Physicist Brian Swimme talks about finding our home in the body of the universe — how the cells in our bodies and the dust on our bookshelves originated with the Big Bang, and the organic relationship between creativity and destruction.
Brian is a professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies and author of The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos, a book about how the universe was born.
For more than thirty years, Brian has been teaching evolutionary cosmology to graduate students. But he’s more than a scientist. He’s a storyteller – intent on bringing awe and wonder back into our lives, with a new understanding of this galaxy, this solar system, this earth.
His first book, The Universe is a Green Dragon, explores the 14 billion year trajectory of the birth of the cosmos. He’s also the author of The Universe Story with Thomas Berry, and producer of the DVD series: Canticle to the Cosmos, The Earth’s Imagination, and The Powers of the Universe.
Recently he created the Emmy award-winning film and book, Journey of the Universe, drawing on discoveries in astronomy, geology, biology and the humanities to tell the greatest story ever told: how we came to call this planet home. Here are some highlights.
Our Home in the Galaxy: “We now have direct empirical evidence that around 14 billion years ago the universe was very small, small as a walnut, and very simple. It just consisted of elementary particles. Over those 14 billion years, the universe brought forth stars, galaxies and planets and butterflies and skyscrapers. Today we find ourselves inside an amazing creative story.”
The Role of Awe and Wonder: “We need bold new intuitions about the nature of the universe and not just coming from science by any means, but coming from human intuition. This is one of the great statements made by Thomas Berry: We need to reinvent the human at the species level. It’s not just a new economic system, or new religions, new education, we’re talking about. We need to reinvent ourselves as cosmological beings, to come alive with the sense of awe and the glory and the grandeur of our existence.”
The Relationship of Creation and Destruction: “One of the things that has struck me is the way in which the universe relies upon destruction, upon chaos. When we examine particles coming forth from the quantum field, we see that they come in pairs. A proton will come forth with an anti-proton and they both annihilate each other. But there’s also asymmetry — at one point, there was this plus-one proton that broke through.
“This is the universe we have to deal with. There’s no way we are going to eliminate chaos or disruption or annihilation. It’s absolutely essential to the ongoing creativity of the universe.”
Welcome to Reinventing Home, an exploration of culture, creativity and character. I’m your host Valerie Andrews and today we’re going to talk about home on the largest scale imaginable — our place in the universe.
Valerie: Brian, I’d like to begin by asking you this. As a scientist and a storyteller, what image comes to mind when you think of the word “home”?
Brian: Here we are on Earth, on our little cozy planet. But if we realize that the Milky Way galaxy as a whole gave birth to our stellar system, then the Milky Way, created the sun, and the earth comes out of the sun, we begin to realize that the roots of our existence, go right back into this process. The Milky Way is our home. This is what gave birth to us. I like thinking of the Milky Way galaxy as my home!
Valerie: Is part of the reason that we don’t think of this larger home because we are so deprived of looking at a natural sky? I’m thinking of all the ambient light that interferes with our direct perception of the universe. What do we really see of what’s out there, and how much has that changed in the last generation or two?
Brian: Well, that of course is the great sadness. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and it has blotted out the universe for its habitants. On a good night, in the past, an indigenous person would have seen 3,000 to 4,000 stars. Now, that experience is almost, almost impossible if you’re living in a city. In San Francisco, when you look up at night, you can see 30 stars. So there are 3,000 to 4,000 wanting to peak through, but they can’t get through the pollution.
Valerie: Right now we’re awfully stuck on where we are on Google maps and where we are on our GPS, but we don’t have a creation myth.
Brian: And yet, we do. We have the makings of a new creation myth and this is what I’ve devoted my life to. We now have direct empirical evidence that around 14 billion years ago the universe was very small, small as a walnut, and very simple, just consisted of elementary particles. Over those 14 billion years the universe has been developing, it brought forth stars, galaxies, planets and butterflies and skyscrapers, and we find ourselves inside an amazing creative story.
Valerie: As small as a walnut in the beginning? Can you tell me how something could expand from something so tiny to something so vast?
Brian: Right now the universe consists of around two trillion galaxies. Each galaxy having around 100 billion stars. No human up until our time knew this, they had no idea that we had two trillion galaxies. That was a big question: Is there one galaxy— the Milky Way — or are there many?
Now we have this sense of this vast universe, and we know that it came from a very, very small space. So how can something the size of a walnut give birth to two trillion galaxies? I can give you the scientific theory. But we have to remain in the state of awe that we have actually located the birth of the universe, it was something the size of a walnut and it gave birth to all of us. That’s the great thing about the creation myth, it just shatters our preconceptions about the nature of existence.
Valerie: What I’m getting from your description is this creation from nothing, this creation ex-nihilo. How something can come where there was nothing at all before.
Brian: The most startling discovery, I think, in all of modern science is this expansion of the universe. But the second most startling discovery is the realization that elementary particles are emerging into existence out of emptiness. The word in science is the quantum field, and this is the primary reality. The quantum field doesn’t have things, it simply is a realm that gives birth to things. That we discovered this generative realm that pervades the universe, yeah that blows my mind all the time. All the particles that seem so solid, and that for so long we thought were eternal — they’re not! They’re momentary excitations of the quantum field. It means that everything we look at is like a flame.
Valerie: Well, this has a lot of implications I think for social theory. I recall how Darwinism applied “survival of the fittest” to commercial enterprise. We have to look at science’s next big idea and ask how that is likely to effect social theory as well.
Brian: Let me give you a discovery in contemporary cosmology that has kind of amazing implications for social theory. I just talked about two trillion galaxies, that they’re all expanding away from each other. And this expansion is strange.
The simplest way of saying is that is when we look out from the Milky Way galaxy, we’re looking at the other galaxies out there and they are all moving away from us. And on the basis of that, we conclude that we are at the center of the expansion.
But here’s the kicker, if we found ourselves at another galaxy far, far out in the universe, we would see all the galaxies expanding away from that point. So we’re in a very weird situation compared to what we’d thought. Every point is the center of the universe. This goes against the thinking of the modern era. We have this idea that we could arrive at a single perspective and see the truth, right?
That perspective might be America, it might be Communism, it might be Darwinism. It might be Christianity. But we’re now discovering that all of those perspectives, could be at the center and could have something valuable to offer. We’re questioning something as simple as the notion that the human is the ultimate species, that our point of view is what really matters, what really counts. From this new orientation every species is central to the whole web of life.
And I think that, as this understanding seeps into our social theory, we will begin to realize that every culture, every race, every civilization has something central to offer and we will be living in a very different world than we are right now.
Valerie: Oh that is beautifully put.
You know the other thing that’s fascinated me has been our discussion of dust and that the particles that were present at the Big Bang are still present. We have a direct line back in time to the creation to the dust that’s under our beds and on our book shelves. We’re talking about a kind of primal material that’s always existed since the beginning of the universe, aren’t we?
Brian: Yeah. We are. All of the hydrogen atoms of our body come from a time almost 14 billion years ago. Each of us has been assembled by the universe. Each of us. The hydrogen atoms come from the very, very beginning. And then later on, the stars explode, and they give birth to calcium atoms and phosphorous atoms. So those parts of us come from them. And our cells still have the same dynamics of the first early cells, so each of us is a 14 billion year construction.
Each of us is just an individual by the name of Brian or Valerie or whatever. And yet each of us is the entire universe in a very particular mode.
The Misminay Indians in South America say, “That in order to be human, one must dwell upon the immensities of the universe.” I just love that. You don’t just have to be an adult with a job, with credit cards, no. You have to dwell in the immensities of the universe because that is your larger self. And so we’re discovering this kind of, this insight that has been cherished by indigenous groups for millennia. We’re discovering this anew in the scientific context.
Valerie: This way of looking at the universe makes me wonder if we need a new ecology of things. For most of human history, one of the dominant beliefs has been pan-psychism, the sense that everything is alive and has a presence. That my writing table, for example, contains the same molecules as a cloud or a tree and therefore, it deserves to be honored. This way of looking at the universe brings us back to the miracle of creation and it asks us to regard things, to have an I-Thou relationship with the material world. Is that the way you see it?
Brian: I don’t know what more I could add to that. That’s a great statement. An I-Thou relationship, yes.
Valerie: The novelist Carson McCullers says, “If you want to love a human being first you have to love a rock, then you have to love a tree, then you have to love a cloud.” And she has this… well it’s not exactly a hierarchy but an embrace of things. The more you’re capable of loving the natural world around you, the more you’re capable of loving another human being, because you can love creation in all of its aspects.
Brian: Let me give you a response from mathematical cosmology. One of the true mysteries that we’ve touched upon in science has to do with the way in which the universe is expanding. The simplest way of saying it is this: If the universe were altered, even slightly, in its rate of expansion, there would never have been the structure as we find about us now. It’s almost impossible to believe, but this is coming from the work of Stephen Hawking. He was the first to calculate that if you altered the expansion even by one part in a trillion, then there wouldn’t be this amazing universe we live in today. That means then that a planet like earth was aimed at by the dynamics of the early universe. When I think about that I quiver because, in science, we never talk about the universe having directions. But that’s starting to break down.
Valerie: You mean we’re beginning to think about intention?
Brian: That is exactly what I’m saying. I’m saying that there’s a form of intention we can even call cosmic intention. I’m saying that the universe intended stars, intended life, intended what we see about us and that includes boulders. I got this huge charge when I first learned this from Stephen Hawking, and realized that a rock is intended by the universe— that it’s a cosmological construction.
This universe was going to make sure that rocks and boulders and life came fluttering forth and that is a step toward regarding each peg in the universe, as sacred or holy or something of that order.
Valerie: When I was in college, I remember being fascinated by the pre-Socratic philosophers with their emphasis on the sacredness of earth, air, water and fire. When you read them, it’s like reading a hymn to creation. And yet they were looked down upon as being naive and unscientific and lacking in any empirical notion of the universe. There is this magic that you got from pre-Socratics. The sense that all things have intention and are sacred.
Brian: Yeah, absolutely. I remember when I first came across Pythagoras when I was studying mathematics and physics and loving all of it. Pythagoras talked about the music of the spheres, and that phrase did something to me at a deep level. I never got over it. Some way or another I knew that Pythagoras, and the others, were in touch with something that can easily escape the reach of mathematical science.
Valerie: Is that why you set your film, The Journey of The Universe, on the island where Pythagoras was born? You went back to the source?
Brian: Absolutely. I think we live in an era that’s something like that of the pre-Socratics. We need bold new intuitions about the nature of the universe and not just coming from science by any means, coming from human intuition. This is one of the great statements by Thomas Berry — that we need to reinvent the humans at the species level, so it’s not just about creating a new economic system, or new religion, or new type of education. We need to reinvent ourselves as cosmological beings, to come alive with the sense of awe and the glory and the grandeur of our existence.
Valerie: I think that’s the deepest meaning of what we’re trying to do at Reinventing Home. People have an impoverished sense of home today, because we don’t look at our place in the body of creation. And therefore, we don’t even regard the simple things that we share our homes with, like a piece of wood or a beautiful table as emissaries of that natural world that’s outside the door or outside the gate.
Brian: Ah, I love that.
Valerie: So the question is, Who are we? How do we become ourselves within this new concept of home, and how big does our concept of home get to be?
Brian: Valerie, you asked me the question earlier, but I would love to know what image comes to mind for you when you hear the word home.
Valerie: I think of the home as something that’s always revealing itself. There’s always a slight curve and there’s always something new to be discovered right around the corner.
And I agree with you: In order to really understand who we are and where we belong, we need to understand that we do come from 14 trillion years of evolution, of something mysterious and wonderful.
Brian: Yeah. Beautiful.
Valerie: So I’ve got to ask you this. And it’s a hard question. What do you think is the role of chaos in cosmic evolution?
Brian: That’s a difficult topic for us to consider because we fear destruction and we fear our own annihilation.
One of the things that has struck me is the way in which the universe relies upon destruction, it relies upon chaos. Just to give you an example: When we examine particles coming forth from the quantum field now in the laboratory, we see that they come apart in pairs. And so, a proton will come forth with an anti-proton. And if they meet they both annihilate each other. Our current understanding is that there was this huge upsurge of particles, but a slight asymmetry sets in. For every billion anti-protons, there were a billion-plus-one protons. So, right from the beginning there’s this massive annihilation with only one proton squeaking through.
Let me just give one more example to tie it in. It was a big shock for biologists to discover that over the course of three-and-a-half billion years of life, at least 99% of the species that came forth have gone extinct. So that you see, you’re like, “Whoa, the species that we have around they are less than 1% of the number of species that came forth.” So this is the universe we have to deal with. It creates all these forms of life, and then it destroys them. And so, annihilation and creativity go together in this universe.
There’s no way we are going to eliminate chaos or disruption or annihilation. The universe thrives on death. It’s absolutely essential to the ongoing creativity of the universe.
So, the question I ask is, what aspects of my life should be annihilated? Or another way of saying is this, what parts of my psychology are actually blocking my own creative development? And this is the way then to enter consciously into the annihilation process of the universe, because what happens with these vast annihilations is that new life comes forth and it’s life that has novel features.
Just to sum it up. The universe hates to be bored. The universe is deeply committed to bringing forth something new and interesting. And so, that’s how at least I look at this terrible dynamic of chaos and destruction. It’s part of what is needed for the universe to show a form of beauty that has not yet manifested.
Valerie: I find great relief in that explanation, because our lives are so precarious in so many ways. We need a framework of consciousness to understand the remarkable time that we’re living through.
What really fascinates me about this explanation is that plus-one proton. All these protons and anti-protons cancelling each other out, and then the plus-one just skips through. It reminds me of Leonard Cohen’s song about the crack where the light comes through.
Valerie: I find this very helpful. If you can hang on to that plus-one that makes it through the fence, you can still continue to be an activist. You can still believe that what you do counts.
Brian: To be part of that plus-one proton that makes it through the fence. Yes. I like it.
Valerie: I want to follow up with one final question. How can we help our children feel more at home in the universe and in these concepts that we’ve been discussing? Do we need to become better storytellers?
Brian: My wife teaches grade school and when she was teaching kindergarten, she asked me to come in and talk to the students. When I’m teaching adults I point out the ways in which Newtonian science and classical physics have been replaced by quantum theory and relativity, and all the rest of it. Obviously, these kids are not going to know anything about that, and so I started to tell them how the universe grew up from a seed. Then I focused on how the stars created the atoms of our body. And then the stars dispersed throughout the Milky Galaxy and then here we are. And I said, “Each of these atoms actually came from a star.”
A little kid in the first row was looking up at me as I was talking and didn’t move his eyes away from mine. Then he lifted his hands up and touched his cheek. It was so fantastic. He was entering into his participation in the universe and recognizing that he was a cosmological being.
So, I do think that we need to become better storytellers. These young minds, they’re prepared. They are all ready to hear the truth. They already know this in an intuitive way, because the very atoms of the body did come from the star. I’m not telling the atoms anything they don’t know!
Valerie: That’s great. Our bodies are recognizing themselves as part of the body of the universe.
Brian: Why not?
Valerie: Oh, that’s a beautiful story, Brian. It really takes all this theory down to something very simple. To this notion that home must embrace all of nature, all of the elements. It must embrace our bodies, and the stars.
Valerie: Thank you so much for this conversation. I hope everybody will go out and watch your marvelous film, The Journey of The Universe, and read The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos where you bring together so beautifully the role of the scientist to ask questions and the role of the storyteller to give images that help us see deeper into the questions.
Brian: Thanks Valerie. It’s always fun talking to you.
Valerie: What I love about what you do, Brian, is that you’re always taking us home.
The Universe is a Green Dragon by Brian Swimme
The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos by Brian Swimme
The Dream of the Earth by Thomas Berry


Multi-billionaire CEO plans to launch space mission
SpaceX aims to send a manned spacecraft around the moon in 2018
March 9, 2017
Filed under Opinion
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Outer space, once the dark void beyond the earth, is now an emerging real estate venture. Elon Musk, widely known as the co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Inc., has brought a commercial perspective to the industry of space exploration, reimagining the outer space frontier with SpaceX.
SpaceX, of which Musk is also CEO, was founded in 2002 as a private spacecraft and spaceflight company that seeks to “revolutionize space technology with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets,” according to the company’s website.
SpaceX announced on its website on Feb. 27 that it will launch a manned Dragon spacecraft mission in 2018.
The Dragon, a SpaceX designed craft, features a trunk section for support during launch and a pressurized capsule for accommodating people and cargo.
The Dragon model has the capacity to function as either a cargo, crew or laboratory vessel. A cargo configuration of the model traveled into space in 2012, becoming the first commercial spacecraft to deliver supplies to the International Space Station and return to Earth.
The company will send two private citizens into space, around the moon and back to Earth in the crew configuration of the Dragon, according to the SpaceX announcement.
However, before the private mission, SpaceX plans to complete at least two other trips to the International Space Station, an unmanned delivery this year and a professionally crewed delivery in late 2018 as part of the company’s contract with NASA.
Once those missions are completed and the two individuals have completed necessary tests and some basic training, SpaceX will launch the two member crew in the Dragon model from the Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida, on the same pad used for the Apollo program.
The announcement stated that the unnamed private citizens, “have already paid a significant deposit to do a moon mission,” and during a phone conference with reporters the day of the announcement, Musk revealed that the journey would take approximately one week to complete.
This mission is perhaps the first major step for Musk and SpaceX in working toward their ultimate goal of cultivating human life on other planetary bodies.
The February announcement came after September 2016 statements from Musk about colonizing Mars.
A National Geographic article outlined Musk’s September statements at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, the SpaceX CEO believes that flying humans to Mars will be possible by the mid-2020s.
Musk’s plans for achieving that goal though, are questionable. His timeline is vague, delays are anticipated for the completion of necessary equipment and sources of funding will have to come from private industries as well as governments.
Space exploration is a valuable tool for better understanding our solar system and universe, but if powerful people like Musk keep their heads in the clouds for too long, they risk overlooking the realities of what it takes to make space travel possible, and they risk forgetting about what lives beneath them.
International space programs have historically functioned as means of development and advancement — of opportunities to see above the clouds — but those programs have largely come to exist within the bounds of law, according to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.
And it is more than international law — it is space law.
Whether or not they realistically work, the existence of governing bodies such as the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space is fundamentally important.
The UN committee oversees five agreements of international cooperation between member nations, one of which prohibits any one country or organization from claiming ownership of the moon or any other celestial body.
So Musk’s colonization rhetoric undermines the current laws of space and fails to recognize the logistic and historic implications of “new world” discoveries and settlements.
Engaging in the establishment of human society on other planetary bodies in the rapid way that Musk expects does a disservice and an injustice to humanity by neglecting the social unrest that plagues our own planet. What does leaving Earth accomplish, especially for people who will not be able to afford a trip around the moon or a new life on Mars?
Contrary to what Musk would hope, instead of providing inspirational answers for the future of humanity, SpaceX provokes more questions.
Will people of all countries and classes have access to this interplanetary travel?
Is the 2018 private moon mission a way of preparing for more extensive space travel, or is it just a way of claiming a “first” for SpaceX?
Musk seems to think the adventurous spirit of space exploration is enough to merit SpaceX an all-access pass to the world beyond our own, but Musk’s way of redefining space and putting international efforts into creating a multi-planet world abandons any hope for the future of our own planet.
Musk’s vision is understandably appealing space — it is a difficult yet exciting method for dividing humanity’s chances of survival among several celestial bodies. But as long as people can come back down to Earth, breathe the polluted air and decide to do something about it, hope for our home will endure. Maybe that hope amounts to the smallest fraction of the tiniest particle in the entire universe, but it would still exist.
Because Musk’s path to realizing the interplanetary dream in his own lifetime is impractical at best, his vision may actually accentuate that hope for Earth. Perhaps if we realize we cannot live on other planets as soon as Musk would like, then we would be forced to more substantially address the future of the one we have so systematically abused.
In any case, a unique experience certainly awaits the two people who will fly around the moon in the Dragon. The 2018 mission, if successful, could make history, providing another “first” for SpaceX and humankind.


Gravity. We’re all familiar with it—it’s the unseen force that keeps our feet firmly on the ground and our world in constant motion. Yet, despite its constant presence in our lives, gravity remains one of the most mysterious forces in the universe.
It all started with a falling apple. When young Isaac Newton saw an apple drop from a tree, he wondered why it fell straight down and not sideways or upwards. This led him to propose the universal law of gravitation: every object in the universe attracts every other object with a force directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Simply put, massive objects have a strong pull, and the closer objects are, the stronger the gravitational pull between them. This idea served us well, explaining why planets orbit the sun and even why the tide rises and falls.
But gravity had more secrets to unveil, and it took the genius of Albert Einstein to crack them open with his Theory of Relativity.
Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity
In 1905, Einstein introduced the Special Theory of Relativity, built on two fundamental ideas:
- the laws of physics are the same for everyone, and
- the speed of light is constant for all observers, no matter their speed or direction.
Imagine you’re standing by a railroad track as a train speeds by. According to Einstein, if a passenger on the train and you both measured the speed of light, you’d both get the same answer—even though one of you is moving and the other is standing still!
This leads to some mind-bending implications, like time dilation, which suggests that time can slow down for an object moving really fast compared to an object at rest.
Time Dilation: the secret to time travel?
This key concept of time dilation in Einstein’s theory of relativity, can indeed cause some interesting effects that seem a lot like time travel. However, it’s important to note that it doesn’t allow for time travel in the way you might see in science fiction, with people hopping back and forth between the past and the future.
According to special relativity, time slows down for an object moving fast compared to an object at rest. This is known as time dilation. For instance, if you were to travel in a spaceship near the speed of light, time would pass more slowly for you compared to someone who stayed back on Earth. To you on the spaceship, it might feel like you’ve only been gone a few years, but when you return to Earth, you could find that decades have passed. In a sense, you’ve traveled into the future.
As for traveling into the past, our current understanding of physics doesn’t allow for it. General relativity allows for the existence of “wormholes” — shortcuts through spacetime that could, in theory, allow for backward time travel. However, we’ve never observed a wormhole, and even if they do exist, many scientists believe they’d collapse too quickly for anything to travel through.
So while time dilation can give us a sort of one-way trip into the future, the idea of time travel as we often imagine it — with the ability to freely move back and forth through time — remains firmly in the realm of science fiction based on our current understanding of the universe.
So why does E equal M C squared?
Einstein’s formula, “E=mc2“, is part of his Special Theory of Relativity, and it has deep implications for our understanding of energy and matter. Here’s what the equation means in simple terms:
- E stands for energy.
- m stands for mass.
- c is the speed of light in a vacuum, which is a constant.
The formula says that energy (E) equals mass (m) times the speed of light (c) squared. In other words, mass can be converted into energy, and energy can be converted into mass. They are different forms of the same thing.
This equation explains why the sun and other stars shine: in the core of the sun, hydrogen atoms combine to form helium in a process called nuclear fusion. During this process, a small amount of the mass of the hydrogen atoms is converted into energy, as described by E=mc2. This energy is then emitted as light and heat.
It also explains the workings of nuclear power plants and atomic bombs, where a small amount of matter is converted into a large amount of energy.
Finally, it even relates to the time dilation and the increase of mass with speed, as mentioned earlier. As an object with mass gets closer to the speed of light, its energy (and therefore its mass, according to E=mc2) must increase, because the energy required to keep accelerating it gets larger and larger. This is why no object with mass can reach or exceed the speed of light: it would require an infinite amount of energy.
Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity
Einstein didn’t stop with his first theory. Ten years after his “Special Theory of Relativity”, he took things a step further with his “General Theory of Relativity”, offering a radical new understanding of gravity. Instead of seeing it as a force pulling objects together, Einstein pictured gravity as the warping of space and time (collectively called spacetime) by mass and energy.
Imagine a rubber sheet stretched out flat—a stand-in for spacetime. If you place a heavy ball (like a bowling ball) on the sheet, it will sag, creating a sort of well around it. Now, if you roll a smaller ball (like a marble) near the heavier one, the smaller one will fall towards the heavier ball. Not because there’s an invisible force pulling them together, but because the heavier ball has warped the rubber sheet. The marble moves along the curves created by the heavier ball.
In this view, Earth isn’t pulling us down; instead, it’s warping spacetime around it, creating a ‘well’ that we’re stuck in. The Moon orbits the Earth not because it’s pulled by an invisible force, but because it’s rolling along the curves of spacetime that Earth creates.
Some examples to prove Einstein’s points
Many of the technologies and scientific understanding we take for granted today are based on or provide evidence for Einstein’s theories of relativity. Here are a few:
- GPS Systems: Global Positioning System technology relies heavily on the principles of relativity. The satellites are moving at high speeds relative to the Earth and are further from the Earth’s gravitational field. Both of these factors cause the clocks on the satellites to run at slightly different rates than clocks on Earth, and these differences need to be accounted for in the calculations that the GPS system uses to determine your position.
- Particle Accelerators: Particle accelerators, like the Large Hadron Collider, accelerate particles to incredibly high speeds, close to the speed of light. The particles gain mass as they speed up, exactly as predicted by Einstein’s theory of special relativity.
- Atomic Clocks and Time Dilation Experiments: The most accurate timekeeping devices we have are atomic clocks, and they’ve been used to directly confirm the time dilation predicted by both special and general relativity. For example, in one experiment, two atomic clocks were synchronized, then one was flown in an airplane. When it returned, it was slightly behind the clock that stayed on the ground, just as Einstein’s theories predicted.
- Black Holes and Gravitational Waves: Einstein’s theory of general relativity predicts the existence of black holes, and we’ve since observed them indirectly through their effects on nearby objects. In 2015, we made the first direct observation of gravitational waves—ripples in spacetime caused by the collision of two black holes, which was another prediction of Einstein’s theory.
- Cosmology: General relativity is used in cosmology to model the evolution of the universe itself. For instance, the Big Bang theory is grounded in Einstein’s equations.
From falling apples to bending spacetime, our understanding of gravity has come a long way. And yet, there’s still much to learn. Gravity continues to dance its cosmic dance, inviting us to understand the universe’s profound and elegant workings. So, the next time you feel the solid ground beneath your feet, remember that you’re feeling the echo of cosmic processes at work, the invisible dance of gravity and relativity.


The blue is taken from a satellite photo of Earth. Blue, because the largest portion of our planet is covered by ocean, and it is neutral, because no continent is emphasised.
The three lines symbolize that our planet is third from the central star, and the green symbolizes life.
The yellow half-circle is the Sun (the colour taken from an actual image of the Sun). Energy flows from it to all planets of the Solar system, which is symbolized by the horizontal line, which comes from its centre.
p.s. If you turn the image by 90 degrees, you see a stylized flower.


At 8:53 p.m. on the West Coast, to be exact. (On calendars, it says the full moon is January 5th, but that's because the official date of the full moon is based on the time in Greenwich Mean Time, otherwise known as UTC - Coordinated Universal Time.) And when it is 8:53 p.m. on the West Coast, it is 4:53 a.m. the next day in London. Which explains why we often look up at the moon on the "calendar date" of the full moon and think, "I think it was fuller last night." Because, for us, the full moon was the night before.
In Tahoe, we often notice the full moon because:
1) Our nights have less light pollution, so the moon is brighter
2) We're at high altitude, so there is less atmosphere above us to dim the moon
3) The snow on the mountains is spectacular in the moonlight, begging us to notice
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If you notice full moons, you can't help wondering why the full moons of winter are way, way up high in the sky, making it so bright on the snow that you can easily read by moonlight. By comparison, summer full moons are low in the sky.
Ever notice how the full moon track is just like the sun's track, only the summer and winter tracks are reversed?
I wondered why that is, so I looked it up.
It turns out that it has to do with the fact that the Earth is tilted on its axis (which is what gives us our seasons among other cool stuff). And when the moon revolves around the Earth, it doesn't stay over the Earth's equator, it stays on the same plane as the Earth's orbit and the sun and most of the planets.
That plane is called the ecliptic, and all the stuff that stays on the ecliptic plane got that way because when the solar system first began to coalesce, the material that eventually became the planets contracted into a spinning disc. The spin and plane of that disc has stayed the same ever since.
Here's an easy way to visualize why the full moons are higher in winter than summer.
First, remember that when the Moon is full, it is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun, so its entire surface that we see is illuminated.
Now think of a globe sitting on a really large table. The table represents the ecliptic, and most of the stuff in the solar system stays on that table. As you know, a globe accurately depicts the Earth at a tilt. The Earth, like the most of the solar system's inhabitants, also stays on the ecliptic plane as it orbits the sun. It just stays tilted as it moves around.
When the Earth's North Pole is pointing toward the sun, it makes for the long days of summer for those of us in the northern hemisphere. But when the Earth rotates so that we are in the dark of night and we look up to see the full moon, it is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun. So when the sun is high in the summer, that means that the moon is low.
In winter, the opposite is true. The Earth's North Pole points away from the sun, so the sun is low in the sky. The full moon, on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun, is now high in the sky.
So enjoy the glorious full moon tonight. Along with the full moon we had in December, tonight's full moon will be higher in the sky than any other until next December. And with the snow on the mountains, Tahoe's full moon is a real treat!


The Pench Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra has achieved the distinction of becoming India's inaugural Dark Sky Park and the fifth in Asia. This designation aims to safeguard the night sky, combat light pollution, and create an optimal environment for astronomy enthusiasts. This unique location, blending the realm of tigers with celestial wonders, offers a compelling setting for stargazers eager to explore and comprehend the mysteries of the Universe.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) stresses the importance of acknowledging the inherent value of the night sky as a natural, cultural, and historical asset. Prabhu Nath Shukla, Deputy Director of PTR, Maharashtra, notes that the IUCN underscores the significance of preserving natural darkness for nature conservation, maintaining ecological integrity in protected areas, and promoting the well-being of communities in healthy cities.
The increasing global menace of light pollution represents a significant hazard to this priceless resource, as mentioned in an official statement. The Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society Working Group, spearheaded by the International Astronomical Union, proposes the creation of 'Dark Sky Park’ by both national and local governments. The certification process for Dark Sky Places prioritizes aspects such as lighting policy, dark sky-friendly retrofits, outreach and education, along with monitoring the night sky.
Utilising funds from the distinct planning committee, the reserve has introduced a night observatory, with a designated stargazing area near Bagholi, according to the official. As part of these initiatives, over 100 street and community lights in Wagholi, Sillari, Pipariya, and Khapa villages within the Paoni UC Range buffer area have been replaced with downward-facing lights to alleviate light pollution.
What is a Dark Sky Park?
A dark-sky park is a designated area, typically encompassing a park or observatory, aimed at restricting artificial light pollution. The primary objective of the dark-sky movement is generally to advance astronomy. India's inaugural dark-sky preserve is the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO), a high-altitude astronomy station situated in Hanle and operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. Positioned in the Western Himalayas at an elevation of 4,500 metres (14,764 ft), the IAO stands as one of the world's highest sites for optical, infrared, and gamma-ray telescopes.
A short note on Pench Tiger Reserve
Pench Tiger Reserve, also known as Pench National Park, holds a prominent position among India's tiger reserves and holds the distinction of spanning two states - Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The renowned literary works of Rudyard Kipling, namely The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book, are set in this region. Despite not personally visiting the area, Kipling drew inspiration from other locations in India to craft his vivid descriptions.


NASA’s uncrewed Orion capsule passed its final exam today, surviving a fiery atmospheric re-entry and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at the end of a round-the-moon test flight.
The 25.5-day Artemis 1 mission set the stage for future moon trips with astronauts aboard, 50 years after the last Apollo moon mission.
“From Tranquility Base to Taurus-Littrow to the tranquil waters of the Pacific, the latest chapter of NASA’s journey to the moon comes to a close,” NASA spokesman Rob Navias said as Orion settled in the waters off the coast of Baja California at 9:40 a.m. PT.
Orion’s odyssey began in mid-November with the first-ever launch of NASA’s giant Space Launch System rocket and traced a route that came as close as 80 miles to the lunar surface and ranged as far out as 40,000 miles beyond the moon. Orion traveled 1.4 million miles in all.
On the way back to Earth, cameras mounted on the spacecraft’s solar array wings sent back spectacular imagery of our planet looming larger in Orion’s metaphorical windshield.
Mission managers said Orion’s descent ranked among the sternest tests of the mission. As the spacecraft hit the top part of the atmosphere at a velocity of nearly 25,000 mph, Orion’s heat shield had to weather temperatures around 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. After that trial by fire, parachutes slowed the descent further, allowing the spacecraft to hit the ocean at about 20 mph.
Navias said it was a “textbook entry.”
A recovery team — including Navy personnel aboard the USS Portland, an amphibious transport dock ship — went out to pick up the capsule and bring it back to shore.
Over the weeks and months ahead, NASA’s Orion team will evaluate the data collected during the flight. Three mannequins were strapped into the seats of the capsule, wired up with sensors to record temperature levels, radiation exposure and the stresses of flight.
Those readings will help mission managers prepare for the Artemis 2 mission, which aims to send astronauts around the moon in the 2024-2025 time frame. That flight, in turn, is meant to pave the way for the first crewed lunar landing in more than a half-century, during an Artemis 3 mission that’s planned for no earlier than 2025.
Artemis 1’s finale came 50 years after Apollo 17 headed toward a landing in the moon’s Taurus-Littrow valley for the Apollo program’s final lunar mission.


The book presents a broad and in-depth overview of recent achievements and the current state of research in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) oscillatory and wave phenomena in the coronae of the Sun and stars. Major progress in coronal wave studies has been achieved thanks to the combination of high-precision multi-wavelength observations with spaceborne and ground-based facilities, elaborated theory of the interaction of MHD waves with plasma non-uniformities, state-of-the-art numerical simulations, and novel data analysis techniques. It has allowed the research community to reach a new look at the role played by MHD wave processes in the enigmatic phenomena of coronal plasma heating and wind acceleration as well as powerful energy releases such as flares and coronal mass ejections. In addition, the waves are intensively used as natural probes in the remote diagnostics of the coronal plasma parameters and physical processes operating in solar and stellar coronae via the method of MHD seismology. Individual chapters cover recent cutting-edge results obtained on the analysis and theoretical modelling of several most intensively studied coronal MHD wave phenomena, namely, kink and sausage oscillations of coronal loops and other field-aligned plasma structures, plus running and standing slow magnetoacoustic waves. A dedicated chapter assesses the reliability of proposed theoretical mechanisms for heating of the coronal plasma by MHD waves. Another chapter summarizes the current state of our understanding of the physical mechanisms and observational properties of quasi-periodic pulsations in solar flares, considers their analogy with similar processes detected in stellar flares, and thus establishes solid ground for the further exploitation of the solar-stellar analogy. An important discussion of novel data analysis techniques designed recently for MHD seismology applications is presented in a devoted chapter. The direction of future advances in the designated research areas are discussed.The book is a spin-off from the Topical Collection „Oscillatory Processes in Solar and Stellar Coronae“ of the journal Space Science Reviews.
Springer / Springer Netherlands


Sir Isaac Newton (December 25, 1642 – March 20, 1726) was an English mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (described in his own day as a “natural philosopher”) who is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and a key figure in the scientific revolution.
His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (“Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”), first published in 1687, laid the foundations of classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics, and he shares credit with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz for developing the infinitesimal calculus.
Newton’s Principia formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation that dominated scientists’ view of the physical universe for the next three centuries. By deriving Kepler’s laws of planetary motion from his mathematical description of gravity, and then using the same principles to account for the trajectories of comets, the tides, the precession of the equinoxes, and other phenomena, Newton removed the last doubts about the validity of the heliocentric model of the Solar System and demonstrated that the motion of objects on Earth and of celestial bodies could be accounted for by the same principles. Newton’s theoretical prediction that the Earth is shaped as an oblate spheroid was later vindicated by the geodetic measurements of Maupertuis, La Condamine, and others, thus convincing most Continental European scientists of the superiority of Newtonian mechanics over the earlier system of Descartes.
Newton also built the first practical reflecting telescope and developed a sophisticated theory of colour based on the observation that a prism decomposes white light into the colours of the visible spectrum. Newton’s work on light was collected in his highly influential book Opticks, first published in 1704. He also formulated an empirical law of cooling, made the first theoretical calculation of the speed of sound, and introduced the notion of a Newtonian fluid.
In addition to his work on calculus, as a mathematician Newton contributed to the study of power series, generalised the binomial theorem to non-integer exponents, developed a method for approximating the roots of a function, and classified most of the cubic plane curves.
Newton was a fellow of Trinity College and the second Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. He was a devout but unorthodox Christian, who privately rejected the doctrine of the Trinity and who, unusually for a member of the Cambridge faculty of the day, refused to take holy orders in the Church of England.
Beyond his work on the mathematical sciences, Newton dedicated much of his time to the study of alchemy and biblical chronology, but most of his work in those areas remained unpublished until long after his death.
Politically and personally tied to the Whig party, Newton served two brief terms as Member of Parliament for the University of Cambridge, in 1689–90 and 1701–02. He was knighted by Queen Anne in 1705 and he spent the last three decades of his life in London, serving as Warden (1696–1700) and Master (1700–1727) of the Royal Mint, as well as president of the Royal Society (1703–1727).


It is a rotating mass of gas, dust, stars and other objects, held together by mutual gravitational attraction. As the Earth is located within the dusty outer arms, there are large portions of the Milky Way that are obscured from view. In the center of the Milky Way is the core, a bar-shaped bulge with what is believed to be a supermassive black hole at its center.
This is surrounded by four primary arms that spiral from the core. This is a region of active star formation that contains many younger, population I stars. The disk is surrounded by a spheroid halo of older, population II stars, as well as relatively dense concentrations of stars known as globular clusters. Between the stars lies the interstellar medium , a region of sparse matter. In the densest regions, molecular clouds of molecular hydrogen and other elements create star-forming regions.
These begin as a compact pre-stellar core or dark nebulae , which concentrate and collapse in volumes determined by the Jeans length to form compact protostars. As the more massive stars appear, they transform the cloud into an H II region ionized atomic hydrogen of glowing gas and plasma. The stellar wind and supernova explosions from these stars eventually cause the cloud to disperse, often leaving behind one or more young open clusters of stars. These clusters gradually disperse, and the stars join the population of the Milky Way. Kinematic studies of matter in the Milky Way and other galaxies have demonstrated that there is more mass than can be accounted for by visible matter.
A dark matter halo appears to dominate the mass, although the nature of this dark matter remains undetermined.
The study of stars and stellar evolution is fundamental to our understanding of the Universe. The astrophysics of stars has been determined through observation and theoretical understanding; and from computer simulations of the interior. When destabilized, cloud fragments can collapse under the influence of gravity, to form a protostar.
A sufficiently dense, and hot, core region will trigger nuclear fusion , thus creating a main-sequence star. Almost all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium were created inside the cores of stars. The characteristics of the resulting star depend primarily upon its starting mass. The more massive the star, the greater its luminosity, and the more rapidly it fuses its hydrogen fuel into helium in its core. Over time, this hydrogen fuel is completely converted into helium, and the star begins to evolve.
The fusion of helium requires a higher core temperature. A star with a high enough core temperature will push its outer layers outward while increasing its core density. The resulting red giant formed by the expanding outer layers enjoys a brief life span, before the helium fuel in the core is in turn consumed. Very massive stars can also undergo a series of evolutionary phases, as they fuse increasingly heavier elements. The final fate of the star depends on its mass, with stars of mass greater than about eight times the Sun becoming core collapse supernovae ;  while smaller stars blow off their outer layers and leave behind the inert core in the form of a white dwarf.
The ejection of the outer layers forms a planetary nebula. At a distance of about eight light-minutes, the most frequently studied star is the Sun , a typical main-sequence dwarf star of stellar class G2 V, and about 4. The Sun is not considered a variable star , but it does undergo periodic changes in activity known as the sunspot cycle. This is an year oscillation in sunspot number. Sunspots are regions of lower-than- average temperatures that are associated with intense magnetic activity. The Sun has also undergone periodic changes in luminosity that can have a significant impact on the Earth.
The visible outer surface of the Sun is called the photosphere. Above this layer is a thin region known as the chromosphere. This is surrounded by a transition region of rapidly increasing temperatures, and finally by the super-heated corona. At the center of the Sun is the core region, a volume of sufficient temperature and pressure for nuclear fusion to occur. Above the core is the radiation zone , where the plasma conveys the energy flux by means of radiation. Above that is the convection zone where the gas material transports energy primarily through physical displacement of the gas known as convection.
It is believed that the movement of mass within the convection zone creates the magnetic activity that generates sunspots. A solar wind of plasma particles constantly streams outward from the Sun until, at the outermost limit of the Solar System, it reaches the heliopause.
As the solar wind passes the Earth, it interacts with the Earth's magnetic field magnetosphere and deflects the solar wind, but traps some creating the Van Allen radiation belts that envelop the Earth. The aurora are created when solar wind particles are guided by the magnetic flux lines into the Earth's polar regions where the lines the descend into the atmosphere. Planetary science is the study of the assemblage of planets , moons , dwarf planets , comets , asteroids , and other bodies orbiting the Sun, as well as extrasolar planets.
The Solar System has been relatively well-studied, initially through telescopes and then later by spacecraft. This has provided a good overall understanding of the formation and evolution of the Sun's planetary system, although many new discoveries are still being made. The Solar System is subdivided into the inner planets, the asteroid belt , and the outer planets. The inner terrestrial planets consist of Mercury , Venus , Earth, and Mars.
The outer gas giant planets are Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune. The planets were formed 4. Through a process that included gravitational attraction, collision, and accretion, the disk formed clumps of matter that, with time, became protoplanets.
The radiation pressure of the solar wind then expelled most of the unaccreted matter, and only those planets with sufficient mass retained their gaseous atmosphere. The planets continued to sweep up, or eject, the remaining matter during a period of intense bombardment, evidenced by the many impact craters on the Moon.
During this period, some of the protoplanets may have collided and one such collision may have formed the Moon. Once a planet reaches sufficient mass, the materials of different densities segregate within, during planetary differentiation. This process can form a stony or metallic core, surrounded by a mantle and an outer crust.
The core may include solid and liquid regions, and some planetary cores generate their own magnetic field , which can protect their atmospheres from solar wind stripping. A planet or moon's interior heat is produced from the collisions that created the body, by the decay of radioactive materials e.
Some planets and moons accumulate enough heat to drive geologic processes such as volcanism and tectonics. Those that accumulate or retain an atmosphere can also undergo surface erosion from wind or water. Smaller bodies, without tidal heating, cool more quickly; and their geological activity ceases with the exception of impact cratering.
Astronomy and astrophysics have developed significant interdisciplinary links with other major scientific fields. Archaeoastronomy is the study of ancient or traditional astronomies in their cultural context, utilizing archaeological and anthropological evidence. Astrobiology is the study of the advent and evolution of biological systems in the Universe, with particular emphasis on the possibility of non-terrestrial life.
Astrostatistics is the application of statistics to astrophysics to the analysis of vast amount of observational astrophysical data.
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The study of chemicals found in space, including their formation, interaction and destruction, is called astrochemistry. These substances are usually found in molecular clouds , although they may also appear in low temperature stars, brown dwarfs and planets. Cosmochemistry is the study of the chemicals found within the Solar System, including the origins of the elements and variations in the isotope ratios. Both of these fields represent an overlap of the disciplines of astronomy and chemistry.
As " forensic astronomy ", finally, methods from astronomy have been used to solve problems of law and history.
Astronomy is one of the sciences to which amateurs can contribute the most. Collectively, amateur astronomers observe a variety of celestial objects and phenomena sometimes with equipment that they build themselves. Common targets of amateur astronomers include the Sun, the Moon, planets, stars, comets, meteor showers , and a variety of deep-sky objects such as star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae.
Astronomy clubs are located throughout the world and many have programs to help their members set up and complete observational programs including those to observe all the objects in the Messier objects or Herschel catalogues of points of interest in the night sky. One branch of amateur astronomy, amateur astrophotography , involves the taking of photos of the night sky. Many amateurs like to specialize in the observation of particular objects, types of objects, or types of events which interest them. Most amateurs work at visible wavelengths, but a small minority experiment with wavelengths outside the visible spectrum.
This includes the use of infrared filters on conventional telescopes, and also the use of radio telescopes. The pioneer of amateur radio astronomy was Karl Jansky , who started observing the sky at radio wavelengths in the s. A number of amateur astronomers use either homemade telescopes or use radio telescopes which were originally built for astronomy research but which are now available to amateurs e. Amateur astronomers continue to make scientific contributions to the field of astronomy and it is one of the few scientific disciplines where amateurs can still make significant contributions.
Amateurs can make occultation measurements that are used to refine the orbits of minor planets. They can also discover comets, and perform regular observations of variable stars. Improvements in digital technology have allowed amateurs to make impressive advances in the field of astrophotography. Although the scientific discipline of astronomy has made tremendous strides in understanding the nature of the Universe and its contents, there remain some important unanswered questions. Answers to these may require the construction of new ground- and space-based instruments, and possibly new developments in theoretical and experimental physics.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Scientific study of celestial objects and phenomena. This article is about the scientific study of celestial objects. For other uses, see Astronomy disambiguation. Not to be confused with astrology , the pseudoscience. Main article: History of astronomy. Further information: Archaeoastronomy and List of astronomers.
Main article: Observational astronomy. Main article: Radio astronomy. Main article: Infrared astronomy. Main article: Optical astronomy. Main article: Ultraviolet astronomy. Main article: X-ray astronomy. Main article: Gamma ray astronomy. Main articles: Astrometry and Celestial mechanics. Main article: Theoretical astronomy.
Exploring Creation with Astronomy, 2nd Edition -
Universe events since the Big Bang Nature timeline. This box: view talk edit. Matter-dominated era. Single-celled life. Multicellular life. Dark Ages. Earliest stars. Earliest galaxy. Omega Centauri. Andromeda Galaxy. Milky Way spirals.
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Earliest life. Earliest oxygen. Atmospheric oxygen. Sexual reproduction. Earliest plants. Cambrian explosion. Earliest mammals. Earliest apes. See also: Human timeline , and Life timeline. Main article: Physical cosmology. Main article: Extragalactic astronomy. Main article: Galactic astronomy. Main article: Star. See also: Solar astronomy. Main article: Sun. See also: Solar telescope. Main articles: Planetary science and Planetary geology.
Main article: Amateur astronomy. Main article: List of unsolved problems in astronomy. Main articles: Outline of astronomy and Glossary of astronomy. Classical Astronomy and the Solar System — Introduction. Classical Astronomy and the Solar System. Translated by Brewer, W. Berlin, New York: Springer. Archived from the original on 9 June Retrieved 17 November The Astronomy Cafe. Archived from the original on 8 July Retrieved 20 June Archived from the original on 1 November Results for "astronomy". Archived from the original on 17 June Results for "astrophysics".
The Physical Universe. Chichester, England: Wiley. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Archived from the original on 30 October Retrieved 28 October In Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth eds. Brill's New Pauly. Archive for History of Exact Sciences. Sign in Register. Enter e-mail address Show Enter password Remember me.
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His star charts are handy guides to help you find your way. He even includes a section on astrophotography if you're interested in taking pictures, including options with unspecialized equipment. Since the text of the book is written at a junior high level, your teenage kids likely will enjoy the book as well. Whether you're an amateur astronomer, casual stargazer or anything in between, " Things to See in the Night Sky" is your one-stop shop for information on where, when and how to spot some of the brightest and most easily recognizable sights in the sky. Written by Dean Regas, an astronomer and public outreach educator at the Cincinnati Observatory in Ohio, the book breaks down everything you need to know to stargaze like a pro.
Beginners can use this book as an introduction to stargazing, while more experienced readers will find the book to be a useful field guide that can serve as a reference for locating and identifying stars, constellations, meteor showers, eclipses and even satellites. The book focuses on "naked-eye" objects, so you don't need telescopes, binoculars or any other equipment to utilize this handy skywatching guide.
Read an interview with the author here. In "The Zoomable Universe," astrophysicst Caleb Scharf takes readers from the size of the observable universe step-by-step down to the shortest theoretical measurable length. Along the way, Scharf and the book's illustrator, Ron Miller, explore the formation of the universe, our galaxy and Earth, the makeup of life and quantum physics, and the complexity that develops when you look beyond the surface at any scale.
The large, colorful book has a lot of ground to cover, but it delves into enough detail to spark readers' curiosity, and additional graphics by 5W Infographics pack more information into less space. As it speeds through orders of magnitude, from the largest to the smallest, it stops in lots of fascinating corners of the universe along the way. Fifty years ago, only a handful of scientists were hunting for signals from other civilizations as part of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence SETI. But Tarter continued to fight, helping to found a private agency that would survive government changes, hunting for private donors to look beyond this world and helping move the search for intelligent life from the fringes into mainstream science.
Author Lucas Ellerbroek highlights the passion of exoplanet researchers as they learn about the countless planets circling other stars. Throughout history, solar eclipses have transformed from terrifying omens to the subject of scientific study. In "Sun Moon Earth: The History of Solar Eclipses from Omens of Doom to Einstein and Exoplanets," astronomer-artist Tyler Nordgren traces the natural history of eclipses and how they have inspired eclipse chasers to travel the world and witness the natural phenomenon.
Nordgren's narrative also details how observations of total solar eclipses have contributed to scientific discoveries about the sun, moon and Earth's place in the universe throughout history. Read an interview with the book's author here. The search for planets beyond Earth's solar system has revealed countless surprises, including the existence of strange and unexpected worlds that astronomers would have never imagined existed only a few decades ago. A new book titled "Exoplanets: Diamond Worlds, Super Earths, Pulsar Planets and the New Search for Life Beyond Our Solar System" Smithsonian Books, explores the history of exoplanet research, illustrates the many different types of planets that have been discovered to date and discusses how astronomers plan to further study these newfound alien worlds.
The solar system is a wild place, and even Earth's immediate neighborhood is much more chaotic than maps would suggest — researchers discover more than near-Earth asteroids every month. A new book by Carrie Nugent, an asteroid researcher from Caltech, goes through how we find asteroids and near-Earth objects and what we would do if one was heading toward us. Over the past century, humankind's influence over our environment has increased dramatically.
In "Earth in Human Hands," Grinspoon explores the ways that, for good or bad, humans have seized control of the planet. The choice is whether we do so mindlessly, or whether we act in a responsible, considerate manner. Such a dilemma may be common to all life, and the most successful, long-lasting civilizations in the galaxy may live on planets they have engineered to be stable over extensive periods of time, making them more difficult to identify than rapidly-expanding societies.
You can read an interview with Grinspoon and watch video clips of him discussing the book with Space. It has been the top-selling stargazing guide for over 20 years. Now in its revised fourth edition, the book contains everything you need to know about what's up in the sky through the year The bookre chapter is dedicated to stargazing technology, like binoculars and telescopes.
An entiked with information that even the most experienced stargazers will find comes in handy.


Machine Learning (ML) is playing a pivotal role in advancing space exploration, transforming how we analyze cosmic data and operate space missions. By leveraging ML’s capacity to process and interpret vast amounts of data, scientists and engineers are enhancing our understanding of the universe, optimizing spacecraft performance, and paving the way for future missions. Here’s an overview of ML’s contributions to space exploration:
Analyzing Cosmic Data
Deep Space Signal Processing
ML algorithms are used to filter and interpret signals from deep space, identifying patterns and information that would be difficult for humans to discern. This includes the detection of distant celestial objects, analysis of cosmic microwave background radiation, and more.
Astronomical Image Processing
ML excels in processing and analyzing images from telescopes and space probes, helping to classify galaxies, detect exoplanets, and uncover new astronomical phenomena. Techniques like convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are particularly adept at recognizing patterns and structures in astronomical images.
Autonomous Navigation for Rovers and Spacecraft
Mars Rovers and Beyond
ML algorithms enable Mars rovers and other exploratory spacecraft to navigate autonomously in challenging environments. By analyzing sensor data in real-time, these rovers can identify obstacles, plan safe paths, and conduct scientific experiments with minimal input from Earth.
Orbital Debris Tracking and Avoidance
Spacecraft equipped with ML algorithms can detect and maneuver around space debris. ML models process data from onboard sensors to predict potential collisions and autonomously adjust their orbit, ensuring the safety of satellites and space stations.
Predictive Maintenance for Spacecraft
ML models predict equipment failures before they occur by analyzing data from spacecraft sensors and systems. This predictive maintenance capability is crucial for long-duration missions, where timely intervention from Earth is not possible.
Enhancing Communication with Earth
ML improves communication between spacecraft and Earth by optimizing data compression and transmission. Algorithms can prioritize and compress data for transmission, ensuring that critical information is sent efficiently and without loss.
Scientific Discovery and Experimentation
Automated Data Analysis
ML algorithms automatically analyze data collected by spacecraft instruments, identifying significant findings and patterns. This accelerates the pace of scientific discovery by allowing researchers to focus on the most promising data.
Simulating Space Environments
ML models simulate space environments, aiding in the design of spacecraft and the planning of missions. These simulations can predict how spacecraft materials will respond to various space conditions, from extreme temperatures to radiation exposure.
Implementing ML in Space Exploration
Developing ML models for space exploration requires collaboration between data scientists, astronomers, and aerospace engineers, ensuring that models are tailored to specific mission goals and constraints.
Robust and Reliable Models
Given the remote and harsh conditions of space, ML models must be exceptionally robust and reliable. Rigorous testing and validation are essential to ensure that these models can operate effectively in space.
Continuous Learning and Adaptation
For long-duration missions, ML models must be capable of continuous learning and adaptation to new data and environments. This adaptability is crucial for missions to distant planets or asteroids, where pre-mission data is limited.
Challenges and Future Directions
While ML offers transformative potential for space exploration, challenges remain, including dealing with limited data for training models, ensuring the reliability of autonomous systems, and managing the computational constraints of spacecraft. Future advancements in ML and computational technology promise to further enhance space exploration, making missions more autonomous, efficient, and capable of uncovering the mysteries of the universe.


On the first day of my very first geology class, my instructor told us, “Once you’re finished with this course, you’ll never see the world the same way again.” And he was right.
Now, I can look at mountains and envision the folding process that made them. I can look at beautiful red sandstones and discern the path the wind took as it deposited the sand composing them. I can pick up a landscaping rock and tell you that it is limestone, made from the remains of sea creatures who lived in warm waters. I can point out their fossils in that rock and name their kinds. I know from its rounded edges that it has spent time in a stream. Perhaps, that stream ran beneath glaciers 3 kilometers thick.
I do indeed see the world differently because I took geology classes. And a calculus class. And now an astronomy class. This past week, I learned to mark the moon’s phases, and it has again changed the way I see the world.
I leave work and walk to my car. Headed due east, I mark the hour, knowing the moon rises from that direction. I recall the phase of the moon and calculate its place in the sky at this time of night. “It was a waning gibbous two nights ago,” I tell myself, “so it must mean it will be a third quarter this evening.” And then I know the moon is still below my horizon.
As I do this, I am also reminded of Morgaine in Marian Zimmer Bradley’s Mists of Avalon. To her, the goddess and the moon were synonymous. As a priestess of Avalon, she wore a crescent shape on her forehead and learned the moon phases as part of her education. I am learning science, but I make connections to books read long ago.
Because our instructor showed us how Stephen Spielberg got the moon phases wrong** in ET, I now find myself critiquing the moon’s presence in all of the popular culture.
As I write this post, I am sitting at home on my bed. I look at my framed Mutt’s comic strip from 21 Nov. 2006. The little girl Doozy is hugging the chained-up Guard Dog. In the upper right corner hangs a waxing crescent moon. I think it through in my head: “Since moon is low in the sky, it need to be shortly after moon rise at 9 a.m. or moon set at 9 p.m. Assuming it is night and Doozy has her parents’ permission to wish Guard Dog a happy Thanksgiving because it’s still fairly early, it could very well be sometime between 6 and 9 p.m. when a waxing crescent would hang low in the western sky.” I conclude that artist Patrick McDonnell has drawn his moon phase correctly.
So lately, I have been thinking that all teachers–from all disciplines, not just science–should make a promise to their students at the beginning of the term: “Once you’re finished with this course, you’ll never see the world the same way again.”
**I have decided that botching the night sky in a movie must really annoy astrophysicists. Neil deGrass Tyson complained about the incorrect star field director James Cameron used in Titanic until Cameron changed the stars in an updated version of the movie.


Since ancient times, humanity has gazed up at the stars in awe and wonder. The night sky presents a portal into the vast mysteries of the universe, stirring philosophical thought about our place in the cosmos. This universal human experience has also played a profound role in the symbolism and rituals of Freemasonry. As Masonic initiates progress on their spiritual journey, they are continually encouraged to look upwards towards the heavens.
The lodges themselves are oriented to the cardinal points of the compass and symbolically placed under a celestial canopy decorated with a blazing star, the sun and moon, and lesser stars. Why does Freemasonry direct its members skywards? By contemplating the heavenly bodies, Masons connect to divine principles and the Great Architect of the Universe. The stars represent the source of illumination guiding the way as Masons seek truth and light.
Ancient Philosophies and the Influence of the Stars
Masonic symbolism shares resonance with ancient cosmological philosophies that recognized an influence or connection between the celestial realm and earthly affairs. Plato believed the orderly motion of the planets reflected a cosmic harmony that shapes human destinies. The 3rd-century philosopher Plotinus viewed the stars as emanations from the divine source, possessing higher intelligence than humans. But he believed the human soul could transcend earthly limits and reunite with the divine through philosophical contemplation.
Hermes Trismegistus taught the stars transmit spiritual knowledge and energies as intermediaries between the earth and the divine. While aspects of these philosophies were mistaken, such as astrological determinism, they pointed towards a profound truth – the interconnection between the divine cosmos and the human mind. The ancients believed aligning one’s life to the harmony of the spheres allowed our highest selves to shine through.
The Blazing Star – Inner and Outer Light
The Blazing Star is one of the most prominent Masonic symbols, representing the light of Divine Providence that guides the Masonic initiate towards truth. It first appears as a faint glimmering ray in the 1st degree tracing board, but later reveals its full splendor, like the Morning Star heralding a new dawn. The Blazing Star represents the apex of Mason’s spiritual ascent, having perfected himself to become a light unto the world.
One theory proposed by Masonic scholar Albert Pike identifies the Blazing Star with Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. Sirius was associated with Anubis, the jackal-headed Egyptian god who escorted souls to the afterlife. This Sirius-Anubis connection highlights Masonry’s illumination from ancient esoteric traditions centered around the heavens. Just as Anubis guided dead souls through the night sky, Masons looked to Sirius, the Blazing Star, as the guiding light on their quest for truth.
But the Blazing Star holds more symbolic meaning than its astronomical identity. It embodies the oneness of the Supreme Being, representing omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. Masonic initiates follow this light within their inner journey toward knowledge of the self and the divine essence at the core of their being. The star guides masons to look within and find the inner light of conscience. By lifting their eyes to the celestial canopy, Masons are reminded that the mysteries of the universe can be found within and without. The star shines its light down into the darkness of material existence, but the mason must also look up to glimpse its divine source.
Ascending the Pathway to the Gods
In ancient mythology, figures like Hermes, Thoth, and Anubis represent the archetype of the messenger or wisdom keeper, initiating humanity into esoteric knowledge of the gods. They stand for the tools of initiation that facilitate the construction of an inner Spiritual Temple. The Egyptians associated Sirius and Anubis with teachings on the immortality of the soul, the law of karma, and the influence of the stars on human evolution.
There are signs these teachings originate from the Egyptian mystery tradition, which venerated Sirius as the source of celestial wisdom. The 19th-century author H.P. Blavatsky called Sirius “the great instructor of mankind” and the secret doctrine hints at its role in humanity’s spiritual history. Masonic light may also be kindled by the spark of Sirius, the flaring signal fire that has burned across centuries and cultures.
While Masonry’s ancient origins may be veiled in mystery, its call to contemplate the heavens is universal. Throughout history, geometric alignments of temples and monuments to the stars have shown how humanity strives to connect the earth with the cosmos. The first traced steps of ritual and architecture attempted to harness divine powers and bring astronomical rhythms down to earth. In Freemasonry, the Lodge’s alignment to the four cardinal directions and stellar ornamentation continues this tradition.
The Compass and Square: Navigating by the Stars
In Freemasonry, the compass and square are essential tools for orienting one’s purpose and constructing moral living. As a guiding emblem, the compass directs our steps and circumscribes our desires to keep us within proper bounds. The square teaches us to approach life and our deeds with rectitude. When applied to the celestial realm, these tools hold deeper significance.
The compass allows Masons to draw a circle linking the celestial with the terrestrial, mapping the cosmos within the confines of the Lodge. The movements of the stars provide fixed reference points for aligning earthly bodies and activities. The square establishes the straight path of virtue, righteousness, and enlightenment. Just as the square sets the 90-degree angles of architecture here on Earth, the fixed stars provide the constant squares and angles in the sky for aligning temples and monuments since time immemorial.
By following the compass and the square, Mason can discover his proper place in the cosmic order. He transcends his earthly beginnings but also recognizes the glory of creation in the heavens above. In navigating by the stars, the Mason journeys both beyond and back home again.
Seeking the Lost Word
Central to the Masonic journey is the search for “that which is lost”- the lost word or the hidden gnosis of life. The astronomic symbolism in Masonry reveals that gaining this transcendent knowledge requires guidance from above. By following the movement of the stars – the solar year, the lunar month, and the daily east-west passage of the sun – a Mason learns the rhythms of eternity. The heavens provide the temporal means to glimpse the eternal, using the very boundaries of earthly existence to look beyond them.
As the Daystar rises in the East to dispel the darkness of night, so too does the inward sun dawn over the mind and heart of a Mason. He realizes the loss of light throughout humanity’s long-suffering in darkness is ultimately a preparation for the eternal light yet to come. The quest for the lost word is a pilgrimage leading upward through the starry canopy towards that Word, who stands at the apex and end of the journey.
The Philosopher’s Stone – Giving Form to Formlessness
Alchemists interpreted the seven classical planets and luminaries as stages of transformation in the alchemical Great Work of achieving enlightenment. They sought to synthesize the divine forms signified by the wandering stars into the unified primordial matter – the Philosopher’s Stone. This metaphoric process reflected the Masonic journey of working upon the rough stone of the ego self in order to polish and perfect it into a shining, luminous stone reflecting the light of heaven.
Just as the alchemists extracted the animating soul out of substances by dissolving and coagulating matter, so too must the Freemason break down the rigid thoughts and structures that conceal the radiance of Being. By harnessing the patterns above to the work below, the uneven matter of creation is remade into that First Matter from whence it arose. The sparks of divine light within the stone are brought forth by the alchemical work. Ultimately, the Freemason, like the alchemist, seeks to unify the microcosm with the macrocosm – to align human endeavor with the cosmic patterns above.
References to planets and stars in Masonic symbolism are not meant to imply astrological determinism between celestial bodies and human lives. Such superficial analysis misses the ultimate aim of unity that underlies the apparent divisions of creation. The Masonic work is to harmonize all these diverse energies into an orchestrated whole, making music of the spheres from the raw sounds of space and time.
By elevating human love to divine love, faculties of desire to selfless service, and disciplined skills to the needs of the Great Architect, the Mason progresses in their spiritual evolution. We are like stars in the process of becoming, whose outer forms change over time while our inner essence grows brighter. By giving form to formlessness, the Mason sculpts rough stone and square into a shining ideal.
The Journey Continues…Look Up!
Freemasonry’s rich astronomical symbolism encodes the ancient perennial wisdom at the heart of all the mystery traditions. While the true origins may never be known, it hints at the presence of an esoteric transmission through the ages, passing the light forward in alignment with the heavens. This spiritual lineage appears as a guiding star for humanity, moving ever brighter along the horizon.
Although the contemporary study of the cosmos may reveal new and astonishing facts, it is the contemplation of infinity that humbles the mason. The celestial canopy’s glimpses into timeless eternity remain breathtaking and baffling. While new discoveries may further prompt us to admire the handiwork of the Creator, fundamental questions about the purpose and destiny of consciousness in the universe still stir within.
The Masonic initiate is instructed to follow knowledge wherever it leads. The mystery religions of antiquity offer a lamp to light our way as we confront the unknown. By searching for ancient wisdom in the patterns above, and aligning to those patterns here below, the Mason works to achieve harmony between the two realms. He comes to know himself as a microcosm of the macrocosm – a little world mirroring the greater universe. Over the ages, Freemasonry’s initiatic journey has remained focused on the heavens where signs of God’s presence are continually revealed, but its ultimate goal is the perfection possible within human nature.
As we follow this meandering stellar pathway forward, it is easy to become distracted by the tangled growth of the lower world that threatens to obscure our vision upward. But if we lift our eyes to the sky, the stars can still reveal the Way, just as they have done for countless centuries. Their unfolding story directs our attention beyond the temporal landscape to the eternal cycles of creation. By contemplating the cosmos through the web of mythology and symbolism ascribed to the heavens, a deeper understanding unfolds.
So, brothers, let us remember to look up! Keep your eyes focused above the mundane in order to glimpse the Glory of the Grand Architect. Follow the planetary path to discover Wisdom so that like the Blazing Star, your own Light may also shine. Make haste for the hourglass is draining. The secret lost word is waiting to be discovered. The celestial gnosis calls to us from above! May we raise our collective consciousness to mirror the heavens so that our Lodges might become sacred sanctuaries for mystical awakening. Only by gazing upon the cosmic splendor above are our minds opened to the vast potential within.


This special event from STEM with Wings is an opportunity for your class to find out about the amazing zero-gravity Mars helicopter and the Mars Rover Robotic Arm.
Classes will hear NASA engineer Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu’s inspiring story from Ghana to the UK to NASA, have a chance to ask him questions, and will take part in his engineering design challenge inspired by nature.
Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to spend an hour with one of the engineers behind NASA’s incredible mission to the Red Planet. Book your free place on 2 May at 2-3pm (suitable for KS2).
NASA engineer Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu lives on earth – but he works 33 million miles away on Mars, operating the Mars Rover Robotic Arm for NASA.
The Arm is fundamental to NASA’s Mars missions. It enables the missions to explore and investigate the planet and to conduct their experiments. Without the Arm, there would be no way even to move the scientific equipment from the spacecraft to the planet surface.
Ashitey has worked on every Robotic Arm sent to Mars and has a vast experience of inter-planetary robotics. It’s not only the Arm. Ashitey was also in the team which designed and built a helicopter – named Ingenuity, or Ginny – taken to Mars in 2020 and still operating there.
Ashitey sends instructions to NASA equipment on Mars on a daily basis, advancing the mission and troubleshooting when there are unexpected problems.
“Sometimes a problem seems intractable,” he says, “but we are engineers. We love to solve intractable problems!”
Ashitey was born in Ghana and traces his early fascination with engineering to the view from his garden of Accra airport – in particular the action of the wheels deploying for landing. He moved to the UK for university and his passion for robotics took him to the USA and NASA – and his robots to Mars.


Walter Cunningham, the last living astronaut of NASA’s first crewed space flight in 1968, has died at the age of 90, the US space agency announced on Tuesday.
Cunningham, whose 1968 Apollo 7 mission opened the way for the first human moon landing a few months later in 1969, died on Tuesday morning in Houston, a NASA statement said.
“Walt Cunningham was a fighter pilot, physicist, and an entrepreneur – but, above all, he was an explorer. On Apollo 7, the first launch of a crewed Apollo mission, Walt and his crewmates made history, paving the way for the Artemis Generation we see today,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.
“NASA will always remember his contributions to our nation’s space program and sends our condolences to the Cunningham family,” Nelson added.
Following his death, Cunningham’s family also paid tribute to the late astronaut: “We would like to express our immense pride in the life that he lived, and our deep gratitude for the man that he was – a patriot, an explorer, pilot, astronaut, husband, brother, and father. The world has lost another true hero, and we will miss him dearly.”
Born in 1932 in Iowa, Cunningham earned a Bachelor of Arts with honors in physics in 1960 and a Master of Arts with distinction in physics in 1961 from the University of California. In 1974, he completed a doctorate in physics with exception of thesis at the Harvard Graduate School of Business.
Cunningham joined the Navy in 1951 and flew 54 missions as a night fighter pilot in Korea, according to the NASA statement. “Cunningham has accumulated more than 4,500 hours of flying time in 40 different aircraft, including more than 3,400 in jet aircraft,” it added.
In 1963, he was chosen as a member of NASA’s third astronaut class. Cunningham served as the backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 1 and the lead crew for cancelled Apollo 2 before being assigned to the Apollo 7 crew.
For the first human flight test of the Apollo spacecraft, Apollo 7, he was chosen as the lunar module pilot for the 11-day mission.
“With Walter M. Schirra, Jr. and Donn F. Eisele, he tested maneuvers necessary for docking and lunar orbit rendezvous using the third stage of their Saturn IB launch vehicle,” the NASA statement said.
“The crew successfully completed eight tests, igniting the service module engine, measuring the accuracy of performance of all spacecraft systems, and providing the first live television transmission of onboard crew activities,” it added.
The Apollo 7 craft members including Cunningham earned an Emmy in the form of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Special Trustee Award.
“The 263-hour, 4.5-million-mile flight splashed down Oct. 22, 1968, in the Atlantic Ocean,” it added.


Interstellar, Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi masterpiece premiered in 2014 and is both visually and mentally stunning. Using practical effects, film instead of digital and no green screen at all, Nolan creates an intense, beautiful and terrifying vision of space and time, brought to life through masterful visuals and a perfectly suited score. Coupled with the artistic aesthetics and auteur feel of Nolan’s creation, is the realistic and almost entirely accurate science behind the film. Based on the work of Dr Kip Thorne Nolan and his brother built a screenplay with the vision of a sci-fi feel, but with true science and physics behind it, having studied astrophysics for months in preparation for the script.
The narrative follows the former NASA astronaut Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), whom now runs a farm, as he is recruited by physicist Dr Brand (Michael Caine) in the hope he can pilot a team, aboard the ship ‘Endurance’, to travel through a worm hole and find a new planet, capable of sustaining human life. On Earth, blight is causing crops to die, with global starvation the impending consequence.
Cooper, having fought with his daughter Murph about leaving, embarks on the interstellar trip. A crew of four, Cooper, Amelia (Anne Hathaway), Romilly and Doyle begin the trip across time and space. They travel through a worm hole and to a scouted world with the potential of sustaining life. This turns out to be unfortunate, as the world is situated close to a black hole, time is warped, meaning time spent on the planet runs faster than that on Earth. Discovering the planet in uninhabitable and losing Doyle in the process, Cooper and Amelia return to the Endurance to find that the time spent on that planet was catastrophically stretched compared to that on Earth. The three remaining astronauts must now find another suitable world before it is too late for the starving people on Earth.
Nolan perfectly crafts a narrative based on realistic science coupled with theories about love, human relations and survival, making this incredible motion picture breathtakingly beautiful and mentally refreshing. A brilliant film and a brilliant story.