You think the LCROSS experiment, wherein scientists will propel a spacecraft into the moon to provoke an explosion which they can examine for evidence of water, is a bad idea because of astrology.

Seriously. Screenwriter Amy Ephron — Nora’s sister — had this to say in the HuffPo:

It’s a big explosion. Suffice it to say that any amateur astronomer west of the Mississippi with a home telescope will be able to view it from their backyard.

I could say something scientifically lame and ask, “What if it gets thrown off its axis?” or something funny and suggest something (that I actually sort of believe), like, “What if it somehow throws off the astrology?” Or that we’re not risking — as we have the earth with continued experiments of this kind — sending the solar system out of balance.

Did you not even GO to a science class, Amy? Apparently not, if you “sort of” believe in astrology. 1.5 tons of TNT isn’t all that much in the scope of explosions, and certainly isn’t enough to alter the moon’s orbit. (The moon’s mass is on the order of 7.35 x 10^22 kilograms Dear Luna has enjoyed countless impacts larger and smaller than this in her current orbit.

Sadly, Amy’s little fit here (and resultant Twitter group, I shit you not) is decidedly scientific compared to this reaction to a similar experiment back in June:

In many traditions, including astrology, the moon represents the feminine. It is the yin, the intuitive, the emotions. Women are connected to the moon by their menstrual cycles while they are fertile, and all beings, including the earth herself, are affected by the pull of the tides.

Purposefully crashing something into the moon just to watch what happens is akin to a schoolboy cutting up a live frog to see what makes it jump. It is an example of the domination of the left-brained rational scientific approach over the intuitive.

Did these scientists talk to the moon? Tell her what they were doing? Ask her permission? Show her respect?

American education: FAIL.