Bodhipaksa on Nostr: In the Contents, the cover is described as "A Symbolism of "This Lonely Earth", by ...

In the Contents, the cover is described as "A Symbolism of "This Lonely Earth", by Mel Hunter."

Anyway, "This Lonely Earth" isn't a short story, but an essay by Dr Walther Riedel, attempting to calculate the odds of intelligent life in the universe. The illustration ("a symbolism" is a weird way of putting things) is, as you say, a mystery.