Hi,
I'm Nya,
And this is a visualization titled,
What the Light Has Seen,
Written by me,
Featured in the issue,
Ancestral Light,
Of my publication of Earth's and of stars.
You know what's cool about the light of the cosmos?
Not just that it has traveled so far to and continues beyond us,
But also what the light we see has seen itself.
The billions of years old light we see emitted from galaxy HD1,
The oldest known galaxy in the observable universe,
Has seen some things.
On its way to us,
What has this light passed?
Take a deep breath.
Imagine being a photon,
A tiny particle of this ancient light.
As you and your community of photons travel through the universe,
You see much on your journey.
Since distance in the cosmos is better measured in light years,
You observe these events not in quick flashes,
But over time.
Even at the speed of light,
You can watch cosmic events as they are unfolding.
You see the death of stars.
Some die by transitioning to white dwarfs,
And others go supernova.
Still,
Some transform into neutron stars,
And others evolve into black holes.
You and your fellow photons see baby stars twinkling in their nebula nurseries,
Gaseous clouds some hundreds of light years across,
Where gravity and matter interact in ways that form infant stars.
You see slightly older stars gathering together,
The beginnings of galaxy formation.
At the speed of visible light,
You move through parts of the vast cosmos that are utterly unilluminated and uninhabited by anything except dark matter and dark energy.
You can't see it,
But you know it's there.
In these parts of space,
You are the only light as far as an eye could see.
Does this darkness feel like home to you?
To you as light?
Is the darkness the companion you as light long for?
You don't travel unencumbered.
Going for billions of years,
You don't just see,
But also bump into other light.
You get caught up in distortions in space-time,
Tugged by the gravity of myriad celestial objects.
Asteroids,
Planets,
And moons,
Comets,
Stars,
And gas clouds greet you on your way to here,
To the blue dot,
Earth.
What of the universe is visible to you that isn't visible on the blue Earth dot?
All that you have seen on your travels,
How has it changed you,
You as a photon of light?
Take a deep breath.
You were a wonderful photon,
Dear friend.
Now,
Return to your own luminous,
Complex system of matter we call human.
You are back on your blue dot.
