Acrylic and phosphorus pigments on panel. In the foreword to "Cosmos‚" my favorite book on the sky, the author relates how he felt when trying to comprehend the enormity of the universe, and how intimidating it was to make sense of astronomical quantities, like Andromeda being 2 million light years away, or the 100 billion star census of the Milky Way. I can completely relate. I vacillate between wanting to identify and quantify the night sky, and just wanting to enjoy its beauty. This piece pits math and geometry problems against star clusters, nebulas, and a rendering of the Messier 51 spiral galaxy in phosphorus pigments that will continue to glow once the lights go out. The quote reads, "Difficulty in comprehending the universe need not deny a person the joyful sense of belonging to it." - Dava Sobel