strickland, CNN

Updated 2023 GMT (0423 HKT) December 17, 2016

Artists such as Tim Pyle and Robert Hurt create renderings of exoplanets and other things in the universe we may never be able to otherwise see. Sometimes, the reality of the data they're working with aligns with scenes from the "Star Wars" films, such as Pyle's rendering of the Kepler-16 binary star system that creates a double sunset like the one on Luke Skywalker's home world, Tatooine. <br /><br />Click through to see more of their work.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
Artists such as Tim Pyle and Robert Hurt create renderings of exoplanets and other things in the universe we may never be able to otherwise see. Sometimes, the reality of the data they're working with aligns with scenes from the "Star Wars" films, such as Pyle's rendering of the Kepler-16 binary star system that creates a double sunset like the one on Luke Skywalker's home world, Tatooine.

Click through to see more of their work.
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Their rendering of the TRAPPIST-1 star, an ultra-cool dwarf, shows the seven Earth-size planets that were discovered orbiting it. The design also shows where planets lie in the habitable zone around the planet. Ice around the outside of the image indicates it's too cold there for water to maintain liquid form, while steam close to the star shows its too hot.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
Their rendering of the TRAPPIST-1 star, an ultra-cool dwarf, shows the seven Earth-size planets that were discovered orbiting it. The design also shows where planets lie in the habitable zone around the planet. Ice around the outside of the image indicates it's too cold there for water to maintain liquid form, while steam close to the star shows its too hot.
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"To me, planets around binary star systems will always be 'Tatooine' planets," Pyle said. This illustration was created to accompany a release revealing that mature planetary systems are more frequent around binary stars than single stars like our sun.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
"To me, planets around binary star systems will always be 'Tatooine' planets," Pyle said. This illustration was created to accompany a release revealing that mature planetary systems are more frequent around binary stars than single stars like our sun.
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Kamino is an ocean world in "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones." Kepler-22b is an exoplanet that could similarly be covered in a super ocean.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
Kamino is an ocean world in "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones." Kepler-22b is an exoplanet that could similarly be covered in a super ocean.
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Kepler-452b is an Earth-size planet that orbits a star similar to our sun. It's been compared with the planet Coruscant in the "Star Wars" films and has been called "Earth's older, bigger cousin."
Photos: Up close with alien planets
Kepler-452b is an Earth-size planet that orbits a star similar to our sun. It's been compared with the planet Coruscant in the "Star Wars" films and has been called "Earth's older, bigger cousin."
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Hurt was inspired by the volcanic world Mustafar from "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" to create this illustration of the hot, rocky exoplanet called 55 Cancri e. It is his favorite illustration from the past year, a "lava-covered world with sheets of gas pouring off of it."
Photos: Up close with alien planets
Hurt was inspired by the volcanic world Mustafar from "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" to create this illustration of the hot, rocky exoplanet called 55 Cancri e. It is his favorite illustration from the past year, a "lava-covered world with sheets of gas pouring off of it."
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Believe it or not, this is not a depiction of Alderaan being obliterated by the Death Star in "Star Wars: A New Hope." This is Pyle's concept of a young star surrounded by a debris disk or gas and dust, the birthplace of new planets.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
Believe it or not, this is not a depiction of Alderaan being obliterated by the Death Star in "Star Wars: A New Hope." This is Pyle's concept of a young star surrounded by a debris disk or gas and dust, the birthplace of new planets.
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When working on the concept for Kepler-186f, the first Earth-size planet in the habitable zone that could support liquid water on its surface, Pyle was careful to make it look less inviting than our own Earth, in case it was misconstrued as a friendly, habitable place. They made sure it was more muddy brown rather than green and blue.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
When working on the concept for Kepler-186f, the first Earth-size planet in the habitable zone that could support liquid water on its surface, Pyle was careful to make it look less inviting than our own Earth, in case it was misconstrued as a friendly, habitable place. They made sure it was more muddy brown rather than green and blue.