Astrochemistry

Not for Dummies

   A desire to learn astronomy and astrobiology signaled the death knell to any flickering perception of myself as multi-disciplinary. My lesson learned, I vow never to feign understanding of astrophysical concepts during idle banter at social gatherings.
  
   I have little idea of the concepts Andrew Shaw attempts to explain in The Astronomy Education Review. The review is bewildering and exhaustive. I should have read the fine print, but fortunately there wasn't any.
   The language of the review is pure science, intended for an audience familiar with the terminology. So excuse me, I came in the wrong door. I will go away now.

   As best as I can detect, the  Big Bang is a messy place where lots of things get in each others way, causing accidents and confusion, resembling a mosh pit. Even the molecules are complex (probably females).
    Apparently by reading this book we can understand the ethane lakes of Titan and the frozen surface of Europa, plus the nature of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, not to mention the seeding of planets by the principle of paspernia.
   The plus side is I can finally forgive George Lucas for dumbing down astronomy enough to cater for the mass audience.

   For a connoisseur of Astro chemistry this article is a tantalizing taste of supernovas and interstellar material, enough to satisfy the demanding appetite of the biggest of black holes. For a lay person as myself the magazine seems incomprehensible, and somewhat humbling. The articles are diverse and educational, but further elucidation would require an interpreter from the planet Zeroid.

   Review submissions for the magazine are handled by the big guns of astronomy, The American Astronomical society, todays equivalent of Thunderbird 2.
   To its credit, the magazine also offers outreach in various fields of space education, and there is a very handy list of keywords and searchable phrases. Any further slackening off of scientific excellence would be unacceptable for the target audience.
  
   The magazine is beyond the purview of Earthbound comprehension, although genuine astro-chemists abound, emboldened by academic transcripts about carbonaceous chondrites and the stress position, delineating complex ideas by inserting emphatic material, which unfortunately in my case, only led to more stress.  
  
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