Writing About Astronomy

Is a Waltz with the Cosmos

For a couple of months late in 2012 and early 2013, I was nose-to-the-grindstone busy working on a new book about astronomy. It’s called Astronomy 101From the Sun and Moon to Wormholes and Warp Drive, Key Theories, Discoveries, and Facts about the Universe, and I was invited to write it by the publisher, Adams Media. The book is due out in a matter of weeks, and I just got the galleys back to proof.  Galleys comprise the final layout of the book with the images, and they are to writers what a walk-around is to a pilot for a plane. We’re checking out the final product before we let it fly.  I have about a week to read them over, look for any mistakes, and then send a note back to the publishers giving them the go-ahead to put it into print (both paper and electronic).

The publisher had a pretty specific set of topics in mind that they wanted me to cover, although I did get to select many of them. The idea behind the book is NOT to give you a graduate (or even undergraduate) education in astronomy, but to acquaint the reader with astronomy topics in a “getting to know you” kind of way.

You’d think it would be easy to do this. But, actually, working out ways to write “layperson” explanations of black holes and wormholes and solar storms and planetary evolution and stellar birth and death and many, many other topics is fairly complex. And, sandwich it all into a 1,000-1500 words per topic, and you can see the challenge.

At the end of writing the book (I had about a month and a half to do it — that’s life in the publishing lane, folks), I felt as if I’d been waltzing with stars, planets, galaxies, and clusters. I’ve been studying and writing about astronomy for a long time, sometimes in very great depth, and one of  the great joys is bringing complex topics to people and having them really grasp the processes and events that shape our cosmos. I’ve done it for a long time in documentary shows. Doing it for a book that will speak to all levels of reader, and act as their first guide t0 the cosmos is heady.  And so, here I sit, galleys in front of me, ready to dive back in and see how it worked out.  I’ll keep you posted!

 

Darkness is Cool

Help Keep us from Losing the Dark

A few weeks ago my company, Loch Ness Productions, in collaboration with the International Dark-Sky Association, released a short video called Losing the Dark.  Since then we’ve seen it get downloaded thousands of times, including by planetarium folks who can show it in their domes.

I thought I’d bring it up again, particularly in light of Earth Hour, coming up on Saturday, March 23rd, 2013. From 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. in each time zone, we’re being asked to turn off the lights in a show of concern about Earth’s environment — and the role that excess lighting plays in consumption of fossil fuels.

So, in honor of Earth Hour, participate by turning off your lights, and check out Losing the Dark. Download the flat-screen version and show it in your schools, or at community groups to engender conversations about what we can all do to preserve dark skies (and our health). If you have a planetarium dome and want to show it there, check out the downloads for that, too.  And, for that hour, go outside and check out the night sky (if the weather is clear).  See what we’re missing by lighting up the night.

 

 

Finally, if you’re interested in learning more about ways to mitigate light pollution, check out the many good reports and downloadable information at the International Dark-Sky Association Web site. They’re the world leaders in learning about and solving problems related to excess light at night.