One of the better documentaries about the universe that I have seen in recent years, Brian Cox’s Wonders of the Universe is worth a watch.
Category: cosmos (Page 3 of 4)
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Sky Map provides a remarkable visual exploration of only 400,000 galaxies. Yes, only 400,000 out of billions. This video, made in the visible spectrum, could possibly be the most amazing sequence of images a human has ever seen. Warning! This video’s grand scale may cause you to experience vertigo.
The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe by Jonathan Katz is a decent book on gamma-ray bursts and their history. I would recommend this book as an introduction to these transient phenomena.
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.
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| NGC 922 – X-Ray |
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| NGC 922 – Optical |
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| NGC 922 – X-Ray and Optical |
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.
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