365-early-neptune2-dixon –This space art composition visualizes the chaotic formation of the early Neptunian system during the Late Heavy Bombardment. The proto-Neptune is depicted with a molten, glowing crust heavily scarred by bright kinetic impacts, surrounded by a thick primordial debris disk of dust and rocky fragments. A large, irregular asteroid-like planetesimal dominates the immediate foreground, while the distant young Sun encircled by comets shines in the distance. Digital, for Scientific American, 2000. © Don Dixon
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