Pa

If Ma represents all things cozy, warm, nurturing and familiar,
Pa stands for everything expansive, cerebral, transformative and strange,

on our planet, the Earth...

The lights of the United States are clearly visible 

looking back towards our planet from space ...

and in our solar system.

the immeasurable energy of our sun

We reach outwards, towards our neighboring planets,

New Horizons robotic spacecraft explores Pluto

further out into our own galaxy, 

the Milky Way.

the Milky Way over Yellowstone

our galaxy, as seen from Malibu

We begin to explore the rest of our Universe.

  Ultraviolet rings of the Andromeda Galaxy

LEDA 89996 is a classic example of a spiral galaxy.

NGC 6503, a galaxy at the edge of an empty patch of space

We reach inside, creating new worlds of imagination,

Michael Whelan's illustration for Larry Niven's sci fi novel The Smoke Ring  

Whelan's cover illustration for Niven's The Integral Trees

and discover that we have the power 

to destroy what we have found.

Judgement belongs to Pa.

So does the Bomb.

We blame conflict, war, and destruction on Pa,

but in truth, we all have a hand in it.

We need both mother and father in order to survive.

Love your Mama, but don't neglect your Pa.