Courtesy of the bibliophiles over at Powell’s City of Books, we just came across this excellent interview with Dava Sobel. The former Newsweek science writer is the author of the extremely readable Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter, both of which brought her more than her share of accolades. In the Powell’s interview, she talks about her new book, The Planets, Galileo’s interest in astrology and astronomer Johannes Kepler’s sideline in music:

In 1599 Kepler derived a C major chord by equating the relative velocities of the planets with the intervals playable on a stringed instrument.

We’ll have her over on Tuesday for a night of witty science stories. Stop by.