Description

“We are a way for the cosmos to know itself”
-Carl Sagan


We are products of 13.8 billion years of cosmic evolution and we are part of this universe, not simply within it.

From an incredibly hot and dense beginning, simple atoms of hydrogen and helium had to form as space expanded and cooled. Before a planet could evolve life, these simple atoms had to form stars that would fuse heavier elements. These stars had to burn out in violent explosions that would seed new solar systems like ours with the elements necessary for life. After more than 9 billion years of cosmic evolution, our planet formed and began to evolve life. In this little corner at least, we are the first parts of the universe with the ability to look out at the night sky and understand it. We are the universe coming to know itself.

This painting also expresses something about the Cosmic Perspective series more broadly. Having the curiosity to look out and learn about the universe is an awakening experience: It's staggeringly vast. Our little sand grain of a planet is the only hospitable place within at least several lightyear's distance. This understanding puts things in perspective, our daily problems seem smaller, our culturally diverse human family feels a little closer, and fighting within it looks even more foolish.

This is what the Cosmic Perspective series is intended to remind us of.