But Shakespeare's astronomy is more than just pretty words. It is a window into the prevailing Aristotelian and Ptolemaic cosmology of Renaissance Europe. The martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001 has been a busy rock. Not only has it given us a possible glimpse of martian biology, the controversy it has provoked has let laypeople peer into the inner workings of science. You don't normally think of astronomy and environmentalism at the same time.
Astronomy is up there, greenery is down here.
But if the claims of life on Mars are confirmed, that dichotomy will collapse. The best place in the house to learn about science is in the kitchen. When you boil it down, science demands the same sorts of skills, judgment, and even artistry as cooking. The lure of life on Mars can spark life in the classroom 10 Guest Observer , James C. White II Coloring sunsets. Batten The New Physics and a New Theology by Michael Heller.