Fw: Delaware Astronomical Society Book Club meeting Thursday October 30 at 7 p.m.
stev...@verizon.net
Begin forwarded message:
On Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 9:03 PM, BarbDon Knabb <barb...@gmail.com> wrote:
Greetings MERAL Presidents, ALCors, editors, officers and others,
Below is information about the upcoming Delaware Astronomical Society book club meeting this Thursday, October 30, at 7 p.m. The Zoom link to join the book club meeting is below.
Please share this information with your club members.
Clear skies,Don Knabb
MERAL Chair
You and your guests are cordially invited to attend the October meeting of the Delaware Astronomical Society Book Club on this Thursday, October 30, 2025, at 7 PM ET Via ZOOM Link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83196004469?pwd=3jGbFATPurUqmcz3AohUGa387kDhOU.1Meeting ID: 831 9600 4469
Passcode: 440845
We will be discussing:
Black Hole: How an Idea Abandoned by Newtonians, Hated by Einstein, and Gambled On by Hawking Became Loved
By Marcia Bartusiak
"Lively and dramatic." Times Higher Education Supplement
"You don't need an advanced degree to enjoy this entertaining tale...A beautiful case study." Wall Street Journal
"Packs a lot of learning into a deceptively light and enjoyable read." New Scientist
Marcia Bartusiak, author, journalist, and Professor of the Practice Emeritus in the Graduate Program in Science Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will join us for our meeting.
David Ives Brown, Rittenhouse Astronomical Society board member and retired JPL optical engineer, will lead our meeting.
The contentious history of the idea of the black hole—the most fascinating and bizarre celestial object in the heavens
For more than half a century, physicists and astronomers engaged in heated dispute over the possibility of black holes in the universe. The weirdly alien notion of a space-time abyss from which nothing escapes—not even light—seemed to confound all logic. This engrossing book tells the story of the fierce black hole debates and the contributions of Einstein and Hawking and other leading thinkers who completely altered our view of the universe.
Renowned science writer Marcia Bartusiak shows how the black hole helped revive Einstein’s greatest achievement, the general theory of relativity, after decades during which it had been pushed into the shadows. Not until astronomers discovered such surprising new phenomena as neutron stars and black holes did the once-sedate universe transform into an Einsteinian cosmos, filled with sources of titanic energy that can be understood only in the light of relativity. This book celebrates the hundredth anniversary of general relativity, uncovers how the black hole really got its name, and recounts the scientists’ frustrating, exhilarating, and at times humorous battles over the acceptance of one of history’s most dazzling ideas.
The book is available in e-book and e-audiobook formats from the Delaware Libraries.
Nota Bene:
· Our meetings are not recorded.
· You will be muted on entry to the meeting. Unmute as needed.
· Your guests are welcome to attend our meetings.
· Meetings are informal and cordial conversations.
· Questions and comments may be submitted in advance of the meeting to libr...@delastro.org
· The DAS Book Club calendar for 2025, 2026, and our archived calendar of meetings is posted online.
Full Zoom Invitation with Phone Access Details
Delaware Astronomical Society is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: DAS Book Club October Zoom Black Hole Marcia Bartusiak
Time: Oct 30, 2025 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83196004469?pwd=3jGbFATPurUqmcz3AohUGa387kDhOU.1
View meeting insights with Zoom AI Companion
https://us02web.zoom.us/launch/edl?muid=519859a2-e4e1-4e32-8140-baea0af48f77
Meeting ID: 831 9600 4469
Passcode: 440845
One tap mobile
+13052241968,,83196004469#,,,,*440845# US
+13092053325,,83196004469#,,,,*440845# US
Join instructions with Phone Numbers
Mary Webb
Delaware Astronomical Society Librarian
Hubble, DAS Book Club Mascot
Hubble Cantata by Paolo Prestini
Mary Anna Draper (1839-1914)
Delaware Astronomical Society Library, Since 1956
Delaware Astronomical Society Book Club Calendar
