Pluto
Poor little Pluto Icy, round, and cute The IAU demoted you! They've given you the boot! You haven't cleared your neighborhood. Your orbit's off the plane. You encroach on Neptune's orbit. You're a naughty little pain. But still I think you're wonderful Far out in lonely space Cavorting with your Charon You're a very special case! - by Joan Chamberlin Comments You need JavaScript to be able to post comments You need to be logged in to leave a comment Click Here to Login
Making the Wonder of Science Our Own
THIRTY-ONE YEARS AGO, on February 26, 1979, a total eclipse of the Sun was visible across the State of Washington and points eastward. I remember it vividly because I experienced it with a young lady who since then, as my wife, has shared with me countless wonder-filled experiences, under the wide sky. As time went by, this “sharing” of the sky began to be not just for each other but for an ever-widening audience. We began to teach children's classes, give lectures, conduct star parties—and I noticed something interesting: the more of this sky appreciation I shared, the more I...
ASTROPoetry Mini-Anthology
Presented by the Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy (SARM) In Celebration of Global Astronomy Month by SARM's Astropoetry Master Club, Romania English translations from the Romanian by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe PART I. TO BECOME OURSELVES A great gift of our times is the existence of Astronomers Without Borders. So now it is easier for us to follow human ideals, to embrace the Sun and the Moon, planets and comets, asteroids and stars, meteors and deep sky objects, and to become ourselves Astronomers Without Borders. Andrei Dorian Gheorghe ******* What would we be if astronomy would be just a...
Three Famous Astropoems from the 19th Century
One of the most famous astropoems in the U.K. is: TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR by Jane Taylor (1806) Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! When the blazing sun is gone, When there's nothing he shines upon, Then you show your little light, Twinkle, twinkle, through the night. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! In the dark blue sky so deep Through my curtains often peep For you never close your...
A Few of My Favorite Moons
On Global Astronomy Night, April 24, I hosted a star party in Los Angeles where we had a perfectly clear sky, nine telescopes, and a congregation of about 200 neighbors and their children. It was, in fact, a perfect night-and, ignoring Saturn, I kept my telescope pointed at the moon all evening. What I remember most about it is how one 5-year-old girl jumped up and down around my telescope, shouting "The moon, the moon, I love the moon!" Here are some moons that I have loved, over the years: Looking for poems In the pale afternoon sky... Only a...
