♣

the deep field — the photograph published that day

♥

the earth — what was burning, erupting or storming

♦

the rock — what passed close, and what struck

♠

the sun — flares and storms

the number on a card is not decoration: it rises with the size of the phenomenon. a two is small, a king is rare, and an ace is the principal card of its suit.

the image on card is named beneath each one. where nasa photographed the event itself, that picture is used and the card says so. otherwise the card borrows a picture of the same kind of phenomenon from nasa’s library.