Astronomy 101

Schlub is a reader of the science publication Astronomy, more from a “it’s good to have been here” perspective than anything. I’m clueless about the math, the physics baffle me, and I couldn’t tell a quark from a boson, but they have pretty pictures and star charts. Afterwards, we’ll get ice cream.

The mag tends, though, to the smug, especially when regarding the non-astrophysicist community. F’rinstance, the lead article this month was “What Happens When we Detect Alien Life?” (a rather slob-appeal title, IMHO. Mayhaps hoping for a few off-the-rack sales?). The whole thing was rather giggly over the concept, and you could just see the writers smacking knuckles together in gleeful anticipation of what such an event would do to all those slope-headed fundamentalist Christians out there.

But I can’t help wondering what their reaction would be if the first message we get from Mars is, “Have you heard the word of God today?”

Now, that would be fun.