It's giddy! Many big bangs, many universes!

At a time mind is still grappling with one universe

Coming into being after the big bang, metric expansion of space

Here comes a new school of thought , theory proposing

Many big bangs, many universes, it’s giddy! Mind boggling!

Other universes may be extension of the universe

Or separate universes formed from many big bangs

It’s matter over the mind rather than mind over matter

a fresh complexity arising in the study of universe proper

Whatever be the complexities there are complex minds

Setting about figuring out the science , processes

Like figuring out fourt, fifth, sixth dimensional worlds

Other than the three dimensional worlds, living beings

Given the unfathomable light year distances

Just peering into the past, star, galaxies et.al., happenings

Algorithms, artificial intelligence, software genies

All may come to the aid more than before yeeks!

In my local language Tamil i know there are utterings

From religious texts there are Erezhu logams

Meaning 2 into 7 ... 14 worlds, the worlds may mean universes

So why not could be! Brace ourselves for such possibilities!

-Mohan Sanjeevan

Million, billion light years away, still moving away!

Million, billion light years away, still moving away!

Yea stars, object in other galaxies moving away

The universe is expanding with the space in between

The stars, galaxies expanding causing that moving away

Within a galaxy nothing moves away from each other

As gravity takes control, overcomes the expansion super

Yet expansion takes control in far off galaxies

Like a rubber band elongated pushing the points apart, yes

For a million parsec away star,object the expansion 70 kms per second

Parsec around 3 light years multiplied by million multiplied by 360 seconds

Multipled by 34 hours for a day multiplied by 365 days for a year oops!

That’s a whopping distance to calculate that much the moving away alas!

The more moving further away of already farther away star

Will make the light reach still more later than before

That’s the beauty, reality of the expansion of the universe

Sure a headache, effort to track down the stars afresh

The point to keep in mind by the astronomers, star gazers

To prepare for the slipping away, stars, galaxies

Still make sense by tracking observing the cosmic bodies

That’s all about astronomy, star gazing grand stories!

-Mohan Sanjeevan

We are in space, we are part of space

In my earlier days space was something outside the Earth

overcome Earth gravity attain escape velocity fly in spacecraft

All such notion was there till things fell into right perspective

after my understanding of solar system, planets, stars, universe

All these, our milky way, billion, trillion galaxies are in space

Part of space, how come our blue marble be not in space?

Everything in space moving our blue marble too travelling in space

Spinning around itself going round the Sun as a spacecraft

On this wonderful spacecraft you, me all travel

So all of us are in space, being part of space,

We are all space travellers on our blue marble spacecraft

Coming to know of this my thrills has grown manifold, shoot!

Till such time our Sun exhausted it’s fusion fuel

Grew into a red giant to engulf us in an act so cruel

All nature’s destiny and time nothing to blame Sun either

We keep going till Sun is done full and proper

Our place in space is guaranteed till then, God speed!

Our sojourn generations after generations shall thrive indeed

No one could live till the end of such a gallant run in space

We live trying to not to think ,be overawed, till then cruise,cruise!

-Mohan Sanjeevan

Perils in space, ways to counter them

There arise perils in space both aboard ISS and during space travel

Focusing on just space travel it is time to identify the perils

List and plan the ways to counter them to ensure safe travel

For the astronauts, crew of the spacecraft travelling in space

Here we go identifying , listing them out for real action please

Cosmic radiation, health hazards due to zero gravity

Bombardment from asteroids, comets, micrometeorite what a pity,

Travelling in proximity to black holes, neutron stars, perilous oh my

These are the perils out there to spacecraft, crew sorry

Having identified we proceed to counter that is the story

Cosmic rays are produced by sun,stars, quasi stellar objects

Black hole accretion disks, gamma ray bursts,

Most cosmic rays are electrons, nuclei of light to heavy elements

These can cause DAN damage, cancer, the earth’s magnetic field

Deflects, saves us same way, spacecraft need a deflector shield

Zero gravity in space causes impaired vision, hearing loss,

Cardio vascular troubles, calcium loss and bone loss,

Muscle mass loss all occur due to weightlessness

To counter works out like treadmill, electrical stimulation of muscles

Weight lifting,stationary bicycling done as aboard ISS on space travels

Bombardments of asteroids, comets, micrometeorites can puncture

Disrupt, destroy spacecraft so measures needed for sure

A special cushion layer as around the inflatable dome of Bigelow

aboard ISS may be put around spacecraft too neutralise impact blow

Spacecraft being the lifeline and means of survival for the crew

Now come the real danger of travelling in proximity to black holes

Neutron stars, supernova explosions on my the real perils

Will suck in, rip apart the spacecraft, no escape by any means

Keep the path clear of these by sound astronomy and telescopes

Steer away to safety well away from their proximity their tentacles

So perils are bound to be there as nothing is easy on space

Space travel, steering the spacecraft with tact and skill so nice

Skills, improvisations, alertness, presence of mind, all count

Right from the moments of lift off and count- down count

It’s time to proceed on space travel, let’s start!

-Mohan Sanjeevan

N.B:- Poem composed on the lines of my paper titled "Perils in space,countering them during space travel" during International Aeronautics, Astronautics, Aviation conference held in Chennai on 24 th March, 2018

ISS: International Space Station

Aurora Borealis, nature's own psychedelic lights

When charged particles carried by solar wind from the sun

Hit the Earth most are deflected by Earth’s magnetic field

At the poles magnetic field being weak they enter the atmosphere

Colliding with the atoms exciting the electrons to a higher state

Dropping back to lower state they emit colourful lights Aurora Borealis

Aurora Borealis or the northern lights at the north pole

Aurora Australis the lights by similar phenomenon at the south pole

dance away like the psychedelic lights at a disco

Aptly to be named nature’s psychedelic lights zingo!

Dancing in pale green,pink  red, yellow, green, blue, and violet colours

The colours depend on the gas molecules they strike

Common green colour is due to oxygen molecules spike

Pure red due to high altitude oxygen around 200 likes hike

Breathtaking coloured lights dance by fluctuations of solar wind

A sight to behold  by the blessed watchers thrilling them no end

They dance from 50 miles to as high as 400 miles in a visual treat

Best seen in winter months over north pole in long darkness on the trot

Best parts to see north-western parts of Canada, southern tip of Greenland,

Iceland, Norway, Siberia. Southern aurora few and not seen year around

They keep the on looking watchers spell bound

Aurora Borealis means dawn of the north

Aurora Australis means dawn of the south

With ancient medieval beliefs and myth

Myth or not no myth when they dance and allure

Stealing the hearts world over in enthralling trance, sure!

-Mohan Sanjeevan

Telescopes, our gateway to see the past

Telescopes our gateway to see the past

Are not the Telescopes to see the sky, stars

That’s right how do we see the stars

By their lights, when the stars far far off

Light years away the lights from them are from the past

That’s how the telescopes are gateway to the past

Though universe formed some 14 billion years ago

Only after few million years the first lights started

As the first stars formed sending off the lights

So theoretically possible to see those first moments

Yet no way to see the big bang forming the universe

In as much as the lights were after few million years

Grandeur and expanse of the vast universe

Makes it possible to peer into the past

Telescopes are no doubt our gateway and gift

To see the stars free from atmospheric disturbances

There are space telescopes aboard spacecrafts

Hubble one of the them James Webb telescope to follow suit

There are radio telescopes receiving just radio signals

Be thankful the universe across light years be thankful to telescopes

Set up telescopes in dark remote locations to see the past

Save them in memory, record them in pictures great

Nebulae, galaxies, stars, star clusters, black holes what not

Let’s make a whale of time seeing the past

Hug the telescopes, peer into them, enjoy the most

-Mohan Sanjeevan

The Neutrino wonder

Neutrino – a scientific wonder

Formed in the first second of the universe

Much before the atoms were formed in trice

A clue to the birth, history, structure of the universe

Sun’s interior, supernovas, nuclear reactions

They are formed in supernovas, sun’s nuclear reaction

Gamma ray bursts, black holes so on

A wonder as trillions of them pass through our body,

the entire earth without any damage or harm to us or Earth

All through the day all through the universe

Enigmatic elusive as they remain elusive to detect

With just a few being detected in a week 

Much fear is expressed because of their enormous numbers

They are harmless as they are massless, chargeless

Interacting not even with a single atom

Neutrino observatories are just detectors

And no manufacturing factories

They come from space, sun all the time

Pass through us , earth all the time

Nothing to fear as they are not missiles or bombs

May be in natural surroundings if something built

That much displaces nature in the surroundings right

That applies to towns, buildings built on the hills as well

A fact having to be remembered so much so full

Let’s search for this wonder for answers in a harmless thrill

-Mohan Sanjeevan