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Fig. 1.
A S T R O N O P O L I S
The SPACEWERKS Compendium
COLLECTION TWO
Asteroids, Planetesimals, and Planemos
Planetesimals are the asteroidal cores to proto-planets which have yet to become dwarf planets, full-fledged planets, or may wander the Cosmos unchanged for millions, even billions of years. Planemos are planets that have somehow, for some reason, escaped the gravitational hold of their parent star. Drifting far from any sun, alone, wandering in total darkness, it is thought that planemos exist in vast, undiscovered numbers throughout the universe.
Last of the group are the asteroids and meteors. The flotsam and jetsam debris that litter space everywhere, and remind us of the violent, turbulent forces that continue to operate all around us. Like the cosmological equivalent of the Garden of Eden, fertile galaxies and planets are born from the lifeless dust that fills otherwise empty space. More than any other threat that humans face, of either domestic or extraterrestrial origin, large asteroids pose the greatest danger to our continued existence as a life form. Though relatively few are concerned, humans are engaged in an ongoing race against time. Whether we will have developed the technology necessary to divert or destroy the killer asteroid which is right now, this very minute and second, on a trajectory collision with Earth.
Scientists (and philosophers) suspect that many extraterrestrial civilizations have ceased to exist in mid-stride, so to speak. Due to self-destruction via warfare, or extinction brought about by an errant asteroid, a cataclysmic geologic event, or what's called a gamma-ray-burst. As you read this, these same forces continue to threaten our planet. And the clock is running.
Last of the group are the asteroids and meteors. The flotsam and jetsam debris that litter space everywhere, and remind us of the violent, turbulent forces that continue to operate all around us. Like the cosmological equivalent of the Garden of Eden, fertile galaxies and planets are born from the lifeless dust that fills otherwise empty space. More than any other threat that humans face, of either domestic or extraterrestrial origin, large asteroids pose the greatest danger to our continued existence as a life form. Though relatively few are concerned, humans are engaged in an ongoing race against time. Whether we will have developed the technology necessary to divert or destroy the killer asteroid which is right now, this very minute and second, on a trajectory collision with Earth.
Scientists (and philosophers) suspect that many extraterrestrial civilizations have ceased to exist in mid-stride, so to speak. Due to self-destruction via warfare, or extinction brought about by an errant asteroid, a cataclysmic geologic event, or what's called a gamma-ray-burst. As you read this, these same forces continue to threaten our planet. And the clock is running.
The SPACEWERKS Compendium
COLLECTION THREE
The Deep Space Group
More werks-in-progress. Using the deep-space field as background.
The SPACEWERKS Compendium
COLLECTION FOUR
The Land and Seascape Group
Part One
Werks in all stages of production and completion. Restoration versus Re-creation of older paintings. Re-imagining based on our updated views of Earth and other worlds -- of our knowledge on all fronts, and how that affects our vision and appreciation of the universe itself.
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