In 2006, September 16th,
during the 25th edition of the International Meteor Conference
(in Roden, Holland),
organized by
the Dutch Association for Meteorology and Astronomy
and the International Meteor Organization,
Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
(inspired by the American poet and artist Marge Simon)
conceived and directed a humorous act
in the 10th Astropoetry Show (Astroshow) of this yearly event,
dedicated to the "tragedy" of Pluto, which had lost its planetary statute
through an international astronomical decision in August 2006.

The actors of the allegory were:
Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (Romania) as Planet Supervisor,
Antonio Martinez Picar (Venezuela) as Sun,
Lucie Maquet (France) as Mercury,
Nastasia Smeets (Belgium) as Venus,
Amanda Hutt (Holland) as Terra,
Urska Pajer (Slovenia) as Mars,
Jos Nijland (Holland) as Jupiter,
Arnold Tukkers (Holland) as Saturn,
Cis Verbeeck (Belgium) as Uranus,
Jean Marc Wislez (Belgium) as Neptune,
Adriana Nicolae (Romania) as Pluto.

Afterwards Andrei Dorian Gheorghe synthesized his scenario
into the astropoem below:
 

Jeremie Vaubaillon (France) singing The Song of the IMC

Planet Supervisor salutes Sun
(“Hello, Master of our solar system,
we always have a throne for you.”)
and looks again through the list with candidates
accepted for the planetary titles:

Sun (without his crown) before the Astroshow

“Mercury…
close to Sun,
that means a warm soul.
Good!”

Mercury during the Astroshow

“Venus…
sometimes as the evening star,
at other times as the morning star,
but always delighting the people.
Very good!”

Venus after the Astroshow

“Terra…
blue eyes
and the most beautiful fireballs.
Excellent!”

Blue Terra (down) among the IMC participants before the Astroshow

“Mars…
pretty and friendly,
with red cheeks.
O.K.!”

Mars during the Astroshow

“Jupiter…
a real giant,
too strong to be refused.”

Jupiter during the Astroshow

“Saturn…
what a charming,
decisive hat!”

Saturn (without his hat, but with his favorite satellite) after the Astroshow

“Uranus…
extremely retrograde,
but interesting, so acceptable.”

Uranus (showing how retrograde he is) during the Astroshow

“Neptune…
the best swimmer in the solar system.
Fine!”

Neptune (talking with Mars) after the Astroshow

“Pluto…
too little, too far,
with a too long orbit,
and an atmosphere too cold for fireballs.
I am very sad,
but I must erase Pluto
from the list of the planets.”

Pluto during the Astroshow

“Hey! Supervisor!”
suddenly Sun shouts.
“Yes, Master!”
“I never liked to be a star.
Could you make me just a planet
…in order to replace poor Pluto?”

Planet Supervisor (and his counselor Valentin Grigore) after the Astroshow

The photographs above were taken by:
Jean-Marc Wislez (Belgium; 1, 4, 7)
Lucie Maquet (France; 2)
Jeremie Vaubaillon (France; 5, 8, 10, 12, 13)
Casper ter Kuile (Holland; 6)
Rainer Arlt (Germany; 3, 11)
Urska Pajer (Slovenia; 9)
and also published by the International Meteor Organization.

Design: Gabriel Ivanescu

© 2007 SARM
(Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy)