Science

Creating gorgeous cosmic worlds from kitchen goods (pictures)

Photographer Navid Baraty makes captivatingly beautiful interstallar images using stuff you probably have in your own home. Including cat hair.

Michael Franco

Freelancer Michael Franco writes about the serious and silly sides of science and technology for CNET and other pixel and paper pubs. He's kept his fingers on the keyboard while owning a B&B in Amish country, managing an eco-resort in the Caribbean, sweating in Singapore, and rehydrating (with beer, of course) in Prague. E-mail Michael.

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Michael Franco

March 7, 2015 7:00 a.m. PT

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Liquid planet

When photographer Navid Baraty's not taking beautiful pictures on planet Earth, he's making images of alien planets, black holes, nebulae and distant galaxies. He does so by mixing various common household ingredients, placing them on his Epson scanner and running it with the lid open.

Baraty frames these striking images in the context of an imaginary mission called Wormhole-Accelerated Nomad Delivering Reconnaissance, or Wander. He's even built a Facebook page for the project.

This shot, called "Planet," shows stars made from salt, baking powder and Tums; moons formed from the bottom of a glass filled with coconut milk, water and food coloring; and a planet made from the bottom of a glass containing half and half, water and food coloring.

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Cat nebula?

You might be able to discern that this nebula is made from garlic powder, salt, flour, cumin and turmeric. But could you guess the special ingredient that forms the nebula's gas streams? I gave you a hint in the title.

That's right! Cat fur.

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Palatable planet

This is the most vivid and Earth-like planet in photographer Navid Baraty's series of interstellar images made from common household items. Instead of the amazing mix of ingredients needed for life on our planet, this one is made by scanning the bottom of a glass filled with half and half, water and food coloring. The stars are simply salt, cinnamon and baking powder.

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Black, sugar on the side

If you were actually piloting a spacecraft through a galaxy, you'd want to steer clear of a real black hole as it would likely suck you in and crush you. There's nothing to fear from this one crafted by photographer Navid Baraty, however. It's only the bottom of a glass of coffee. The stardust around it is made from salt, sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon.

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A tamer Titan?

Looking a bit like Saturn's moon Titan, the environments of this orb and its accompanying moon are a lot more hospitable, having been made simply from the bottoms of glasses holding coconut milk, half and half, water and food coloring.

Navid Baraty makes his cosmic images by placing the objects on an Epson photo scanner, then making a scan with the lid open.

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Mediterranean Galaxy?

Navid Baraty, who creates gorgeous alien worlds using common household items, calls this shot "Distant Galaxy." If you were somehow exiled from our own galaxy, this wouldn't be a bad one to wind up in, seeing as it's comprised of olive oil, sesame oil, water, cumin, cinnamon and flour.

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Stellar makeup

Much of the red color we see in distant nebulae comes from hydrogen. Here it's supplied by makeup. Rounding out the look of Navid Baraty's cosmic cloud is olive oil, chalk, baby powder, salt and water.

"I've had a fascination with space ever since I was a kid camping in the backyard and looking at the stars through my childhood telescope," Baraty says.

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Ice (cream) planet

This shot is called "Icy Planet." In our solar system, both Neptune and Uranus are considered "ice giants." The blueish color of both planets comes from the methane in their atmospheres, which absorbs red light and reflects blue.

The blueish color of Navid Baraty's shot here comes from food coloring mixed in a glass with half and half and water. The moons are made from silica gel and food coloring, and the sweet stars come from sugar, cinnamon and cumin.

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Supercluster fakealicious

Superclusters are groupings of galaxies that can stretch to over several millions of light years in space, according to NASA. This particular supercluster created by photographer Navid Baraty is no bigger than the bed of an Epson scanner. It's comprised of flour, sugar, salt, olive oil, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, curry, garlic powder and water.

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Ghost ON the machine

As our Wander mission draws to a close, we're left with this mysterious image that photographer Navid Baraty calls "Ghostly Anomaly."

Baraty simply smeared the glass of his scanner with butter mixed with food coloring and sprinkled some salt around it.

To learn of more Wander's discoveries, be sure to keep an eye on Baraty's Instagram page. You never know what might spill on his scanner -- um, what bright new worlds Wander will encounter next.