Book Description

Reviews (1)

Good book, but not for everybody
Robert M. Wald is more known by his (very technical) book "General Relativity", where he explains Einstein's theory using a somewhat (sometimes too much) hard mathematical description. The main problem with this book, "Space, Time and Gravity" seems to be, for me, also its hardness; it is a clear and well written book, but maybe with language and focus some steps too high for the general public. Let give me an example: the book has ten chapters; the three first ones give a beautiful logical description of how space and time are viewed in Physics, but the next chapter becomes a bit too complicated, having a simple description of the Singularity Theorem, which for me seems a technical matter not very appealing. The final five chapters give an interesting account of the theory of black holes, but again this account seems to lack some taste, reminding me of a breakfast made of a superb toast served without jam or butter or anything to drink... However, I would recommend this book for undergraduate students of physics. For readers with a not-so-good mathematical background I would also suggest "Flat and Curved Space-Times" by G.F.R. Ellis and R.M. Williams (unhappily out of stock). The general public probably would enjoy more the reading of Einstein's "Relativity : The Special and the General Theory" (Paperback - May 1995) (a very recommendable book!) or the lengthy "Black Holes and Time Warps : Einstein's Outrageous Legacy", by Kip S. Thorne, et al. (Paperback - January 1995). ... Read more

Book Description

One of the world's leading astronomers, Robert Kirshner, takes readers inside a lively research team on the quest that led them to an extraordinary cosmological discovery: the expansion of the universe is accelerating under the influence of a dark energy that makes space itself expand. In addition to sharing the story of this exciting discovery, Kirshner also brings the science up-to-date in a new epilogue. He explains how the idea of an accelerating universe--once a daring interpretation of sketchy data--is now the standard assumption in cosmology today.

This measurement of dark energy--a quality of space itself that causes cosmic acceleration--points to a gaping hole in our understanding of fundamental physics. In 1917, Einstein proposed the "cosmological constant" to explain a static universe. When observations proved that the universe was expanding, he cast this early form of dark energy aside. But recent observations described first-hand in this book show that the cosmological constant--or something just like it--dominates the universe's mass and energy budget and determines its fate and shape.

Warned by Einstein's blunder, and contradicted by the initial results of a competing research team, Kirshner and his colleagues were reluctant to accept their own result. But, convinced by evidence built on their hard-earned understanding of exploding stars, they announced their conclusion that the universe is accelerating in February 1998. Other lines of inquiry and parallel supernova research now support a new synthesis of a cosmos dominated by dark energy but also containing several forms of dark matter. We live in an extravagant universe with a surprising number of essential ingredients: the real universe we measure is not the simplest one we could imagine.

This book invites any reader to share in the excitement of a remarkable adventure of discovery.

... Read more

Reviews (13)

An absorbing story of a recent monumental discovery
In early 1998, scientist Robert Kirshner and his team published the astonishing claim that the universe's expansion was accelerating due to the power of dark energy. Subsequent research has not been able to disprove the results obtained by Kirshner's "high-z supernova search team." This book is Kirshner's discussion of that finding and its importance to cosmology.

The first half of the book is essentially a crash course in the basics of cosmology, with many anecdotes and background from earlier research since Einstein or even before. Kirshner's witty style keeps this section entertaining even for those familiar with the information. He compares several distance indicators, such as Cepheid variables, redshifts, and supernovae. We learn how supernovae can be used to measure distances to remote galaxies due to their incredible brightness. We also become familiar with the pitfalls of using supernovae as standard candles, because there are a few different types.

Then the author gets into the real purpose of his book: to describe his research team's methods, results, and road to success with the press. The subtitle of the book is somewhat misleading; it should have been something like "The Story of the High-Z Supernova Search Team". Though the information wasn't presented in quite the way I was expecting, Kirshner gets the job done. He patiently educates the layman reader in many aspects of astronomy and cosmology. Towards the end it becomes a race between two supernova search teams using different methods. Though I found this yarn interesting, I would have preferred a general discourse to the narrative presented here.

Overall, this book is probably one of the most well-written and absorbing reads on this specific subject. Science and astronomy buffs should enjoy it greatly.

Fascinating...
Robert Kirshner's book, 'The Extravagant Universe: Exploding Stars, Dark Energy and the Accelerating Cosmos', is another in a series of interesting texts on cosmology written essentially for those who are science-illiterate, or at least only somewhat informed, and who wish to know some of the key insights and discoveries of our time regarding astronomy. Particularly at the end of this text, where Kirshner explains the importance of this kind of scientific research (why would the government or private agencies want to spend money on research that has little if anything to do with addressing the desires of humanity, encapsulated by Kirshner, as wanting to 'rich, safe and immortal'?) for the average person - it is not just for intellectual fancy or whim, but the long-term implications of understanding the universe can affect our lives in ways we can't even contemplate today.

Kirshner's narrative looks at many of the key discoveries, controversies, and personalities of the field of astrophysics, theoretical physics and cosmology in the twentieth century. Kirshner lays the groundwork not with Einstein (as so many texts do) but rather goes behind Einstein to the earlier work of Gauss and Riemann, with mathematics that, at the time, would not have been considered useful in the ways Einstein's general relativity made it. Kirshner looks at observation (Hubble Telescope, observations of background radiation through various methods, etc.) as well as theoretical conjectures to show the strand of thinking from the early universal constructs to present day theories.

Kirshner traces the history of recent astronomy and cosmology through researchers in history such as Einstein and Hubble as well as persons he knows personally and professionally at work in the field today. Particularly in the last half-to-third of the book, where Kirshner brings in this personal level of acquaintance with the people involved, the science comes alive in a very human way. Kirshner is good at showing the limitations, as well - sometimes you just get lucky, or your gifts complement others. With regard to Hubble and Hale, for example, Kirshner recounts the evidence that they did not really understand Einstein's general relativity or the mathematics of his cosmological thinking; nonetheless, they continued their observational researches, and when Hubble discovered the expansion of the universe, Kirshner states that you don't have to know all of the mathematical and technical details involved in science, but rather 'you just have to face in the right direction and go forward' with those things that you can do!

Some of the key concepts Kirshner develops include the life-cycle of stars, the overall shape and structure of the universe, the idea of dark matter/dark energy that has gone unknown for so long, and the ideas of reaching back to the origins of the universe and drawing conclusions for the acceleration of the universal expansion. Kirshner does not develop the areas of planetary science or solar-system type ideas in this text except very peripherally - this is a book for grand topics on a cosmic scale indeed.

The book is very readable and accessible to any with an advanced high-school or undergraduate beginning ability in science. How could it not be, given an author whose mis-spent youth watching 'Rocky and Bullwinkle' cartoons is confessed in the endnotes? There are technical terms, and (gasp!) even a few equations thrown in here and there, but understanding the narrative is not dependent upon being able to process the equations. There are colour plates in the centre, with other black-and-white photographs and images throughout. In keeping with the non-technical nature of the text, endnotes are kept to a minimum, and recommended readings are few.

An interesting text, and a very good subject.

Nice story - science lacking
Dr. Kirshiner spins a good yarn. The focus of the book is mostly on the story and history of the accelerating universe theory, presented in a very readable style. I would only fault the book in that after reading it, while I'm now comfortable with the idea of the accelerating universe, I would have liked to see more of the science and math involved. It's a great overview, though; recommended!

A good description of a challenging discovery
"Extravagant Universe" is one of the best books on the market if you're looking to fathom the recent discoveries regarding the apparent acceleration of the universe's expansion. Kirshner is not just an outside observer but a direct participant in the science, so you get a perspective from someone "who was there." Kirshner explains robustly how a special class of star became recruited as a sort of measuring stick for studying apparent and actual brightnesses of distant supernovae, whose unexpected dimness provides strong evidence for an accelerating spacetime expansion. Moreover, Kirshner delves into the still impenetrable mystery of the so-called dark energy that seems to be driving the expansionary push. Perhaps the book's best asset is its relative modesty. While Kirshner does suggest some possible implications of the recent findings, he's careful not to go too far, noting the unanswered questions and the ease-- even probability-- that new data and interpretations may overthrow the current consensus altogether rather quickly. Such a perspective is often missing in much of the lay science literature and is a major failing of many books on the market. That Kirshner, who himself is on the leading edge of these discoveries, holds back in comparison, is a testament to his discipline as a scientist.

Could have been better!
This book focus more on the writer's biography than anything else. Little scientifical explanations are given considering the bulk of the book. Very narrow and somewhat shallow. Overall: Mediocre. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The first edition of Hubble Vision was published in 1995, when the Hubble Space Telescope was already "the foremost observatory of our age." This second edition has been almost completely rewritten to emphasize the telescope's impressive list of new discoveries.

The 100 new illustrations include many glorious images: exploding stars and colliding galaxies, the profound vision of the Hubble Deep Field, gravitational lenses, the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy on Jupiter, and pictures of other solar systems.But the book is not just a collection of pretty pictures; it's also an excellent introduction to astronomy. Since it describes both objects (from the level of the nearby planets to the level of the big bang) and instruments, it gives laypeople a particularly accurate idea of what astronomers actually do--and of how much fun they have doing it.

Brandt is an astronomer at the University of Colorado and a principal investigator for the space telescope, while his collaborator Collins Petersen is a science writer with practical experience in astronomy.Their combined expertise results in a book that is authoritative but not daunting, gorgeous but not superficial.You may want to keep it on your coffee table, but you should also actually read it. --Mary Ellen Curtin ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Hubble Heaven
To the average person like myself it is simple uncomprehensable that way out here is all of this energy, peacefully and sometimes horrifically looming around us. Reading this book, and particularly looking intensely at the wonderful colour photographs, I cannot feel anything else but awe for the sheer original beauty of our universe, and the great bridges that we need to cross scientifically to even make an inch of sense of it. The text is easy enough for the pure enthusiast to understand the concepts, but for those with a thirst for knowledge, these pages reveal centuries of human time devoted to exploring milleniums and milleniums of universal time. It really does make you feel as though the only thing between us and the secret of everything is our humble mortality, not our need to know. Hubble Vision gives you a snapshot of the heavens, and beyond, something we'll never experince first hand in our life-time at least! ... Read more

Book Description

Discusses the nature of interstellar matter, with a strong emphasis on basic physical principles. Summarizes the present state of knowledge about the interstellar medium and provides the latest observational data. Physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium are treated, with frequent references to observational results. The overall equilibrium and dynamical state of the interstellar gas are described, with discussions of explosions produced by star birth and star death and the initial phases of cloud collapse leading to star formation. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A classic in astronomy, but not worth the price for students
Here, Spitzer introduces many fundamental concepts in astronomy, and at the time it was written was perhaps the only single publication that covered all of the topics in the table of contents from a fairly fundamental level. When I paid $80 for this book for an Interstellar Medium course about 5 years ago, the instructor said he would not have required it had he known the price. Now it stands at $112! If this material is important to you and you do not have a well developed graduate level curriculum to study from, then perhaps it is worthhwhile, otherwise I recommend "Astrophysics of Gaseous Nebulae and Active Galactic Nuclei" by Donald E. Osterbrock for $36 as an excellent substitute, though you won't find much on dust grains and kinetics in it. For those topics you should go to review articles and a statistical mechanics text anyway! Spitzer was a great astronomer and he wrote what was at the time an indispensible book, but at this price think carefully before you buy. ... Read more

Book Description

In the spirit of Stephen Hawking's best-selling A Brief History of Time, The Encyclopedia of the Universe is a riveting sourcebook that provides intriguing insight into the discovery and explanation of the universe. From the theories of the Ancient Greeks and findings of Copernicus and Galileo to today's understanding of black holes, the development of time machines, even the search for extra-terrestrial life, the Encyclopedia brings key scientific concepts and historical events alive.

An innovative organizational scheme of a matrix of book routes makes the Encyclopedia easy to follow. Lively use of color, graphics, and navigational icons presents a logical flow of information that works equally well for science buffs and amateur astronomers, as well as for the serious student. The Encyclopedia also includes a complete guide to the solar system, with star maps, tools, techniques, and projects.

This remarkable reference has a wealth of features that put it in a class of its own. Authored and validated by a high-caliber team of more than a dozen writers and scholars from key astronomical institutions in both the United States and Great Britain, it is undoubtedly the most detailed single-volume, illustrative reference on the universe ever published. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent overview explanations of the universe
The 384 pages of this book are very well laid out. It is divided into chapters followed by a reference section. The chapters are 1) history of astronomy (pgs 28-51), 2) laws of physics (pgs 54-91), 3) in search of quantum reality (pgs 94-117), 4) the universe: past, present, & future (pgs 120-148), 5) contents of the cosmos (pgs 152-191), 6) our solar system (pgs 194-232), 7) watching the night sky (pgs 236-299), 8) space exploration (pgs 302-335) and a reference sections (336-383) which includes a glossary, an index and multiple tables with facts and figures.

Each of the chapters is divided into 20 or so articles. Each article is laid out on two facing pages with an introduction and clearly defined subheadings. The articles include supporting diagrams and explanations of personalities, milestones, theories, definitions, practical applications, and extra-science concepts (eg, philosophical, social, historical). The entire book is well illustrated. The writing is clear and aimed at the intelligent layman.

The layout of this encyclopedia allows the user to turn to any two-page article and find a self-contained explanation of a particular topic. The articles are logically sequenced, so that the entire encyclopedia could be read sequentially like a textbook. Within each article are page references to related topics.

It is obvious that many intelligent people put much thought and effort into this book. It is of a quality that you would expect to find in a public library, but the price makes affordable for keep in your home. I first discovered this book in our public library and looked it up in Amazon to buy a copy for myself. I had expected the price to be in the $50-$90 range and was pleasantly surprised to find it much lower.

Highly recommended to anyone interested in the nature and structure of the universe.

Fun and enjoyable book on physics
It's amazing that I'm the first person to review this great book. This isn't exclusively an astronomy book; it actually covers almost all of classical and modern physics. There are chapters on everything in our universe from the very small to the very large--from quantum mechanics to classical physics, to the solar system to galactic evolution, the Big Bang, and cosmology. If you've wondered about what quarks really do, or the union that produced the electroweak theory, or the theory of the strong nuclear force, what such particles as W and Z bosons, Higgs bosons, gluons, and so on, really do, the cosmological theories of 11-dimensional string physics and membrane or M-theory, this book is a great place to start. To mention just two of the fascinating things I learned, results from the CERN accelerator in Geneva support the idea that nuclear particles absorb Higgs bosons in order to acquire mass, and that the asymmetry in the distribution between positively charged and negatively charged matter in our universe is thought to provide a direction to time itself.

The chapters are beautifully illustrated and the text is very clear and readable, and the subjects are presented at a level that would be useful for secondary up through the first year of college. Many special features and sections accompany the text, such as sidebars illustrating important concepts or capsule biographies of famous physicists and scientists and their contributions, such as those of Murray Gell-Mann and Richard Feynman, and dozens of others. As if that weren't enough, there is a sizeable section on observational astronomy with star maps, a chapter on planetary astronomy, and even one on space exploration detailing every important manned and unmanned mission into space. Finally, there is a glossary of technical terms, tables of useful astonomical information and physical data, and more. This is a great book to just browse or to read for the wealth of information on just about every topic in modern physics and astronomy. ... Read more

Book Description

Is the universe infinite or just really big? With this question, the gifted young cosmologist Janna Levin not only announces the central theme of her intriguing and controversial new book but establishes herself as one of the most direct and unorthodox voices in contemporary science.For even as she sets out to determine how big “really big” may be, Levin gives us an intimate look at the day-to-day life of a globe-trotting physicist, complete with jet lag and romantic disturbances.

Nimbly synthesizing geometry, topology, chaos and string theories, Levin shows how the pattern of hot and cold spots left over from the big bang may one day reveal the size and shape of the cosmos.She does so with such originality, lucidity—and even poetry—that How the Universe Got Its Spots becomes a thrilling and deeply personal communication between a scientist and the lay reader. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Lucid and funny
This book is engrossing on two levels: it presents science in a manner that is intellectually invigorating but it also compels as personal narrative. The author, a young and highly successful astrophysicist, gives a sharp and accessible account of current theories of the evolution, substance and topology of the universe and, using vivid imagery, presents an intriguing case for regarding it as finite. This crystal-clear instruction is interspersed with a diary which demonstrates how even the most scholarly pursuits are conducted against a backdrop of domestic relations and material considerations. If this sounds risky, it isn't. The author is eloquent, observant and witty.

I write as an arts specialist with a professional commitment to bringing science to artists and the wider public and am an avid, often critical, reader of 'popular' science books. I find the science writing extremely lucid and the thread of personal preoccupation ingenious on a number of levels - giving the reader's brain a rest just when it was beginning to protest and forming a tersely-told story all on its own, inversely heightened by the science. Since when has a physics book been funny? Janna Levin is a scientist from a refreshingly unpretentious new generation and writes for her contemporaries but also for anyone in the wider public with intelligence and a natural curiosity for matter - and matters - great and small.

A Glowing Example of Parabasis. Seinfeld Eat Your Heart Out
Dr.Janna Levin, a physicist/mathematician/topologist, steps out of the halls of academe and her personal life, and takes center stage at The Riddle of the Universe Theater and shows herself to be a brilliant performer. She is a connecting link between the musings of Oswald Spengler, P. D. Ouspensky & Alfred Korzybski on one side and Sir James Jeans, Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington & George Gamow on the other. It's a pity that James R. Newman (THE WORLD OF MATHEMATICS)is not around to comment on her performance. Like David Lynch's movie, she admits that "The world (universe) is strange on top and wild at heart," but unlike an Edward Gorey character does not despair or lose her subtle sense of humor. Humor is an avis raris in cosmology, but here it shines like a dewdrop in a cesspool. Practicing eggheads will immediately realize that this book should be on the bookshelf next to Carroll's THE HUNTING OF THE SNARK along with the commentary upon it completed by F. C. S. Schiller in 1901.
Her professional modesty is refreshing. She does not stand in the "Chariot of the Intellect" and shout, BEHOLD THE DUST I'M RAISING! The unstated conclusion of her performance can be summarized as: To assert or deny one "shape" for the universe
is a mark of prejudice. The rational person will regard the question as open; but don't despair, a solution just might be on the horizon.

All of a sudden I realized how big our universe might be
The author is an astrophysicist and has all the right credentials in the scientific world to perpetrate her theories on the nature of the universe. However, she has targeted this book to a broader audience. Had I not seen her promote her book in a local bookstore I might not have had my interest piqued. Also, my book discussion book selected this as its monthly choice and I was determined to read it even though, at first glance, some of the scientific diagrams seemed impossible to me as I have no background whatsoever in this area.

Wisely, though, the book is constructed as a diary of her personal life as well as explanations of her work in a letter format. She actually wrote these letters to her mother, and therefore I thought her descriptions would be simple. They weren't. However, by pushing myself to read every word, even though much of the theory was difficult, I made a discovery. All of a sudden I was introduced to concepts that I had never heard of before, no less understand. Although I'll never remember the details, I learned about Einstein and the theory of relativity, how the topology of the earth makes it a lot more complex than a perfect sphere and what the concept of "infinite" really means. And, most important, I realized just how big our universe must be and how we humans are just a tiny part of it.

As this is probably the only book I will ever read about the world of physics, I must thank the author for taking me on a journey to new and unexpected places in the small universe that is my own personal mind. The book is not an easy read, but for anyone willing to explore new frontiers, I definitely recommend it.

thought provoking, different
Levin attempts to describe in lay terms a foundation for cosmology, including the big bang, finite-vs-infinite size of the universe, and geometrical shape of the universe. It is a formidible challenge given the nonmathematical approach. She writes her book as a compilation of letters to her mother, with supplemented diagrams that are nonmathematical. Her argument for a finite universe is persuasive. She also writes about her life as a physicist/mathematician/artist including her relationship with a boyfriend musician. They break up in the book, with him resurfacing as an "appendix" in the end.

I met author Levin in a book signing event in Milwaukee and she updates us...she is married with a newborn.

The book is well written, lucid with many personal touches. A female physicist is a rarity and subsequently, this book, with its emotional touches and relationship referrals, is distinct and unique. But this aspect is refreshing and not distracting to the reader. I recommend Levin's book as a refreshing "4" stars and my only criticism, mildly, is the short address of string theory and future predictions on astronomy research.

sparked my intrest in cosmology
I had never studied this subject until I bought this book on a whim. This book opened up the universe for me. She makes difficuilt concepts a little easyer to understand, while grounding you a bit with her own personal experiances, and posing questions I had never had the fortune to ask, or even know could be asked. ... Read more

Book Description

The glowing cloud in Orion's sword, the Orion Nebula is a thing of beauty in the night sky; it is also the closest center of massive star formation--a stellar nursery that reproduces the conditions in which our own Sun formed some 4.5 billion years ago. The study of the Orion Nebula, focused upon by ever more powerful telescopes from Galileo's time to our own, clarifies how stars are formed, and how we have come to understand the process. C. Robert O'Dell has spent a lifetime studying Orion, and in this book he explains what the Nebula is, how it shines, its role in giving birth to stars, and the insights it affords into how common (or rare) planet formation might be.

An account of astronomy's extended engagement with one remarkable celestial object, this book also tells the story of astronomy over the last four centuries. To help readers appreciate the Nebula and its secrets, O'Dell unfolds his tale chronologically, as astrophysical knowledge developed, and our knowledge of the Nebula and the night sky improved.

Because he served as chief scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope, O'Dell conveys a sense of continuity with his professional ancestors as he describes the construction of the world's most powerful observatory. The result is a rare insider's view of this observatory--and, from that unique perspective, an intimate observer's understanding of one of the sky's most instructive and magnificent objects.

Amazon.com

Are we alone, literally freaks of nature, just one planet of living, breathing things amidst a seemingly infinite, lifeless desert? This is one of the big questions posed by human nature, one that we have traditionally looked to religion to answer, but that is now coming within the grasp of science. Despite--or perhaps because--of this, we find increasing opposition to allocating resources to space exploration. Biochemist Robert Shapiro is an unabashed supporter of this research, and his book Planetary Dreams: The Quest to Discover Life Beyond Earth is both a compelling response to the stay-at-homes and a pleasantly readable overview of what we know and don't know about the origin of life here and elsewhere.

Contrasting those who believe in special creation or a cosmic fluke that produced life only once with adherents to a life principle that favors its development wherever conditions suffice, Shapiro suggests that the best way to resolve the issue is simple: let's go looking. He feels that the importance of this question to most people has been underrated by those who (nobly) want to meet our basic needs here on earth before we take off for new worlds, and that we can accommodate everyone by shifting burdens of research funding and reinspiring the public with a new emphasis on this work as a search for meaning. Whether or not his ideas will move us forward, the lively, thoughtful Planetary Dreams is one of the best starting points for learning about the search for the origins of life here and, maybe, out there. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (8)

A Rather Good Book
I had this book on my shelf for over a year before I took it down for a read. I thought I might be bored by it, since it is a popular treatment of a subject I know pretty well. But Shapiro brought the subject to life in a rather interesting way, dealing not only with the particular issues asociated with the chemistry of life's origin, but with the deeper philosophical issues that lie behind the debate. I especially liked his illuminating flight of fancy entitled "A Dinner Out of time," which features Frederich Engels, Herbert Spencer, and Teilhard De Chardin (Marxist, libertarian, and Christian exponents of the idea of progress in nature, respectively) at one table, and Jacques Monod, Steven Jay Gould, Fred Hoyle, and William Jennings Bryan (all opposed to the idea) at the other. Shapiro is right on the mark when he asserts that the philosophical bias of the opposing camps has a strong role in directing their interpretations of the data, whether of Earth's history, the Viking results, of the Alan Hills meteorite. He is also right in his thesis stating what the stakes in this apparently abstract controversary actually are. All in all, a fine book.

Very average
This is a subject that I am very interested in. However I found the book quite boring to read. Trying to make it clear, to the general reader he ended out boring, someone who knows a little more.

I found the book being quite bad. The fundamental problem in this subject is the Femni paradox. If they are so many out there, then at least one would be a space faring. If so then estimates vary as to how quickly they could colonise the galaxy. A conservative figure would be between 10 to 300 million years. This period in galaxy history is nothing. If so, we should not have to look at all. Evidence of there existence would be everywhere. The writer very briefly talks about this, then goes off into a tangent and leaves it. Either he has never read any book that discusses this (eg Frank Tipler) or ignores them. In either case its an issue.

Some of his history as well is a bit dubious like his argument about the Ming dynasty navy stopping of exploration. This he claims left their place to be filled by Europeans. The Ming's unlike the Europeans were not traders. There is no evidence to suggest that they would become traders. Their exploration ships showed that China had no enemies in the South. The only result would be, that they would have to spend large sums of money. Those resources were needed, as the Ming bureaucrats stated, where they faced a real threat in the North. This history would prove them correct. And history suggests that the real lesson is that if research is not profitable (in an economic sense) then goverments can and will pull the plug.

The writer goes on and on making some quite fantastic claims that make life far more possible, then it obviously is in reality. Most evidence now seems to suggest that life is very rare. For example recent evidence suggests that water is less important to Mars history then he suggests.

Although I approve of more research for space, this writer often seems to be more on the political rather then scientific.

Another poor book promoting E.T. life
For years scientists have been dicovering the limitations the universe puts on life. In other words, life is very rare. Conservative estimates put one Earth-like planet per galaxy. Ironically it is often the SETI-pushers whom discover these life-limiting constants (i.e. Carl Sagan) but wishful thinking gets in their way. Perhaps their personal philosophy or religion tells them there "must" be millions of worlds, but wishful thinking must give way to reality.

None of the planetery systems thus found could support life. The "millions of stars, so there must be millions of worlds" argument doesn't hold. Because the requirements for life elimate perhaps 99% of those stars. Its time people stop these fantasys. Try reading real science in Denton's "Nature's Destiny" or the new book "Rare Earth." The "Sagan Paradigm" is dead.

A very uneven treatment
I bought this book largely because of the very favorable reviews here. By page 70 I was ready to fling it across the room and give up on it -- I was getting nothing useful out of it, and I was seriously irritated by the style. Here is an example from page 67: "[Helmholtz was] an incredibly prolific man ... a physiologist, physicist, and physician (he had an affinity for the professions that started with "physi")." Now a joke like that might get chortles of glee from the peanut"~ gallery, but I can definitely do without it. What was Shapiro thinking? Who is his intended audience? "~ book. Shapiro is carrying LOTS of baggage, he has a huge agenda that more or less stays hidden as he describes what other people think. He wants desperately for humans to explore and colonize the Solar System and the Universe."~ same way we've treated the Earth? Anyway -- this book is pretty good in sum but if you want a straightforward picture, buy Malcolm Walter's or Bill Schopf's book instead of this. the same person, it's scary. It's even a little scary that after reading "Planetary Dreams" I can't entirely be sure.

Fresh and inspiring ideas!
Planetary Dreams is a superb book full of interesting information and ideas. I particularly liked the fresh and inspiring ideas in the last two chapters. Robert Shapiro, a well regarded scientist, is not afraid to express his visions of the future of space exploration along with his solid science. ... Read more

Book Description

In this immensely readable book, noted cosmologist Rocky Kolb reveals the very human struggles of astronomy superstars seeking cosmic truths while lost in the clouds of confusion.Punctured by the author's razor sharp wit, this book provides anyone curious about science with a behind the scenes peek into the discovery process-it's not exactly the scientific method you learned in school. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Looking at the Sky
If you have ever wonder how new stars were found, and how scientist came up with the alignment of the planets. Then read Blind Watchers of the Sky:The People that Shaped our Views of The Universe. Discover how the scientist came up with their theories, and the basic history of cosmology. The book flows very well and is interesting. Learn more about the thought of the scientist that have spent most of their lives studying the sky.

It's simple and entertaining
Unlike the other reviewers here, I *had* to read this book. Why is that? Because I took Natural Sciences 101 at the University of Chicago, and it happened to be taught by the very same Rocky Kolb. I must say, I was a little leery about reading a book written by the prof, I mean, how self serving is that? But let me tell you, this book captivated me more than any other that quarter. It's clear and concise, but most importantly, its humor keeps you wanting to read more. He writes just like he teaches. That's his voice speaking from the pages, and he's speaking something he knows a lot about. If you want to get the basics of the history of cosmology and get in on the ground floor of a few of the more complicated cosmologiacl principals, all in an entertaining read, this book is for you.

A Stellar Book
I don't remember the last time I read a book that was as packed with fascinating facts about astronomy as this one. Better still, Mr. Kolb's dry wit makes the book a very quick read.

If you're interested in the history of astronomy and want a book that takes you past the basics, read this book. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Blind Watchers of the Sky
After reading Blind Watchers of the Sky all I have to is, "wow!" I never thought I would learn more about (or care about, for that matter) astronomy. The basis of my celestial knowledge before reading this book was elementary to say the least. My comprehension of astronomy now is not that of a rocket scientist or anything but it is a secure foundation on which further studying will be easier understood because of the basic concept learned from this book. These concepts are not exactly abecedarian, they are not easy to grasp in a classroom or textbook. For some reason Kolb's intricate stories explain these concepts in a flowing manner that doesn't stress the mind. All of a sudden you are reading and you pause to say aloud to yourself, "Oh, I get it." I would recommend this book to anyone. You need no past knowledge to enjoy the book or any great passion to learn about astronomy because it is entertaining aside from the fun facts you learn. I am not an astronomy scholar so I am unaware what there take on this book would be. But this is also an excellent source for high school astronomy students having a difficult time grasping our celestial ideas. -JoAnna Newburn

O coecos coeli spectatores
When I first picked up this book at my local library, little did I know it would become my obsession and my friend for the next week or so. The more I read, the more enchanted I became with its well-wrought out stories, its amusing, sometimes touching, anecdotical commentaries; and, the sheer joy it evinces throughout on relating this particular epic of the scientific quest for knowledge and discovery.

I specially enjoyed the insights into the tribulations and serendipitous breakthroughs every great astronomer, every great blind watcher of the sky included in Kolb's book, had to confront and interpret for our greater understanding of the universe. Unlike other books that dismiss mathematical details altogether for fear of alienating prospective readers, Kolb does the next best thing: it includes it all at the end!

After I read the library's copy through and through, I went out and bought my own copy--which I am annotating this time. It is a book I am sure I will be referring to in the years to come. I look forward to reading Rocky Kolb's next book. (I hope he is writing one!) We can all benefit from this type of clear and inspirational scientific popularization. ... Read more

Book Description

"In southern California, nearly a half-century ago, a small band of researchers-equipped with a new 200-inch telescope and a faith born of scientific optimism-embarked on the greatest intellectual adventure in the history of humankind: the search for the origin and fate of the universe. Their quest would eventually engulf all of physics and astronomy, leading not only to the discovery of quasars, black holes, and shadow matter but also to fame, controversy, and Nobel Prizes. Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos tells the story of the men and women who have taken eternity on their shoulders and stormed nature in search of answers to the deepest questions we know to ask." ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Could be called - The Mystery of Cosmology - Tops!!!
Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos is the greatest book every written about the search for ultimate answers about the universe. But the science is secondary to the gallery of scientists who are revealed in all their pettiness, persistence and ultimately greatness. The story of Allan Sandage - from boyhood dreamer to discoverer of mysteries - could be a book in itself. This is a book of almost poetic prose - a real page-turner that I couldn't set down. Get it today

Marvelous. Reads like a novel.
If you have an interest in cosmology and the fascinating stories of the men and women who have sought to solve the mysteries our universe and what may lie before and beyond, this book will be a memorable read. The author brings sophisticated astrophysics into laymen's terms, while he paints a colorful and historical mural of the personalities, struggles, and triumphs of this fascinating community of scientists. It reads like a novel but educates like a textbook

What a swell book!
Okay, I KNOW I'm a little biased, being an astronogrl and all, but this book is an AMAZING read! It reads like a novel, and yet contains so many interesting astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology concepts, that it will blow you away. Covers everything from the big bang to inflation to black holes to string theory to dark matter... Dennis Overbye (the author) has hob-nobbed with so many big names and been able to glean personal interviews that you begin to feel like you know these people and their astronomy struggles. And don't worry; This book contains no equations. This book makes me excited to do astronomy and it is the best book I have read this year and will always remain one of my favorites.

Beautiful Mystery of the Universe
Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos is the greatest book every written about the search for ultimate answers about the universe. But the science is secondary to the gallery of scientists who are revealed in all their pettiness, persistence and ultimately greatness. The story of Allan Sandage - from boyhood dreamer to discoverer of mysteries - could be a book in itself. This is a book of almost poetic prose - a real page-turner that I couldn't set down. Get it today

Scientific novel.
A story about the human beings behind the scientific discoveries: their dirty tricks, resentments, subversive attacks; in one word, their not so scientific behaviour in their competitive struggle to solve cosmological problems, e.g. the Hubble constant.
The central figure of the book is Allan Sandage, chief astronomer at the Mount Wilson telescope: his evolution from star watcher to computer freak.
This book is not an introduction to modern physics. Readers should have a fairly good knowledge of modern cosmology and quantum physics. Although the discussions about the Hubble constant, dark matter and the Guth inflation are impressively treated.
If you like novels about scientists and scientific debates, this is a good one. If you prefer popular science, there are other authors to recommend, like Paul Davies, Brian Greene, John Gribbin or Heisenberg himself. I prefer the second ones. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the first book to present the fascinating new results on the largest fractal structures in the universe. It guides the reader, in a simple way, to the frontiers of astronomy, explaining how fractals appear in cosmic physics, from our solar system to the megafractals in deep space. It also offers a personal view of the history of the idea of self-similarity and of cosmological principles, from Plato's ideal architecture of the heavens to Mandelbrot's fractals in the modern physical cosmos. In addition, this invaluable book presents the great fractal debate in astronomy (after Luciano Pietronero's first fractal analysis of the galaxy universe), which illustrates how new concepts and deeper observations reveal unexpected aspects of Nature. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

GREAT DISCOVERIES
The book Discovery of Cosmic Fractals by Yurij Baryshev and Pekka Teerikorpi describes the yet unexplored fractal structure of the universe, which is hard to handle in the big bang theory. The idea of self-similarity is much deeper than it looks, suggesting a universe made of self-defined and hence fractal (self-similar) 3D spiral interactions as it is argued in the book THEORY OF INTERACTION The Simplest Explanation of Everything by Eugene Savov. The comic fractals can be viewed as just another convincing confirmation of the emerging theory of interaction. These two books and also James Gleick's CHAOS Making a New Science are harbingers of a qualitatively new, singularity free and complete understanding of the universe. That is why I highly recommend these essential books to everybody interested in the puzzles of nature. ... Read more

Book Description

There are as many different kinds of stars as there are stars themselves. Each an individual, every one unique. In this arresting and lavishly illustrated volume, noted astronomy writer and teacher Jim Kaler choose 100 stars to illustrate the mind-boggling variety of the stars' shapes and sizes, their immense ages, and the vast range of configurations in which they exist.||From AG Draconis to Z Andromedae, this alphabetically arranged volume first lists each star's resident constellation, its class, its apparent brightness as viewed from Earth, its distance from our Sun, and its visual luminosity. Then the real story begins. In choosing his "top 100," Kaler has aimed not just at providing a representative sample of the Universe's extraordinarily diverse population, but at capturing their complexity, their dynamism, and the amazing view they provide into the extraordinary physical forces at play in the Universe.||James B. Kaler is Professor of Astronomy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has held both Fulbright and Guggenheim Fellowships, and has been awarded medals for his work from the University of Liege (Belgium) and the University of Mexico. He is the author of six books and dozens of articles on astronomy, including The Little Book of Stars (Copernicus Books, 2000) and lectures frequently.Enter The Hundred Greatest Stars by James Kaler...Following a very clear general introduction to stellar astronomy, Kaler embarks on an informative tour through his hundred favourite stars, each given a page of text with an appropriate illustration on the facing page...The really clever aspect of the book is that as well as describing the hundred stars, often bringing out aspects which are unfamiliar, Kaler succeeds in giving an excellent broad survey of recent developments in stellar astronomy. As is to be expected, the text is immensely authoritative...The illustrations are beautiful..."|-New Scientist ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The Hundred Greatest Stars by Kaler
This book has spectacular views of major stars/ clusters.
The 3 brightest stars of the Southern Hemisphere are depicted.
These stars are Sirius, Canopus and Alpha Centauri.
Important scientific rule structures are explained. i.e.
The apparent magnitude of a star is a function of distance.
In addition, Absolute Magnitude and Color are proportional to
temperature. Important statistics are provided for stars: i.e.

Blue-White Stars have 32-50 illumination with Ionized Helium.

Infrared stars are 1000 degrees with prominent methane bands.

Stars with > 10 solar masses--are exploding stars

Ag Dra has powerful eruptions. Celestial Harp is approximately
880 Light Years with a 2600 times the sun luminosity.

This work is a virtual treasure-chest of scientific facts and
data about stars. It is perfect for a school science project.
The book is written for a large constituency of readers. i.e.
Astronomers, scientists, general audiences, teachers,
museum administrators and many others.

His Best Yet!
I was not a big fan of Kaler's until this book. I had read his "Extreme Stars" -- very difficult to follow with his writing style, but still a good book. I begged the library to order this one, which they did. Very impressive -- I was enthralled. He discusses each star with true passion and on a level the ordinary amateur astronomer can understand. If someone can get me excited looking at a boring 5th magnitude 51 Pegasii, then he's done a good job :) --- he has. Excellent illustrations to boot! Buy this book - you won't be disappointed.

Update: January 2004 - after 3 times checking it out from the library -- decided it was too good of a reference book to pass up and ordered from Amazon.com at discounted price! A true gem - I will observe outside, then use this to enrich my knowledge of some of the stars I've looked at afterwards. All the "biggies" are here - Arcturus, Sirius, Capella, Vega, Betelguese, and some other obscure ones -- but all so well chosen that it's hard to argue with his 100 picks! I wish he'd write another on his next top 100. I am also half through his "Little Book of Stars" and recommend that too! Will write a review on that when I am finished. Bottomline: Buy this book - you won't be disappointed if you are an astronomy buff.

Informative and colorful
No Katharine Hepburn or Al Pacino here. Instead we have Betelgeuse and Cygnus X-1, Deneb and MXB 1730-335 and 96 other illuminators of the night sky as selected by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Professor of Astronomy James B. Kaler. They are called "the greatest" mostly because they are significant in one way or another and partly because they are Kaler's favorites.

Of course included are Alpha Centauri, our closest interstellar neighbors, and Barnard's Star, the fastest moving star across our line of sight, and Polaris, the North Star, friend to navigators. The sun is included for comparison and reference.

Kaler begins the book with what he calls an "Introduction and Allegro" in which he explains what stars are and how they are classified and how they evolve. Then come mini essays on the each of the chosen stars, what's interesting and important about them, their history and vital statistics beginning with number zero, the sun. He identifies the "Residence" of each star according to astronomical constellation, alternative name, its class such as F2 giant (Beta Cassiopeiae), its visual magnitude, its distance from us, its absolute visual magnitude, and its "Significance" (e.g., ESO 439-26 is "The faintest known white dwarf.") Because of the range of different types of stars that Kaler has chosen (with wildly differing system configurations), double and triple stars, stars with known planets, pulsars, neutron stars, black holes, etc., reading through the various essays amounts to a modest astronomical education in itself.

There are color plates pertaining to each star, sometimes of the star and sometimes of the area of the sky in which the star can be found, and sometimes pertaining to something significant about the star such as a colorful drawing of the inflowing gas from the giant surrounding the black hole at Cygnus X-1.

There's a modest glossary and three appendices, one listing the stars by their various names for easy recognition, the second by their evolutionary status (Main Sequence stars, Neutron stars, etc.), and the third by position (by Declination and Right Association).

This works well as an introduction to stars and their nature and as a source of reference for the amateur star-gazer. It is an attractive book that would make a fine gift especially for a young person just becoming interested in astronomy. It is technical in spots, but overall it is readily accessible to the general reader.

Informative, superbly illustrated, astronomical reference
Accessibly written by James B. Kaler (Professor of Astronomy, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign), The Hundred Greatest Stars is an incredible, informative, superbly illustrated, astronomical reference describing one hundred different stars ranging from Acrux to ZZ Ceti. Each individual star has a full color photograph and an accompanying page of scientific description with close attention to detail. The Hundred Greatest Stars is a strongly recommended, beautifully illustrated study for astronomy buffs. ... Read more

Book Description

Our universe seems strangely ''biophilic,'' or hospitable to life. Is this happenstance, providence, or coincidence? According to cosmologist Martin Rees, the answer depends on the answer to another question, the one posed by Einstein's famous remark: ''What interests me most is whether God could have made the world differently.'' This highly engaging book explores the fascinating consequences of the answer being ''yes.'' Rees explores the notion that our universe is just a part of a vast ''multiverse,'' or ensemble of universes, in which most of the other universes are lifeless. What we call the laws of nature would then be no more than local bylaws, imposed in the aftermath of our own Big Bang. In this scenario, our cosmic habitat would be a special, possibly unique universe where the prevailing laws of physics allowed life to emerge.

Rees begins by exploring the nature of our solar system and examining a range of related issues such as whether our universe is or isn't infinite. He asks, for example: How likely is life? How credible is the Big Bang theory? Rees then peers into the long-range cosmic future before tracing the causal chain backward to the beginning. He concludes by trying to untangle the paradoxical notion that our entire universe, stretching 10 billion light-years in all directions, emerged from an infinitesimal speck.

As Rees argues, we may already have intimations of other universes. But the fate of the multiverse concept depends on the still-unknown bedrock nature of space and time on scales a trillion trillion times smaller than atoms, in the realm governed by the quantum physics of gravity. Expanding our comprehension of the cosmos, Our Cosmic Habitat will be read and enjoyed by all those--scientists and nonscientists alike--who are as fascinated by the universe we inhabit as is the author himself.

... Read more

Reviews (14)

Our Cosmic Habitat
Our Cosmic Habitat written by Martin J. Rees is a book that looks at the fundamentals and conjectures of our galaxy and for that matter, of what we know, the universe.

To link the cosmos and the microworld requires a breakthrough. Twentieth-century physics rests on two great foundations: the quantum principle(that which governs the "inner space" of atoms) and Einstein's relativity theory, which describes time, outer space, and gravity but doesn't incorporate quantum effects.

Yet looking at the two great foundations you'd think that physics could link the two, well, surprise... they haven't. The structures erected on the foundations are still as far apart as the day they were proposed. Until there is a unified theory of the forces governing both cosmos and microworld, we won't be able to understand the fundamental features of our universe... the superstring theory shows the most promiss.

Superstring or M-theory in which each point in our ordinary space is actually a tightly folded in six dimensions, wrapped up on scales perhaps a billion billion times smaller than an atomic nucleus, and particles are represented as vibrating loops of "string."

As you can see this can get pretty deep, but the author has written this book so it can be easily understood and comprehended by the layreader. The author has a very effective prose and the narrative moves quickly and the reader gets a tour-de-force in the study of cosmology.

The book has three parts and each part has chapters. The chapters break the information down into easily understood groupings. A view of a multiverse or may universesis not just found in science-fiction anymore. It seems that the multiverse is getting play from those who are willing to venture out.

All in all, this was a very readable and engrossing read. It moved quickly and there are illustrating within the book that help in explaining different aspects of what the author is relaying to the reader. The book requires that the reader has some science background to get the most out of the book.

How Did We Get Here?
People have always wondered about the place of the Earth in the cosmic scheme of things. Cosmology, the science of the biggest of all big pictures, has over the past century been one of the areas of science that people have the most curiosity about. Cosmologists were not always well respected by other scientists; their work was speculative and on the fringe, it was thought. But then the strange idea of the Big Bang Theory took hold. In 1965, cosmic background radiation was found all over the universe that had been predicted by the Big Bang Theory. In 1990, measurements from the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite provided a spectacular confirmation that the radiation came from a huge explosion of matter and space 13 billion years ago. Sir Martin Rees was one of the celebrated circle of astrophysicists at Cambridge that also produced Stephen Hawking, and he is now the Astronomer Royal. Cosmology is no longer fringe; in _Our Cosmic Habitat_ (Princeton University Press), Rees insists, "The big bang theory deserves to be taken at least as seriously as anything geologists or paleontologists tell us about the early history of our Earth."

Rees's entertaining summary of his stance on cosmological issues serves as a guide to where we live in the universe. Cosmologists who take up the chore of explaining their work to the public have enormous obstacles against them. Their science uses more of mathematics than observation, and the extent of times involved and the counterintuitive strangeness of different forms of matter and energy may be data that experts get a feel for, but will always be foreign to most of us. Hawking's _A Brief History of Time_ is a best seller (and let us be thankful that this is so!), but I have never run into a reader, myself included, who wasn't mystified by big blocks of it. Rees's book, written as an inaugural to the Scribner Lectures at Princeton, is concise, wise, and witty, and I think most people would find it more accessible than Hawking's. Rees has written to answer Einstein's famous question, "What interests me most is whether God could have made the world differently," and this is as good an answer as we are going to get until further facts turn up.

Rees has thought deeply about the "anthropic" contingencies that resulted in a planet with human life. If gravity or various other forces were tweaked only slightly, completely different universes, adverse to the formation of life, would result. He is not satisfied with the answer that if the contingencies were not just so, we wouldn't be here, and so the world looks fine-tuned just for us because we are here. The answer of a creator who deliberately dialed in the numbers smacks of a "god of the gaps," the unsatisfactory explanation of last resort for mysteries, an explanation that is not scientific and actually makes for more mysteries than it answers. The final part of Rees's stimulating book is devoted to the idea of a multiverse of which our own universe is only one of an almost infinite number. If there are plenty of other universes, it is not surprising that we would have wound up on one that seems designed or fine-tuned. He is quick to admit that this is speculation, but also proposes that there may be ways in the future to test if a multiverse might actually exist. It is an attractive idea. Is it testable? It is exciting to think that good minds are working on the problem, and we can wait and see.

Exellent Place to Begin
I've only just started this book and am only thirty or so pages in, but I've already decided that it's one of the best books of its kind that I've ever read. I don't know what it is, exactly, about Rees, but his writings are always the most understandable expositions of scientific concepts and evidence out there, at least to me. Sure, there are many other fine writers, but none of them can do quite what Rees does. I do have an initial observation I would like to offer, however:

If God created the universe and there is no other intelligent life out there, or any life at all, then he's a wasteful idiot. Just imagine the vastness of space - are you telling me he needed that much room just to make us?

If the universe came about due to natural forces and there is no other intelligent life out there, or any life at all, then the universe is a stupid, idiotic place. Just imagine that vastness again - are you telling me that either the universe needed that much space just to produce us, or that in all that vastness it could not come up with anything else?

I'm prepared for either event and I don't really care if there is intelligent life "out there" or not, but I know at least one thing - the absence of life/intelligence outside of earth would be solid proof of either God's or the unvierse's inadequacy.

A fine starter but nothing more
Martin Rees masterpiece remains for sure "Just Six Numbers". In a few pages, he has been able to track the most intriguing mysteries of physics, by explaining how small changes in "just six numbers" could have prevented us from being...
The idea behing this book is to cover quite broadly all the aspects of modern cosmology. The question which permeates the entire book is "is our existence just an accident, or do we exist because we had to (i.e. the laws of physics imply our existence)"? This is currently THE question in cosmology. After having tracked and measured the most significant quantities that set the laws of our universe, we have started to question "why" those numbers have the values that allows for our existence.
Of course there is no answer in the book, but what is disappointing is that the book just looks like a collection of short stories and information already seen in other books.
Whoever has already read books on cosmology, quantum mechanics and relativity will find just a repetition of short summaries, with a little characterisation by the author.
The good point is that this book can surely be a good starter for neophytes.

Deep Mysteries of the Cosmos Simply Told
Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal of Great Britain, wonderfully tells everything about cosmology in this concise book. The reader is lead to a quick tour from Big Bang to biospheres, from the beginning to the end of the universe, and from the micro-world to the cosmos. Yet the description is not superficial but very deep.

Among many of mysteries we learn from this book, let me mention only a few big ones. (1) Dark matter: This prevails over visible matter in constituting the total energy of the universe. It is the No. 1 problem in astronomy today, and ranks high as a physics problem, too. (2) Vacuum energy: This is the origin of the accelerating expansion of the universe. Its nature is a challenge to theorists; it holds important clues to the early universe and the nature of space. (3) Other universes: Our universe may be just one of them. While seeming to be in the province of metaphysics rather than physics, these already lie within the proper purview of science.

The author says that the phrases often used in popular books, "final theory" and "theory of everything," are very misleading and that some of nature's complexity may never be explained and understood. These words just made the scales fall from my eyes. I strongly recommend this book to laypersons interested in astronomy, cosmology, problems at the boundary between science and philosophy, and the deep mysteries of nature. ... Read more

Book Description

This book constitutes the proceedings of a very topical workshop aimed at understanding the shapes of the baryonic and dark matter components of galaxies. Several groups presented their recent results from observations and numerical N-body simulations. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Good introduction for non-science types
A fine and clear review of the development of cosmological theory from Ptolemy to the present, definitely written for the curious non-scientist.
Seife has a good feeling for how strange the universe is, and for how unsettling it can be to contemplate it. He takes your hand and leads you through the stories of discovery with respect, but assuming you know little to nothing about the subject.
I had trouble putting it down.

Trying to elucidate a difficult subject
Science writer Charles Seife, author of the award-wining Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea (2000), begins with two chapters on pre-modern cosmology followed by a chapter on Hubble's discovery of the expansion of the universe using the new 100-inch telescope placed atop Mount Wilson in 1917. Seife sees Hubble's discovery as "The Second Cosmological Revolution." In Chapter Four we learn, thanks in part to the Hubble Space Telescope, that the Hubble constant is not so constant after all and is indeed larger today than it was in the past. Conclusion: the universe is not only expanding, but is accelerating in its expansion. Seife calls this "The Third Cosmological Revolution." The chapter is subtitled, "The Universe Amok."

Maybe the universe is indeed running amok, or maybe it's the astrophysicists and cosmologists themselves who are possessed. Too much data too soon may have untoward consequences, especially when one is feeling about in the dark with limited instruments focused on an immensity perhaps beyond human comprehension.

First there is the problem of the so-called dark matter. With the curvature of the universe at one, meaning that it will expand forever and eventually after many an eon die a cold and lonely death, there will be no big crunch, no bounce, and no time reversal. This is okay. However, when cosmologists go looking for the correct amount of matter and energy to support this flat curvature they come up a little short. About ninety percent short, in fact. In other words nearly all that there is, is not only invisible to our perception, it is completely mysterious except that it does indeed influence gravitationally the rest of the stuff in the universe. As Seife explains, the stars in a galaxy as they rotate around the galactic center are not moving in concert with Newtonian (or Einsteinian) motion; instead the stars furthest from the center are moving at about the same speed as those near the center, an impossibility.

What to do about this? Cosmologists have postulated some "dark matter" surrounding galaxies like a halo. With just the right amount of dark matter (again approximately a whopping nine times that observed) the speed of the stars is nicely accounted for. There is another solution: reject Newtonian/Einsteinian dynamics. That (as radical an idea as one would like to entertain) has been tried and, as Seife notes, it has failed. (See p. 100) Furthermore, as Seife observes in "Darker Still" (Chapter 7), this invisible stuff cannot be all ordinary (baryonic) matter. It has to be of some "exotic" variety that we can't identify.

Okay, let's put the dark matter conundrum on hold and look at the next problem: something from nothing. It appears that, due to the uncertainty principle from quantum mechanics, there is no such thing as nothing. That is, matter is probabilistically jumping in and out of existence down near the Planck level in the "foam" regardless of how complete the vacuum. Indeed, some theorists have imagined whole universes popping randomly out of...what? It would appear that underneath, beneath, inside of--what?--there is, like an unfelt cauldron beneath our feet or inside the very fabric of space/time, something unimaginably immense and/or unimaginably tiny.

This "zero point energy" is now being postulated as the source of Einstein's cosmological constant (lambda) that is expanding the universe. Lambda was once thought to be an error; now "omega sub lambda" is thought to equal 65% of the matter/energy in the universe. Hello!

Seife's book suffers from that familiar plague on the house of popular science writers: trying to explain mathematical ideas without using mathematics, and trying to explain particle physics and quantum mechanics to people who haven't been trained in those sciences. One must rely on analogy and metaphor. Naturally using such devices things can make things even fuzzier than they already are. Also there is some inexactness in Seife's expression employed for what he calls "the sake of clarity."

Sometimes Seife's metaphors reduce