Galaxy in a Round Bottom

A photograph of a glowing, spherical object illuminated under ultraviolet light in a dark room. The sphere displays a mottled surface with deep indigo and violet tones, featuring a concentrated, brilliant magenta-purple "hotspot" near the lower-left center. The texture appears rocky or crystalline, with dark, irregular patches scattered across its surface, all set against a pitch-black background.

Label: Galaxy in a Round Bottom
Artist: Noelle Watson
Description: The round bottom pictured here contains a molecular switch (dithienylethene). Light can be used to switch this molecule between two different forms which have very different properties.
Type: Cell Phone Camera
Artist Affiliation: Graduate Student
Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Area of Research: Materials Chemistry
Date: 2020