Articles by Cheryl Haimann

Nonfiction

Get familiar with the world above you. This week we take a look at Ursa Major, Ursa Minor and Polaris. The only fancy equipment you need is at the end of your hand.

How big is the sky? How large is the moon? Learn to estimate degrees to measure objects in the sky and their respective distances from one another - without equipment.

Easy tips to help you identify and locate the constellation of Leo.

Thursday's event provides an opportune time to discuss the ins and outs of lunar eclipses.

Late night Bootes calls in Greek mythology and modern-day astronomy.

This is one of those moony weeks, when the moon is up longer and growing larger each night, until it is full on Saturday. What can a backyard astronomer do with such a bright night sky? Get up early and look for Mars, of course.

What causes the changing seasons, and why do our nearest neighbors appear in such radically different places in the sky at different times of year? A little bit about how our neck of the solar system is arranged.

Summer constellations are taking over the night sky, and you will want to brush up on your geometric shapes for this tour. Learn to identify Lyra, the Summer Triangle, the Northern Crown, and the Keystone.

A last chance to enjoy the features of the spring sky as we welcome the stars of summer. A closer look at the constellation of Virgo.

Gaia gets even with Orion, Romans demonstrate justice, and doctors wield snakes and fling poisonous insects about the sky. Scorpius, Antares, Libra, Ophiuchus, Serpens and the latest in July's on-going moon watch.

This week we look at the other constellations in the Summer Triangle. Is Cygnus the Swan a joyriding youth in a stolen vehicle, or a philandering god in animal drag?

Sagittarius. Kinder, gentler centaurs. Charles Messier's lists of things that are not comets.

Cassiopeia, the Ethiopian queen chained to her throne in the heavens for daring to brag about her own beauty.

This week is the one Mars buffs have been waiting for. On Wednesday, Mars will be closer to Earth than it has been in almost 60,000 years. Whenever an astronomical event catches the attention of the mass media, as this one has, myths swirl around it like a nebula. We're going to set straight some of those misunderstandings.

A look at the neighborhood where Mars hangs out. You might say this article is the dawning of the page of Aquarius.

As summer fades, taking Sagitarrius and the summer Milky Way with it, let's turn our attention to the north. The constellations are so-so, but the story attached to them is first rate.

October is a strange month for stargazers. Great weather, same old constellations. Revisit your nighttime favorites, and get the morning report on planets.

There's something fishy going on in the zodiac. Learn about gods and monsters in the night sky.

The year's second lunar eclipse will occur next weekend. Find out when to see it, and what else to look for in the early evening.

How can one little star cluster carry so much cultural baggage? Everyone, but everyone, has something to say about the Pleiades.

Half a constellation is better than none. No bull? Yes, Bull.

You don't need thousands of dollars to get started in astronomy, no matter what the author's husband says.

The biggest, baddest of the winter constellations struts his stuff.

What do you think of when you think of physically challenged goatherding demigods? Why, Auriga, of course.

Meet Castor and Pollux, two guys who rose from the lowliest of births to achieve celestial prominence.

Astronomy goes to the dogs with the last two stars in the Winter Hexagon.

Be vewy qwiet...Owion is hunting wabbits.

Don't spread it around, but Earth's best friend is a big toxic gasbag. Learn why we put up with it anyway.

Little constellations you probably can't see. The constellations closest the Leo are tough to see, but you'd keep a low profile, too, if you spent every night cozied up to the king of beasts.

Five, count 'em, five naked-eye planets are visible now. Learn how to find the smallest and most elusive of them all, Mercury.

Open your mind (and your wallet) as we answer astronomy questions from our readers.

Poetry for thieving Pikers. Poetry is everywhere you look. You can even get other people to write your poems for you! Well, almost. We continue our celebration of National Poetry Month with three more types of poems that non-poets - yes, even you! - can learn to write.

Want to write a love poem? Or do your tastes run more to juvenile mockery? In this installment, learn how to satisfy both of those poetic urges, and everything in between.

In early May, C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) will blaze into view. Or maybe not. You never know with comets.

School may be out for the summer, but a clever parent keeps looking for teaching moments. The night sky is there to help. Just don't tell the kids they're learning about science and stuff.

Discover which three planets are visible in the morning sky, and remember the sky from Septembers past.

Bring in the new year with a new comet, and watch planets all night long. Practical advice on when, where and how to spot comet Machholz, as well as spotting Saturn for evening astronomers and finding Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury and Mars in the morning this month.

We've got a nose for the future! Don't make a single decision until you've looked up your Schnozzmo horoscope for the week!

The astronomy community is all a-twitter about Pluto. How did it get to be a planet, and why isn't it one anymore?

Everything the author learned the hard way, her husband learned over a chess board. In this first installment, they look at two words that politicians love almost as much as "free lunch".

Marvelous Mars and the sadly misguided Percival Lowell. With a name like that, you'd see imaginary canals, too. (Originally appeared 08-18-2003)

Haiku. To celebrate National Poetry Month, we look at poetry forms that everyone can learn to write. First up, the little Japanese gems called Haiku, as well as several related forms. Skills required: the ability to count to seven...or maybe not.Originally appeared 2004-04-03.

If the lousy winter weather is keeping you indoors, you can still book up on science, history, and literature of astronomy. Originally appeared 2004-02-07.

What's the perfect way to finish a summer barbecue? Ice cream, of course.

Four hundred years after Galileo first looked at the sky with a telescope, The International Year of Astronomy 2009 wants to give millions of people the same experience.

See what there is to see in the night sky this month.

A look at our inscrutable neighbor, Venus.

In addition to Orion and the rest of the gang of winter constellations, February offers a dwarf planet, a comet, and a chance to steer the world's most famous telescope. You're gonna be very busy.

Take another look at the star of story and song--Earth's closest neighbor, the Moon.

Venus is on the move, Saturn is keeping long hours, and a lion brings the promise of spring.

The ringed planet has fascinated astronomers for almost 400 years, and is still being studied, and enjoyed, today.

Mercury is visible and Venus is not (briefly, anyway), and a meteor shower keeps you company in between.

"Is that a poem in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" On Poem In Your Pocket Day, you may just find that happy people DO carry poems in their pockets.

The universe became much, much larger than anyone realized when Edwin Hubble started looking at some of the fuzzy spots in the sky.

The perfect cooler to wake up to on a warm, summery morning!

Are you ready for next week's eclipse?

The autumnal equinox will occur on September 22, but you don't need a calendar to know that the date is near. The sky gives you two unmistakable clues - one at night, and the other during the day.

Opinion

Latest don't mean greatest. Cheryl analyzes 'Funny Girl', the Barbara Streisand classic that has been tested by time and found worthy.

Is nothing safe anymore? Safe from warning labels, that is.

There is fashion magazine winter, and then there is real winter. Don't be fooled by imitations!

In spring, one woman's fancy turns not to love, but to the possibility of tasting a tomato again.

The desire to be creative is part of human nature, but often that desire withers from lack of respect. With this book, the author hopes to bring everyone's creative dreams back to life.

Are you hungry yet? You will be...

If you hear that zombies are a-foot in your town, let the web be your guide to survival.

She wants chocolate. You just want a decent breakfast. Now you can both be happy.

Tennyson wrote, "In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love." The Academy of American Poets suggests that in spring, and specifically in April, you turn your fancy to poetry.

Piker Press Poetry Editor Cheryl Haimann reviews "The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread" by Don Robertson.

It's crisply autumn, and a writer's mind turns from hot August stories to a chilling November to come -- NaNoWriMo!

Cheryl Haimann reviews J. Herbin Ink "Vert Empire."

Cheryl Haimann pits her Kobo reader against her husband's Kindle.

No more nomenclature no-no's! The men and womyn of SCANC raise a stink about insensitively named celestial objects.

News

Take a peek inside the Iowa Caucus, and learn what really propels a candidate to the front of the pack.

The first Piker Press contest ever has concluded. Cheryl was amused and touched by the entries - but was she inspired?

National Poetry Month is drawing near, so unleash your poetic urges on the Piker Press.

You may not get rich by writing poetry, but you can gain fame and adulation in the Piker Press Poetry Open.

There is still time to get your anapest together and enter our March poetry contest.

And the winner is...

Cheryl Haimann appears as a guest columnist to reassure us that even though National Poetry Month is over for another year, the Web makes it easy to bring poetry into your life all year long.

Now that you have an iPod, what do you do with it? A list of podcast reviews that will round out your listening experience.

The Piker Press is not just for readers anymore. Literature without the nutritive value is now on the go with the arrival of PikerCasts.

Poem

Poetry. It was just for the weekend - but they were like magnets. Even their friends were surprised at how they complemented each other, each tugging the other's shortcomings into place

A poem inspired by David Lehman's poem "SF".

Tis the season.

A story in ten lines, written with the help of the Magnetic Poetry generator (Rimbaud edition) at http://www.languageisavirus.com/magneticpoetry/rimbaud.html

Poem.(Originally appeared 2004-06-26)

It's National Novel Writing Month again and the Pikers are there! This poem accompanied the goodie bags given to NaNoWriMo participants at the kick-off party in Des Moines, Iowa.

At the end of Mes de los Muertos, the author discovers a surprising connection to her ancestor. In memory of Lillie Mae Tanner Coffey, 1929-2003.

Poetry inspired by the Mummies issue.(Originally appeared 05-23-2005)

Originally appeared 2006-06-26.

I was looking for sensible, subdued, and reliable, but there you were ... (Originally appeared 2006-06-05)

Poetry for a cold winter morning ...

You have to love a Mes de los Muertos that shakes a poem from the Tree of Creativity...

On Mother's Day, we remember that there are many ways to be a mother.

Short

Like many others, I joined NaNoWriMo the first time because I thought I could write a better novel than some of the schlock I had paid money to buy and read. Long before the thirty days were up, I realized how wrong this notion had been.

Marion Robert Morrison was born in Winterset, Iowa, in 1907. At the time, no one knew he would grow up to be an icon of the American West -- John Wayne.

Getting off the highway and onto to streets isn't always enough. Sometimes, if you want to do something special, you have to be in the right place at the right time.

There is more than one side to any story, even a fairy tale.

Comics

Ginger's Christmas Dream -- guest art by Poetry Editor Cheryl Haimann

Now you know why they leave us all alone in the Universe ...guest art by Poetry Editor Cheryl Haimann

Poetry editor Cheryl Haimann captures a sweet night sky image of the planet Venus and the Moon.

Flags line the property where John Wayne was born.

The first icicles of the season in Des Moines, Iowa.

An abandoned building in Fleetwood, Oklahoma, hearkens back to the days of being a trading post in Indian Territory.

Flooding in downtown Des Moines, Iowa.

Maple tree seeds, often dubbed "Whirlybirds."

Astrophotograpy: the Moon.

An ex-tree at Blackhawk Lake.

Rainstorms line up in the sky.

Lilac buds promise spring weather.

Rocky Mountains seen from an airplane.

A lovely fungus graces a mossy fallen branch.

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, USA.

The Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C.

A monstrous thistle among spring fern-like foliage.

Lightning disrupts the Iowa Star Party.

An arachnid to remember.

Brilliant foliage richer than any jewels.

A closer look at the crafting of yarn.

Essay

The letters change, the answers add up ... writing can be like a word puzzle.