Yarrr!!!!! We be Starrrrrgazin’!

Ahoy, mateys, ’tis September 19th, and that means one thing—’tis Talk Like a Pirate Day!  As usual, I participate in the piratey goings-on by putting a distinctly starrrrrrrry cast on my blog entry, since astronomy is what I talk about (usually), and ’tis all about sailin’ the starrrrrrry deeps o’ space!

Now, I don’t approve of the nasty side ‘o piratin’ — you know what I mean, the ugly folks who take to the seas and really hurt people, or those folks who steal other people’s hard work (piratin’ music, etc.) … that’s not what TLAPD is all about (which ye’ll learn, if ye go to the Piratey Link above). As they say on the TLAPD page, ” So when we urge you to TALK like a pirate, we don’t mean you should ACT like a pirate. The Pirate Guys are solidly against pillaging, plundering and slaughtering like pirates.”

So, the idea here for TLAPD and the starry side o’ things is to think about what pirates and starrrrrrs have in common.

Aye, ye chumbuckets, they DO have things in common. Fer one thing, no pirate would be complete without a sextant. That’s an instrument the piratey ship’s navigator would use to help the captain and his/her crew find their way around the ocean blue by usin’ celestial objects’ (like starrrrs and planets) positions. (Ye can learn more about sextants here.)  For another thing, there’s a space pirate’s treasure chest full of celestial sights up there in the starry deeps that just beg for piratey exploration, like the Lagoon Nebula.  Pirates and lagoons go together like walkin’ and plankin’.  And, when yer out starrrrrgazin’ on Talk Like a Starry Pirate day (well, night, actually), ye should look smartly!  Ye WILL see the planet Jupiterrrrrr, and ye may also see a meteor or the Moon, risin’ up over the yardarm. If ye stay up all night into the wee hours of the mornin’, ye’ll see Marrrrrs risin’ in the east.

So, swing yer eyeballs and telescopes and binoculars around smartly, me lads and lasses, and check out the starrrrrs tonight!  Celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day (and night) with the starrrrrs!