Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson was simplified enough that I could almost begin to fathom parts of it. The grand scale of the universe or multiverse or whatever hugeness is out there seems like a great imaginary tale. My little, tiny reality does not mesh with the vastness of trillions of miles as a measurement or billions of galaxies, our Milky Way being only one little spiral among many. Tyson says scientists think the gigantic, galactic, humongous universe, as we know it, was at one time smaller than one-trillionth the size of the period at the end of this sentence. It might as well be a magical fairy tale.
Some fascinating science-y things I learned:
- Helium was detected in the sun’s corona in the 1800s before it was ever discovered on Earth.
- Planets don’t really fly through space orbiting the sun but are carried across the fabric of space-time.
- Iridium is the densest element we know of—2 cubic feet of it weighs as much as a car.
- Pluto is not a planet. I have finally released my hold on the poor thing. It turns out, this mistake has been made before. Two other “planets” were discovered in the 1800s named Ceres and Pallas. We eventually figured out they were asteroids and now know Pluto is a comet. Sigh. I think we hung on so long because it was the first planet discovered by an American.
- About 1,000 tons of Martian rocks rain down on earth each year. Possibly a similar amount reaches us from our Moon. When meteors and asteroids hit them, they send debris flying our way. When we pick up a rock and put it in our pocket, it could be from Mars or the Moon.
Tyson, Neil deGrasse, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2017.
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