Thank you for everyone that voted for their favorite blog title!
Not only was this exercise helpful for me (especially since I can be an indecisive person at times), I have also learned a couple things about you:
1. There are a ton of good-humoured, fun, people on the NN – you crack me up! Thank you for the warm welcome I have received so far (even with my blunder).
2. Some of you have trouble following directions (I asked you to vote for one option, people! One! :D )
There wasn’t as much interest in voting for a new title as there was in telling me what was wrong with my original title…but there was still a clear favorite:
WAY OORT WEST
Once looking over the list a few times, it became my favorite too – I am so happy we agree. I mean, it’s so perfect that even the acronym is cool (WOW). Thank you to Richard Grant for suggesting this – as a thank-you, you will get a shout-out in my blog description! How’s that for 15-minutes of fame?
So, why is this title so perfect?
First, it is a homage to Jan Oort, who published 1 of 3 papers in the 1950s, ushering in the modern era of our understanding of comets. He postulated that there is a spherical-shaped cloud of icy-bodies that surrounds our solar system, and it is a reservoir for comets. This is now known as the Oort cloud, or the Opik-Oort cloud, since Ernst Opik came to the same conclusion in the 1930s. Of course, because I study comets, this is particularly relevant for a title.
[Just for your info, the other two papers were by Fred Whipple – who hypothesized the icy-conglomerate (dirty snowball) model for a cometary nucleus – and Ludwig Biermann, one of the discoverers of the solar wind.]
The second reason why Way Oort West is perfect is because, with respect to many of the members of the Nature Network, I live very far West (in Canada). Also, I grew up in Alberta, which is in western Canada, and many people think of it as the Wild West.
There are a few other reasons why it works well too: when one Google’s “Way Oort West” there are only two hits, so it will be easy for people to find my blog; as mentioned above, the acronym is WOW; it is a great play on words.
Thank you again for all who voted, made suggestions, and made my first two posts here something to remember. Now I can start doing what I came here to do – write about astronomy!
Yay! What a hassle =)
I couldn’t choose between the options in the poll (too much choice…) so I didn’t vote, but I like the name.
\o/ I’m honoured!
Some of you have trouble following directions (I asked you to vote for one option, people! One! :D )
Awwh, there were just too many good alternatives! It just didn’t seem fair not to acknowledge that :) But a very good choice in the end.
Looking forward to reading about astronomy next!
Some of you have trouble following directions (I asked you to vote for one option, people! One! :D )
Damned europeans and their proportional representation, eh?
With names like Opik, Whipple, Oort, and Biermann, how could the study of comets go wrong?
Hm. Sounds like a supergroup that has reformed without the member who holds the rights to the group’s name.
In honour of your decision, here is your very first cat photo comment. Expect more in the future.
I can haz cool acronym too?
WOW! How did I miss this great opportunity for a vote?
Welcome, in any case. Looking forward to the next stellar post.
Haha, it’s a cute title!
I feel like I’ve learned sth astronomical from it too…Oort clouds. we should have more scientific things that sound like, “Oort”.
The Oort Effect: the (apocryphal) cooling of a room when you leave the refrigerator door open.
Eva, Anna – there were a lot of good choices, so I can see how it’d be hard to choose!
Bob – there do seem to be a lot of astronomers with strange names! Perhaps someone will do a study on it?
Cath – yay! A cat photo comment! I love those :)
Heather – thanks for the welcome!
Linda – I’m glad some astronomical knowledge has been passed on through this blog so far :)
Richard – You mean all those parents might be wrong?
Parents are never wrong.
At least, that’s what I tell my girls. And then they do this:
Congrats on the name selection (and one that I voted for, to boot!)
Hmmm…There was once a young man named Oort
Who raised all his kids in a boot…