You Know You’re An Astronomer When…

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There’s a new group on Facebook that is pretty fun. It’s called “You Know You’re An Astronomer When…” and they are putting together a great list of things which might indicate that you’re an astronomer: one of those hardy souls willing withstand freezing temperatures just to catch a glimpse of the night sky. The first few are quite telling:
1. You see a bright star and know that it’s actually Mars.

2. You know the names of specific craters on the Moon.

3. You know the significance of the phrase “Oh Be A Fine Guy/Girl, Kiss Me” or as we knew it in my high school astronomy class… “Oh Boy, A Fat Girl Kicked Me”.

And then there is my favorite: 29. You know every line to the movie Apollo 13, and have possibly read the book. (That one really gives me away!)

The list goes on, and people are adding to the directory of key indicators all the time. Here’s more…

Here’s a few more (my comments in parenthesis)

5. You have a personal vendetta against the weatherman. (Well, my brother is a weatherman, so I have to be careful here!)

6. You know that Olympus Mons is the tallest peak in the solar system and which planet it’s on.

(Here’s a perhaps controversial one:)
12. You know that Pluto really isn’t a planet and shouldn’t have been considered one to start –as sad as it may be.

19. You can pronounce Betelgeuse, Uranus, Charon, and Cassiopeia at least two different ways each.

21. Someone casually wonders aloud how many planets out there might be able to support life you immediately think of the Drake equation.

28. You have Astronomy podcasts on your ipod. (Yay! love that one, too!)

This is an open group on Facebook, so even if you aren’t part of this social networking website, you should be able to check out the list, which is expanding all the time. Perhaps UT readers have some ideas?