The Astro Alphabet
Every letter holds a special story for those who marvel at the Universe.
“When I was having that alphabet soup, I never thought that it would pay off.” –Vanna White
Ever want an A-to-Z illustrated alphabet of some of the astronomical wonders of the Universe? Turns out that — unless you’re willing to write your own via Galaxy Zoo — there really isn’t a good way to get one.
So I thought it would be delightful to make a 26-letter journey through the Universe, in rhyming couplets, for everyone!
A is for Aurora, the Earth’s polar lights,
as the Sun’s hot electrons help color our nights.
B is for Black Hole, a star’s collapsed heart,
if you cross its horizon, you’ll never depart.
C is for Comet, with tails, ice, and dust,
a trip near the Sun makes skywatching a must!
D is for Dark Matter, the great cosmic glue
that holds clusters together, but not me and you!
E is for Eclipse, where the Moon, Earth and Sun
cast light-blocking shadows that can’t be outrun.
F is for Fusion, that powers the stars,
as nuclei join, their released light is ours!
G is for Galaxies, in groups and alone,
house billions of planets with lifeforms unknown.
H is for Hubble, for whom Earth’s no place;
a telescope like this belongs up in space.
I is for Ions, making nebulae glow;
as they find electrons, we capture the show.
J is for Jets, from a galaxy’s core,
if you feed them right, they’ll be active once more!
K is for Kepler, whose great laws of motion
keep planets on course in the great cosmic ocean.
L is for Libration, which makes our Moon rock,
it’s a trick of the orbit; it’s tidally locked!
M is for Meteors, which come in a shower,
if skies are just right, you’ll see hundreds an hour!
N is for Nebula, what forms when stars die,
this recycled fuel makes cosmic apple pie.
O is for Opaque, why the Milky Way’s dark,
these cosmic dust lanes make starlight appear stark!
P is for Pulsar, a spinning neutron star,
as the orbits tick by, we know just when we are.
Q is for Quasar, a great radio source,
accelerating matter with little remorse.
R is for Rings, all gas giants possess them,
even one found in another sun’s system!
S is for Spacetime, which curves due to matter,
this Universe-fabric can bend but won’t shatter!
T is for Tides, caused by gravity’s tune,
our oceans bulge out from the Sun and the Moon.
U is the Universe, our goal’s understanding,
with billions of galaxies, as spacetime’s expanding!
V is for Virgo, our nearest great cluster,
with thousands of galaxies, it’s a gut-buster!
W is for Wavelength, the energies of light,
that tell us what atoms are in stars just from sight!
X is for X-rays, high-energy light,
where bursts of new stars show an ionized might.
Y is the Year, where we orbit our Sun,
each planet’s is different; the Earth’s is just one.
Z is for Zenith, so gaze up at the sky!
The Universe is here; let’s learn what, how and why.
Thanks for sharing this unique run through the alphabet with me. If you enjoyed it, leave a comment at the Starts With A Bang forum on Scienceblogs!
