Astronomy

ASTROLETTERS

8 ASTRONOMY • JULY 2018

The thrill of New Horizons

Thank you for the article “New Horizons

explores the Kuiper Belt” by S. Alan Stern

in your February 2018 issue. It was so

well written and had such detailing of the

mission that I can already feel the excite-

ment building. Please follow this mission

closely and keep us informed.

— Charles Martin, The Villages, FL

The astro-jazz genre

I’m very familiar with the song “Stars

Fell on Alabama,” but I didn’t know that

it was about the 1833 Leonid meteor

shower until I read “The real music of the

spheres” in the January 2018 issue. It had

me going back to listen to the Byrds’ song

“C.T.A.-102,” which I’m listening to as I

write this letter.

I enjoyed the article very much, but it

has a glaring omission of Herman “Sonny”

Blount, a jazz band leader, arranger,

and composer who went by the name

of Sun Ra, and whose band went by the

name Solar-Myth Arkestra. Sun Ra com-

posed many songs with Space Age themes,

such as “Space Is the Place,” “Rocket

Number Nine,” and “Outer Spaceways

Incorporated.” Though he isn’t well known

to most, he’s a major figure in modern jazz.

Sun Ra kept his band together from the

1950s to his death in the early ’90s.

Marshall Allen has been with the band

since the 50s and still runs it despite being

over 90 years old. He’s kept the space

theme at the fore of the band’s identity.

Sun Ra put out over 100 albums, many on

his own El Saturn Records label. He even

claimed to be from Saturn, but that’s a

different story. — Frank Cronin, Austin, TX

Memorable mountain viewing

After a December visit to the Coors

Brewery in Golden, Colorado, my son

and I drove up Lookout Mountain Road

around sunset. While we were 1,600 feet

(488 meters) above Golden and look-

ing east, I pointed out and described the

Belt of Venus. A woman from Wisconsin

overheard me and was amazed. She was in

her 60s and had never seen or heard about

this phenomenon, and couldn’t wait to tell

her family. My son was in awe of what we

saw as well. I will continue to share what

I learned in Stephen James O’Meara’s

great article about Earth’s shadow bands.

— Jerry Slingerland, Des Plaines, IL

Why imperial?

I recently subscribed to your magazine,

my first astronomy magazine in over 40

years. I was happy to see your in-depth

stories and excellent pictures, but one

aspect jarred me to the bone — your inci-

dental use of the metric system.

All scientists and astronomers use the

metric system, and the United States

passed the Metric Conversion Act back

in 1975. I was in the U.S. Army from

1962–64, and as a member of NATO, we

had to be on the metric system. None of

us had any trouble learning it and estimat-

ing distances in meters and kilometers. Of

all ways to get people to voluntarily use

the metric system, wouldn’t a magazine

about astronomy be in the fore-

front?— Daniel Cooley, Las Vegas

Astronomy responds

Our goal at Astronomy is to reach a broad

audience, from the scientifically inclined

to the general public. The more accessible

we can make our subject matter, the better

we’re achieving that goal of exciting

everyone about the universe.

It’s true that scientists universally use

the metric system. But it’s also true that

when you drive on a U.S. road, you’ll

see speed limit signs in miles per hour

and distance markers in miles. The vast

majority of Americans continue to

measure their daily lives in miles, feet,

inches, pounds, and so forth. I’ve

worked in outreach for several years;

at nearly every event, someone

would ask me, “How far away is that

star in miles?” or “How much does it

weigh in pounds?” For all that I can

explain why using light-years is

easier than miles, and solar masses

easier than pounds, people still

ask these questions.

To understand the vast dis-

tances and extreme conditions

in our universe, individuals

relate what they learn to what they already

know. By including both units, our aim is

to make our magazine both relatable to

and accurate for all readers, regardless of

background. This also includes sometimes

substituting phrases such as “across” for

“diameter,” which again allows any reader

to understand the meaning immediately

and accurately, as well as introduces added

variety — and, we hope, readability — to

our work.

While we cannot force people to easily

change the units in which they think, we

can ensure they will understand and relate

to the measurements presented in our

magazine. — Alison Klesman, Associate Editor

Correction

In the review “Astronomy tests Celestron’s

CGX mount” that appeared in our March

2018 issue, we mistakenly used photos of

Celestron’s CGX-L Mount. We apologize

for the confusion. Here’s a picture of the

correct product.

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.

CELESTRON