Note -- you have reached the original astrophotographs.com website. Thanks very much for visiting. Logo contact information has been updated (i.e. we moved to Taos, NM) as below:
Willis Greiner
12 Rabbit Valley Road / P.O. Box 1515
El Prado, NM 87529
303-903-8996 or 575-758-3670
taosastronomer@gmail.com
You may also want to visit Willis' new astronomy site at: taosastronomer.com/
"Our
Next Exhibit"
Our next exhibit is from the planet "Earth" circa terrestrial
year 2050. We encountered this remarkable planet approximately
25 orbit-revolutions ("Earth years") after its most recent mass
extinction. At present the planet possesses a tenuous Methane-Carbon
Dioxide atmosphere and minimal "water." Average surface temperature
exceeds 130 degrees "K" (Absolute). The planet presents much
of its history in geologic rock records. The most recent extinction
was also its most dramatic, as the "Earth" apparently once exhibited
the most diverse set of life forms ever encountered.
| Only
near their end did anyone recognize the self-regulating
nature of this unique living planet. It is unclear as
to the "Upright Ones" perception that their planet was
(and still is!) in fact, a complex living organism. |
Parallel living systems developed in both marine and terrestrial
environments, but communication between the food-chain leaders
never really occurred. The largish marine "mammals" (warm-blooded)
lacked the physical ability to interface with the upright
terrestrials, and the terrestrials apparently lacked the insight
to truly recognize the intelligence of the marine species.
The "most advanced" terrestrial beings (named the "Upright
Ones") committed a type of global biological genocide
by creating chemicals of convenience that eventually eroded
the protective layers of the planet's atmosphere. These terrestrial
"inventors" abandoned their contact with the natural world
and substituted a type of artificial landscape. To a large
degree then, they were the victims of their own technological
folly. There is prevailing evidence that the terrestrial species
was aware of the approaching environmental collapse due to
the development and use of synthetic substances. Only near
their end did anyone recognize the self-regulating nature
of this unique living planet. It is unclear as to the "Upright
Ones" perception that their planet was (and still is!) in
fact, a complex living organism.
The replication
here is an example of a type of pseudo-art called "photography."
What is unique is the image's subject matter. From the planet's
surface (and no other we have encountered) an event occurred
regularly that must have been spiritual in nature. The apparent
diameters of the "Earth's" satellite and its star are identical
as observed from the surface of the planet. Hence, occasionally
a "Total Eclipse of the Star" could be seen. We have always
suspected the existence of our star's atmosphere and storms
("Prominences" -- so easily seen in this spectacular "photograph"),
but of course have never seen them. What a spectacle it must
have been for "Earthlings" to have witnessed this. (Of course,
such events continue to occur on the "Earth's" surface; these
events cannot be observed by us, as the star's ultraviolet
spectrum is too dangerous to directly experience.) During
totality (a very short affair) and before the deterioration
of the planet's atmosphere, residents of "Earth" could look
directly at the star. Oddly then, the star, once the giver
of life and a pivotal member of the "Earth's" incredibly diverse
ecosystem, eventually became the main reason for the most
recent mass extinction.
It is the source of some local controversy as to the "Earth's"
ability to again create such a spectacular set of life forms.
Timeline predictions are in the one to two million star-revolution
area (to begin to detect the most basic of one-celled new
life forms), so we should be able to know the outcome relatively
quickly.
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