The colours of Caleidoscope

Whatever idiot's lack of imagination created the name Caleidoscope for this water world, did this colourful and luminous planet a great disservice.

First to be believed to be planets without an atmosphere, orbiting the distant sun dubbed Trappist, most of them had been able to clamp onto their atmosphere. Caleidoscope turned out to be a world, its surface completely covered in water, several tens of kilometers of even feet if you wish, deep.

The name came from some scientist jokingly referencing a toy with lots of colours and shapes that could be turned in many differing patterns again. I understand the reference, but it in no way prepares you for the spledour that truly unfolds before your eyes when you first look down updon that shining world.

I happened to arrive at the best possible moment. Well, everybody does, actually. We arrive at the space station that hangs in orbit around the planet, in a location so it is always located on the night side of the planet. We have to. Trappist emits a lot more radiation than our own sun. Thus, early scientists believed its planets to be lifeless due to a lack of atmosphere, blown away by the radiation and solar winds of Trappist.

These planets are tought ones though. Not all of them have made it through with an atmosphere, or their atmosphere comletely intact, but Caleidoscope did. Mainly because it is completely covered with water.

Because of the heavy radiation however, life in its waters has had a harder time to adapt. Nevertheless, life succeeded and even thrived. It adapted, much as on earth with those species far more suseptible to our sun's radiation. Even on earth, there are species that reduce the intake of radiation through converting it into lower frequencies they can handle, making them light up as a tiny spec of neon in a dark ocean.

Now imagine an ocean, as big as an entire world, making a sigh of relief as the planet rotates away from the violent radiation and solar winds. A sigh of relief, being able to convert the extra energy into a lower frequency, lighting up in all neon colours imaginable. It is both a work of neon art as well as a beautiful wonder of nature, illuminating every single life down there.

You can take a picture and look at it, but you will be disappointed. The colours will not be as bright and full as they are when gazed upon. Best even, if you do want to show its marvels, is to film it. For life, especially in an ocean, even more so in one that lights up all at once, does not stand still. It is an endlessly evolving and changing canvas of neon lights blending and seperating from each other. Swirling around each other to break off in a myriad of different firework colours the nex moment.

If anyone talks about the beauty and the wonders of the universe, come visit Caleidoscope, for it is the pure definition of that beauty and those wonders. I already know it will never cease to amaze me. I am glad I pushed through to become a researcher here. Now, if I could only go out there as well.... One can only dream, I guess.