premise: Middle-earth is part of a collection.
hypothesis: Earth observation ( EO ) is the gathering of information about planet Earth 's physical , chemical and biological systems via remote sensing technologies supplemented by earth surveying techniques , encompassing the collection , analysis and presentation of data . Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of British writer J. R. R. Tolkien 's legendarium . Tolkien 's most widely read works , The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings , take place entirely in Middle-earth , and Middle-earth has also become a short-hand to refer to the legendarium or its fictional universe .