The other day, while we were driving about in Virginia, we had some very good views of a full or nearly full moon. And they reminded me of a poetic bit of science writing that I had recently re-encountered, from Dava Sobel, The Planets (New York and London: Penguin Books, 2006). Ms. Sobel begins by talking about the waxing and the waning of the moon First to come or go is high, round Mare Crisium (the Sea of Crises),... Read more