Do frogs exist there too?
And now for something completely different! On a recent visit to Ondřejov Observatory near Prague (see my Cosmic Diary blog of 2 July) I was introduced to the Czech writer Jan Neruda (1834-91). As well as a writer, he was a poet, journalist and Czech patriot.
Jan Neruda published a series of poems in 1878 entitled Cosmic Songs (or Písně Kosmické) and Cosmic Song number 22 is entitled ‘Do frogs exist there too?’ I was introduced to Jan Neruda because he was a friend of the founder of the Ondřejov Observatory, Josef Frič. One of the original buildings at Ondřejov is a house whose exterior wall depicts a scene from Neruda’s poem. It shows frogs sitting around a pond with their frog teacher delivering a discourse on the marvels of the universe above, with stars and the Milky Way.