Paris Full Moon Picnic Group

Ahoy there,
Next full moon picnic will be Thursday, April 2 from 8:30 PM until 10 PM.
Sunset will be at 8 PM and moonrise around 9:30 PM.

April is known by American Indians for the Full Pink Moon or the Full Sprouting Grass Moon or the Egg Moon. Indian tribes on the coast called it the Full Fish Moon because that's when shad swam upstream to spawn. "Shad Swam Upstream to Spawn" is also the name of the first rock song by Sha Na Na before they became famous.

WHAT: Everyone brings food and drink to share.

WHERE: Pont des Arts. We'll gather around the 3rd bench from the Right Bank (Louvre) side of the bridge. Nearest metros: Pont Neuf and Louvre-Rivoli.

WHEN: Thursday April 2 from 8:30 pm - 10 pm

WHY: Share one of the most memorable sights in Paris with some of the nicest people around.

WHO: You and your friends.

THEME: April Fools +1

HOW to find us: Look for a group of English and French speaking "lunatics" standing around a bench near the center of the bridge. Look for a small white telescope on a tripod if the weather is good.

BIRTHDAYS: Are you an Aries? If so, let me know so we can celebrate your birthday this month and blow out the world’s largest birthday candle.

WHAT DID YOU MISS LAST MONTH?
On March 4th we were treated to a spectacular view of the moon thru the cupola atop the Theatre de Sarah Bernhardt at Place de Chatelet. Of course most of you missed it because you didn’t come to the picnic or you were too busy socializing to look through the telescope. A handful of us and quite a few passersby were thrilled to glimpse this view that only lasts for a couple of minutes.

In April, if my log notes are correct, we may get to see the Sainte Chapelle spire rooster standing on the moon. (Maybe Notre Dame rooster also?)

PUZZLER: Star clusters are groups of stars that share an origin, forming at roughly the same time and location, and are tied together by gravity for up to millions or even billions of years. A recent scientific publication on Solar and Stellar Astrophysics in the Acta Prima Aprilia Journal shows that 66 star clusters within 500 parsecs of our solar system are ALL pointed towards our sun, indicating that perhaps we are the center of the unverse after all. How can you explain this revolutionary discovery?

PUZZLER ANSWER:
The faulty answer, dear brutish reader, is not in our stars. But in ourselves. The answer lies in today's theme.
It turns out that the every year astronomers world-wide are invited to submit their research papers to be published in Acta Prima Aprilia (get it?).
Here are comments from a couple of peer reviews:

Reviewer 1: This work provides a clever analysis of open cluster structure which is well thought out and aptly summarized. The discovery of geomancy or feng shui in the universe itself is a triumph of anthropocentrism.

Reviewer 2: While I can find no flaws in the analysis or consideration of uncertainties in distance measurements, I am curious as to why the authors failed to cite prior groundbreaking work exploring our special place in the universe. I would hope to see specific citations such as Ptolemy et al. 150, Tycho Brahe 1588, and The Catholic Church 1616.