Astronomy - USA (2020-03)

6 ASTRONOMY • MARCH 2020

ASTRO LETTERS

Future astronomer

I am 12 years old and want to

be an astronomer one day. I

am writing because I really like

the Paths of the Planets chart

in the November 2019 issue of

Astronomy magazine. It shows a

lot of information about the plan-

ets and where to find them in the

night sky when they are most vis-

ible. I love looking at the night sky, and this magazine

gives me plenty of information I can use to find space

objects, and it helps me plan for what to expect in the

days ahead. That is one of my favorite things about your

magazine. — Zach Owens, Birmingham, AL

What’s in a name ...

I was really motivated to send you this letter after read-

ing Robin Canup’s article in the November 2019 issue,

“The Moon’s violent origin.” Lately, I’ve realized that

the Moon is so unique that we should stop calling it just

another moon. It is the Earth/Moon system — a double

planet. There is no other system of which I am aware in

the solar system that duplicates the Moon’s origin and

its uniqueness. Calling it “the Moon” obscures what we

have learned about it since the Apollo samples which

reshaped our understanding of its relationship to Earth.

— Jim Carlisle, Atascadero, CA

From the editors: When New Horizons zipped by the

Pluto system, it revealed that a powerful past collision

likely spawned Pluto’s moons — including Charon, which

is actually larger relative to Pluto than the Moon is to

Earth. One other note: The official proper name of Earth’s

moon is “the Moon.” Perhaps think of that as a sign of

respect; it’s not “ just another moon,” but the Moon,

capital letter and all.

Concise reporting

I just want to give a big thanks to Bob Berman for finally

raising a subject (in his aptly titled “The media’s uni-

verse”) that, quite frankly, I view as harmful to astrono-

my. His precise candor never fails to make me grin.

I also hope that others may take a closer look at his piece

and take the time to at least learn more about this disci-

pline to augment more concise reporting. — C. Williams,

Green Cove Springs, FL

The official proper
name for Earth’s
companion is “the
Moon.” NASA/JPL/USGS

We welcome

your comments

at Astronomy Letters,
P.O. Box 1612,

Waukesha, WI 53187;

or email to letters@
astronomy.com.

Please include your

name, city, state, and
country. Letters may

be edited for space

and clarity.

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