OK about that Frenchman and his curtain- I know a great guy who worked during & after the Revolution. Was it Delambre? Is the object (um...) URANUS?

Johann Gottfried Galle?

The "smile on Mars" is crater Galle, also known as "Happy Face".

I suppose Leverrier is that Frenchman, who calculated the position of Neptune, which Galle then found.

As for the curtain, I have no idea. The only astronomical phenomenon that comes to mind is the aurora borealis, which I can't link to Galle. Nor can I fit in French Revolution.

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Just keep on trying, Eroica (and everyone else). This is a very promising line of investigation.
I think one point of a haiku is that (for lack of syllables) one cannot always write everything one wants - things might become shortened, thus inviting associations.

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My favourite haiku:

Expressing oneself
In seventeen syllables
Is very diffic

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Ah, sorry mercury, I overlooked your anwer.
It's not Delambre/Uranus.

Eroica is right on two counts: The haiku is about Johann Gottfried Galle, and "that Frenchman" is indeed LeVerrier.

So I should say the cigar goes to Eroica anyway .
On the other hand, I would like the missing two components to be solved.

So should we just have Eroica post the next question, or are we sticking with this one for the time being?

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Since I don't have a good question prepared yet, I say let's try and tease this one out.

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Lovely - on you go, and nihil difficile volenti, as someone on this board uses to say

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Has it something to do with Neptune's ring system?

There are rings called Liberté, Égalité and Fraternité.

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Ezactly, man, ezactly!
One down, one to go ("how high that curtain?").
Congrats, Eroica!

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Has it something to do with the fall of the Iron Curtain, which astrologers claimed was caused by a planetary aspect involving Neptune? (OK, that's a long shot, but I'm all out of ideas!)

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No, it luckily doesn't.
You might want to pursue one of your earlier ideas further. As I said, it was extremely promising. The "how high that curtain" line refers directly to work done by Galle.

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Galle

My German isn't good enough to translate this, but Polarlicht is the German for aurora borealis, and it seems to have something to do with calculating the altitude of the aurorae from an analysis of meteor trails?

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[cheesy triumph march]
So Eroica ends this round of the Ultaimate Astronomy Quiz with a final brilliant suggestion on the work of J G Galle. One big round of applause to Eroica!

[/cheesy triumph march]

Indeed, Galle developed a method for measuring the altitude of the aurora borealis. I got my idea from that same Wikipedia article.

And now we are anxiously awaiting the next question.

[drumroll...]

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Not a haiku, but a Clerihew (well, sort of).

O Father dear, O messenger of Rome
'neath starlit skies thou art at home.
Thy one-two-three with ABC
Have been replaced by AJC

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This is ah, um... hermetic, shall we say?

As a question from a non-native speaker: Is there an idiomatic expression in the poem that I might have missed?

Hints would be greatly aprreciated.

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Here's a modern translation:

Dear Father, messenger of Rome,
Beneath starlit skies you are at home.
Your one-two-three with ABC
Have been replaced by AJC

I think it's still a bit early for hints...

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Arneb, I just want to interject into this pas de deux going on here, and say, 1) Eroica is the definition of "bookish" incarnate, 2) German should be the the 2nd language I learn (the Olde English is popping right out at me), 3) I'm glad I withheld my guesses, for I was way off-track.

I'm too embarrassed to say what I thought the "curtain" was, but because of the French Revolution part, in order to "support" my way off-base guess, this...

"Indeed, Galle developed a method for measuring the altitude of the aurora borealis. I got my idea from that same Wikipedia article."

...became this to me. My "curtain" was measured in meters, lol.

Quote:

...soon after the French Revolution, the French Academy of Sciences chose the meridian definition over the pendulum definition because the force of gravity varies slightly over the surface of the earth, affecting the period of the pendulum

I think it's worth noting for French history. Don't think nobody else is watching this thread, lol. Ich passe auf. <---That's probably not right.

OK, carry on with Eroica's unanswered question:

I think it's too early for hints as well. Others need to jump in, and I know a certain female here who might know this one.

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Die Sonne scheidet hinter dem Gebirge. In alle Täler steigt der Abend nieder
mit seinen Schatten, die voll Kühlung sind.

Pope?

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No, but you're actually (possibly unwittingly) quite close (in an oblique sort of way)!

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Thanks for that, Eroica - It's not that I didn't understand the words. I was wondering if there was such a thing as "to have a 1-2-3" with a fixed meaning which is impenetrabele to someone who is not in on special cases of language use. Or 1-2-3 might be a "place holder" - something that is used tcarry across things like "you-know-what" or "I-don'-tell".

The "Olde English" sound and declination are not the problem. - It's beautiful, by the way.

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