An Autonomous Agent

exploring the noosphere

Category: space (Page 5 of 8)

The Restless Universe: Understanding X-Ray Astronomy in the Age of Chandra and Newton – Eric Schlegel

 

Chandra X-Ray observatory, named after Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, has provided scientists with the best x-ray images ever taken of the universe. To explore the satellite’s mission and its discoveries, I would recommend reading The Restless Universe: Understanding X-Ray Astronomy in the Age of Chandra and Newton by Eric Schlegel.

NGC 922 – X-Ray
NGC 922 – Optical
NGC 922 – X-Ray and Optical

Moon Hunters: NASA’s Remarkable Expeditions to the Ends of the Solar System – Jeffrey Kluger

Anyone interested in a first hand account of NASA‘s robotic missions to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn will find Moon Hunters: NASA’s Remarkable Expeditions to the Ends of the Solar System by Jeffrey Kluger to be a great read. Various moons, like Europa and Titan, may harbor forms of life and the only way to find out is to explore them. The book narrates the discoveries of various probes, such as Ranger, Voyager, and Galileo.

Miss Leavitt’s Stars: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Discovered How to Measure the Universe

It’s a rare conversation that mentions the importance of women in the history of math and science. I am not too sure why, as there have been many important women in the history of math and science. To prove this, just check out Hypatia, Emmy Noether, and Henrietta Swan Leavitt. Leavitt made the discovery that Cepheid variable stars are the key in finding the distance to galaxies. To be more direct, she found out how to measure the universe. Anyone interested in this story should read George Johnson’s book, Miss Leavitt’s Stars: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Discovered How to Measure the Universe.

On the Shoulders of Giants – Steven Hawking

I am not sure why, but I bought On the Shoulders of Giants, by Steven Hawking, with the intention of reading the entire 1280 page volume. I was not able to finish any of the works contained in the anthology.  Not because of their difficulty, but because I found all of them, except Einstein’s boring. This is probably because I grew up reading so many books that already assumed that the planets orbit the sun in ellipses according to Kepler’s laws. All the works are legendary from a historical perspective, since they basically changed the course of science and history. The book is a neat addition to a library collection.

Lost in Space: The Fall of NASA and the Dream of a New Space Age – Greg Klerkx

The discoveries and missions of NASA are extraordinary.  However, since the early 1990’s there has been an obvious decline in NASA’s exploration, primarily due to bureaucratic decisions. Perhaps space exploration should be left to the private sector? This is the question asked by Greg Klerkx in his novel Lost in Space: The Fall of NASA and the Dream of a New Space Age.

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