You can log off any time you like, but . . .

. . . is a common saying on the forum.


While I'm on the subject of songs, I can't resist another one. Here's the original, which I must confess was inspired partly by Jules and partly by this piece of genius by Kelly Fast and her astronomer friends 14,000 feet high at Hotel Mauna Kea.

One day, someone ought to go through the whole forum and put together a massive volume of all the art and literature that's appeared there. I made a start about a year ago, but it's been coming ever since! For example, "I meant to do my work today", Adrianus V's clever working of the XMM-Newton telescope pointing towards Hanny's Voorwerp, and most of the "Just a small game" thread.

Quite enough links for now.

Again, I've changed - and, I hope - improved this song. I wrote the first version from the point of view of a moderator, but after a while that didn't seem much like good manners, so I've put more galaxies in instead. The last verse, which Jules wrote, ended up on a tankard we made for Chris as a present for organising our trip to Farthings last autumn . . .

(Oh not another link. Just get on with it, Alice!)

"Hotel Galaxy Zoo/Hotel Zoolifornia"

On a dark gridlined background
Cool arcs in the air
Blue twinkles of star birth
Artifact over there
Up ahead in the distance
I saw a shimmering light
Head grew heavy and my fingers froze
Must classify for the night

There they were on the news page
Asking for volunteers
And I was thinking to myself
This could keep me busy for many years
Then they did the tutorial
And they showed me the way
There were helpers on the forum next
Thought I heard them say

Welcome to the hotel Galaxy Zoo
Such a lovely site, such a lovely site,
Such a starry night.
Plenty of room at the hotel Galaxy Zoo
Any time of year, any time of year
You can post pics here.

Their minds are Café-addicted
They got a kettle for tea
They got a lot of pretty, pretty threads
Lots to see.
How they joke in Analysis
It’s biased – see the map.
Some reckon they’re mergers, some say overlap.

So we got pretty spirals
Lenticulars too
Ellipticals, quasars and rings
With a bar going through
And still those buttons are asking from far away
Dreamed about in the middle of the night
Galaxies that say:

Welcome to the hotel Galaxy Zoo
Such a wondrous place, such a magic place
With a friendly face.
Livin' our lives at the hotel Galaxy Zoo
Thousands of us here, thousands of us here
Virtual coffee all year

Mirrored images came
Then the black and whites
They said “You’ll all catch Galaxyzooitis here
Of your own device.”
And in the much-loved Café
They gathered for the jokes
They guess the songs and wonder if
Infinity's gender's a hoax . . .

Last thing I remember, I was
Clicking just one more
I had to find the ObjID
of the place I was before
Relax, said the Zookeeper
We are programmed to receive.
You can log off any time you like,
But you can never leave!

(Thanks to Mr Jules and Paddy for the photos!)