This video shows a screen-recording from a real-time animation.

Music was composed by Robby Elfman.

The algorithm was designed by Jeffrey Ventrella using JavaScript. All the code is original, including the 3D math. It is based on the golden mean ratio - which is found in the pentagram.

The twelve pentagonal faces of a dodecahedron give birth to pentagrams, which in turn give birth to cascades of smaller pentagrams that grow out of each other - each being scaled in proportion to the golden mean.

The evolution of fractal structures results from this cascade, with variations in rotation and reflection determining the nature of the structures.

The animation represents the evolution of life on Earth - which is delicate, ever-changing, and prone to dying off if the conditions for life are perturbed.

To see previous Earth Day animations by Jeffrey Ventrella, go to ventrella.com/EarthDay/