A fantastically realised commission from the wonderful and highly respected artist  VenLightChaser

I love how Ven has chosen the perspective here and especially captured the beauty of the nebula. Space images are always challenging for sure but this has been beautifully mastered! We were also both inspired by the observation room from the movie "Sunshine"

The real-life Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) is part of a dark cloud in the Orion constellation, silhouetted against the red glowing emission nebula IC 434 like a horse's head.

I always like to play with the thought of how certain natural phenomena would be perceived differently in a world of antromorphic animals: Can the elephant rock in Iceland really have arisen naturally? Would striped anthros find zebra agate or the calathea plant particularly beautiful? What symbolism would hornbearers associate with the branches of certain trees?
The connection between the Horsehead Nebula and the Horse-Anthro naturally suggests itself and awakens ideas of what esoteric fantasies and stories might have arisen in such a world if no human eye had discovered this celestial phenomenon through its telescope in 1888.

If the region around the Orion constellation is already considered in our myths (Cheops pyramids) and pseudo-scientific literature (pre-astronautics) as a possible place of origin of gods and extraterrestrials, one can imagine the influence such an image in the starry sky would have on the 'fantasists' among the anthros.

You can also click here for the sequel: Reflections


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Excerpt from the Pegasus log:

"At 9:23 a.m. SST, the ship's computer registered a technical failure in one of the Bussard collectors in section B of the ship....
Since the repair drones could not fix the problem autonomously, I was brought out of cryogenic sleep by the SPI to coordinate the next steps with the ship's computer.

After an initial inspection of the damage and checking the records, particles had apparently penetrated the magnetic protective field in flight and caused massive damage to the outer shell of the collector.
The failure of the collector poses a high risk for our mission objective, Pegasus is now approaching IC 434 more and more, where hydrogen gas should be collected for the fusion reactors.
The SPI and I have therefore come to the decision that I will support the drones in a spacewalk operation to remove the damaged elements and have them renewed in the nanite chambers. The mission was set by the SPI for 8:00 a.m. SST tomorrow after checking my vital signs. Meanwhile, the propulsion of the Pegasus remains deactivated

Before I lie down, a few personal words:

I look out the observation lounge window at Barnard 33... the Horsehead Nebula... and feel a strange mix of euphoria and melancholy.
As a Colt, I curiously leafed through my father's science magazines when I first saw images of the Horsehead Nebula.... perhaps these moments, when I also searched the constellation of Orion with telescopes, had a decisive influence on my later career.

Today, 1,500 light years separate me from that place and everything I knew. And yet it seems to me as if my youthful self was looking back at me from the Horsehead Nebula... like a confirmation that this sight alone was worth all the exertions that have led me to this point...."

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Mood: Alexandre Desplat - The Midnight Sky