Carl Sagan once said: "The cosmos is within us. We are made of star stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself."
He was right, of course; our fundamental components were forged in the stars themselves, and with any luck, humankind will return to them some day. Our path there will be a wild ride, though; try not to get dizzy.
This image is a composite taken at two different times and places, melted into one. White Sands National Park affords beautiful views of rolling sand dunes; the Sierra Nevada in California allow for a clear view of our Milky Way galaxy.
---
In the middle of the day on June 28, 2021, I lazy-minted a piece called "Stardust Rising" with the above caption, and I listed forty-two of them for forty-two hundredths of an ETH each. A naive price point and supply for sure, but why not pay tribute to two of my favorite galactic authors, from two different worlds, in one fell swoop?
Alas, the edition never took off, and I completely removed it from that platform before it got a chance to ever be truly minted to the ETH blockchain.
Well, now it is, forever. This will be the final piece I mint before the Ethereum Merge on September 15, 2022. It's a tribute both to the ground we've covered so far, and to the light-years ahead of us.
---
**Artist:** Steve Walasavage
**Series:** This And That
**Collection:** Steve Walasavage Editions
**Edition:** 1/21 NFT
---
*"Steve Walasavage Editions"* is a set of editions released over the course of my career as a photographer, artist, and multidisciplinary phenom (citation needed).
All editions are ERC-1155 tokens minted on the [Steve Walasavage Editions](https://etherscan.io/address/0x61db92d6349cd56d8accd059fd1c12a6bd60fcb2) custom smart contract.
Extended Editorial License: Can be used to display privately, or in commercial and non-commercial settings, or in groups with an unlimited number of participants. The License includes unlimited use and display in virtual or physical galleries, documentaries, and essays by the NFT holder. Provides no rights to create commercial merchandise, commercial distribution, or derivative works.
