Raton is Spanish for mouse (for what THAT's worth). Rata is Spanish for rat. Topo is indeed Italian for mouse. Which explains what a topographical map is: one with lines so tiny and close together, it looks like it was drawn by a mouse. Or not.The universe, as one of our guests rightly pointed out, is far and away more black than anything else, as can be readily observed on a cloudless night. If you're only averaging the stars, you're leaving out the bigger part of what is to be seen when one looks at the universe. If they averaged in all the black between and behind and around the stars, too, you might get a very sickly shade of grayish black. But probably too close to black to make much fuss over.
Alex