Andrei Dorian Gheorghe - Comet Halley and Sons

COMET HALLEY AND SONS
-by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-

Photographs:
Gelu-Claudiu Radu (1) and Dr. Stefan Berinde (2, 3, 4, 5)
Design:
Gabriel Ivanescu

In the evening of August 22, 1998,
at the foot of the Tatra Mountains, in a hotel in Stara Lesna (Slovakia),
not too far from a picturesque astronomical observatory
placed at 1600m altitude,
the SARM team presented the second Astropoetry Show
(a spectacle in five acts)
during the International Meteor Conference of that year.
Two of the acts meant, in fact,
the astropoetic mini-drama below:

1. OORT CLOUD AND COMET HALLEY

Astro-Actors:
-Gelu-Claudiu Radu as Oort Cloud
-Andrei Dorian Gheorghe as Comet Halley
-Both of them as Astral Chorus

Astral Chorus:

Comet, Meteor, Comet, Meteor, Comet, Meteor…
Radiant…

Oort Cloud:

I’m truly the Cloud of Oort
In the East, West, South, and North.
I’m a veritable ace,
Ninja suspended in space.
For the Cosmos, I’m a flower.
For the void, a comet thrower!

Astral Chorus:

Comet, Meteor, Comet, Meteor, Comet, Meteor…
Radiant…

Comet Halley:

I am even Comet Halley
And I’m going to the valley.
Once in seventy-six years
For earthlings I’m joys or fears.
Once in seventy-six years
I leave provisions of tears…

Astral Chorus:

Comet, Meteor, Comet, Meteor, Comet, Meteor…
RADIANT!

…and the two characters burst out together
in a high synchronized jump.

2. COMET HALLEY’S SONS

Astro-Actors:
-Valentin Grigore as Earth carrying the Moon on his back
-Gelu-Claudiu Radu as (May) Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower
throwing fireballs to Earth
-Andrei Dorian Gheorghe as (October) Orionid Meteor Shower
throwing fireballs to Earth

Eta Aquarid:

My mother Comet Halley seems gone.
I have remained alone.

Orionid:

You are not alone.
You have a brother,
So don’t think sadly
Of our mother.

Eta Aquarid:

Dear Orionid!
Please, don’t be stupid!
I can never visit you,
Not even at a short run!
Between you and me
There is just the Sun!

Orionid:

Dear Eta Aquarid,
I think this is very nice.
A stellar revenge
Against our mother’s ice.

Eta Aquarid:

But I cannot see you, dear Orionid!
I can only hear you!

Orionid:

I think this is splendid.
The revenge of the true light
Against our frail
Shines in the night.

Eta Aquarid:

O, brother Orionid!
Sometimes I want to disappear…

Orionid:

Go, brother Aquarid,
But only where the sky is clear.

Eta Aquarid:

Oh, brother Orionid,
Sometimes I want to die…

Orionid:

Go, Eta Aquarid,
You’ll be revived
By our mother’s cry.

…and the (May) Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower
sends the last fireball of the Astroshow
to the spectators.

…

1998 August 23 Stara Lesna. From the left to the right:
Dr. Daniel Ocenas (Slovakia,
organizer of the International Meteor Conference 1998),
Marc de Lignie (Holland,
Photographic Commission Director of the International Meteor Organization),
Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (SARM),
Alastair McBeath (U.K.,
Vice-President of the International Meteor Organization),
Dr. Jack Baggaley (New Zealand,
President of Commission 22 of the International Astronomical Union),
and Valentin Grigore (SARM).
Down: Gelu-Claudiu Radu (SARM)