Wordless Wednesday: Cutouts

Star Party Etiquette: How to Be Cool While the Universe is Blowing Your Mind

One of the things I learned in 1983 when getting my freelance writing career off the ground was the importance of the query letter. When pitching an article idea to a managing editor you had to demonstrate your competence as a writer while establishing in him or her a confidence that you could deliver the goods.

A number of years ago I wrote, but never submitted, this query that was crafted for the purpose of securing an assignment on star party etiquette. Though I never sent the query, I liked the letter when I stumbled upon it this past week and thought you might enjoy reading it. At the end is a link to someone else's page of instructions regarding star party etiquette. And by stars we mean Sirius and Vega, not Brad Pitt or Kirsten Dunst.

Dear Editor:
You’ve been invited to a star party. You may not be that interested in the Messier 102 list or Herschel 400 objects, but looking at the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn has a certain fundamental appeal. And you also want to make a good impression on Jennifer and Toni who invited you.

But what is a star party really? What do people do besides look through telescopes? And can I screw it up bad if I don’t know the rules? The correct answer to this last question is yes. There are rules and it helps to know them, unless you want to be a star yourself in the sequel to Dumb and Dumber.

A quick Google search shows that star parties have been springing up everywhere these days. (See links at the end of this article.) I’d like to propose a concise article on Star Party Etiquette: How to Be Cool While the Universe is Blowing Your Mind. (working title)

The article would be 800-1000 words. A completed draft would be in your inbox in four to six weeks. The tone would match your magazine. And photos would be available. The information will help your readers to avoid being clueless when they get invited to their first Star Party. I will help them understand what it is and what the rules are.

paragraph about my credentials here followed by tight close...


In the event that you yourself are invited to a Star Party, here a page of instructions from Astro-Tom. Read these, and you'll be glad you did.

Ah, the sweetness of a crisp December sky!

Amazing Scenes From Outer Space

A number of years ago I heard a recording of Hugh Downs in which he was left speechless while trying to describe the beauty of some spectacular ice formations in Antarctica. The ultimate crime in television or radio is dead air, but Downs was simply so awestruck he literally didn't know what to see. His first words, once he could find words, were an attempt to ask a profound question. Why would God make such incredible beauty and place it in such an inhospitable place where no one would ever see it?

That same question comes to mind when I muse on the photos that have been coming back from outer space via the Hubble telescope.

We've always known that it's an amazing universe. And photos from our Hubble spaceship telescope have made us aware of increasing quantities and varieties of remarkable vistas, images and scenes in nearly every corner of our impossibly vast universe. For example, the Sombrero Galaxy, above, 28 million light years from Earth, has 800 billion suns and is 50,000 light years across. Put your mind around those numbers.

The red image here is called the Cone Nebula. The portion pictured here with the red background is 2.5 light years in length or the equivalent of 23 million round trips to the Moon.

Numerous websites are posting these images. Do a Google search for Hubble telescope photos. You will be amazed. Some sites highlight the "top ten" and others share the "top one hundred." This blogsite here only makes note of a couple from the wondrous array of images, with the hope that you will proceed to explore further.

I am reminded of musings of David in his oft-quoted Psalm 8: "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him?"