Celestial Fracture Saturn Mosaic
Annie Maunder Prize Winner 2021
The Celestial Fracture Saturn mosaic won the 2021 Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation at the Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards. This striking artwork reimagines Saturn using publicly available space data and creative photographic techniques.
The Royal Museums Greenwich host the annual competition, which celebrates the best in astrophotography. I recently served as a judge, and the winning image stood out immediately for its originality and bold structure.
What Is the Celestial Fracture Saturn Mosaic?
The Celestial Fracture Saturn mosaic was created by Leonardo Di Maggio, who works for Nikon.
Leonardo describes the piece as a photographic artwork rather than a traditional photograph. He used open-source imagery from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and transformed it into a new visual composition.
He explained:
“I consider Celestial Fracture to be a photographic artwork. The image choices, edits, and structure are conscious artistic decisions. I moved the material from a scientific context into the visual arts.”
As a result, the Celestial Fracture Saturn mosaic challenges the idea that photography ends when the shutter clicks. Instead, it suggests that digital art can evolve beyond the original capture.
Inspiration from the Cassini Mission
Leonardo created the Celestial Fracture Saturn mosaic during lockdown. He drew inspiration from images returned by the Cassini–Huygens mission.
The close-up images of Saturn’s rings, moons, and surface textures reminded him of abstract architectural photography. He noticed parallels between planetary structures and fine art patterns.
Therefore, he arranged the scientific imagery into a fractured mosaic that feels both cosmic and architectural.
How the Celestial Fracture Saturn Mosaic Was Made
Leonardo specialises in astrophotography. He began his journey in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia and later continued his work in the UK.
For his own night-sky photography, he uses tools such as Google Earth to plan compositions. He also works with a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Pro mount to counteract the Earth’s rotation during long exposures.
However, the Celestial Fracture Saturn mosaic differs from traditional astrophotography. Instead of capturing new exposures, Leonardo curated and reinterpreted existing data. He reshaped scientific imagery into a cohesive artistic statement.
The Annie Maunder Prize and Its Legacy
The Annie Maunder Prize recognises innovative images created from publicly available astronomical data. Although the category is relatively new, it has already sparked discussion about the boundaries between science and art.
The award honours Annie Maunder, who joined the Royal Observatory Greenwich in 1890. She excelled in astronomy at a time when universities did not grant degrees to women.
Today, her legacy lives on through artists like Leonardo Di Maggio, whose Celestial Fracture Saturn mosaic bridges the worlds of astronomy and contemporary art.