WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 17
astronomers physically look through telescopes, believe
radio telescopes capture sounds, or think the Moon has
a permanent dark side. Fitting into vox pop reality is
probably why Alex Trebek calls our second-to-last
planet “yur-AY-nus” on Jeopardy!, even though he’s
norma lly a stick ler for pronunciation.
Science programs habitually repeat the silly claim
that astronauts have “escaped Earth’s gravity,” even
though gravity at the International Space Station is just
a barely noticeable 10 percent weaker than in the Mall
of America. Few explain that the f loating is solely due
to the crew being in free fall.
At risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, it’s weird to
watch our beloved astronomy get reimagined, with the
hyped version permanently established as the sole
t r ut h. But at he a r t , t h i s i s about t r u st wor t h i ne s s. Wh ich
brings the issue back to whether we should ever use
“Super Moon” on these pages. What do you think:
Would doing so be current and colloquial, or selling out
to astro-hype?
By the time Buzz
Aldrin descended the
ladder toward the
lunar surface, he was
already on the Moon.
He’d landed, along
with Neil Armstrong,
the moment the
Apollo 11 lunar module
touched down. NASAIs the Super Moon really that super? This image compares a “regular” Full Moon (left) to the Super Moon that appeared in March 2011. Although
the Super Moon is slightly bigger and brighter, it’s not the major difference some media outlets might report. KAREN ROEBROWSE THE “STRANGE UNIVERSE” ARCHIVE
AT http://www.Astronomy.com/BermanFULL MOON
January 18, 2011
SUPER MOON
March 19, 2011