(meteorobs) Fw: [IMO-News] METEOR CONTEMPORARY POETRY PROJECT (5)

Mark Davis meteors at comcast.net
Tue Jun 21 18:11:23 EDT 2005


Forwarded from the IMO list with permission....

Mark Davis, South Carolina, USA
meteors at comcast.net
namn at namnmeteors.org

North American Meteor Network (NAMN)
http://www.namnmeteors.org/


----------------------  Forwarded Message:  ---------------------
Subject: [IMO-News] METEOR CONTEMPORARY POETRY PROJECT (5)
Date:    Tue, 21 Jun 2005 19:41:35 +0000

Hello meteor lovers.
Below is the 2005 summer solstice issue of
METEOR CONTEMPORARY POETRY PROJECT.
It is a special one.
Enjoy !

Coordinators

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
METEOR CONTEMPORARY POETRY PROJECT (5)

~a gala issue including poetry, haiku, commemorations,
humour, and also short memories, spiritual words and
some poetic thoughts by amateur and professional
astronomers – chosen from interviews and letters~

Warm thanks to all who have helped this JUBILEE ISSUE
(which also celebrates 10 years of astropoetry at the
International Meteor Organization Conferences) be
really FESTIVE!
~ Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (sarm at romwest.ro), Alastair
McBeath (meteor at popastro.com), Valentin Grigore
(vali_sarm at yahoo.com)  ~

Previous issues:
-Leonid 2002 Poetry – a prologue, December 2002
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imo-news/message/1088
-MCPP (1), June 2003
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imo-news/message/1177
-MCPP (2), December 2003
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imo-news/message/1321
-MCPP (3), June 2004
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imo-news/message/1392
-The Song of the IMC – a September 2004 supplement
by Jeremie Vaubaillon
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imo-news/message/1455
-MCPP (4), December 2005
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imo-news/message/1507

In this issue:
I. ASTRO-INTRODUCTION: (Paul Boboc, Alastair McBeath,
Alin Tolea, Valentin Grigore, Adrian Sima, Daniele
Cossu, Calin Niculae, Kamil Zloczewski, Andrei Dorian
Gheorghe, Nagatoshi Nogami, Tudorica Alexandru, David
R. Keedy, Dan Mitrut, Danut Ionescu, Cristian Miala,
Dominic Diamant)
II. METEORIC INTRODUCTION (Dan Mitrut, Jean Dragesco,
Gerald England, Elena Sorescu, Godfrey Baldacchino,
Andrei Dorian Gheorghe, Daniel Ocenas, Ionut
Dumitrache, Cis Verbeck, Jean Lorin Sterian, Manuel
Solano Ruiz, Juan Martin Semegone, Maria Nutu-Sima,
Paul Roggemans, Adrian Sima)
III. THE CELESTIAL STATE OF THE ASTRONOMER-SHEPERD
VICTOR ANESTIN (Andrei Dorian Gheorghe)
IV. METEOR POEMS (Michaela Al. Orescu, Giovanni
Malito, Tina Visarian, Dimitrie Olenici, Bogdan Ioana,
Doina Gheorghe, Alina Istrate, Iulian Olaru, Catalin
Paduraru, Ion Moraru, Ana Bankovic, Adrian Sima,
Gerald England, Miruna Muresanu, Dan Mitrut,
Constantin Dumitrescu-Cunctator, Klaus Lowitz, Vlad
Dumitrescu, Emily Gaskin, Emanuela Ignatoiu-Sora,
Andrei Dorian Gheorghe, Oana Diaconu, Eduard Breaban,
Nancy Bennett, Andrei Tampau, Costin Oproiu, Valentin
Grigore, Arnold Leinweber, Lucian Boboc, Diana Maria
Ogescu, Dominic Diamant)
V. ALTERNATIVE METHODS FOR OBSERVATIONS OF METEOR
SHOWERS (Svilen Stavrev)
VI. REMEMBERING SOME PERSONALITIES (Zigmund Tauberg,
Ilan Manulis, Andrei Dorian Gheorghe)
VII. PERSEIDS 2000 IN AURORA BOREALIS (Ovidiu
Vaduvescu)
VIII. FROM METEORS TO GEOCENTRISM (Arnold Tukkers,
Gelu-Claudiu Radu)
IX. COMET MACHHOLZ’S METEORICS (Andrei Dorian
Gheorghe, Valentin Grigore, Ioan Agavriloaiei, Arlene
Carol Brill, Gabriel Ivanescu)
X. HUMOROUS TELESCOPIC COMMISSION (Dan Mitrut,
Alexandru Conu, Laurentiu Alimpie)
XI. NOVA AND METEOR (Victor Chifelea, Radu Macovei,
Felicia Manea, Virgil V. Scurtu, John Francis Haines,
Stefan Berinde, Marius Istrate, Gelu-Claudiu Radu,
Steve Sneyd, Andrei Dorian Gheorghe)
XII. HOME AGAIN, UNDER THE CLEAR SKY (Valentin
Grigore)
XIII. OTHER RELATED OR SPECIAL ASTROPOEMS (Andrei
Dorian Gheorghe, Dominic Diamant, Steve Sneyd, Dan
Mitrut, John Francis Haines, Arnold Leinweber, Larry
Jaffe, Adrian Sima, Srinjay Chakravarti, Diana
Georgescu-Mitrut)
XIV. THE CONDEMNED ORBIT (Dan Mitrut)

The next issue, for which we wait for submissions,
will appear at the winter solstice 2005. In the
meantime, we intend to begin to present a
commemorative supplementary series on Romanian
Meteor/Astro-Poetry and Guests – Anthologies
1995-2002.
~Coordinators~

~<I. ASTRO-INTRODUCTION>~

STATE OF GRACE
~by Paul Boboc (Romania)~

Here, on Earth…
There, in the Cosmos…
All is ours through verse.

SUMMER NIGHTS
(excerpt from a 1997 letter)
~by Alastair McBeath (U.K.)~

I enjoy sitting up through the short summer nights,
watching the sky never get truly dark here, even at
midnight, when there is a magic in the air, and the
scent of summer flowers…

FALLING STARS
~by Alin Tolea (Romania / U.S.A.)~

I always wait for the Perseids
to catch the tail of a falling star…

THE SKY
~by Valentin Grigore (Romania)~

The sky is always above and watches us through
thousands of eyes.
We should never forget this.
The sky always sends us its light as a guide to the
good.
We should never reject this.
The sky always calls us with each star’s gleam, with
each meteor’s flight.
We should never lack the courage to overrun its
immensity.

HAIKU
~by Adrian Sima (Romania)~

I try to pull out
more light
as from a rubber meteor

ASTRONOMY
~Daniele Cossu (Italy)~

Astronomy is a great way of finding ourselves.
All the people in the world are sharing this
astonishing view on the Universe.
Wherever we are, whatever is happening to us.

To me, looking at the moon tonight,
and knowing that you in other countries are doing the
same,
has something of magic.

MEDITATION
~by Calin Niculae (Romania)~

We scrutinize the Universe
from different places:
back-yard, mountain, sea, hill…
We observe almost the same things.
The difference between results
is directly proportional
to the chosen location.

TO FEEL ASTRONOMY
(excerpt from a 2002 interview)
~by Kamil Zloczewski (Poland)~

… to feel that
astronomy is not only mathematics and physics…
it is the way of discovering yourself…
it is the fact to get information not only about the
stars…
but also about who we are around the stars…

HAIKU
~by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (Romania)~

fireball flying
beauty so speedy
useless telescope

CULTURAL BACKGROUND
(excerpt from a 1997 interview)
~by Nagatoshi Nogami (Japan)~

I am interested in historical notes, and sometimes
find old poems, sentences, or stories about meteors
and astronomy.
This cultural background could give people a strong
pedestal to observe astronomical phenomena…

ANSWERS
~by Tudorica Alexandru (Romania)~

Sometimes I like
to admire a far galaxy
that sent its photons
millions of years ago,
and to think of what it means…

I love astronomy because
I see answers for my questions there,
and not in other deluding places…

THINKING OF A COSMOPOETRY FESTIVAL
(excerpt from a 2001 letter)
~by David R. Keedy (U.K.)~

Although I have had several astropoems published over
the years, it seems strange to see my name in the gala
invitation for astropoetry…
I am more used to seeing my name connected to pure
astronomy!

HEAVENLY WAY
~by Dan Mitrut (Romania)~

The hurried river.
My whole life I’ve tried
to write by a weeping willow branch
almost a verse.

FINDING OTHER SKY JEWELS
~by Danut Ionescu (Romania / New Zealand)~

Emigrating to the south and halting for a while in Sri
Lanka, before looking for meteors at other latitudes,
I saw for the first time the Southern Cross and its
gems. I also saw Carina, Vela, the jewels of the
constellation Centaurus, and, absolutely
extraordinary, on a February morning, the
constellation Scorpio in another position, almost
perpendicular to the horizon line!

MEDITATION
~by Cristian Miala (Romania)~

Rise and set.
Ephemeral passing through the Universe.
Sand grain in life’s hourglass.
Meteor-Man.

HAPPINESS
~by Dominic Diamant (Romania)~

What parties! What delights! …
With stars and meteors vibrating
in sceneries of “white” nights!

~<II. METEORIC INTRODUCTION>~

2002 FEBRUARY 16TH
~by Dan Mitrut (Romania)~

About 17.00 (Universal Time). A –15 fireball.
Starting from under the Pleiades,
taking fire as a white-yellowish light
covering the moon’s sickle,
and breaking near Adromeda into red sparks…

I don’t know how a man can live such a wonder!

METEOR ASTRONOMY
(excerpt from a 1997 letter)
~by Jean Dragesco (Romania / France)

An useful activity,
realizable with the naked eye,
with little money,
but with much enthusiasm!

HAIKU
~by Gerald England (U.K.)~

promenade deck
I watch the Perseids
light the sky

FEELING
~by Elena Sorescu (Romania)~

loving the whole sky
I’d like to embrace
a meteor’s death…

CONFESSION
(excerpt from a 1997 letter)
~by Godfrey Baldacchino (Malta)~

I keep meteor astronomy as my treasured hoby...

HAIKU
~by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (Romania)~

lovely meteor
mixture of science and art
one sky friend show

METEOR CULTURE
(excerpt from a 1998 interview)
~by Daniel Ocenas (Slovakia)~

Not only work papers…
There must also be poetry, music, painting…
This is culture…
And culture must adorn meteor astronomy too!

OBSERVERS
~by Ionut Dumitrache (Romania)~

Constellations, calculations, measurements…
It’s a way to spend the night,
waiting for the shout of the meteor
that will wake us up.

STARTING RADIO METEOR OBSERVATIONS
(excerpt from a 2004 interview)
~by Cis Verbeck (Belgium)~

At first, someone built a radio receiver and an
antenna, and we put it on the roof of “Urania”
Observatory in Antwerp.
And we listened to meteors!

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
~by Jean Lorin Sterian (Romania)~

once
between two meteors
I heard real time

INTERNATIONAL METEOR CONFERENCE
(excerpts from a 1998 interview)
~by Manuel Solano Ruiz (Spain)~

very interesting lectures…
poster session…
original astro-art festival…

possibilities to know people of other countries,
to talk with meteor astronomers…
and to contribute to a world of friendship,
including more peace…

SHORT SPEECH AT IMC 2001
~by Juan Martin Semegone (Argentina)~

I always believed that meteor showers show two things:
meteors and very special people.
Now I realize that meteor showers show me three
things: meteors, very special people and great
artists.
If you don’t believe, try again!

METEOR SHOWER
~by Maria Nutu-Sima (Romania)~

Magnetic, the Earth
looking at the sky
in sound of fire

Golden censers
sinking whispery
and embodying words

FOR THE FUTURE
(excerpt from a 2003 interview)
~by Paul Roggemans (Belgium)~

I hope for the future that the Leonids we had for the
past few years inspire new people to join us… that the
Leonids wake up the spirit of meteor observing in the
hearts and minds of young people…

DEFINING A METEOR
~by Adrian Sima (Romania)~

If I’d define the flight
as a simple burning of a candle,
then two great, red-blue flames
would spring up on my back,
and I – a meteor flying from me to you
with strong heart beats.

Hello everybody!
I am the desert place in the air
where an invisible hand
writes nice words about birds.

If I’d define the flight
as a simple burning of a candle,
then the sky would be only smoke,
a strange and blue smoke.

~<III. COMMEMORATION: THE CELESTIAL STATE OF THE
ASTRONOMER-SHEPHERD VICTOR ANESTIN (1875-1918)>~
~by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (Romania)~
(Author’s note: The Romanian original rhymed version
was composed in 2003 to celebrate 85 years since
Victor Anestin’s death; the English version was
realized in 2005 to celebrate 130 years since Victor
Anestin’s birth; the hero of this poem edited the
first Romanian astronomical magazine, Orion, and was
the first organizer of meteor work in Romania.)

After he unified through astronomy
sad and beautiful Romania,
Victor Anestin still worked a little,
and jumped from a meteor
to a meteoroid.

Penetrating the void,
he halted a little
on the Moon and planets
(“They are too coquettish!”),
rode some comets
(“They are good horses!”),
and cut some solar prominences
(“They are too long!”)

Preparing various astral reports,
today he uses to walk in the deep sky.

But he also jumps
from M81 (a galaxy in Ursa Major)
directly to our Sun.
He jumps
from M31 (a galaxy in Andromeda)
to the star Albireo, in Cygnus.
(“Galaxy, galaxy,
when I see you, I feel
I see thousands of great things!”)

He jumps from the Omega Nebula
to the star Vega.
He jumps from the Horsehead Nebula
directly above his native town.
(“Nebula, nebula,
when I see you,
I feel home!”)

He jumps
from the double cluster of Perseus
just into my head.
(“Open cluster, open cluster,
I always see you in my dreams!
Globular cluster, globular cluster,
when I see you,
I eat embers!”)

He likes to relax in Orion’s palace,
near some proud stars.

He offers gifts to Saiph and Rigel,
sings a “doina” (Romanian tragic song)
to Mintaka,
performs “hora” and “hategana”
(Romanian traditional dances)
with Betelgeuse and Bellatrix,
and play “oina” (Romanian millenary game,
very similar to American base-ball)
with Orionid meteors.

Dear Sir, or Mr. Anestin,
or Victor my friend, or Vic boy!
You cannot hide your real identity!
You must be the legendary shepherd
of the Romanian national myth-ballad Miorita,
who compares his own death
with a cosmic wedding party!
And your bride is…
Astronomy!!!

~<IV. METEOR POEMS>~

METEOROIDS
~by Michaela Al. Orescu (Romania)~

far from the sun
pilgrims on ellipse
together

METEORS
~by Giovanni Malito (1957-2003, Canada / Ireland;
a tribute to his memory at
http://www.nhi.clara.net/z106.htm)~

other worlds
lost and burning
in our stratosphere

METEORITES
~by Tina Visarian (Romania)~

falling on Earth
and looking for rich masters
or tombs in museums

TO A METEOR OBSERVER
~by Dimitrie Olenici (Romania)~

Dear friend:
I wish you

(for when the sky is opened
by the Quadrantids in winter,
by the Aquarids in spring,
by the Perseids in summer,
or by the Leonids in autumn,
and is full of meteors
like a field of flowers)

many splendid fireballs
of honey
and the Great Chariot full
of money.

TO A METEOR POET
~by Bogdan Ioana (Romania / Canada)~

My dear friend, fat like a fireball:

There is no astronomic emanation
to escape from your poetic caress…
Much paper suffers under
the weight of your writings…
Even the Grand Canyon is excited!

I wish you
to be alive with inspiration
like a volcano with magma,
and stars to line up with
your bewitched pencil…

And you… to touch any meteor shower
that we may be indirectly represented
up there
through the volume displaced by
Your Largeness!

TO A STARRY ACCOUNTANT
~by Doina Gheorghe (Romania)~

There was a crazy accountant
Who dreamt he is a fireball
Recording in accounting
The stars of his astral hall.

BAD LUCK FOR LYRIDS 2003
~by Alina Istrate (Romania)~

My two clocks stopped…
a pencil broke,
and the other one refused to write…
the country side street
became a highway for dogs…
cocks accompanied me in the night…
and a bird wished to be considered
a fireball…

CYGNUS
~by Iulian Olaru (Romania)~

the cross in the west
accompanying seasons
with rains of stars

FAILED COMPARISON
~by Catalin Paduraru (Romania)~

One night (2003, July 3rd)
I watched some lightning.
Suddenly, at about 20.30 U.T.,
a light appeared in SE
at 15-20 degrees above the horizon.
It grew, and grew, and grew…

At first I thought it was an Iridium,
but it changed its colour to greenish-white,
becoming red after 20 degrees,
and lasted 3 seconds,
so I understood it was a fireball.

I wished to compare its magnitude
with Arcturus,
but, looking at the constellation Bootes again,
I was amazed how pale
that famous star was.

ECOLOGICAL
~by Ion Moraru (Romania)~

Up there, stars…
Down, mirrored stars…
Destructive tourist boats
in the delta waters.

Vulgar fireworks
in the night’s greatness
are not joyous meteors

SUMMER 1998
~by Ana Bankovic (Serbia and Montenegro)~

The weather was at our service, so our complete meteor
group was at the standard site of Debelo Brdo (Fat
Hill). We were observing Summer Aquarids, Alpha
Capricornids, Kappa Cygnids and even Perseids,
although it was Full Moon.
That whole land, in the Mountains of Valjevo, is very
beautiful. The days were sunny, so we could walk all
the time, hiking and climbing the highest tops, and
after such interesting activities, we observed the sky
every night.
The sky full of stars gave us inspiration not only for
observing meteors, but also for imagining fantastic
stories…

LIKE A LIVING METEOR
~by Adrian Sima (Romania)~

the chain around the ankle
makes me ask about the end of
the time of abandon
and the beginning of
liberation from the sword fall
like a living meteor

because
I don’t know what flight
is free to arrive here
so close to the heart
of silica and burnt iron
pulsating this collective blood
like a warm river of
bones, hands, feet, and flesh with hopes…

to arrive here
in this riverbed shaded as a sphere
with stones on it

THREE PERSEID HAIKU
~by Gerald England (U.K.)~

*
through the Milky Way
the tears of St. Lawrence
streak

*
a dusty filament
drifts across Earth’s orbit
raining light

*
boiled off comet
thousands of years ago-
august fireworks

DISSIPATED SCENERY
~by Miruna Muresanu (Romania)~

when the night’s breath is in a hurry
precipices of the light
measures in our clay bodies
the illusion of a wild view

DIALOGUES WITH MY NOBODY
~by Dan Mitrut (Romania)~

Various torches rise
We don’t know all their senses
The sap of a whistle
Affectionately translates the light.

Crucified in the grass
Caught in the dew
I kiss their day steps
And listen to their flowing
Which sings in my riven heart.

I see the open sky
The Astral Holy Woman of Sunday
Bewitches nature.

Some Perseid meteors talk to the wheat
About the bread yeasted
For the silent stars.

METEOR IMAGES FROM MY POEMS COMPOSED IN COMMUNIST
POLITICAL PRISONS (2) –
1957, GALATI. (METEOR SHOWER)
~by Constantin Dumitrescu-Cunctator (Romania)~

Like some hard tears,
Thousands of stars falling
>From the heavenly chandelier…

REMEMBERING THE “PERSEIDS 2004” CAMP, DARMANESTI,
ROMANIA
~by Klaus Lowitz (Romania / Germany)

Walking on the hills full of sweet perfume,
disturbing (without any intention)
butterflies and insects from their usual life,
talking with the peasants,
warming in the morning sun,
sitting in the tree’s shadow
and looking at the scenery,
admiring the clouds changing all the time,
studying the starry sky,
talking of astronomical themes
(someone fell in love with my oculars)…

HUNCHBACKUS FIREBALLUS
~by Vlad Dumitrescu (Romania)~

Did you see a –6 fireball
in 2004, August 13th, 02:26 UT,
which started from under the Eagle
arriving 3-4 degrees under Hercules?

It was mauve-bluish
and had an outburst
at the middle of its trajectory.

It shouted to a friend of mine
just turned to another direction
and suddenly seeing
his own car in the light.

PERSEIDS 2004 IN FLORIDA
~by Emily Gaskin (U.S.A.)~

I have bad luck with the Perseids.
I did not imagine that this year the curse would
manifest itself as a hurricane!

(You might think it strange, but we Floridians have a
festive attitude towards hurricanes. It is often hard
to make us evacuate. We prepare, yes, and we do not
mock their power, but we also have “hurricane
parties”, and celebrate their wild energy and our own
defiant strength. Afterwards, we tour the ruins of our
jungle and help each other clean up and rebuild.)

I can smile though.
I may not have gotten to see the meteor shower, but at
least I did not lose my roof – though perhaps if I
had, I would always have a good view of the sky.

SUBSTITUTE
~by Emanuela Ignatoiu-Sora (Romania)~

The Moon knows us:
when it flies
through the silent waters of dawn,
it moves our thoughts
through spaces
and returns them to us
with the voice of a fireball.

DESTINIES
(to the IMO vice-president)
~by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (Romania)~

another comet
(its discoverers Giacobini and Zinner)

the constellation Draco
Terra’s revolution
a night in October
the Draconid meteor shower

and an earthly wish:

“Happy Birthday, Alastair McBeath,
researcher in dragonlore
and meteor astronomer!”

TRYING
~by Oana Diaconu (Romania)~

I don’t know what happened
I just read some poems
after that I looked at the sky
for a few minutes
and here is the result

“the moon is hidden
stars are watching
meteors…”

AROUND ORIONIDS 2004
~by Eduard Breaban (Romania)~

Going unhappily to my high school,
I use to make sweet my mornings
by watching Venus
and the constellations still visible.

But today I saw a superb meteor of –2.
For the first time, I was glad that
I begin classes so early!

BIRTH
~by Nancy Bennett (Canada)~

Soft shell wind wisp
kiss the atmospheric cone
with flamed tongue
entrance the shifting world beneath
with your sizzle, soft whispers.

Sphere trace the shell with the lover’s/devil’s eye
pass past the pleasure barrier
impregnate the planet womb
race your rock sperm through her corridors
collide with her census.

Here in the darkest of darkest night
while he count our chickens, hatched and unborn
hot waves, cold clouds rolling in
last breath from a meteor lover.

~(first published in Star*Line)~

COMPARISON
~by Andrei Tampau (Romania)~

love is like a meteor
at first taking fire
after that putting out its light
and finally hiding

OBSERVATIONALS
~by Costin Oproiu (Romania)~

*(family)

I have two fellows
for my astral observations:
my daughter (8 years old)
enthusiastically helping me
and a dog (4 years old)
the same enthusiasm
in observing cats…

*(lunar eclipse)

Under a dark red moon,
stepping upon a forerunning dream,
I’m not sure it is wrong,
I’m not sure I am right,
I’m just following a lonely beam.

*(inspired by a small november meteor
passing from deneb to zeta cygni)

Meteor,
flying through the stars’ altar
for me to measure you…

Meteor,
after I noted you,
don’t you feel
easier and cleaner?…

LEONIDS 1998
~by Valentin Grigore (Romania)~

image a snowfall
in which the flakes are replaced
by fireballs…

AT THE EDGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
~by Arnold Leinweber (Romania)~

Pluto watches, a bitter guardian,
and is well tamed.
If a meteorite pricks him,
he immediately barks.

LEONIDS
~by Lucian Boboc (Romania)~

Crying arrows
thrown by the Lion,
and mild beams
surrounding his being…
Prophylaxis against Time.

LUNAR METEORITES
~by Diana Maria Ogescu (Romania)~

living on the dark side of the moon
I’ve remarked
the sad smell of the burnt days

GEMINID HAIKUS
~by Dominic Diamant (Romania)~

*
immortal and young
descendants of Zeus
geminids

*
two brothers facing out
always the darkness through
geminids

*
brotherly vow
lightening the firmament
geminids

~<V. ALTERNATIVE METHODS FOR OBSERVATIONS OF METEOR
SHOWERS>~
~a humorous cycle by Svilen Stavrev (Bulgaria)~

*
Every meteor observer has met the big problem: during
the maximum of a meteor shower the sky is covered with
clouds. In such a situation, all standard methods of
observation are useless.
That’s why a creative team under the code name USD
(United Serious Drinkers) invented special instruments
for such conditions, which can be used with a 90% to
100 % cloudy sky.
The first instrument is called Trinokyl (or “special
trinocular”). It consists of 3 main parts, comprising
3 full beer bottles taped together in a triangle. At
the beginning of the expedition, it is necessary for
one of the bottles to be opened. Otherwise the
observer can be blinded because of too little
adaptation. The observer sets the two totally closed
bottle-eyepieces in front of his eyes, meanwhile
consuming the contents of the opened third bottle till
it’s empty. Then a 120-degree rotation of the Trynokyl
follows, and the whole procedure repeated again.

*
A modified pattern has been invented too. It has
changeable elements – the “VARIO” type – where the
observational field ranges from 4-5 to 40-50 degrees
according to Smirnoff’s vodka scale.

*
The observations with this tool are absolutely
individual and they demand a large number of observers
in order to make better statistics.

~translated and presented at IMC 1997 by Vladimir
Arnaudov, Galin Genchev and Ivan Gradinarov from
Astroclub “Canopus” – Varna (Bulgaria)~

~<VI. REMEMBERING SOME PERSONALITIES>~

MOTHER GAUSS’ EYES
(or an old story of the planet which today is the
reference point for estimating fireball magnitudes)
~by Zigmund Tauberg (Romania)~

Wishing to amaze his dear mother,
Karl Friedrich Gauss decided to show her
Venus’ phases through the lunette.

But, looking through the instrument
at Venus’ sickle,
she asks him:
“Why do I see the sickle overturned?”

Dumb with astonishment, Gauss
understands that his mother’s naked gaze
can discern even Venus’ phases.

“The lunette receives beams,
but why does it invert them?”
she asks him more.

And Gauss’ conclusion:
“My mother’s eyes seem to fly!
My, my!”

RE: A HEAVENLY MILLENIUM!
~by Ilan Manulis (Israel)~

In 2000 November I hosted here in Israel the renowned
amateur astronomer David Levy, the discoverer of 21
comets (some of them with others) and the
co-discoverer of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which crashed
into Jupiter in 1994.
It was very enjoyable to escort him and his wife
around Israel. On the top of the Masada historical
site, at 22.00 on one of the nights, they gave me a
unique, once in a lifetime present – a citation by the
International Astronomical Union announcing that an
asteroid, discovered in 1994 (it is supposed to be
between 6 and 14 km in size, in the main belt) by the
Shoemakers and David Levy, was named after me.
At first I almost fainted with excitement… It was
given to me in appreciation of my long work in the
field of NEOs in Israel.

So, now there is an asteroid (13615) Manulis
somewhere…

SKY PASSION
~by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (Romania)~

The Romanian admiral Vasile Urseanu
was a great sky lover.
(Oh, those magnificent nights on the sea!)
After his retirement, he built in 1908-1910
an astronomical observatory in Bucharest,
with the form of a yacht,
in memory of his wonderful times.

I think I’ll follow his example of passion,
but on my way and after my powers.
So, I’ll imprint a celestial map
upon my blanket,
in which I’ll also weave some fireballs.
Thus, I’ll sleep every night
covered by the starry sky!

~<VII. PERSEIDS 2000 IN AURORA BOREALIS>~
(poetical adaptation from a report)
~by Ovidiu Vaduvescu (Romania / Canada)~

(MOTTO:

THE PAST MAY BE A FOREIGN COUNTRY, BUT THINGS WERE
STILL THE SAME THERE

Long ago, in a far-off land, a holy man had a
vision...

"While I was staying in Carignan, I twice during the
night saw portents in the sky. These were rays of
light towards the north, shining so brightly that I
had never seen anything like them before: the clouds
were blood-red on both sides, to the east and to the
west. On a third night these rays appeared again, at
about seven or eight o'clock. As I gazed in wonder at
them, others like them began to shine from all four
quarters of the earth, so that as I watched they
filled the entire sky. A cloud gleamed bright in the
middle of the heavens, and these rays were all focused
on it, as if it were a pavilion, the coloured stripes
of which were broad at the bottom but became narrower
as they rose, meeting in a hood at the top. In between
the rays of light there were other clouds flashing
vividly as if they were being struck by lightning.
This extraordinary phenomenon filled me with
foreboding, for it was clear that some disaster was
about to be sent from heaven." - Gregory of Tours,
'The History of the Franks', VIII.17 - translated by
Lewis Thorpe, Penguin Books, 1974, p.449), for 585 AD.
Carignan is in north-east France, in the southern
Ardennes.)

*
2000, August 4-12…
I observed the Perseids in Windermere, Muskoka,
Ontario, Canada, 250 km north from Toronto, in a
village not too populous, or lit up. On a few clear
nights I made observations near or in Junky (my
capricious car), a good refuge against the mosquitoes
or the forest creatures.
(My wife Simona, Junky and I have invented a new
method: “observe through”- inspired from the “drive
through” of McDonald’s-, with Junky oriented to the
radiant!)

*
Even the first night (August 4/5) gave us a
transparent sky, when, after moonset, the limiting
magnitude was 6.5. The Milky Way was like in the
mountains, and the non-starry objects in Sagittarius
could be clearly seen with the naked eye.
Much above the sad magnitude of 4, visible in town…

*
On the same night, at 23:20 (August 5, 3:20 UT), I saw
the most beautiful fireball in my life: -7 magnitude,
120 degrees long (!!!), yellowish-white, with a short
train (about 2 seconds) and a brightness almost
constant (without outbursts), crossing the entire sky
in about 5 seconds, from east to west, from Cassiopeia
to Libra!

*
On the night of the Perseid maximum (August 11/12), I
began to watch the sky show at 10 o’clock (2 UT). In 6
effective hours of observations I counted, noted or
photographed over 60 meteors, with generally short
paths (about 30 degrees), most of them falling towards
the horizon (especially near morning), with luminous
“heads”, well defined, much bigger than the rest of
their trajectories.
At about 23:00 (3 UT), the aurora stood out to the
north through some grey beams of light.

*
I was awake again at 3 o’clock (7 UT), after 2 hours
in which I waited for moonset by sleeping in Junky.
The sky seemed to be covered by a few white clouds,
and I thought that the Moon still was up there,
brightening them. Out of Junky, I looked for the Moon,
but it had disappeared.
That immense curtain of light was the boreal aurora!

*
The aurora’s light covered more than half the sky,
from the north to the west and east, and also beyond
the zenith, where it was menacingly and quickly
curving its own beams, pulsating with an amazing
speed.
I was so impressed by those giant beams, climbing and
disappearing so quickly in the sky, that I was afraid
they could lift Junky and me!

*
At about 4:00 (8 UT), the aurora covered the whole sky
(becoming visible to the south too), giving it a –8
total magnitude, almost like the Moon’s brightness
before!
To the zenith, in a zone of about 60 degrees around
it, filling the depth of canopy with a veil of light,
the aurora’s beams were frenetically dancing!

*
My last vacation and the Perseid maximum night offered
me that fascinating show named aurora, and I still
continue to be amazed and to ask myself if the people
have disturbed something up in the atmosphere, some
equilibrium…

~<VIII. FROM METEORS TO GEOCENTRISM>~
~a spontaneous humorous moment created by Arnold
Tukkers (Holland) and Gelu-Claudiu Radu (Romania)~

Place of action: Hotel “Copernicus”, Frombork, Poland,
September 2002, during the International Meteor
Conference, after Gelu-Claudiu Radu presented his work
paper “Knowledge of Meteors by Romanian Teenagers”.

Gelu-Claudiu Radu (ending):
…We made this investigation to find out how much the
Romanian teenagers knew about meteors, and how we
could help them to understand more.

Arnold Tukkers:
Maybe you should ask teachers the same questions.

Conference participants:
…?

Arnold Tukkers:
I shall tell you why. Once in Australia, for example,
teachers from primary schools were asked to make a
drawing of the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon. 90% drew
the Sun orbiting the Earth, not the other way round…

Conference participants:
Ooo…!

Gelu-Claudiu Radu (joking):
Maybe in Australia the Sun really orbits the Earth…

Conference participants:
Ha-ha-ha…!

~<IX. COMET MACHHOLZ’S METEORICS>~

COMET MANCHHOLZ TANKA
~by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (Romania)~

* (universal vision)

galactic spiral
billions of suns
and a comet losing meteoroids
in a branch of the void…
inferior level

* (earthly vision)

2005 January 7/8
Comet Machholz near the Pleiades
sky photo-models
and their fashion show…
superior level

2005 JANUARY 7-9. O, TEMPORA!
~by Valentin Grigore (Romania)~

Comet Machholz near the Pleiades-
a Christmas gift
on the Julian calendar

COMET MACHHOLZ’S GREAT NIGHT
~by Ioan Agavriloaiei (Romania)~

I saw:
10 Messier objects (through my binocular),
COMET MACHHOLZ (3.8 magnitude)
near the Pleiades,
and a –3 violet fireball (40 degrees),
which fragmented a little
passing through Cassiopeia – Perseus…

Nobody should miss such a bright COMET!

COMET MACHHOLZ HAIKU
~by Arlene Carol Brill (Turkey)~

Hark! The stranger comes
A bright smudge of cosmic dust
Is your name Machholz?

Cassiopeia!
Arise from your slumbers to see
Who comes from afar.

Can this really be
Your dear lover swift and true?
Lady Cass Awake!

So brief the embrace
Lovers must release and part-
Adieu sweet prince Mach.

LOOKING AT COMET MACHHOLZ
~by Gabriel Ivanescu (Romania)~

To access more meteors,
I would transform myself
into a planet
intersecting
a comet’s story…

~<X. HUMOROUS TELESCOPIC COMMISSION>~

IN BACAU
~by Dan Mitrut (Romania)~

Walking on a peripheral street in my town
with a shouldered lunette …
“Are you a hunter?”-
a man asked me innocently.
“No! Why?”-
I replied. (What fun!)
“I thought you carried a shot-gun!”

IN BUCHAREST
~by Alexandru Conu (Romania)~

“Can I drink from your water pump, please?”-
someone asked me in a park,
looking covetously at my telescope.

IN TIMISOARA
~by Laurentiu Alimpie (Romania)~

My usual place for observations:
a dark park among the blocks of flats.
It’s harder with some neighborhoods
thinking if there is someone
who wants to steal their cars,
but becoming quiet seeing just a strange man
watching the stars
through a 200 mm “cannon”…

~<XI. NOVA AND METEOR>~

NOVA AND METEOR
~by Victor Chifelea (Romania)~

A cosmic scapegrace,
very gambolling in its wandering…
He saw she is buxom and blushed.
He would give her some flowers.

Useless, of course, because Nova
is now interested in her own metamorphosis,
not in microorganisms of the galaxy.

But daring Meteor insists,
and she decides to reply:
“Your choice is strange, my dear,
I’m terribly old, my heart should break…”

“I’d like to be one with you,”
the little lover says,
“unveil me,
and from your last sigh
I’ll be the first neutron.”

THE SUPERNOVA’S TRAGEDY
~by Radu Macovei (Romania)~

your explosion
so many light years
we didn’t observe you

NECESSITY
~by Felicia Manea (Romania)~

eat
going to nova
you, mind

SUPERNOVA 1054 AND THE OLD MOLDAVIAN SHIELD
(poetic adaptation from a 1998 article)
~by Virgil V. Scurtu (Romania)~

-In 1054, July 5th, a supernova outburst in the
constellation Taurus, touching –7 magnitude, visible
almost all that month in the daylight, and drawn by
the Navajo Indians on the stones of the Chaco canyon
in New Mexico. After it, a relict remained as the Crab
Nebula, discovered in 1731 by John Bevis.
-In 1781, Charles Messier put this object at the first
position in his catalogue, as M1.
-In the meantime, in the XIVth century, the first
images of the shield of Moldavia (a medieval state
which is divided today between Romania and the
Moldavian Republic) show a star (I say it is the 1054
supernova, even if usually people say it is the planet
Venus) between the horns of a bullhead, a sickle moon
to the right of the bull’s muzzle (just as the 1054
phenomenon), and a few stars (the Pleiades, replaced
later by the Sun) to the left of the bull’s muzzle.

*
Many times I laughed at my numerous troubles.
I didn’t want to explode like a “supernova” because of
the forces accumulated in my “meteoric” life.
But going to the people’s symbols, the situation
becomes serious…

TWINKLE, TWINKLE
~by John Francis Haines (U.K)~

A beetle scurries
Beneath the stars unaware
Of wars between them.

NOVA
~by Stefan Berinde (Romania)~

A new star appearing in the sky,
its light coming to me,
surrounding me through its beams,
giving me feelings of beauty, peace, silence,
and calling me into the Universe…

I feel like a magic, happy fireball
floating to that guiding point,
and, with this sensation,
hoping the new star is not a dream,
but a creation!

FINAL DÉCOR
~by Marius Istrate (Romania)~

I’ve taken the pulse of the quanta
The nova’s heart absorbs the sky’s soul
And exhales light

Beams hitting one another
Sighing for feelings of birth and death
Need of void

In the nape of the light flow
The blast of the previous brightness
Wakes up the star’s remembrance

If we could read in the hearts of the beams
We would know that our dreams
Are already closed

COSMIC ENVY
~by Gelu-Claudiu Radu (Romania)~

like a meteor
hitting by its own tail
a conceited nova

SOL GOES NOVA
~by Steve Sneyd (U.K.)~

alien world, in
whose skies it outshines all, sent
probe to watch outswell
gulp Earth down, no sensors spare
to note last meteor fall

OPTION
~by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (Romania)~

*
meteors burning,
little and great phenomena,
nova exploding…

*
A nova is a starry top,
the greatest cosmic firework,
a way of universal regeneration,
a fascinating décor…

But if you really love the sky,
don’t have a telescope
and want to feel much more,

then you can see a nova
in every meteor!

~<XII. HOME AGAIN, UNDER THE CLEAR SKY>~
~a cycle by Valentin Grigore (Romania)~

*
It’s spring, and everything around me seems to come
from those dream nights of my childhood, when I looked
at the canopy of heaven, which overflew me through a
greatness of simplicity, through the pure creation
unaltered by man. Times when the souls were clean and
free to fly towards immensity, and the stars seemed to
be diamonds of light with sparkles coming to us
through the open gates of the sky.

*
But today… the stars seem to be rather timid eyes
shedding tears of pain towards the Earth because of
the people’s indifference for the sky things. Even the
sublime song of the nightingale seems to be
transformed from an ode of joy into a desperate
prayer, and the easy rustle of the wind, carrying the
perfume of flowers, has become a painful remembrance
of lost purity.

*
“Fellow, did you lose your mind? Don’t you see? There
are just the stars of the constellation X and the
meteors of the radiant Y. And the nightingale… What
kind of prayer? Are you crazy? It’s just a sound made
following the bird’s instincts. And my nose doesn’t
feel anything in this damned wind, which disturbs my
telescope!”

*
However, I cannot stop looking at the sky like in my
childhood!

~<XIII. OTHER RELATED OR SPECIAL ASTROPOEMS>~

HAIKU
~by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (Romania)~

summer solstice;
soon, more darkness
for the stars’ light

COSMIC PERFORMANCE
~by Dominic Diamant (Romania)~

Do you know
about eating a parallaxes
larded by wings of light?

Do you know
about drinking a cometary cocktail
scattered by astral essences?

Do you know
about conquering quickly and brightly
the worlds of a galaxy?

If you don’t know anything
about these things
and just gossip,
then leave me free
with my cosmic performance…

and we’ll see!

INESCAPABLE LOVE – BINARY PULSAR
~by Steve Sneyd (U.K.)~

circle each other
couple forever shouting
louder than whole rest
of galaxy city all
pretending to ignore row

OUT OF COSMOS
~by Dan Mitrut (Romania)~

“How is the Cosmos?”- asked the teacher.

A forest of childish hands: “… Me, me, me!”
“In the Cosmos, the Earth is flat in the center; the
Sun, Moon, planets, comets and stars spin round it.”
“No! The Sun is in the center, the Earth is concave
and we live on it. There are other worlds underground,
and sometimes they contact us.”
“No! The Earth is the 3rd planet from the Sun, and the
solar system belongs to a galaxy named the Milky Way.
There are uncountable galaxies, and the Cosmos was
born from a primordial explosion named the Big Bang.”
“No! The Cosmos was created by God!”
“No! God doesn’t exist!”

“Silence, please! John!”

A boy looked through the window at the sunbeams
playing with the tree branches full of yellow and red
leaves. Many falling leaves, because of the stars that
had snowed so much light…

“John, you are not attentive! How is the Cosmos?”

The Sun’s fingers caressed the windows, calling the
boy outside. (“Take it easy, please! They could
observe us!”)

“Shame of you, John! You don’t know such a simple
thing!”

THE SURFACE OF MARS
~by John Francis Haines (U.K.)

The word “desolate”
Might have been newly minted
Just to describe it.

CORIDA
~by Arnold Leinweber (Romania)~

Sailing in the zodiac,
the Sun wanted a corida
with the comets of Taurus.

But the Bull constellation said:
“What a temptation!
The toreador will have some problems
with me…”

DIRECTIONS
~by Larry Jaffe (U.S.A.)~

Take a poet, claiming to have an uncanny sense of
direction. He swears by it. Put him in any city, he
declares he will find his way around and not get lost.
Confidence gets him into trouble, but it does lead to
an interesting life.
But do not put him in the country on one of those
backward roads miles from nowhere with only the stars
as guides. Watch his genius wither when beckoned by
celestial skies. Now tell him to find his way around.
He will plead insanity, carp at the moon about lack of
landmarks, never realizing that the midnight ink he
sees is nothing more than canvas, a Pollack-like
painting, nuclear radiation posing as paint. His feet
rooted to the spot his body making half turns to due
north without once suspecting his internal compass was
just as accurate here.
-His heart beating so rapidly you could never capture
it.

SURPRISES
~by Adrian Sima (Romania)~

Too many nuances like cloth,
coloured cloth rows
spread all over the strings of gravity
that keeps close the worlds…

Tops of clothes
spread among the meteors,
among the comets,
among the stars,
among the supernovae,
among the nebulae,
strange coloured cloth
transforming the Universe
into a bazaar.

I protested to the chiefs
on the galactic décor,
and they told me that
the Universe renews-
a great surprise
for us.

SNAPSHOT OF THE SILVER RIVER
~by Srinjay Chakravarti (India)~

Moonless landscape,
complementary colours
in photographic negative.
Trees and rocks
blend with still, heavy air,
while the river deepens
the silence as it mints
its coins of tinkling water.

Soaked in starlight
(or silver bromide?)
contours develop
blacks and lustrous greys
on acetate film

in the darkroom
of one a.m.

2003 NOVEMBER 9TH. TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE
~by Diana Georgescu-Mitrut (Romania)~

Sent as a messenger,
The blue giant sneaks in the night.
Nobody knows him…
Perhaps only the space wind
And a few meteor-angels.

“Lightened Lady,
I bend myself and dare to shadow
Your silver face
With news from your former lover.
He is burning, hating those who lied
That both of you have the same blood.”

Lady Moon grows pale, crying
Because the Sun didn’t forget her.

And her stellar friends, set alight by the night,
Caress her yellow tresses.

~<XIV. THE CONDEMNED ORBIT>~
~a fantastic cycle by Dan Mitrut (Romania)~

(REMEMBRANCE I)

I remember my grandmother; she used the falling stars
for magic, and found the sky windows open after the
Moon’s going threw the dew.

(REMEMBRANCE II)

My grandmother also prolonged the falling stars’
burning through water of roses and pips of apples.
When they were close to setting the garden on fire,
she cut their wild tails: the light, on a side, the
dust, on the other…

(REMEMBRANCE III)

I carried living dust of stars in my palms.
The light filled the gap of my steps, following me.

“You are a son of the sky”, said my mother to me, and
I felt the breeze of a wind come from other worlds in
my blood, accompanying me in sleep, play, sweetness,
sadness…

(THE DREAM LIGHTNING)

Later, I asked about my mother, anticipating her
caress of a young comet.
And in the evening, when I scattered grains of corn to
the astral Swan, my grandmother encouraged me:
“Some day you will ask for her time!”

I didn’t understand, and she secretly shed tears,
sipping the abyss of innocence from my eyes.

(MEETING)

The dawn revived, like a daily flower. On my face,
warm rivers.
My mother rose somewhere in Cassiopeia.
My temples were lunar mountains, my palms were Martian
rocks.

I called her. The tail of a shooting star tenderly
bent to me, overflowing my being.

I think I was not a common earthling, my shape was
borrowed from meditation.

We were separated by the Water of Saturday, and she
couldn’t pass over it, to life or to death.

(THE CLOSED SKY)

I don’t know why my grandmother left. My heart has
remained pierced by solar spots.
My grandmother was afraid I could take her out of my
ribs, throwing her to the heights as manna for the
galaxy’s orphans.
Now I have another gap inside me. I know and just
float anaesthetized by the morphine of helplessness.
I travel without any target, watching the light that
had conceived me abandoned.

(EPILOGUE)

These are boring times, and pushing the buttons of the
tele-command tires me.
Tomorrow I’ll be dismissed by a rotten patron.
My child gives me a book about the Cosmos. His frail
finger, like a punctuation sign, stops on a nicely
drawn comet. I don’t know what I could say…

Pain and magic-
they will never stay together again.

***
The copyright of the poems belongs to the authors and
IMO.
All the English translations from the Romanian were
made by
Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
( http://www.adg2005.go.ro/index.html )
and Alastair McBeath.


*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
Valentin Grigore
President of SARM
(Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy)
CP 14, OP 1, Targoviste, RO-130170, Dambovita, ROMANIA
phone: +40 245 213851, +40 0722829034 (gsm)
e-mail: sarm at romwest.ro, vali_sarm at yahoo.com
*******************************************************



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