Celestial Style

Ancient white dwarf stars in the Milky Way galaxy and a celestial look from Dolce and Gabbana's 2011 fall ready-to-wear line.  One was captured by the Hubble space telescope and the other was not. 

I'm sorry to say I missed the much prophesied perigee moon on March 19th. On this night the moon's orbital position came closest to Earth (221,565 miles to be exact) right at the peak of its fullness and was supposed to appear 15% larger than an average full moon. I ran out of the house several times that evening, but skies over Ocean Beach remained stubbornly smothered in clouds. Oh well. Only two more decades til my next chance.

This is apparently how cool the perigee moon looked over Washington D.C. Photo by NASA. 

For posting's sake, let's imagine we all saw the giganto moon and were moved beyond words. Space isn't the easiest thing to wrap your brain around. We've seen dazzling images of nebulas and super novas, but these phenomena occur so, soooo far away and are so much grander than our own speck-of-dust planet they are almost unreal. It practically takes an act of enlightenment or meditation to grapple with the hugeness of it all. For example, take the Hubble photograph below...

This is the Bug Nebula. (Although NASA also likes to call it by its cute pet name, NGC 6302.) It's formed by a dying star cloaked in a blanket of hailstones... and is 4000 lightyears away! Cue brain explosion. Humans have a tough time with big picture things in general. (If we didn't, laws to control greenhouse gas emissions would get top priority, and companies would be sued for using styrofoam.) Due to this innate megalophobia suffered by our species, any attempt to foster an appreciation for the cosmos is an act worth applauding. Which is why I'm a big fan of Dolce and Gabbana and my Dad. (Bet  you didn't see that coming.)

I could wear the dress in the middle everyday. And how daring is Dolce and Gabbana... pushing both stars and designer fanny-packs in the same show?! Tres Ballsy.

I'm proud of Dolce for opting for a starry theme for their new fall collection. They, along with Armani in 2010 and the very creative Macedonian designer Risto Bimbiloski are brave enough to flaunt wearable, space-inspired looks beyond Trekkie pantsuits. (Not to say there is anything wrong with a well-tailored Star Fleet pantsuit -- especially when worn by 7 of 9. That reference is for you, geeks-who-also-read-fashion-blogs.)

Armani's 2010 fall couture collection was a game of "Spot the Moon."  Can you find the hidden crescents in each look? Well done! Gold star. 

Speaking of the moon, designer Risto Bimbiloski noted, "I just got a new telescope and I watch her from my window.  I think it's something that's kind of interconnecting everybody, and it's there all the time, so it's inevitable as an inspiration."

Ok, enough fashion. Are you ready for the shameless plug? I also mention my dad in this piece because if it were not for him I wouldn't have 90% of this aforementioned appreciation of the cosmos. Anyone who meets my dad easily recognizes him as a guy with a lot of interests and a lot of passion. He is especially fantastic at keeping his two greatest passions (aside from his beautiful family, of course) a very active part of his life -- namely, space and radio. Hence his self-written, directed and hosted weekly half hour show, Planetary Radio, which he's been producing for about 8 and a half years for the Planetary Society. Each week he checks in with Bill Nye the Science Guy as well as astronomers, engineers, astronauts and science fiction actors and authors to discuss what is going on in the world of space exploration. Give it a listen and feed your space IQ by clicking here! (I'd recommend the March 14th  show where he interviews a folk singer who writes about how the hugeness of space can put life in perspective.)


And now for the ultimate embodiment of space-meeting-style (or at least space-meeting-every-nerd's-lycra-fantasy), a certain lady cyborg...