3^RD QUARTER 2009

Give me a new fine surprise, Sky,
Give another reason to fly!
-Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-


PILLARS OF CREATION
(Eagle Nebula)
-photo-collage by Maximilian Teodorescu-




DEPTHS OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS
-artwork by Maria Niculae-




ICE HORIZON
-artwork by Calin Niculae-




THREE QUOTATIONS BY VICTOR ANESTIN (1875-1918,
the first champion of popular astronomy in Romania)

“There is no other science with a so beautiful descriptive part
as astronomy is…”
(Orion magazine, Bucharest, 1908)

“The witless people cannot look favorably to those who,
with modest powers,
fight for an idea.
Only those who fight for money and glory are protected
by the general admiration…
But the real friends of the sky do not run after glory and material earnings;
on the contrary, it is enough for them
to study one of the wonderful heavenly bodies
in the peace of the starry night,
to contemplate Albireo or Mizar,
to meditate about the immensity of this universe,
still full of mysteries…”
(Orion magazine, Bucharest, 1908)

“Ciphers and long equations are not the decoy to catch the sky admirers;
but the poetical description of the stars,
of the entire universe
- as Camille Flammarion did it -
has made better to the spread of astronomy
than any superior operation of equations…”
(Orion magazine, Bucharest, 1908)


MOUNTAIN PLEIADES
-photo by Valentin Grigore-




SUN AND MOON
-by Steliana Gheorghe (mother)
and Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (son)-

We have not another life on Earth,
only this one…

marked by a sun with spots
and by a moon with craters…


SUN AND MOON
-photographs by Maximilian Teodorescu-






TELESCOPIC FEELING
-by Ovidiu Vaduvescu (universal citizen,
former professional astronomer on 3 continents,
current astronomer in the Canary Islands, Spain;
discoverer of asteroids,
and Leader of the EURONEAR Project;
born in Romania)

Be glad that you are a part of this history
of the International Year of Astronomy,
which includes two magnificent human dreams:
TMT 30m and E-ELT 42m,
the greatest telescopes of the world!


TELESCOPIC ODE TO THE WILD DUCK CLUSTER
(M11)
-photos by Maximilian Teodorescu -










-QUARTERLY VIEW-

*

UNDER A BRITISH SKY
(Some Thoughts from 2009 July to September)
-by Alastair McBeath (U.K.,
Vice-President of the International Meteor Organization)-

July started the British "summer" quarter of the year badly,
with rain virtually every day,
and a particularly awful storm on July 17 & 18 more typical of the winter,
which brought flooding in its wake, the winds ripping off leaves, branches,
and bringing down a few whole trees.
The overnight weather was no better,
providing the fewest clearer nights for me since 1998 July.
Even so, there were gaps enough to let me view
five more noctilucent cloud (NLC) displays, frequently lasting the entire night,
and often bright.
The more impressive, and less tropospheric-cloud-affected, events were on
July 19/20 and 21/22, on both occasions covering much
of the northern sky at times,
and on the latter night even extending a little way into the southern sky briefly.
The former night was the more memorable however,
as it concluded with a view of Mars, Venus and the waning crescent Moon.
The late July meteor showers, usually a highlight of the summer's observing
when, as this year, the Perseid maximum lands with a bright Moon,
were lost in a run of cloudier nights in the last week.

Skies continued to be unhelpful overnight into August,
and though the month came out somewhat above average for clearer nights,
this was mostly due to improved skies towards its end,
whereas the time such skies were really needed was
around August 10th to 14th,
for the best from the moonlit Perseids.
I carried out some extended sky-checks on August 10/11 and 11/12,
as the sky was too poor for useful meteor watching, aside from the Moon,
and though meteor rates were low, because of the conditions,
there was a pleasing, pale, partial, 22° halo above the Moon on August 11/12.
August 12/13, though far from ideal, had sufficiently better skies
to tempt me into an eighty-minute meteor watch,
during which I spotted a baker's dozen of Perseids,
plus a delightful magnitude -2 Kappa Cygnid dropping near-vertically down
through thinner cloud to the north-northeast at 22:44 UT.
Perseid of the night was a mid-flaring magnitude -3 fireball thirteen minutes later,
probably in Cassiopeia (that constellation hidden in clouds at the time!).
Towards the end of the watch, another partial 22° halo above the Moon
started forming-up, which persisted afterwards for the rest of the night.

September, though thankfully rather drier than July or August,
after a further deluge of rain in the first week at least,
was similar to August in waiting until its second half to produce
significant numbers of clearer night skies here.
Few of these were especially cloud-free though,
which reduced observing opportunities to often just
glimpses of interesting objects,
such as Jupiter, still dominating the southern sky overnight,
following its opposition in mid August.
Of those, the most personally-pleasing was catching Venus near Regulus,
with the slim crescent Moon nearby, shortly before dawn on September 17.
The Moon would have been closer to Venus the previous morning,
but that event was clouded-out.
Surprising too to see how rapidly Mars and Venus had separated
since their close-encounter in June, and even
since the previous occasion when I managed to spot the Moon
passing by them, in the second half of July.


-JULY FESTIVAL OF NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS-

*

NLC OVER TURDA
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

NLC OVER SIGHET
-photo by Sorin Hotea-



*

NLC OVER DUBNA (RUSSIA)
-photo by Alexandru Tudorica-



*

NLC HAIKU
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

blue curtains
over fields, waters and mountains -
heavenly theatre

*

NLC OVER ORADEA
-photo by Tibor Vesselenyi-



*

NLC OVER BACAU
-photo by Dan Mitrut-



*

NLC OVER TURDA
-photo by Catalin Timosca-




-THE SEASON OF THE MILKY WAY
(dedication to 90 years of existence of the International Astronomical Union)-

*

LIMERICK
-by David Asher (U.K.,
astronomer at Armagh Observatory, Northern Ireland,
discoverer of asteroids,
and counsellor of the International Meteor Organization)

It's true that our own Milky Way
Is invisible during the day
But when it comes out at night
The river of light
Is dramatic - what more can one say?

*

VIA LACTEA
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

MORE ABOUT THE MILK
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

One summer night,
in an astronomical camp,
an old milkman came to me.

“Drink some earthly milk
from my pail
and let me collect some heavenly milk
by your telescope”,

he kindly asked me
as between milkmen.

*

MILKY WAY IN SAGITTARIUS
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

VORTEX
-by Marge Simon (U.S.A.,
Editor of Star*Line, the Journal of the Science Fiction Poetry Association)-

Starry ripples splice the night;
the Dark Prince inhales

*

M4 AND NGC6144 NEAR ANTARES
-photo by Maximilian Teodorescu-



*

MILKY WAY
-by Boris Marian (Mehr)-

In a Socratic sense
the galactic milk
seems to be a kind of hemlock
for a dumb world,
a way for slaves,
a drink for fine people,
thousands of stars,
my tears, which ripple.

*

SCUTUM STARCLOUD
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

BETWEEN ARCTURUS AND DENEB
-astro-photo-poem by Cornel Apetroaiei-

I went out with my instruments
to hunt new places for stellar observations.



It is amazing how hard
we can find an isolated and unpolluted position.

But with a car or with a horse
we can go to over 1500m altitude…

where, in spite of an overwhelming moon,
I could use my thrower (80/400) towards the Cosmos…



and my catcher (Canon 450D)
of astral images.

*

SCORPIUS NEBULA COMPLEX
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

MILKY WAY
-by Dan Mitrut-

The light flows from nowhere
and every midnight shows the road
towards immortality

On the Milky Way
the pain of the soles of so many slaves
has transformed into signs
of birth and death

Playing with forgetfulness
we have erased the name of the soles
from that realm

We wander eternally
on a round and blue dream

*

CYGNUS NEBULA COMPLEX
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

MAYBE THE GECKOS WILL APPRECIATE IT
-by David Kopaska-Merkel (U.S.A.,
Editor of Dreams and Nightmares, the magazine of fantastic poetry)-

Deep in a distant swirl
of stars and dust,
call it a galaxy,
a star exploded the day you were born.
Its chatoyant blaze
will reach Earth
a billion years after the last
human dies.

*

PIPE AND PRANCING
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

RENEWAL
-by Irina Cristescu-

Soon the Sun
will wake up after a coral,
humming the refrain of an oriental night,
when the stars burn the sand,
opening hearts with the key
of the Summer Triangle.

Black holes
appear in oases
and in the souls
that renew as after an old ritual,
re-discovering the light
of the Summer Triangle.

*

DELPHINUS AND THE SUMMER TRIANGLE
-photo by Valentin Grigore-



*

TWEET HUMAN RIGHTS 1
-by Larry Jaffe (U.S.A.,
Founder and Coordinator of “Poets for Human Rights”)

Dignified stars
Soaring through infinity
Autonomous born
Individuals
Hands linked
in freedom

*

M13
-photo by Catalin Paduraru “Sarpe”-



*

MILKY WAY
-by Ion(ut) Moraru-

It revolves like a mill,
carried in the Cosmos
by the wind of Creation.

We are its children,
earthlings,
revolving through life in the same place,
called by a sun from a spiral
with gravitational arms.

*

CEPHEUS NEBULA COMPLEX
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

LOVE FOR ANDROMEDA
-by Boris Marian (Mehr)-

I was reading a story
about a galactic love,
about Andromeda.

I was a schoolboy,
you were a schoolgirl,
and by telescope
we saw it intensely shining.

What is the ideal speed
in the Universe?

Is it possible the unification
between Andromeda and our world?

Would this be the core
of a great love that would come true
in one billion years,
or more?

*

ANDROMEDA GALAXY
-photo by Maximilian Teodorescu-



*

GALACTIC CANNIBALISM
- intercontinental astro-humorous conversation by…

Andreea Nanciu from Europe:

I have just read a Romanian article
in which the author writes:
“the astronauts observed” that
Andromeda suffers of galactic cannibalism…

Valeriu Tudose from Europe
(astronomer in Holland; born in Romania):

“The astronauts observed”…?!?

Alin Tolea from America (U.S.A.;
astronomer at John Hopkins University, Baltimore;
born in Romania):

Beautiful.
But I think that in fact
“the astronauts” are “cosmonauts”.

Danut Ionescu from Australasia (New Zealand,
Auckland Astronomical Society;
born in Romania):

Oh,
the old question of the collision of galaxies…
But this time,
if “the astronauts observed”,
then it is obvious that Andromeda collided
the author of the article too.

*

M31
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

LOVING ASTRONOMY IN THE NORTH OF EUROPE
-by Traian Abrudan (Finland;
born in Romania)-

When I was a child,
my father told me
a few elementary things
about astronomy
and made me love the starry sky.

When I was a high-school student,
I bought my first binocular
and began to put
more questions.

When I took the doctorate,
I bought my first Newtonian telescope
and began to observe better
various heavenly objects.

But here,
the winter is too cold,
the spring and the autumn are too cloudy,
and on summertime
the starry sky is not too dark!

*

CASSIOPEIA-PERSEUS NEBULA COMPLEX
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

HOWZAT!
(Somewhere in the Milky Way)
-by John Francis Haines (U.K.,
Leader of the Eight Hand Gang - British network of SF poets)

“Boy hit by meteorite?”
-newspaper headline-

No son, not like that.
You have to relax,
Crouch down a bit,
Bend your knees,
Keep your gaze steady,
And don’t forget -
Roll with the impact.

-exhibited at the International Meteor (Organization) Conference
in Porec (Croatia), 2009 September 24-27-

*

CEPHEUS-CYGNUS DARK NEBULAE
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

MILKY WAY
-by Diana Maria Ogescu-

The Galaxy…
which keeps us aware,
face to face with the show of the stars,
too far in the night,
but weaving its form of spiral.

*

AQUILA
-photo by Tibor Vesselenyi-



*

GALAXY
-by Dominic Diamant-

Many wonders springing from mysteries
reveal finally senses,
unknown spaces wait for my adventures
beyond the human thoughts,
where the magic show
begins the proud program
chosen by the dance of Genesis.

I penetrate the Cosmos and see
other worlds
climbing the galactic-spiralled carol
towards another eternity.

*

AQUILA DARK NEBULAE
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

HAIKU
-by Ionel Catalin Diaconu-

Dear Astro-People:
Who would leave his heavenly soul
To be trampled?

*

IC1396
-photo by Radu Gherase-



*

THE PLEIADES
-by Boris Marian (Mehr)-

Do you remember the Pleiades,
my darling?

Many poets wrote verses
about that luminous cluster of stars,
but our ancestors named them
the Broad-Hen and Her Chickens.

We counted them,
I kissed you,
and the heavenly Bull watched us…

Do you remember the Pleiades
finer than any other thing,
my darling?

*

PLEIADES
-photo by Marian Lucian Achim and Marcel Jinca-



*

M45
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

Charles Messier simply named them
as M45, but…

Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope,
Taygeta, Celaeno and Stereope,
daughters of Atlas and Pleione,
sisters of the Hyades and of the Hesperides,
and companions of Artemis,
committed suicide
in order to draw the attention
of their father’s sad destiny.

And their desperate gesture was so bright
that now they live a new life
in the heavens of the Taurus constellation
(a disguise of the supreme god Zeus)
as the most spectacular star cluster.

*

M45
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

ASTRO-HISTORICAL
-by Zigmund Tauberg-

Kepler passed past the law of universal attraction
because he was an adept of Aristotle
(who had said that the force
must be searched on the direction of speed)
and this way he left the honour of this discovery
to Newton,
an adept of Galileo
(who had said that the force
must be searched on the direction of acceleration).

Moral:

An arrow thrown into a direction,
which can overturn all.

*

NGC1499
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

VOYAGERS
-by Victor Chifelea-

Citizens of Earth,

regardless of
the social status,
the daily job,
the art in which you want to become immortal,

regardless of
the age or the place
(you can also be children, pensioners, housewives),
do not forget that you are voyagers.

But never claim
dividends,
a shorter work time,
recompenses for accidents,
or better conditions of life.

For your profession of voyagers
in the billows of the Milky Way
you have not any contract
signed with Divinity.

*

OPHIUCUS DARK NEBULAE
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

A SOUL WISH TO THE SKY LOVER
-by Carol Brechner (Germany; born in Romania)
and Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

Be strong my friend
because you win.
Only the heavenly stars can live
without any sin.

*

M42, M43, NGC1977
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

ABOUT THE CONTRADICTION OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SCINTILLATION
-astro-dialogue by…

Alex(andru) Conu:

Interesting, romantic, playful,
but worthless
for astronomy.

Andrei Dorian Gheorghe:

However, placed beyond the atmosphere, in space,
the Hubble telescope must be much poorer
without the stars’ flicker.

*

M8, M20, M21
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

PHENOMENA IN THE SKY
-by Alfredo Caronia (Italy,
co-discoverer of 3 asteroids)-

Radiations,
Expansions,
Collisions,
Bright explosions,
The burning activity and the death of the stars
H-R Diagram, synthesis of the lives of the stars,
Propagations of solar energy,
Emotions
For the exhibition of the Northern Sky,
Occultation of the stars
By the moon,
Directions of the Earth-crossing asteroids,
Calculations of their positions,
Pending observations,
Evaluations of the transit
During their orbits, in phase of opposition,
Minor planets that are surrounding the planets,
Fragmentations of asteroids,
Evaluation of risk impacts,
Provenience of meteors from the zone called "radiant",
And their irradiations,
Comets and analysis of
Their motion of revolution.

*

EPPUR SI MUOVE
-photo by Tibor Vesselenyi



*

GALILEO!
-by Adrian Sima-

I respire through the windows
of a season that does not come

The fisher-astronomer
floats on the sea
with his nets of ripe glass
full of stars

The wind browses the waves
from after him,
remembering the galactic newspapers
that write about the embarkation
for the satellites of Jupiter

Collect your treasures
and hide yourself in the lunar mountains,
old man,
because life is a break
in the window with puppets
of time


-JUPITER’S MOONS
(dedication to Galilean Satellites,
a Cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy)-

*

GALILEO
-by Marge Simon (U.S.A.,
Editor of Star*Line, the Journal of the Science Fiction Poetry Association)-

with Jupiter's moons
proves the planets' rotation
around the sun,
is cited for heresy,
dies sightless,
his vision far beyond
blind minds

*

JUPITER AND AN OBSERVATIONAL NIGHT
-photo by Valentin Grigore-



*

GALILEAN MOONS
-astropoetic (mini)drama by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

(In the heavens, together, two old astronomers, a planet and a satellite.)

Galileo Galilei:

I’ve remained the official discoverer
of Jupiter’s major moons,
but I’ve lost Cosmica Sidera or Medicea Sidera
as the priority of their names,
so it is almost equitable.

Simon Marius:

I’ve lost the official discovery
of Jupiter’s major moons,
but I’ve remained he who gave them
the official (mythological) names,
so it is almost reasonable.

Jupiter:

I have three main mistresses as satellites,
Io, Europa and Callisto,
and a fine cupbearer,
Ganymede,
so it is quite pleasant.

Ganymede (feels bereft):

Only I am full of fury.
Why am I just a satellite
as time as I am bigger
than the planet Mercury?

*

JUPITER, WITH GANYMEDE AND IO,
2009 JULY 4
-photo by Maximilian Teodorescu-



*

GALILEAN SATELLITES
-by Boris Marian (Mehr)-

Galileo oh Galileo
it was neither easy nor hard
to find in the sky
the moons of Jupiter:
Io, an agitated heifer
that is followed even in another world,
Europa, not too smart
and not too stupid,
Callisto, beautiful, but too fat
for a respectable shebear…

Only Ganymede,
a likeable cupbearer,
serves Jupiter
with a good wine, up there.

Galileo would drink a drop after sunset,
but he doesn’t see it through his lunette.

*

JUPITER, 2009 JULY 22
-photos by Maximilian Teodorescu-





*

OUR FAVOURITE GIANT
(2009.07.22)
-astro-photo-poem by Mihai Rusie-

One evening
I incidentally went out to check
the state of our favourite giant.

After a few minutes of visual delight,
I thought to give to my powershot
the occasion to say what it sees…





*

2009 JULY 25
-astro-photo-poem by Vlad Dumnitrescu-

Last night
I stayed a little on my terrace
to take a few images
with Jupiter.

As I live in the middle of Bucharest,
because of the excessive warmth
that appears from all concretes,
Jupiter was in a continual boiling.



*

GALILEAN SATELLITES
-by Dan Mitrut-

Ganymede is not alone

He dreams of a new orbit
and in his dream
three other silhouettes
dance the movie of his next vision

Ganymede is sick
and wanders without any chance
in the large desert
of Jupiter’s conspiracy

The day of tomorrow
is a common page
in the constant history
of Galilean satellites

Ganymede has sold his name
instigation to forgetfulness
in an universe which becomes daily
colder and farer from itself.

*

JUPITER, 2009 JULY 28-29
-photo-collage by Maximilian Teodorescu-



*

GALILEO’S GHOST
(15 years after Jupiter-Shoemaker Levy impact,
based on inspired by NASA news, July 20th, 2009)
-by Marge Simon (U.S.A.,
Editor of Star*Line, the Journal of the Science Fiction Poetry Association)-

Galileo's ghost
is a comet currently
orbiting Jupiter.

He breaks free,
dips to the polar south,
to leave his mark.

*

2009 AUGUST 3
(JUPITER WITH EUROPA, AND WESLEY’S IMPACT SCAR)
-photo-collage by Maximilian Teodorescu-



*

JUPITERIAN COMPARISON
-photo-collage by Maximilian Teodorescu-



*

MEDICEAN DEDICATION
-by Steve Sneyd (U.K,
Director of Hilltop Press
and Editor of Data Dump)

four-moon dance find tempts
to offer necklace for young
girl’s white swan neck but
wisdom knows science costs -
best name to please ducal purse

*

JUPITER, 2009 AUGUST 3
-photo-collage by Adrian Bruno Sonka
(Coordinator of “Admiral Vasile Urseanu” Bucharest Municipal Observatory)-



*

JUPITER, 2009 AUGUST 25
-photo by Lucian Curelaru-



*

JUPITER AND THE GREAT RED SPOT
(2009.09.15)
-photo-collage by Maximilian Teodorescu-



*

WISHES TO JUPITER
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

sweet gas
more power of seduction
and happy moons

*

JUPITER WITH IO, AND URANUS
(2009.09.21)
-photo by Maximilian Teodorescu-



*

SPIRIT OF HAIKU
-by Iulian Olaru-

Galileo Galilei,
today even among streetlamps
your Jovian satellites shine

*

JUPITER AND GALILEAN SATELLITES
-photo by Bogdan Crintea (Spain,
born in Romania)-




-THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OF THE CENTURY-

*

ABOUT THE ASIATIC ECLIPSE OF 2009.07.26
-a Romanian debate by…

Alex Conu:

It seems that this time the weather was not friendly
with the eclipse hunters…

Laurentiu Alimpie:

I have also remarked Internet images
showing the sun as…
eclipsed by clouds!

Ionut Costache:

I’ve just received a message from Dragos Brasov,
the organizer of the main Romanian expedition in China.
They initially chose an observation place in the continent,
but the meteo prognosis was bad,
so they went to the coast.
Of course, from the coast they saw almost nothing,
while in the continent the clouds were thinner.
A new action of Murphy’s Laws…

Valentin Grigore:

It seems that the longest total solar eclipse of the century,
supposed to be seen by the biggest number of people,
was in fact seen by the smallest number of people…

Catalin Paduraru “Sarpe”:

Maybe you want to see some of my “Chinese” photos
with the Romanian eclipse group:







Dragos Brasov:

Who does go to the Easter Island
for the eclipse of the next year?

*

THE “CHINESE” ECLIPSE
-words and photo by Catalin Beldea-

Everywhere in China there were clouds or haze.
Before totality,
a thicker cloud covered the sickle of partiality.



Then a furious wind
began to blow.
And it got very dark.

*

THE ECLIPSE OF THE ECLIPSE
-correspondence and photo by Dimitrie Olenici-

My dears,
as you know,
I was in Shanghai, China, for the great eclipse,
which I missed because of a torrential rain.

Optically,
I saw only the beginning of the eclipse among the clouds.

But gravitationally,
my Foucault pendulum had a different comportment in the eclipse day,
so from this point of view I am content.

However,
I saw a lot of people disappointed because of the weather.
People who spent a lot of money for nothing.

Finally,
a Chinese salute from the Science Museum of Shanghai.



“Ih Haa”!
That means:
Good Morning!

*

THE 2009 TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OVER CHINA
-photo-collage by Catalin Paduraru “Sarpe”-








-INCIDENTS AROUND THE MOON-

*

MOTHER OCEAN
-by Marge Simon (U.S.A.,
Editor of Star*Line, the Journal of the Science Fiction Poetry Association)-

without a moon
or revolution,
there would be
no change;
no life, no evolution,
no politics, no rebels,
no poets, no singers,
no songs

*

2009 JULY 18
(Moon-Pleiades occultation)
-photo by Valentin Grigore-



*

DOUBLE ROAD
(variant 2009)
-by Mircea Alexandru Popa-

My thought
on a road
in the night.

The Moon pats it:

“We are wandering together.”

*

2009 JULY 18
(Moon-Pleiades occultation, in conjunction with Venus and Mars)
-photos by Ioan Agavriloaiei-





*

OCCULTATION
(Moon-Pleiades, 2009 July 18th)
-by Boris Marian (Mehr)-

It do not think about occult forces,
which have become boring,
I think about the Moon,
a fabulous being
who sometimes can hide a few suns
(and this is an extraordinary thing).

*

2009 JULY 18
(Moon-Pleiades occultation, in conjunction with Venus and Mars)
-photos by Catalin Timosca-







*

2009 AUGUST 6
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

I hoped to see a penumbrial lunar eclipse,
but I saw only clouds,
flashes of lightning, and drops of rain.
In order to raise my spirits,
I imagined the perfection
of an ideal lunar phase.

*

LAST QUARTER MOON
-image by Maximilian Teodorescu-



*

2009 AUGUST 18
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

You can escape from many things,
but not from the irregular visions
of the Moon and Venus,
the most poetical characters
of the night sky.

*

MOON-VENUS CONJUNCTION
(2009 August 18th)
-photo by Catalin Timosca-



*

LUNAR HAIKU AND PHOTO-COLLAGE
(2009 August 22^nd)
with special thanks to Dr. Grant Christie
-by Danut Ionescu (New Zealand,
Auckland Astronomical Society; born in Romania)

Lunar illumination
Crater Demonax
My composition



*

MARS AS BIG AS THE MOON
-astro-humorous conversation by…

Sorin Hotea:

Unfortunately,
I’ve heard even the Romanian national broadcast
announcing as a piece of news the hoax that circulates on the web since 2003:
in 2009, August 27th, Mars will be as big as the Moon.
It is incredible!
Two moons in our sky push our thoughts to Star Trek.

Laurentiu Alimpie:

Just a few hours ago,
a colleague asked me if “Mars will be seen as big as the Moon”.
My answer:
Mars passes through a trajectory of collision with Terra,
so we have no choice,
all of us will die.

Catalin Mitu:

I am tired.
Every year since the great opposition of Mars in 2003
I have to explain this mistake.
Will it have an end?

Cristina Ungureanu:

No chance.
The most popular Romanian TV broadcast has just announced
that a big Romanian town will organize a party
in the honour of this celestial phenomenon.
My God!

*

MOON IN AUGUST 2009
-photo by Tibor Vesselenyi-



*

LUNAR COMPARISON
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

Pre-Galilean:
Why are you so beautiful,
Far Moon?

Post-Galilean:
Why are you so depressive,
Close Moon?

*

LUNAR CRATERS
-photo-series by Lucian Curelaru-







*

MOON-JUPITER CONJUNCTIONS
(2009, September 2nd and 28th)
-astro-photo-poem by Valentin Grigore-

Here they are again…









Jupiter the giant,
having even satellites,
face to face with the Queen of the Night,
in fact a satellite herself…





However,
who is the biggest?








-SARM’S PERSEID EVENT IN 2009-

*

POLARIS
-photo by Marian Lucian Achim and Marcel Jinca-



*

LOGICAL ASTRO-DEDUCTION
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

If Polaris is certainly
A Cepheid,
I can only hope to become
A Perseid.

*

PLEIADES AND A PERSEID METEOR
(2009.08.13)
-photo by Catalin Paduraru “Sarpe”-



*

PERSEIDS OVER PONDS
-by Marge Simon (U.S.A.,
Editor of Star*Line, the Journal of the Science Fiction Poetry Association)-

Perseus’ stones
skim the surface
of Earth's night sky

-exhibited at the International Meteor (Organization) Conference
in Porec (Croatia), 2009 September 24-27-

*

PERSEUS’ DOUBLE CLUSTER
-photo by Marian Lucian Achim and Marcel Jinca-



*

SARM’S "PERSEIDS XVII" CAMP
(Fagaras Mountains, 2009 August 9-15)
-photo-series by Valentin Grigore (event organizer)
and verses by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-



Why do those people love
immensity?











Human meteors on Earth,
original meteors in the atmosphere…











…winners of light
among the stars.











Why do those people love
eternity?



*

HAIKU
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

Champions of
summer meteor showers -
the Perseids…

-exhibited at the International Meteor (Organization) Conference
in Porec (Croatia), 2009 September 24-27-

*

JUMP FROM THE GREAT CHARIOT
(PERSEID FIREBALL, 2009.08.13)
-photo by Monica Dragan-




-ABOUT SOME OF THE CLASSICS OF ASTRONOMY-

*

I. ASTRO-DEDICATIONS

*

ADAM THE FIRST ASTRONOMER
(and something from Plato)
-astro-photo-poem by Pompiliu Alexandru-

Adam had the mission to name the things
that had been created before him.
Adam had the mission to name the things
that he saw through his prototype eyes.



His vocabulary was of course vast
because the first human job
was not of a mathematician or of a farmer,
but of a linguist.



In Paradise,
the treat was the art of playing with the word.
Not God’s word, which drives and creates,
but the word in the second regime,
which finds comfortable ways for thinking,
and names the created things.



Adam’s dictionary cannot be touched
by the generations from after the fall.
Adam saw better before the fall,
his eyes were closer to the core of Creation.
After the fall, the dictionary became smaller,
as the eyes looked just at the earthen forms.



From the great dictionary of Creation,
only vague memories have remained,
which sometimes come into our minds
as strong words.



As Plato said,
we feel their truth,
but understand approximately their senses,
or do not understand them.
Magic words,
which push the facts to a direction or another.



For instance, the “infinite” is a word
with a taste of fiction put in splints.
When we pronounce it,
our mouth is full of its greatness,
but we also smile,
embarrassed that we do not understand it totally.
It is a word attributed correctly to its referent,
the Universe,
but we do not see its form in order to calm us.



Probably,
Adam’s words caressed the things…

*

PLATO LUNAR REGION
-image by Maximilian Teodorescu-



*

COPERNICUS
-by Boris Marian (Mehr)-

I often think amazed that
you changed our place
from the centre to a secondary way.

You had the courage to say:
God is God,
and the Sun is the Sun.

But I’m sorry:
the lovers cannot trust you,
the sunset is all they see.

*

COPERNICUS LUNAR REGION
-image by Maximilian Teodorescu-



*

TYCHO BRAHE
-by Boris Marian (Mehr)-

You have a strange name,
esteemed Danishman.

Watching the stars,
you became their lover,
and Kepler became your genial apprentice.

You found a new star in Cassiopeia,
although you had not a telescope,
but what a help you received
from the simple compasses…

A part of space knows you
even without glasses…

*

TYCHO LUNAR REGION
-image by Maximilian Teodorescu-



*

GIORDANO BRUNO
-by Adrian Sima-

the flesh of light
burnt on a pyre
with the body pushed over
this chemical idea of death…

the dream of a sun
whispering the wood song
of the earthlings…

and the arrow of flight
recalling the calligraphy
of the milk teeth
remained in a night
as an open, burnt
wound.

*

SUNLIGHT
-photos by Valentin Grigore-







*

GALILEO GALILEI
-by Dominic Diamant-

It is incredible, but true.

From Pisa, like a wave,
a sovereign mind came to shine.

It is incredible
how a man could fight to conquer
those who shut ways,
on a side,
and the eternal heavenly opening,
on the other side.

But it is true
that he never abandoned
his unequalled and finally crowned battle.

Alone against all, he said:
“E pur si muove!”

What a noble fight!

And today Galileo guides the world
through his unique light.

*

PATH TOWARDS THE SUN
-photo by Gabriel Ivanescu-



*

HERSCHEL THE MUSICIAN ASTRONOMER
-by Dan Mitrut-

The music of the spheres
condensation of light on the ceiling of the sky

Herschel,
the organ of the telescopes
and Vega from the musical Lyre
a love stolen from a lost and blue semitone

Knowledge has never been
my favourite score
only the moonrise
and the roar of an astral wolf
breaking into
illegible mathematical formulas

*

ADAMS AND LE VERRIER
-by Zigmund Tauberg-

The discovery of Uranus
announced another planet after it.
(As you see,
history
means repetitions:
a discovery
involves new ones.)

Thus, Adams and Le Verrier,
two scientists who did not know each other,
assaulted the space from beyond Uranus,
and soon after,
they discovered the planet Neptune.

It is amazing, however,
they did not use the telescopes
that approach the sky.

They just watched by their minds through spaces,
did not accepted facile revelations,
and used a telescope
composed of ciphers and equations.

*

EINSTEIN
-by Boris Marian (Mehr)-

I timidly come to you.

You said that
even Newton could make mistakes;

knowledge is nothing
if we have not new ideas.

Too many jokes in the world…

The speed is important,
the look is native,
but God and Love
are not relative.

*

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
-photo by Maximilian Teodorescu-





*

II. THREE THOUGHTS ABOUT ISAAC NEWTON

*

“The universal attraction,
which occurred the mind of great Newton,
is the hanging that the heavenly bodies have one another.”
-Costache Conachi (Romanian writer, 1777-1849)-

“Newton is not responsible
for the accident of Icar.”
-Boris Marian, 2009-

“Newton
Gravity
Oldton”
-Andrei Dorian Gheorghe, 2009-

*

EARTH, ATMOSPHERE, STARS
(stormcell, 2009.07.17)
-photos by Catalin Timosca-







*

III. ASTRO-MEDITATIONS

*

1. Words by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
and photo (Twilight) by Valentin Grigore

Ptolemy
wrote Almagesta,
a synthesis of antique astronomy.
It is not his blame that afterwards,
based on his innocent opera,
the mafia of thinking imprisoned astronomy
for over one millennium.



*

2. Words by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
and photo (Sunspots, 2009.07.05) by Eugen Florin Marc

Copernicus
launched the heliocentric theory.
Did he imagine that
our sun has spots?



*

3. Words by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe,
and photo (Twilight) by Maximilian Teodorescu

Giordano Bruno
wrote poetry,
affirmed the infinity of the Universe,
and was executed.
Maybe we should also proclaim him
as the first martyr of astropoetry.



*

4. Words by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe,
photo 1 (Moon, Venus, Stars and Observers) by Valentin Grigore,
and photo 2 (Sunspots, 2009.07.05) by Eugen Florin Marc



Galileo Galilei
made so many things for astronomy…
Thus,
now we have to believe that
he collected enough starlight
to enlighten his late blindness.



*

5. Words by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
and photo (Moon, Pleiades, Venus, Mars, 2009.07.18) by Catalin Timosca

Kepler
launched the laws of planetary motion.
Nobody can launch yet
the laws of soul motion.



*

6. Words by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
and photo (Green Flash, 2009.08.20) by Catalin Timosca

Newton
discovered the law of universal attraction,
being helped by an apple.
At the same time,
humanity
discovered the sacred fruit of astronomy.



*

7. Words by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
and photo (Veil Nebula, 2009.08.17) by Catalin Timosca

Einstein
launched the theory of relativity.
However,
it is certain that the speed of thought
is faster than the speed of light.




-ASTRO-EXHIBITION
(dedication to From Earth to the Universe,
a Cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy)-

*

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY IN THE HEART OF ROMANIA



2009, September 10-14.
The historical centre of Bucharest (Capital of Romania) hosted
the national festival of the non-governmental organizations,
in which the Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy-SARM
and the Bucharest Astroclub
(the most important Romanian astronomical organizations)
shared the same tent.
Their astro-exhibition was photographed by
Cristina Tinta and Catalin Paduraru “Sarpe”.







Commuters
from Earth to the Universe
and back -
vivid souls

-Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-




-VARIABLE GLORY
(dedication to the American Association of Variable Star Observers)-

*

VARIABLE STAR TIPURITURA
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

All I can do is to fight
For a better curve of light.

*

VARIABLE STARS
-by Boris Marian (Mehr)-

Who is a variable star?

It seemed I visited the 16th century,
I was talking with my friend David Fabricius,
he showed me something in the sky,
“Mira”, he said,
“in Cetus”,
yes, it was pulsating as hit by whips,
“learn”, he said,
“be laborious,
there will be thousands of stars,
some of them even novae,
other ones gigantic and mild,
Beta Lyrae, Delta Cephei, Beta Canis Majoris…
the road in the depth is so explosive…
Do we know who we are or what we are?
We shall be stars too,
maybe intrinsic variables,
pulsating or eruptive…”

That dream left me to live
history in fiction,
as in a bizarre rating,
while reality is always pulsating.

*

THE VARIABILITY OF A VARIABLE STAR OBSERVER
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

I’d like to be a variable star, but not pulsating,
eruptive, cataclysmic or rotating.

I have to confess that my main life goal
is to be an eclipsing variable, like Algol
(in order to hide my ration
from a too fiery passion),

although when I feel like a Yeti
I think of Omicron Ceti,
and when I’m harassed by timidity
I reason about Alpha Cygni.

But to my fancy woman I’m always happy to say:
“You seem like Delta Cephei!”

*

T' LEPORIS IS DYING
-by Marge Simon (U.S.A.,
Editor of Star*Line, the Journal of the Science Fiction Poetry Association)-

Inner forces build
to a nuclear climax;
swollen with too much energy
a love affair gone wrong

*

EPSILON AURIGAE ECLIPSE
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

It is happening again:
the mystery of the Epsilon Aurigae eclipse.

For a while,
Capella-Amalthea
stops nursing Zeus.

*

QUESTION-HAIKU
-by Dan Mitrut-

Can the kiss
of a supernova
keep innocence?

*

HAIKU
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

Supernova -
supreme feeling
of the variable star observer

*

SUPERNOVA SN 2009IG
-dialogue by…

Costel Birza:

I have just observed it.
SN 2009IG is bright for a supernova from NGC 1015.
It would be fine if someone would photograph it.

Adrian Bruno Sonka
(Coordinator of the “Admiral Vasile Urseanu” Bucharest Municipal Observatory,
Laureate of the American Association of Variable Star Observers
for over 10,000 observations):

I have just taken an image with SN 2009IG.
This supernova is not so bright.
Magnitude of 14.1.
Here it is:




-ASTRO-MISCELLANEOUS-

*

I.S.S. DANCE
-photo-series by Valentin Grigore-













*

OUR WAY
-astro-art-poem by Cristina Tinta-

Above us
there is a special world of heavenly bodies…



accessible to anyone
disposed to know it.

*

IN PLACE OF AN ASTROPOEM
-by Arlene Carol (Turkey,
born in U.S.A.)-





I’ve sent you some photos
I took over the past few months of our
wonderful skies.







Use them as you wish
or just enjoy
looking at them yourself.





*

ASTRO-PHOTO-ART-POETRY
-by Ion(ut) Moraru-

1. ASTRONOMY IS LIFE

I was taming
a part
of the universal ocean.



I was taming
a planet,
which became blue.


2. AN AIRPLANE TOWARDS THE PINE TREE OF THE MOON






3. SOLAR SYSTEMS IN THE DANUBE DELTA






4. HEAVENLY STORY

A star
shone
very close to me.



I was looking for
the Little Prince
on a happy moon.

*

MOON AND VENUS IN PARADISE
(2009.08.17)
-photos by Catalin Paduraru “Sarpe”-







*

SUNSPOTS
-astro-photo-poem by Maximilian Teodorescu-

As you know,
the world of professional astronomers is troubled
by the solar minimum of this time period.
Even the amateur astronomers are depressed
because of the absence of significant sunspots.
But today I have realized that the 1026 modest group of sunspots
is not the only ‘inhabitant” of the solar disc…





Clear skies
and small turbulence!

*

SURREALISTIC ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
-images by Valentin Grigore-














-TOWARDS A WALK ON THE MOON-

*

TO MY ASTROPOETIC MOTHER
STELIANA (STELLA) GHEORGHE
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

My mother is the most rebellious person I know.
Unfortunately, she is very sick,
but, as a major sample,
since 2003 she continues to live
against the medical predictions.
Even so,
she has always respected and helped my life option
to astropoetry.

In 2009, between August 21st and September 4th,
she fought death in the hospital,
and (against the medical predictions too)
she won again.

Now she is home and doesn’t respect too much
the medical recommendations.

“The doctors have saved your life.
So why do not respect their guidelines?
I just try to take care of you.
So why are you so rebellious?’,

I asked her,
and she replied to me:

“Did the doctors say
that you have to walk me
on the Moon?”

-2009, September 6^th-

*

MOON FASCINATION
-image by Maximilian Teodorescu-



*

NANO-SENSE AND TERRA-SENSE OF THE PAIN
to Mrs. Steliana (Stella) Gheorghe
(hospitalized in August 2009)
-by Dan Mitrut-

When life becomes a nightmare
only the fight for a drop of air
and the star road
can save its sense

Unknown,
the ways of light
torture our nerves

Only from such painful wounds
a new morning can be born

*

MOON
-photos by Catalin Timosca-





*

LAST NIGHT, FIRST MORNING
(September 30^th - October 1^st)
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

Hospitalized again in 2009, September 22^nd,
my mother Steliana (Stella) Gheorghe
seemed to be bored to fight death
and to win every time.

Simultaneously,
she did not want to disturb me too much
through her suffering.

So that finally she plunged to heaven.

My dear astropoetic mother!
I am so sorry I could not
walk you on the Moon,
as you asked me a few weeks ago!
But I am sure that
my astropoetic father Costica Gheorghe
will just do it soon
from his heavenly position.

In the place of mine
and in the name of astropoetry.

*

THE END OF THE STORM
-artwork by Calin Niculae-



*

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