More Things in Heaven and Earth: Poets and Astronomers Read the Night Sky

Amateur Astronomer David Levy is best known as co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which crashed into the planet Jupiter in 1994. However, David is not only an avid amateur astronomer, but a student of English Literature and History as well. His recently published book, "More Things in Heaven and Earth," takes it's title from a quote in Shakespeare, in which Hamlet says to Horatio, "There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy ."Although David is known as a comet hunter, he stresses that astronomy is not just the study of heavenly bodies, but actually the "study of everything." For the science of astronomy embraces physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology, just to name a few scientific disciplines. But just as poetry is not just for poets, he says, astronomy is not just for astronomers. It is for everyone. As amateur astronomers, and poets, we are entitled to enjoy the beauty of the universe, just as scientists are entitled to describe it in scientific terms.Poets are often astronomers, and astronomers are often poets. David's book shows the inter-relationship of scientists who made great astronomical discoveries: Tycho Brahe, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton, with the great poets who wrote about the spiritual and emotional impact of astronomy, people like Robert Frost, Henry David Thoreau, Fances Bacon, Alfred Lord Tenneyson, and Gerard Manley Hopkins.In his free flowing text, David has selected some of the best examples of astronomical poetry in the English Language, and assembled and described them in an attractively laid out book. Illustrations include not only astronomical photos of comets and other objects taken by David himself, but historical photos of both astronomers and poets. There is even a color section in the front of the book which includes some of the more spectacular images from the Hubble Space Telescope, illustrating not only the science of astronomy, but the endless beauties of the universe.As amateurs, moving through the beauties of the night sky, we come to an interest in astronomy from varied backgrounds. And all of these viewpoints are equally valid in their own way. Just so the union of astronomy and poetry. David's unique viewpoint as presented here allows us to explore this relationship, in a way that no other book published today can do.One of the most commonly recited verses in the English language is "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." But how many of us know the complete poem written by Jane Taylor in 1806? The entire poem appears on the frontispiece.In this book, David reminds us that, "Ideals are like stars. You cannot touch them with your hands. But if you follow them, they will take you to your destination." This book can act as a travel guide for your journey.Edward P. Flaspoehler, Jr., REFLECTOR Editor, Astronomical League