Flags of the Night Sky: When Astronomy Meets National Pride

356 Pages·2014·9.983 MB·English

by  André G. Bordeleau (auth.)

André G. Bordeleau
Flags of the
Night Sky
When Astronomy Meets
National Pride
Flags of the Night Sky

André G. Bordeleau
Flags of the Night Sky
When Astronomy Meets National Pride
André G. Bordeleau
Kirkland, QC , Canada
ISBN 978-1-4614-0928-1 ISBN 978-1-4614-0929-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-0929-8
Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013946907
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This book is dedicated to my son David,
whom I love very much. May you have a
long and happy life.

Acknowledgments
It is customary, when publishing a book, to thank the several
people who have helped the author along the way. In my case, I
have a plethora of people to thank.
First, I wish to thank Dr. Jim Kaler, Professor Emeritus of
Astronomy, University of Illinois. We met through the Internet,
fi rst when I consulted his erudite website, and then we began
exchanging emails. Not only did he kindly agree to be my astron-
omy reader, he is actually the one who referred me to my editor,
Dr. Harry Blom. I am very grateful for all his incisive corrections
and suggestions.
I also wish to thank Rob Raeside, director of the Flags of the
World website. We also met through the Internet, at fi rst for a
much smaller version of this book, a four-page article in a spe-
cialized magazine called T he Planetarian . When I got the green
light for this book, he graciously agreed to be my vexillological
reader. I am very grateful to him and all the knowledgeable people
who contribute to this wonderful website. They are too numerous
to name, but together, they help make the most fascinating and
instructive website.
I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge Dr. Harry Blom
for having faith in me despite several setbacks and both his assis-
tants Jessica (Fricchione) Barrows and Jennifer Satten for their
help and support.
I would like to thank Boris Artemenko, Giancarlo Truffa, and
others who responded to my requests for help on the History of
Astronomy email list. I also thank Sharon Shanks, editor of T he
Planetarian , who got the ball rolling by publishing my article and
letting me use her clever title for the Brazil fl ag chapter.
vii
viii Acknowledgments
A special thank you to the following publishing fi rms who
gracefully provided me with a copy of their books on fl ags which
I used as part of my bibliography: Usborne Publishing Ltd. (Cramp-
ton, William, Flags of the World, 2006), Valerie Hatton of Firefl y
Books Ltd. (Guide to Flags of the World, 2004), Millbrook Press
(Smith, Whitney, Flag Lore of All Nations, 2001), DK Publishing
(Smithsonian Handbooks, Complete Flags of the World, 5th Edi-
tion, 2008), and Alexandra Brzezicka of Anness Publishing Ltd.
(Znamierowski, Alfred, The World Encyclopedia of Flags, 2010).
I would like to acknowledge the people who generously shared
their copyright: Patrick Byrt, Vincent Coulthard, Stefan Binnewies,
Stevie Hazel Jr., David Malin, Sue Tritton, Francisco Gregoric, Jim
Kaler, Rob Raeside, Harold Thomas, Tjilpi Mike Williams, Rodrigo
Ibata, Rogelio Bernal Andreo, and Til Credner.
A huge note of gratitude goes to Roger Gagnon, Annette
Lorenz, Claude Bissonnette, and Robert Woods, great friends who
supported me in so many ways.
Finally, I would like to extend a big thank you to Deborah
Martin who shared nearly 22 years of my life, and a special thank
you to our son David who is my pride and joy.
About the Author
André G. Bordeleau has been an amateur astronomer since 1982.
He got involved with the Physics and Astronomy club at the Uni-
versity of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, while he was completing a
master’s degree in Political Science. He spent the better part of
the 1980s with the club, selecting topics for meetings, presenting
talks, as well as offering guided tours of the University’s obser-
vatory. He was named a Lifetime Honorary Member of the club
in 1987. He gave guided tours of the observatory and astronomy
talks to outside groups and schools on behalf of the University of
Guelph’s Outreach Program from 1987 until 1990.
He has been involved in the fi ght for eradicating light pollution
since 1987. He has written several articles on popular astronomy top-
ics in both English and French, many of them specifi cally on light pol-
lution. Bordeleau has translated fi ve astronomy books from English
to French. He has been a planetarium lecturer for nearly 20 years.
From 1978 to 1990, he was a member of the Canadian National
Moving Target Rifl e Team and competed in the 1984 and 1988
Olympic Trials. He also won the Ontario Provincial Champion-
ships in 1984.
In 1990, he travelled to Australia and New Zealand in order to
admire the southern sky and explore it with a pair of binoculars.
He has fallen in love with it and wishes for another opportunity to
return, this time with a telescope, to resume his observations.
ix