The Poetry of Science
One in an occasional series of poems about, or inspired by, science
By Sam Illingworth
This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Clouds Beyond the Horizon
Cast off as something that could never be
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we still looked back, like Lot’s wife in her pride.
Your secrets now laid out for all to see
as new horizons dawn on your dark side.
Your surface stretches out like a black sea
and icy peaks jut out like tears now dried.
With nitrogen and methane in your air
we search in faith for what might not be there.
Notee: This is an Ottava Rima, written about recent research by the New Horizons space probe, which performed a flyby of Pluto in July, 2015. The probe has since reported back on the existence of an atmosphere (mainly made up of methane and nitrogen), a series of snowcapped mountains stretching across the dark expanse of the dwarf planet's ‘Cthulhu region’, and the possible presence of clouds. You can read more about the New Horizons mission here.
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