erik goetze

“Do not dream of flowers on GJ 3998 d”

© Copyright 2026 by Erik Goetze

Exciting to see Artemis II rocketing to the moon! It’s a long road from the moon to humans visiting exoplanets, and this is 35th in my “Exoplanet” series which explores facets of planets identified outside the solar system.

I don’t use AI tools to make my art. And AI tools do not have permission to train on or assimilate my art.

#art #abstractart #abstract #exoplanet #astronomy #painters #painting

Apr 4 at 3:20pmWeb
Show threaderik goetze2d ago

GJ 3998 (also known as Gliese 3998) is a red dwarf star located 59.3 light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus. GJ 3998 d is a super-Earth exoplanet with a mass about six times that of Earth, orbiting in the optimistic habitable zone of its star. GJ 3998 d's year is 41.78 days.

Our galaxy has 200 billion red-dwarf stars, and they can shine for trillions of years, so the chance of life developing on at least one red-dwarf star’s exoplanets seems decent.

Show threaderik goetze2d ago
In this artwork I explored one of the side-effects of being on a planet in a red-dwarf system. The star’s nuclear fusion burns slower than other star types, producing less light. If plants grew in this environment, they’d probably be black to better absorb red-dwarf energy, and flowers perhaps nonexistent.
Show threaderik goetze2d ago
Visitors to this kind of planet may need to adapt by using technology or bioengineering that provides enhanced spectral range covering infrared and/or ultraviolet. What would art of that exoplanet look like if that’s the only way you can see the landscape?