Concept Development: The artist likely started with the idea of visualizing an unusual astronomical phenomenon—an asteroid with active thermal vents or volcanic features, which creates a dramatic contrast between the cold, cratered surface and glowing orange fissures.
AI Image Generation: The base image was likely generated using AI image generation tools like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, or similar platforms. The prompt would have described elements like "asteroid with glowing cracks," "volcanic space rock," "detailed crater surface," and "starfield background with Milky Way."
3D Modeling Alternative: Alternatively, this could combine 3D software (Blender, Cinema 4D) for the asteroid model with AI-enhanced texturing and background generation.
Post-Processing: The raw AI output would be refined using photo editing software like Photoshop to enhance the dramatic lighting, adjust the glow of the thermal features, sharpen details in the rocky texture, and perfect the integration with the cosmic background.
Background Integration: The starfield and Milky Way backdrop adds depth and scientific authenticity, likely composited from astronomical imagery or generated separately.
For Video Creation
If this were turned into a video, the process would involve generating multiple frames with slight variations in perspective, animating the glowing fissures with particle effects, adding camera movement rotating around the asteroid, and incorporating motion blur and atmospheric effects like gas/dust trails.
The result is this visually compelling representation that, while scientifically speculative, effectively communicates the drama of celestial objects in a way that captures public imagination.