ART, ASTRONOMY AND ASTRONAUTICS
AT THE MUD VOLCANOES

-text Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
photos Valentin Grigore, Maximilian Teodorescu and Iulian Popa
design Florin Alexandru Stancu-

This panoramic picture,
taken by Valentin Grigore in November 2016,
shows the Mud Volcanoes in Buzau County,
pre-Meridional Carpathians, Wallachia, Romania,
by far the most spectacular phenomenon of this kind
(created by eruptive combinations of mud, gases and water)
in Europe.

This is the reason for which I chose to present them
using special photo-visions by 3 authors.

-Chapter I-

The first vision belongs to
a national and international laureate in astrophotography.

MUD VOLCANOES ART
(April 2015)
-astro-photo-poem by Maximilian Teodorescu-

I am not very good with artistic nomenclature or art altogether,
but hopefully the images and their associated titles will bring
some smiles to the readers…

1.The gas flower:

2.Complex structure:

3.Undefined shape:

4.Alien hedgehog:

5.Alien shape:

6.The Mud Turtle:

7.Skeleton:

8.The Phoenix:

9.The Monster:

10.Alien spacecraft:

11.The beginning:

12.Alien helmet:

13.The face behind the helmet:

14.Mud lava:

15.The tree of life:

16.The Sea Monster:

17.The Citadel of the future:

18.The Sun from Mars:

-Chapter II-

Around 1 November 2016
the Romanian Space Agency (ROSA) organized
an astronomic-astronautic workshop, ESERO, for teachers
at Berca, near the Buzau River and the Mud Volcanoes,
in which the lecturer for astronomy was the president of SARM.

ASTRONOMIC WORKSHOP NEAR THE MUD VOLCANOES
-photographic poem by Valentin Grigore-

-Chapter III-

A local legend says that in old times a giant “balaur”
(dragon-snake in Romanian traditions)
terrorized the zone
until a brave prince, Arbanasu, decided to fight with the beast.

Using a sword,
the hero gravely wounded the dragon,
who hid underground.

Then the zone took the aspect of the dragon’s back,
while his wounds became small volcanoes.

WALK AMONG THE MUD VOLCANOES
-photographic poem by Valentin Grigore-

-Chapter IV-

The ESERO event had also an astronautic component.

ASTRONAUTIC WORKSHOP NEAR THE MUD VOLCANOES
-photographic poem by Valentin Grigore-

-Chapter V-

This could also serve as a conclusion,
for which I chose to use the montage of a 2016 laureate
of the national astrophotography contest,
organized by Valentin Grigore and SARM.

ROMANIAN MUD VOLCANOES
-verses by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
photo-collage by Iulian Popa-

I don’t want to change nature
Or to be lean,
But for the sky lovers, the Mud Volcanoes
Will be always clean!

ART, ASTRONOMY AND ASTRONAUTICS AT THE MUD VOLCANOES

ART, ASTRONOMY AND ASTRONAUTICS
AT THE MUD VOLCANOES