The Boyfriend has turned me into a bit of a science nerd. I always find science classes to be fun, and sciencey shows to be interesting, but now I'm reading books and blogs on the subject. We've also attended a few lectures in the the Smithsonian Institution's Star Lecture Series. Between my new found love of all things science and NASA's release of the new "blue marble" image, I finally settled on this month's Variations on a Theme: Science - The Space/Time Edition.
(I dare you to not hum the Doctor Who theme right now.)
All the summaries provided are from Barnes and Noble.
How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had it Coming
Mike Brown
The solar system most of us grew up with included nine planets, with Mercury closest to the sun and Pluto at the outer edge. Then, in 2005, astronomer Mike Brown made the discovery of a lifetime: a tenth planet, Eris, slightly bigger than Pluto. But instead of adding one more planet to our solar system, Brown’s find ignited a firestorm of controversy that culminated in the demotion of Pluto from real planet to the newly coined category of “dwarf” planet. Suddenly Brown was receiving hate mail from schoolchildren and being bombarded by TV reporters—all because of the discovery he had spent years searching for and a lifetime dreaming about.
The Backyard Astronomer's Guide
Terence Dickinson and Alan Dreyer
The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos
Brian Greene
There was a time when "universe" meant all there is. Everything. Yet, a number of theories are converging on the possibility that our universe may be but one among many parallel universes populating a vast multiverse. Here, Briane Greene, one of our foremost physicists and science writers, takes us on a breathtaking journey to a multiverse comprising an endless series of big bangs, a multiverse with duplicates of every one of us, a multiverse populated by vast sheets of spacetime, a multiverse in which all we consider real are holographic illusions, and even a multiverse made purely of math—and reveals the reality hidden within each.
A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes
Stephen Hawking
The 4 Percent Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality
Richard Panek
Other Science Titles:
The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must - Robert Zubrin
Cosmos - Carl Sagan
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory - Brian Greene
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality - Brian Greene
The Grand Design - Stephen Hawking
Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the Tenth Dimension - Michio Kaku
A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
The Universe in a Nutshell - Stephen Hawking
Wonders of the Universe - Brian Cox
(I dare you to not hum the Doctor Who theme right now.)
All the summaries provided are from Barnes and Noble.
Mike Brown
The solar system most of us grew up with included nine planets, with Mercury closest to the sun and Pluto at the outer edge. Then, in 2005, astronomer Mike Brown made the discovery of a lifetime: a tenth planet, Eris, slightly bigger than Pluto. But instead of adding one more planet to our solar system, Brown’s find ignited a firestorm of controversy that culminated in the demotion of Pluto from real planet to the newly coined category of “dwarf” planet. Suddenly Brown was receiving hate mail from schoolchildren and being bombarded by TV reporters—all because of the discovery he had spent years searching for and a lifetime dreaming about.
Terence Dickinson and Alan Dreyer
The newest edition of The Backyard Astronomer's Guide
includes the latest data and answers the questions most often asked by
home astronomers, from beginners to experienced stargazers. Terence
Dickinson and Alan Dyer provide expert guidance on the right types of
telescopes and other equipment; photographing the stars through a
telescope; and star charts, software and other references. They cover
daytime and twilight observing, planetary and deep-sky observing, and
much more.
Brian Greene
There was a time when "universe" meant all there is. Everything. Yet, a number of theories are converging on the possibility that our universe may be but one among many parallel universes populating a vast multiverse. Here, Briane Greene, one of our foremost physicists and science writers, takes us on a breathtaking journey to a multiverse comprising an endless series of big bangs, a multiverse with duplicates of every one of us, a multiverse populated by vast sheets of spacetime, a multiverse in which all we consider real are holographic illusions, and even a multiverse made purely of math—and reveals the reality hidden within each.
Stephen Hawking
Told in language we all can understand, A Brief History of Time
plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks, of antimatter
and “arrows of time,” of the big bang and a bigger God—where the
possibilities are wondrous and unexpected. With exciting images and
profound imagination, Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate
secrets at the very heart of creation. This landmark volume in scientific writing leads us on an exhilarating
journey to distant galaxies, black holes, and alternate dimensions, and
includes Professor Hawking's observations about the last decade's
advances -- developments that have confirmed many of his theoretical
predictions. Makes vividly clear how Professor Hawking's work has
transformed our view of the universe.
The 4 Percent Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality
Richard Panek
In the past few years, a handful of scientists have been racing to
explain a disturbing aspect of our universe: only 4 percent of it
consists of the matter that makes up you, me, our books, and every
planet, star, and galaxy. The rest—96 percent of the universe—is
completely unknown. Richard Panek tells the dramatic story of how
scientists reached this cosmos-shattering conclusion, and what they’re
doing to find this "dark" matter and an even more bizarre substance
called dark energy. This is perhaps the greatest mystery in all of
science, and solving it will bring fame, funding, and certainly a Nobel
Prize. Based on in-depth, on-site reporting and hundreds of
interviews–with everyone from Berkeley’s feisty Saul Perlmutter and
Johns Hopkins’s meticulous Adam Riess to the quietly revolutionary Vera
Rubin–the book offers an intimate portrait of the bitter rivalries and
fruitful collaborations, the eureka moments and blind alleys, that have
fueled their search, redefined science, and reinvented the universe. The
stakes couldn’t be higher. Our view of the cosmos is profoundly wrong,
and Copernicus was only the beginning: not just Earth, but all common
matter is a marginal part of existence. Panek’s fast-paced narrative,
filled with behind-the-scenes details, brings this epic story to life
for the very first time.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Loyal readers of the monthly "Universe" essays in Natural History
magazine have long recognized Neil deGrasse Tyson's talent for guiding
them through the mysteries of the cosmos with stunning clarity and
almost childlike enthusiasm. Here, Tyson compiles his favorite essays
across a myriad of cosmic topics. The title essay introduces readers to
the physics of black holes by explaining the gory details of what would
happen to your body if you fell into one. "Holy Wars" examines the
needless friction between science and religion in the context of
historical conflicts. "The Search for Life in the Universe" explores
astral life from the frontiers of astrobiology. And "Hollywood Nights"
assails the movie industry's feeble efforts to get its night skies
right.
Other Science Titles:
The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must - Robert Zubrin
Cosmos - Carl Sagan
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory - Brian Greene
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality - Brian Greene
The Grand Design - Stephen Hawking
Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the Tenth Dimension - Michio Kaku
A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
The Universe in a Nutshell - Stephen Hawking
Wonders of the Universe - Brian Cox
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