I’ve long had a fascination for astronomy. And, truth be told, it was the field of study I was hoping to enter. But European familial demands meant going into something that had a better chance of me getting a job. Besides, my dad said that no son of his was going to stay up all hours of the night staring through a telescope. No problem. He got a son who stays up all hours of the night staring at a computer screen. Oh, the irony. But I am employed, and I probably would have been as an astronomer, too. No matter. Of late I’ve been reading the news regarding discoveries of new planets. Fascinating stuff, to be honest. A tinge of jealousy strikes me with each passing article. But I choose to live this life of an astronomer vicariously. If I can’t do it myself, I can at least stay up on things sort of. I haven’t the hours to do so properly, maybe when I retire I’ll revisit it more fully but that is many years away. The most interesting thing about these planetary discoveries around those far flung stars is that most — if not all — of
