My Wish  

Oftentimes, I wish that I,

like many, could impart

some wondrous words,

some hopes, some schemes,

escaping from my heart.

We’re 10cc’s of water and

although the Earth’s our base

we recently went travelling

up there – in outer space.

An astronaut had drunk us

just before his rocket ride.

And so we were the stowaways

that hid in his insides.

Meeting different molecules

we made a lot of friends.

With some we only mingled

while with others we held hands.

While staying in the astronaut

we all kept nice and warm

and floated round inside him and

explored his body’s form.

Eventually he moved us out.

So off we raced in glee.

With other friends I think we were

all classified as pee.

We found ourselves inside a box

with membrane walls all new.

Its holes were just the perfect size

for water to get through.

We said goodbye to all our friends

as they were far too fat

to wriggle through those membrane walls

and join us for a chat.

Now squeaky clean we hung around

inside some holding pen.

Until we found ourselves inside

the astronaut again!

The Garden Within

There is a garden in my heart

where beauty grows in fits and starts.

Where smiles are petals from the flowers

bestowed by others from their bowers.

Nutritious hope reaps seeds to feed

my spirit for its every need.

With gratitude I’ll reach my goal

and touch the island of my soul.

The Cat-Sock Dilemma

Hey diddle-diddle

a sock round the middle

when gently tied on my Cat,

will make her wiggle,

wobble and squiggle.

She can’t walk straight with that.

A slick little trick

that’s painless and quick.

There’s surely no harm in that?

We giggle, she wriggles,

goes higgledy-piggle

until she gets to lie flat!

Upside-down Moon-face

Serenitatis and

Imbrium Mares

are names for the eyes

of the “Man” up there.

Asteroid impacts

made volcanoes blow,

so Moon’s molten lava

began to flow.

These large lunar seas

then cooled, hard and black,

so the full-Moon has patches

for eyes that stare back.

Cognitum and

Nubrium Mares

make his grin.

But he’s upside down

when WE look at him!

Inspired by this article:

https://www.space.com/2036-origins-man-moon.html

The Origins Of The Man In The Moon

By Ker Than February 09, 2006 Science & Astronomy 

An image of the moon taken by Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong in July of 1969.

(Image: © NASA)

The “Man in the Moon” illusion, familiar to various cultures around the world, was created by powerful asteroid impacts that rocked the satellite billions of years ago, a new study suggests.

The study, performed by Laramie Potts and Ralph von Frese of Ohio State University, reveals that ancient lunar impacts played a much larger role in shaping the Moon’s surface than scientists had previously thought. It may also help explain the origins of two mysterious bulges on the Moon’s surface.

The new analysis reveal that shock waves from some of the Moon’s early asteroid impacts traveled through the lunar interior, triggering volcanic eruptions on the Moon’s opposite side. Molten magma spewed out from the deep interior and flooded the lunar landscape.

When the magma cooled, it created dark patches on the Moon called “lunar maria” or “lunar seas.”

During a full Moon, some of these patches combine to form what looks like a grinning human face, commonly known as the “Man in the Moon.” The man’s eyes are the Mare Imbrium and Mare Serenitatis, its nose is the Sinus Aestuum and its grinning mouth is the Mare Nubium and Mare Cognitum.

The effects of some of those traveling shock waves are still visible in the Moon’s interior today. Cross-sectional images of the insides reveal that a part of the mantle, the section between the Moon’s core and crust, still juts into its core today, 700 miles below the point of one of the impacts. The images were created from data collected by NASA’s Clementine and Lunar Prospector satellites.

Mysterious bulges

Early surveys by the Apollo missions revealed that the moon isn’t a perfect sphere. There is a bulge on the Earth-facing side, called the near side, and another bulge on the far side.

According to one hypothesis, these bulges are the result of Earth’s gravity tugging on the Moon during the early years following its cataclysmic formation, when its surface was still molten and malleable.

The current study suggests that this scenario is only partly correct. The researchers think the Moon was struck by at least two very powerful asteroid impacts in its past (in addition to countless smaller impacts that left smaller craters easily identifiable still today). One of the major impacts struck the near side, sending shock waves that traveled through the lunar interior to create the bulge on the far side; the other impact struck the far side and created the bulge on the side.

The researchers think the impacts happened about four billion years ago. At that time, roughly half a billion years after the birth of the solar system, the Moon was still geologically active and its core and mantle were still molten and malleable.

Back then, the Moon was much closer to the Earth than it is today and the gravitational interactions between the two were much stronger. The researchers think that when magma spilled out of the Moon’s interior, Earth’s gravity immediately grabbed hold and hasn’t let go since.

“This research shows that even after the collisions happened, the Earth had a profound effect on the Moon,” Potts said.

The findings were detailed in a recent issue of the journal Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors.

We’re 10cc’s of water and

although the Earth’s our base

we recently went travelling

up there – in outer space.

An astronaut had drunk us

just before his rocket ride.

And so we were the stowaways

that hid in his insides.

Meeting different molecules

we made a lot of friends.

With some we only mingled

while with others we held hands.

While staying in the astronaut

we all kept nice and warm

and floated round inside him and

explored his body’s form.

Eventually he moved us out.

So off we raced in glee.

With other friends I think we were

all classified as pee.

We found ourselves inside a box

with membrane walls all new.

Its holes were just the perfect size

for water to get through.

We said goodbye to all our friends

as they were far too fat

to wriggle through those membrane walls

and join us for a chat.

Now squeaky clean we hung around

inside some holding pen.

Until we found ourselves inside

the astronaut again!

Brassica Bonanza

(Brassica oleracea)

The humble wild cabbage

named Brassica o

looks more like a weed

than the veggies we know.

Through breeding (like dogs)

to enhance special traits,

there’s more than one

Brassica o on our plates.

Selecting big leaves gives us

Kale, Collard Greens,

while breeding big buds

grows the cabbage we’ve seen.

Exaggerate flowers and

what have we got?

Some huge heads of Broccoli

served steaming hot.

Those cream Cauliflowers

are Brassicas too.

ONE PLANT: MANY VEGGIES

And so good for you!

https://botanistinthekitchen.blog/2012/11/05/the-extraordinary-diversity-of-brassica-oleracea/

Snoopy Spiders

Spiders don’t have any ears.

They don’t have any ear-drums.

And so we thought they couldn’t hear

and only felt their webs strum.

But scientists who’ve scanned their brains

noticed they responded

when squeaky chairs and music strains

from far away were sounded.

Special hairs that wobble when

a soundwave moves the air

means jumping spiders hear quite well

through nerves attached to hairs.

These snoopy spiders listen-in

for buzzing enemies

like deadly wasps that sting and sing

some scary melodies!

Inspired by:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/10/13/surprising-spidey-sense-arachnids-can-eavesdrop-quite-well-without-any-ears/?wpisrc=nl_science&wpmm=1

Pet Rex

Some animals

don’t make good pets.

And one of them

would be T rex.

A dinosaur

so tall and wide

there’s no way

he could live inside.

Tyrannosaurus rex

is large.

His head would fill-up

your garage.

Twelve metre driveways

would be great

to fit his tail

inside the gate.

With stinky breath

from eating meat

you’d want to clean

his big strong teeth.

He’s got bad manners

when he’s fed.

His tiny arms

can’t reach his head!

first published in CSIRO’s Scientriffic magazine issue #77 March 2012
with illustration by Science Writer Mike McRae