Book Reviews (very long)

[Sam Wormley]

clear
echo "

bkr.91.02 1. PETERSON FIRST GUIDE TO ASTROMOMY
bkr.91.02 2. A FIELD GUIDE TO STARS AND PLANETS
bkr.91.03 3. THE SOUL OF THE NIGHT
bkr.91.03 4. ASTRONOMY - A PHYSICAL PERSPECTIVE
bkr.91.04 5. NEW HORIZONS IN AMATEUR ASTRONOMY
bkr.91.04 6. 365 STARRY NIGHTS
bkr.91.04 7. MODERN COSMOLOGY IN RETROSPECT
bkr.91.05 8. THE TRAINED EYE
bkr.91.06 9. NORTON'S STAR ATLAS
bkr.91.06 10. NORTON'S 2000.0
bkr.91.07 11. EXERCISES IN PRACTICAL ASTRONOMY USING PHOTOGRAPHS
bkr.91.08 12. SPECIAL AND GENERAL RELATIVITY RESOURCES: FLAT AND CURVED SPACE-TIMES
bkr.91.09 13. OBSERVING HANDBOOK AND CATALOG OF DEEP-SKY OBJECTS
bkr.91.09 14. TURN LEFT AT ORION
bkr.91.10 15. THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE
bkr.91.10 16. FROM PARADOX TO REALITY
bkr.91.11 17. THE ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR 1991
bkr.91.11 18. THE ASTRONOMICAL COMPANION
bkr.91.11 19. MANKIND'S COMET
bkr.91.11 20. THE UNDER-STANDING OF ECLIPSES
bkr.91.12 21. THE ASTRONOMICAL ALMANAC 1992

bkr.92.01 22. A PHYSICIST ON MADISON AVENUE
bkr.92.02 23. ASTRONOMY WITH BINOCULARS
bkr.92.02 24. WAS EINSTEIN RIGHT?
bkr.92.03 25. THE STARRY ROOM
bkr.92.04 26. A MODERN DAY YANKEE IN A CONNECTICUT COURT
bkr.92.04 27. HOW TO USE AN ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE
bkr.92.05 28. ASTRONOMICAL TABLES OF THE SUN, MOON, AND PLANETS
bkr.92.06 29. EINSTEIN'S MOON
bkr.92.06 30. THE BACKYARD ASTRONOMER'S GUIDE
bkr.92.07 31. ANCIENT LIGHT
bkr.92.07 32. LONGING FOR THE HARMONIES
bkr.92.08 33. THE MIND'S SKY
bkr.92.08 34. NGC 2000.0
bkr.92.09 35. THE WORLD OF MATHEMATICS
bkr.92.09 36. THE WORLD OF PHYSICS
bkr.92.09 37. THE WORLD TREASURY OF PHYSICS, ASTRONOMY, AND MATHEMATICS
bkr.92.10 38. OBSERVING VARIABLE STARS
bkr.92.10 39. SEEING THE DEEP SKY
bkr.92.11 40. CAMBRIDGE STAR ATLAS 2000.0
bkr.92.11 41. RELATIVITY THEORY
bkr.92.12 42. THE GREAT SUNDIAL CUTOUT BOOK
bkr.92.12 43. MR THOMPKINS IN PAPERBACK
bkr.92.12 44. THE EVOLUTION OF RELATIVITY

bkr.93.01 45. ASTROPHYSICAL CONCEPTS
bkr.93.01 46. STEPHEN HAWKING'S A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME A READER'S COMPANION
bkr.93.03 47. UNITS AND CONVERSION CHARTS
bkr.93.03 48. EINSTEIN'S DREAMS, A NOVEL
bkr.93.03 49. THE DEEP SKY FIELD GUIDE TO URANOMETRIA 2000.0
bkr.93.04 50. THE AGE OF THE EARTH
bkr.93.04 51. LAND NAVIGATION HANDBOOK
bkr.93.05 52. ASTRONOMICAL ALGORITHMS
bkr.93.05 53. EXPLATORY SUPPLEMENT TO THE ASTRONOMICAL ALMANAC
bkr.93.05 54. MAP USE - READING, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION
bkr.93.06 55. THEORY OF FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES
bkr.93.06 56. THE FEYNMAN LECTURES ON PHYSICS
bkr.93.06 57. THE CHARACTER OF PHYSICAL LAW
bkr.93.06 58. 'SURELY YOU'RE JOKING, MR. FEYNMAN!' ADVENTURES OF A CURIOUS CHARACTER
bkr.93.06 59. QED: THE STRANGE THEORY OF LIGHT AND MATTER
bkr.93.06 60. ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND THE LAWS OF PHYSICS
bkr.93.06 61. 'WHAT DO YOU CARE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK?' FURTHER ADVENTURES OF A CURIOUS CHARACTER
bkr.93.06 62. TUVA OR BUST! RICHARD FEYNMAN'S LAST JOURNEY
bkr.93.06 63. GENIUS, THE LIFE AND SCIENCE OF RICHARD FEYNMAN
bkr.93.07 64. MOON MORPHOLOGY
bkr.93.08 65. 365 STARRY NIGHTS
bkr.93.09 66. THE STARS - A NEW WAY TO SEE THEM
bkr.93.09 67. LANDFORMS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES--A DIGITAL SHADED-RELIEF PORTRAYAL
bkr.93.10 68. UNIVERSAL CONSTANTS IN PHYSICS
bkr.93.10 69. PRACTICAL ASTRONOMY WITH YOUR CALCULATOR
bkr.93.11 70. THE ASTRONOMICAL ALMANAC 1994
bkr.93.12 71. THE ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR 1994
bkr.93.12 72. THE LIGHT-HEARTED ASTRONOMER
bkr.93.12 73. OUTDOOR OPTICS

bkr.94.01 74. OUR UNIVERSE - AN ARMCHAIR GUIDE
bkr.94.01 75. THE COSMOLOGICAL DISTANCE LADDER
bkr.94.01 76. RIPPLES IN THE COSMOS
bkr.94.01 77. COSMOLOGY, 2nd Ed.
bkr.94.01 78. THEORY AND EXPERIMENT IN GRAVITATIONAL PHYSICS, Revised Edition
bkr.94.02 79. THE UNIVERSE AND EYE
bkr.94.02 80. TIME FOR THE STARS
bkr.94.02 81. A MODERN DAY YANKEE IN A CONNECTICUT COURT(1)
bkr.94.03 82. ASTRONOMY WITH BINOCULARS
bkr.94.03 83. TOURING THE UNIVERSE THROUGH BINOCULARS
bkr.94.03 84. A MODERN DAY YANKEE IN A CONNECTICUT COURT(2)
bkr.94.04 85. THE VISUAL DISPLAY OF QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION
bkr.94.04 86. ENVISIONING INFORMATION
bkr.94.04 87. A MODERN DAY YANKEE IN A CONNECTICUT COURT(3)
bkr.94.05 88. BLACK HOLES & TIME WARPS - EINSTEINS OUTRAGEOUS LEGACY
bkr.94.05 89. A CATALOGUE OF SOUTHERN PECULIAR GALAXIES AND ASSOCIATIONS Vol. I
bkr.94.05 90. A CATALOGUE OF SOUTHERN PECULIAR GALAXIES AND ASSOCIATIONS Vol. II
bkr.94.05 91. A MODERN DAY YANKEE IN A CONNECTICUT COURT(4)
bkr.94.06 92. THE SKY - A USER'S GUIDE
bkr.94.06 93. THE TREASURY OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
bkr.94.06 94. AT HOME IN THE UNIVERSE
bkr.94.06 95. EINSTEIN, A LIFE IN SCIENCE
bkr.94.07 96. WHITNEY'S STAR FINDER
bkr.94.08 97. NEW HORIZONS IN AMATEUR ASTRONOMY
bkr.94.08 98. OBSERVING HANDBOOK AND CATALOG OF DEEP-SKY OBJECTS
bkr.94.09 99 THE PERFECT MACHINE
bkr.94.10 100.
bkr.94.11 101.
bkr.94.12 102.

bkr.95.01 103.
bkr.95.02 104.

"

Welcome to the first of regular monthly book reviews. It is the
intention of this book reviewer to provide reviews of astronomy
related books and publications to aid you in selection and tracking
down copies of the books you are interested in.

PETERSON FIRST GUIDE TO ASTROMOMY
A simplified field guide to the stars, planets, and the universe
Jay M. Pasachoff (Monthly Sky Maps and Atlas Charts by Wil Tirion)
Houghton Mifflin Company - Boston
QB46.P376 1988 522 87-26143
ISBN 0-395-46790-X (pbk)

A FIELD GUIDE TO STARS AND PLANETS
Second Edition, updated through 1994
Donald H. Menzel and Jay M. Pasachoff
Monthly Sky Maps and Atlas Charts by Wil Tirion
Houghton Mifflin Company - Boston
QB64.M4 1983 523 83-8392
ISBN 0-395-34835-8 (pbk)

A FIELD GUIDE TO STARS AND PLANETS includes a series of 72 Monthly Sky
Maps and 52 detailed Atlas Charts of the entire sky to help you
identify stars and consellations down to magnitude 7.5, planets,
nebulae, galaxies, and other objects. A "field guide" implies usage at
the observing site and many a person has argued the utility of a
compact (4.75 by 7.5 inches) atlas which can be carried in a large
pocket. There is a great amount of detail in the small scale star
charts which is not something you're likely to want to deal with at a
dark site with a red light. This guide and almost every other star
atlas I have ever worked with are best used in planning an observing
session as opposed to any kind of detailed use at the site. I
personally own Tirion's Sky Atlas 2000.0, Uranametria Vols. 1 & 2,
Norton's 2000 in addition to these two guides. I usually turn to A
FIELD GUIDE TO STARS AND PLANETS as a quick reference before turning to
the detail that the larger atlases offer. A FIELD GUIDE TO STARS AND
PLANETS has graphic timetable charts showing a year at a time for the
planets, double stars, open and globular clusters, galaxies and nebulae
each allowing you to quickly assess what you can see on any given night
of the year.

PETERSON FIRST GUIDE TO ASTROMOMY is an abridged version of its
predecessor intended as a beginner's guide with clear and concise
descriptions of the major constellations, the planets, the sun, the
moon, the stars, comets, meteors, black holes, galaxies, and other
celestial objects--with information on how, when, and where to find
them in the sky. I was personally seduced by the very fine monthly star
maps. The value of monthly star maps is their freedom from the
distortion found on star wheels (Jack Troeger's exception noted!).

- S. Wormley

THE SOUL OF THE NIGHT
An Astronomical Pilgrimage
by Chet Raymo
Woodcut Illustrations by William Blake
Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1985
QB43.2.R39 1985 520 85-6480
ISBN 0-13-822883-3

ASTRONOMY - A PHYSICAL PERSPECTIVE
by Marc L. Kutner of Rensseler Polytechnic Institute
Harper & Row, Publishers, New York, 1987
QB45.K88 1987 520 86-19561
ISBN 0-06-043818-5

Introductory astronomy textbooks are surprisingly numerous.
ASTRONOMY - A PHYSICAL PERSPECTIVE by Marc L. Kutner of Rensseler
Polytechnic Institute is dedicated to the student who would like more
out of even a brief study of astronomy than a list of what there is. It
is for the student who wants to understand why certain phenomena occur,
and how astronomical objects work. In addition, it addresses the
question of how we collect and interpret information about such remote
objects.
This book has a lot of math - and having just said that, many of
you readers are going to think "I'm not interested in any math... I'm
just interested in knowing more astronomy." The math (algebra) is not
difficult and gives much insight into the processes under discussion.
Throughout the book calculations help you understand ideas ranging from
the conditions effecting observations to the strange phenomena
encountered approaching a black hole.
As an example, there is a discussion of the conditions under which
an interstellar cloud is gravitationally bound, and expresses the
results as a Jeans length. For a cloud of a given temperature T and a
number density n, the Jeans length is the minimum size of a
gravitationally bound cloud. Such a calculation lets you predict the
order of size and type of objects that can form such as galaxies,
globulars, star clusters, single stars or just globules from the
initial conditions of the cloud.
This is an excellent text for those of you interested in learning
on your own. You won't get bored with this treasure of insightful
physics and astronomy.

In the visionary yet intimate tradition of Carl Sagen and Lewis
Thomas, THE SOUL OF THE NIGHT joins science to the deeper, personal
concerns of philosophy. It is an astronomer's odyssey through the
heavens, bonding the glorious, mysterious phenomena of the night sky to
the workings of the human mind and psyche. It is an exploration of how
the stars reinforce our humanity, one that moves through the realms of
mythology, literature, religion, history, and anthropology for its
inspiration.
This delightful book is an exercise in knowing and loving, a
personal pilgrimage into the darkness and the silence of the night sky
in quest of the human meaning. It is a pilgrimage in quest of the soul
of the night.
No prior knowledge of astronomy is required to curl up in front of
the fire place or under the covers with this book. I would read from
this book to my kids, lover and to astronomy club members.

- S. Wormley

NEW HORIZONS IN AMATEUR ASTRONOMY
by Grant Fjermedal
Perigee Books (Putnam Publishing Group), New York, 1989
QB64.F54 1989 523 88-13096 CIP
ISBN 0-339-51486-4 (pbk.)

365 STARRY NIGHTS
An introduction to astronomy for every night of the year
by Chet Raymo
Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1982
QB64.R38 1982 523 82-7511
ISBN 0-13-920512-8 (pbk.) AACR2

MODERN COSMOLOGY IN RETROSPECT
Edited by B.Bertotti, R.Balbinot, S.Bergia and A.Messina
Cambridge University Press, New York , 1990
523.109
ISBN 0-521-37213-5

Modern cosmology has evolved at a fast rate since the establishment
of the general theory of relativity as the framework for all
cosmological research. MODERN COSMOLOGY IN RETROSPECT is a
reconstruction of major events in the development of modern cosmology
as told by several of the leading figures. It is a fascinating account
of geometrical and physical cosmology, the great cosmological debates,
basic observations and discoveries. The enormous controversy
surrounding the steady state and big-bang theories is retold in
personal recollections from Hermann Bondi, William McCrea and Fred
Hoyle. It is a work of great importance for scientists in the fields of
astronomy, cosmology and general relativity as well as for historians
and philosophers of science. This is a book to study from as opposed
to one you read. For me, this is the best way to learn...

Divided into 365 concise, illustrated essays, 365 STARRY NIGHTS
focuses on aesthetic as well as scientific considerations of the night
sky. It gives you up-to-date information not only about the stars you
can see with the naked eye from mid-northern latitudes, but also about
the many deep-sky phenomena that challenge the professional and amateur
astronomers alike. Copious illustrations accompany the text
throughout. Professor Raymo has lectured to scouts, clubs, church
groups, and school children on the subject of stars. His experience in
telling a story and inspiring curiosity are obvious in 365 STARRY
NIGHTS. This book is a very good way to share your enthusiasm for
astronomy with your family.

Each chapter in NEW HORIZONS IN AMATEUR ASTRONOMY gives the reader
insight into what amateur astronomy is really like. The chapter
entitled "Hunting for Comets" was presented as a reading lecture to our
club in 1990. Each chapter is devoted to a different specific project
that you can work on, from searching for novas with binoculars to
hooking up your computer to your telescope. It offers a mix of hands-on
explanations on conducting your own research; background data on
observing, note-taking, priorities; hard-to-find descriptions of group
efforts with names and addresses so you can get involved; and first
hand accounts of the elation that this avocation produces. Perigee
Books is to be congratulated for publishing a fine publication for us
amateurs at a very reasonable $11.95.

- S. Wormley

THE TRAINED EYE
An Introduction to Astronomical Observing
by Leon Palmer
Saunders College Publishing, a division of Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1990
ISBN 0-03-047363-2 (pbk.)

Chapter 1 The Pattern of Stars
Project 1-1 Charts, Stars and Magnitudes
Project 1-2 Mapping the Heavens

Chapter 2 The Mortal's Point of View
Project 2-1 The Night Sky
Project 2-2 Diurnal Motions

Chapter 3 Extending the Eye's Reach
Project 3-1 Basic Astronomical Optics

Chapter 4 Establishing a Firm Foundation
Project 4-1 Telescope Field of View and Light Gathering Power
Project 4-2 Visual Photometry of Stars

Chapter 5 Taking the Measure of a Star
Project 5-1 Spectrum, Luminosity, Parallax and Perspective

Chapter 6 Reading the Message in Starlight
Project 6-1 Seeing the H-R Diagram
Project 6-2 Star Search

Chapter 7 Observing
Project 7-1 Star Hopping
Project 7-2 Celestial Sights

Appendix A Additional Projects
Project A-1 Waiting for the Sun
Project A-2 A Month of the Moon
Project A-3 Wheels Within Wheels
Project A-4 Star Gauging
Project A-5 Intrinsic Variable Stars
Project A-6 Eclipsing Variable Stars

Appendix B Amateur Astronomy Organizations

Appendix C Trained Eye Star Atlas

No matter what level of skill you have as an amateur astronomer,
THE TRAINED EYE is likely to improve you observational skills. This
book is a training program in which you learn by doing. Hands-on
projects illuminate the topics covered in each chapter. Training the
eye is really training the mind behind the eye, with its ability to
discover the laws of physics and use them to understand what the eyes
see. You can understand astronomical observing intuitively. This book
helps achieve that goal by teaching, not just describing, by presenting
exercises that develop intuitive skills, by providing a framework
around which understanding can grow. All you need is a trained eye.

- S. Wormley

NORTON'S STAR ATLAS
And Reference Handbook, 17th ed.
by Arthur P. Norton
Gall & Inglis Ltd.
John Wiley & Sons, New York 1986
QB43.2 520
ISBN 0-470-20678-0

NORTON'S 2000.0
Star Atlas and Reference Handbook
by Arthur P. Norton
Edited by Ian Ridpath, 18th ed.
Longman Scientific & Technical
John Wiley & Sons, New York 1989
QB43.2 520
ISBN 0-582-03163-X

NORTON'S STAR ATLAS, first published in 1910 is a combination of
star atlas, catalog and reference work targeted toward amateur and
professional astronomers world wide. NORTON'S STAR ATLAS has been
updated many times over the years which is indicative of its popularity
and utility. The only drawback for me is the symbolism used to
differentiate magnitudes on the sky maps and the labeling in general
which seems so archaic compared to Tirion's SKY ATLAS 2000.0 and
URANOMETRIA VOLs I and II.
NORTON'S 2000.0, representing the 18th edition of the original
NORTON'S STAR ATLAS, not only uses the epoch 2000.0 coordinates but has
adopted much of the Tirion standard of labeling and symbolism in it's
sky maps. The sky maps have been re-plotted to a new level of accuracy
and legibility, using state-of-the-art computer techniques specially
developed for the 18th edition. Included with each sky map are catalogs
of double stars, variable stars, clusters, nebulae and galaxies on the
adjacent pages.
Over the years the Reference Handbook section has become as
valuable a part of NORTON'S as the Atlas itself. In the first edition
the text amounted to only 18 pages, mostly written by the Rev. James
Gall Inglis. By the 5th edition in 1933 the text had grown to 51 pages,
and by the 17th edition in 1978 (reprinted in 1986) it covered 116
pages. For NORTON'S 2000.0 the text has been entirely rewritten while
attempting to retain the essential character of NORTON'S. The emphasis
is on reference information and practical observing advice that is
often difficult to obtain elsewhere.
Now we have a new, expanded, and updated edition of NORTON'S. A
superb tradition of excellence carried forth once again. We all
benefit.

- S. Wormley

EXERCISES IN PRACTICAL ASTRONOMY USING PHOTOGRAPHS:
With Solutions
by M.T.Bruck
IOP Publishing Ltd., 335 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017-3483
QB62.5.B78 533.076 dc20 1990
ISBN 0-7503-0061-2

Contents:

1. The Sun
Rotation
Sun's period of rotation
Area of a sunspot

2. Minor Planets or Asteroids
Identification of belt asteroids
Distance of belt asteroids

3. Halley's Comet
Direction and length of tail
Motion in the plane of the sky
Disconnection event in ion tail

4. The Milky Way
Photographic stellar photometry
Star numbers and magnitudes
Variation of star density with galactic latitude

5. Stars in Motion
Proper motion
Radial velocity

6. Open Star Clusters
The Pleiades
Distance and age of a star cluster

7. Globular Star Clusters
Tidal radius of a globular cluster
Mass of the cluster

8. Interstellar Extinction
The extinction or reddening law
Grain density in an interstellar dust cloud

9. A Supernova and Supernova Remnants
Light curve of SN 1987A
Luminosity of SN 1987A
Expansion and distance of the Crab nebula
Dimensions and age of the Vela supernova remnant

10. Types of Galaxies
Classification of galaxies
Classification of members of the Virgo cluster

11. Nearby Galaxies
Types of clusters
Distance of a cluster of galaxies
Dimensions and contents of a cluster
Mass of a cluster by the virial theorem
Average mass of a cluster member

Appendix 1. Astronomical Definitions, Data and Conversions

Appendix 2. Magnitudes, Colours and Luminosities

Appendix 3. Sources and References

Practical work in astronomy at elementary and intermediate levels
presents a difficulty for teachers. Unlike laboratory sciences,
astronomy does not easily lend itself to bench experiments. Actual
telescope observations are usually limited to the Moon and planets.
Meaningful observations of stars or galaxies, to match the instruction
received in the classroom or from the textbook, are next to
impossible.

Astronomical photographs supply an answer; they show what celestial
objects actually look like, and are at the same time capable of being
used to set problems relevant to the course work.

In these exercises, prints of first-class original photographs are
reproduced. The photographs (except for those of the Sun) are
negatives (black images on a clear background), as used by astronomers
in their researches, on which objects can be identified and classified,
their dimensions measured or their numbers counted. To use the
photographs effectively requires only the most basic equipment. Though
the methods of study are simple, they are in principle the same as
those used by astronomers with their more elaborate resources.

Suggested equipment needed:

1. a millimeter ruler (which could be a strip of millimeter graph paper)
2. a compass
3. a protractor for measuring angles
4. a 10x magnifier, if possible with a graticule divided into 0.1 mm
5. sheets of transparent overlay for tracing objects
6. millimeter graph paper
7. a hand calculator (with trig and log functions)
8. the use of a globe

EXERCISES IN PRACTICAL ASTRONOMY USING PHOTOGRAPHS: With Solutions,
would make an excellent second text for first astronomy courses such as
the one Dave Oesper teaches.

- S. Wormley

SPECIAL AND GENERAL RELATIVITY RESOURCES

FLAT AND CURVED SPACE-TIMES
by George F. R. Ellis and Ruth M. Williams
Oxford University Press, New York, 1988
QC173.59.S65 530.1'1 - dc 19 87-26340 1988
ISBN 0-19-851164-7
ISBN 0-19-851169-8 (pbk.)

FLAT AND CURVED SPACE-TIMES explains special relativity and the
foundations of general relativity theory from a geometric viewpoint.
Space-time geometry is emphasized throughout, and provides the basis of
understanding of the special relativity effects of time dilation,
length contraction, and the relativity of simultaneity. Bondi's
K-calculus is introduced as a simple means of calculating the
magnitudes of these effects, and leads to a derivation of the Lorentz
transformation as a way of unifying these results. The invariant
interval of flat space-time is generalized to that of curved
space-times, and leads to an understanding of the basic properties of
simple cosmological models and of the collapse of a star to form a
black hole. Appendices enable the advanced student to master the
application of four-tensors to the relativistic study of energy and
momentum, and of electromagnetism.

The authors make recommendations in their afterword suggesting many
fine texts at different levels for student eager to pursue special and
general relativity of which I quote:

"There are many books that present special relativity from various
viewpoints. For the reader wishing to go into more detail at about the
same level as the present book, we suggest SPECIAL RELATIVITY by A. P.
French (Nelson, 1968), or SPACE-TIME PHYSICS by E.F.Taylor and
J.A.Wheeler (Freeman, 1966); these examine in detail the physical
implications of special relativity (the basics of which have been
presented here, but not discussed at great length). For further reading
on general relativity at about the present level, we suggest
Eddington's classic book SPACE, TIME AND GRAVITATION (Harper
Torchbooks, 1959); this was first published in 1920.

"Mathematical foundations and general relativity... A more detailed
knowledge of either special or general relativity will need more
mathematics than has been assumed in the text. Detailed work in special
relativity will need as a foundation a good knowledge of basic
calculus, such as presented for example in INTRODUCTION TO CALCULUS AND
ANALYSIS by R.Courant and F.John (Interscience, 1965). The foundation
needed in addition in order to understand the mathematics of general
relativity is an understanding of the calculus of several variables. in
particular the meaning and manipulation of partial derivatives as
covered for example in VECTOR ANALYSIS by M.R.Spiegel (Schaum, 1959).
This material will also be needed for more advanced work in special
relativity.

"Most introductions to general relativity proceed from this foundation,
and introduce the needed further mathematics as they go, in particular,
explaining the concepts of tensors (briefly introduced here in the
Appendices) and of tensor derivatives (not presented here). The overall
branch of mathematics needed for a full study of general relativity is
called either Riemannian geometry of differential geometry. An
excellent discussion of this subject is TENSOR CALCULUS by J.L.Synge
and A.Schild (Dover, 1978). There are many texts on general relativity
itself; they are written in varied styles, and different ones will
appeal to different readers. We suggest as an introduction either A
FIRST COURSE IN GENERAL RELATIVITY by B.F.SCHUTZ (Cambridge University
Press, 1985), ESSENTIAL RELATIVITY by W.RINDLER (Springer, 1977), or
GRAVITATION by C.W.Misner, K.S.Thorne, and J.A.Wheeler (Freeman, 1973);
each presents the prerequisite ideas of differential geometry in detail
before discussing both special and general relativity theory and their
applications. A study of one of these books is recommended as a
foundation before tackling advanced texts such as GAVITATION AND
COSMOLOGY by S.Weinberg (Wiley, 1972) or THE LARGE SCALE STRUCTURE OF
SPACE TIME by S.W.Hawking and G.F.R.Ellis (Cambridge University Press,
1973).

"Applications... In the end, the fascination of these theories is in
their applications to the physical world. Some of these are discussed
in the advanced texts mentioned above, but those require considerable
mathematical preparation before full benefit can be derived from them.
However, there are various books that introduce these applications at
about the same level as the present text. Special relativity (together
with quantum mechanics) has fundamental implications for physics in
general (see e.g. THE FEYNMAN LECTURES ON PHYSICS by R.P.Feynman,
R.B.Leighton, and M.Sands, Addison-Wesley, 1963) and in particular for
elementary particle physics (see e.g. J.E.Dodd, THE IDEAS OF PARTICLE
PHYSICS, Cambridge University Press, 1984). Both special and general
relativity are of importance in understanding high-energy astrophysics,
and this interaction is well discussed in THE PHYSICS-ASTRONOMY
FRONTIER by F.Hoyle and J.V.Narlikar (Freeman, 1980).

"Ultimately one of the most fascinating applications is to the study of
the universe itself, i.e. cosmology. Excellent introductory books of
quite different styles are THE FIRST THREE MINUTES by S.Weinberg (Basic
Books, 1977) and COSMOLOGY by M.Rowan-Robinson (Oxford University
Press, 1977). A thoughtful and in-depth study at the same level as the
present book is COSMOLOGY by E.R.Harrison (Cambridge University Press,
1981), which also deals with ideas of general relativity and
gravitational collapse. If we had to choose from all the excellent
books available a single one to recommend for reading as a companion to
the present volume, it would be this one."

- S. Wormley

OBSERVING HANDBOOK AND CATALOG OF DEEP-SKY OBJECTS
by Christian B. Luginbuhl and Brian Skiff
Cambridge University Press, New York 1990
QB64.L84 522 - dc20 89-7318 1990
ISBN 0 521 25665 9

TURN LEFT AT ORION
A Hundred Night Sky Objects To See in a
Small Telescope - And How to Find Them
by Guy Consolmagno and Dan M. Davis
Cambridge University Press, New York 1989
QB63.C69 523 - dc19 88-28562 1989
ISBN 0 521 34090 X

TURN LEFT AT ORION is a guidebook for beginning amateur astronomers.
The moon, planets and nearly a hundred deep-sky objects visible in the
northern hemisphere are shown as they appear in a small telescope. The
book gives detailed instructions on how to find these and other objects
in the night sky and what to look for when you have found them. A brief
summary of the current state of astronomical knowledge about each
object is also included.

This book is specifically designed for small telescopes no bigger that
three inches, however, I find this book is an ideal catalog of just the
kinds of wonders in the sky that we like to show the public in any of
the telescopes at our AAAA public star parties. Objects are located in
terms of easily visible nearby stars. The large format drawings show
exactly what the observer should expect to see. For each object of
interest there are three drawings; showing (1) the naked eye view of
the sky, followed by (2) what you would see in a finder scope or
binoculars and (3) the magnified view through the telescope. There are
excellent tables of objects described in detail, double stars, open
clusters, galaxies, globular clusters, diffuse nebulae, planetary
nebulae, variable stars and then all these entries again based on the
time of the year. This book belongs at the AAAA observatory at
McFarland Park.

OBSERVING HANDBOOK AND CATALOG OF DEEP-SKY OBJECTS grew out of a lack
of a comprehensive modern manual to aid in observing deep-sky objects.
The authors began by undertaking a systematic program of visual
observations, the aim being to observe each of approximately 1500
galaxies, star clusters and nebulae through three telescopic apertures
commonly used by amateur astronomers. As observing proceeded, data was
collected on each object from a wide variety of sources, mostly
reference catalogues and scientific papers in the professional
literature. Accurate total magnitudes were newly derived for open
clusters and planetary nebulae. Further, each object was examined after
observation on at least one of three photographic sky atlases or on
large-scale telescopic photographs to ensure the authenticity of
details the authors recorded visually.

Consequently, what is presented is not merely a list of visual
observations, but a compendium of information relevant to viewing the
brightest deep-sky objects. Included are dimensions, magnitudes,
orientations, and angular distances, verified in nearly all cases
through photography, photometry, or astrometry. Of the 88
constellations in the sky, 68 north of Declination -50 degrees are
encompassed by the present survey. The 2050 objects included range
from those best viewed in binoculars and small telescopes, such as the
Pleiades, to fifteenth magnitude galaxies. There is catalog of 2828
deep-sky objects and a catalog of 152 double and multiple stars,
including 39 intended as aids for gauging seeing. This book also
belongs at the AAAA observatory at McFarland Park.

- S. Wormley

THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE
An Introduction to Astronomy
by Frank H. Shu
University Science Books, Mill Valley, CA 94941 1982
ISBN 0-935702-05-9

FROM PARADOX TO REALITY
Our basic concepts of the physical world
by Fritz Rohrlich
Cambridge University Press, 1987
QC173.55.R64 1978 530.1'1 86-26845
ISBN 0 521 30749 X (hardback)
ISBN 0 521 37605 X (paperback)

Frank Shu is a professor of Astronomy at the University of California,
Berkeley. Indicative of the quality of his book, THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE
has been sighted as a reference by numerous authors, since its
publication in 1982. THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE was written to be used at
several different levels ranging from an introduction to astronomy for
liberal-arts majors to a junior- or senior-level introduction to
astrophysics. Each chapter ends with concluding philosophical remarks
from which I briefly quote:

"Given that gravitation and the second law of thermodynamics underlie
much of natural phenomena, you will appreciate that an honest
understanding of modern astronomy requires a healthy dose of
physics...

"We have noted throughout this book that two central themes recur in
all of astronomy: gravitation and the second law of thermodynamics.
Modern gravitation theory reaches its purest form in the theory of
black holes. Classically, it would be correct to say that they are pure
gravity. Yet quantum-mechanically, in these amazingly simple objects
whose souls are completely expressed at the event horizon, Bekenstein
and Hawking have found that gravitation and thermodynamics meld into a
single beautiful scheme. And in this union, we discover that black
holes are, after all, not truly end states of matter. Given enough
time, black holes will get hotter and hotter relative to the universe
and evaporate away!

"Is this failure of the ability of quantum mechanics to rescue stars
from the final ravages of the war between gravity and thermodynamics
unique to black holes? No. If current ideas are right that protons and
neutrons are not fundamentally stable states of matter, then given
enough time, even baryons inside white dwarfs and neutron stars will
ultimately decay into photons and leptons. The positrons will
annihilate with the electrons, and the universe will be left with
nothing but neutrinos and photons, which fly away from each other at
the speed of light. Are all material entities then merely temporary
expedients in nature's scheme to turn matter into energy? Among the
four end states of stars, is the only one that is truly compatible with
the inexorable demands of thermodynamics, the uninteresting state:
nothing? A possible escape may yet exist for matter from this terrible
sentence. This escape hinges on the crucial issue of whether infinite
time is indeed available to all objects in the universe. In the arena
of the ultimate fate of the entire universe, gravity may yet triumph
over thermodynamics."

FROM PARADOX TO REALITY introduces in nontechnical language the basic
ideas of the two pillars of twentieth-century physics: relativity
theory and quantum mechanics. The discussion is conceptual and
philosophical rather than mathematical. Fritz Rohrlich eloquently gives
an overview of the basic principles and important consequences of the
theories. The illustrations are excellent. This is very fine writing,
giving the reader "the big picture". He shows how new discoveries
forced physicists to accept often strange and unconventional notions,
and he aims to remove the mystery and misrepresentation that often
surrounds these ideas. The book demonstrates how revolutionary new
theories arise where old and established ones fail (but remain usable
approximations for the new theories). For example Newtonian mechanics,
an approximation of Einstein's General Relativity, is entirely suitable
for extremely accurate navigation to the moon and planets, but is not
adequate to account for the precession of Mercury's orbit about the
sun.

Like Philip Morrison, who reviews books for SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, I
don't bother to review books that I can't get excited about. One has to
be careful not to use too many superlatives, lest they become
meaningless. FROM PARADOX TO REALITY is an excellent piece of science
writing.

- S. Wormley

THE ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR 1991
by Guy Ottewell
Astronomical Workshop 1991
Furman University, Greenville, S.C. 29613 (803) 294-2208
ISBN 0-934546-20-7
$15.00

THE ASTRONOMICAL COMPANION
3rd printing with revisions 1983
by Guy Ottewell
Astronomical Workshop
Furman University, Greenville, S.C. 29613 (803) 294-2208
ISBN 0-93456-01-0
$12.00

MANKIND'S COMET
Halley's Comet in the past, the future, and especially the present
by Guy Ottewell and Fred Schaaf
Astronomical Workshop 1985
Furman University, Greenville, S.C. 29613 (803) 294-2208
ISBN 0-934546-15-0
$11.00

THE UNDER-STANDING OF ECLIPSES
by Guy Ottewell
Astronomical Workshop 1991
Furman University, Greenville, S.C. 29613 (803) 294-2208
ISBN 0-934546-24-X
$10.00

The first issue of this annual book, THE ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR was for
1974 and is now used by about 20,000 (amateurs, teachers, planetariums,
libraries..) in at least 90 countries. Contributing writers this year
are again Fred Schaaf with the "Observers' Highlights"; Alan Hale on
the comets; and Clifford Cunningham on spaceflight. When you first look
at a page of this book (and pages from the other books being reviewed
here) it may seem frighteningly technical. That is because a lot of
information has been packed in, for the more advanced astronomer. You
may be surprised at how soon you come to demand this information
yourself. The 70 pages give wonderful detail of what's happening within
our solar system including the sun, moon, eclipses, planets, comets,
asteroids and anything else that's interesting. One of Ottewell's
greatest strengths is his skill and ability to conceptualize in three
dimensions. He is noted for his splendid graphics and diagrams to help
the reader visualize the events taking place. Each year we look forward
to a new Ottewell Painting adorning the cover of THE ASTRONOMICAL
CALENDAR and the means to insure that we won't miss what's happening in
our part of the universe.

THE ASTRONOMICAL COMPANION functions a companion to the THE
ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR in similar format. The THE ASTRONOMICAL COMPANION
was born from the non-year-dependent supplementary material that had
begun to swell the bulk of the THE ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR. Begins with
an "Overview of Astronomy" and pictures that almost force you to
understand coordinate systems and orientation in space. A strand
running through the book is a series of 30 ten-inch-diameter diagrams
showing expanding spheres of solid space, from the moon's orbit and the
domain of planets and comets out through the nearest stars, the
neighboring regions of our Milky Way galaxy, the whole galaxy, the
local group of galaxies, the Virgo cloud, and so on to the eerie limits
of the universe. Among many other features are the map and catalogue of
star names with their derivations, the seasons (including a roster of
traditional dates in the year), history of the world's calendars,
precession and its many consequences, a large Hertzprung-Russell
Diagram, and pages on constellations, meteor showers, double stars and
even cloudiness by month and region.

MANKIND'S COMET is probably the most comprehensive work ever published
on Halley's Comet. Includes a long sequence of full descriptions of
the comet's 48 visits from 1404 B.C. onward, with their sharply
distinct characters and their reflections in legend, art and science,
up through the recent 1985-1986 visit to the two future ones of 2061 (a
replay of the "Attila" performance of 451) and 2134 (when the comet
will dive past our south pole). Also "The Unfolding," a history of
mankind's awareness of the sky and of comets, leading up to the life of
Halley himself and his interaction with Newton, the boom caused by the
first known returning comet, and the searching ever deeper into the
past for its ancient visits.

THE UNDER-STANDING OF ECLIPSES begins: "A total eclipse of the Sun is
among the sublime experiences; it is a moment at which heaven touches
Earth and astronomy turns from a solemn polysyllable into an embrace
between man and the cosmos. After it one wants to talk of the
otherworldly light, of the panic of mockingbirds, of the jubilation of
people - not of geometrical groundwork. Yet an account that does not
start at the beginning cannot aspire to be ideal: there will be
backward steps and wasted words - 'And by the way, we should have
explained what the penumbra is..." Ottewell does for eclipses with THE
UNDER-STANDING OF ECLIPSES what he did for Halley's Comet with
MANKIND'S COMET, which not only is a technical masterpiece, but is a
work of geometric passion, beautifully executed.

These books are the work of an artist and no mean poet. The texts are
excellent, full and clear, with almost no formal mathematics. The tough
geometry is here and there allyed by a poet's image. These works are a
tour de force, the product of understanding and taste.

- S. Wormley

THE ASTRONOMICAL ALMANAC 1992
Data for Astronomy, Space Sciences,
Geodesy, Surveying, Navigation and
other applications.
Available from Willmann-Bell or
Superintendent of Documents
U.S.Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402
ISBN 0 11 886938 1991

Beginning with the edition for 1981, the title THE ASTRONOMICAL ALMANAC
replaced both the title THE AMERICAN EPHEMERIS AND NAUTICAL ALMANAC and
the title THE ASTRONOMICAL EPHEMERIS. The changes in title symbolize
the unification of the two series, which until 1980 were published
separately in the United States of America since 1855 and in the United
Kingdom since 1767. THE ASTRONOMICAL ALMANAC is prepared jointly by the
Nautical Almanac Office, United States Naval Observatory, and H.M.
Nautical Almanac Office, Royal Greenwich Observatory, and is published
jointly by the U.S. Government Printing Office and Her Majesty's
Stationery Office; it is printed only in the United States of America
but some of the reproducible material that is used is prepared in the
United Kingdom.

Contents, 1992

Section A PHENOMENA
Seasons; Moon's phases; planetary phenomena; principal occultations;
visibility of planets; elongations and magnitudes of planets; diary of
phenomena; times of sunrise, sunset, twilight, moonrise and moonset;
eclipses.

Section B TIME-SCALES AND COORDINATE SYSTEMS
Calendar; chronological cycles and eras; religious calendars;
relationships between time scales; universal and sidereal times;
reduction of celestial coordinates; proper motion, annual parallax,
aberration, light-deflection, procession and nutation; Besselian day
numbers; second-order day numbers; rigorous formulae for apparent place
reduction; position and velocity of the Earth; mean place conversion
from B1950.0 to J2000.0 and J2000.0 to B1950.0; matrix element for
precession and nutation; polar motion; diurnal parallax and aberration;
altitude, azimuth; refraction; pole star formulae and table.

Section C SUN
Mean orbital elements, elements of rotation; ecliptic and equatorial
coordinates; heliographic coordinates, horizontal parallax,
semi-diameter and time of transit; geocentric rectangular coordinates;
low-precision formulae for coordinates of the Sun and the equation of
time.

Section D MOON
Phases; perigee and apogee; mean elements of orbit and rotation;
lengths of mean months; geocentric, topocentric and selenographic
coordinates; formulae for liberation; ecliptic and equatorial
coordinates, distance, horizontal parallax, semi-diameter and time of
transit; physical ephemeris; daily polynomial coefficients;
low-precision formulae for geocentric and topocentric coordinates.

Section E MAJOR PLANETS
Osculating orbital elements for Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto; rotation elements; heliocentric
ecliptic coordinates; geocentric ecliptic coordinates; times of
transit; physical ephemerides.

Section F SATELLITES OF THE PLANETS
Ephemerides and phenomena of the satellites of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn
(including the rings), Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

Section G MINOR PLANETS AND COMETS
Osculating elements for periodic comets; geocentric equatorial
coordinates and time of transit for Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta;
orbital elements, magnitudes and dates of opposition of the larger
minor planets.

Section H STARS AND STELLAR SYSTEMS
Lists of bright stars, UBVRI standard stars, uvby and HB standard
stars, radial velocity standard stars, bright galaxies, astrometric
radio source positions, radio telescope flux calibrators, X-ray
sources, variable stars, quasars and pulsars.

Section J OBSERVATORIES
Index of observatory name and place; lists of optical and radio
observatories.

Section K TABLES AND DATA
Julian dates of Gregorian calendar dates; IAU system of astronomical
constants; reduction of time scales; reduction of terrestial
coordinates; geodetic reference system; interpolation methods.

Section L EXPLANATION
Section M GLOSSARY
Section N INDEX

- S. Wormley

A PHYSICIST ON MADISON AVENUE
by Tony Rothman
Princeton University Press 1991
Q126.R82 1991 500-dc20 90-44941
ISBN 0-691-08731-8

Tony Rothman currently teaches general relativity at Harvard
University. Whether discussing theories of cosmology, the physics of
making a violin, or the impact of magazine covers on potential buyers,
physicist and writer Tony Rothman brings the worlds of the scientist
and nonscientist closer together, with amusing and enlightening
results. These essays, all of which bear the mark of Rothman's
outspoken humor and dislike for pretense, convey essential ideas to
general readers on such topics as the future of the universe, the
design of particle accelerators, the intelligent use of statistics, and
the making of quality musical instruments. At the same time these
essays provide insight into how the mind of a scientist works, not only
in the field of research but also in the "real" world of three-piece
suits and mass media.

The outlook of physicists, according to Rothman, often puts them at
odds with nonscientists... But Rothman never hides his points of
disagreement. In his title essay on being a major magazine editor (at
Scientific American), he recalls using bell curves and elementary
statistics in an attempt to convince the circulation department that
fluctuations in sales are unavoidable (despite what they thought).
Although Rothman claims that scientists do enjoy playing the role of
Faust, the scholar in eternal pursuit of Truth, his essays attest to a
scientific interest fully in tune with human concerns.

Chapter 1. A Physicist on Madison Avenue

Chapter 2. Instruments of the Future, Traditions of the Past

Chapter 3. The Seven Arrows of Time

Chapter 4. The Measure of All Things

Chapter 5. On That Day, When the Earth Is Dissolved in Positrons...

Chapter 6. The Epoch of Observational Cosmology

Chapter 7. Alternative Cosmologies
(with G.F.R. Ellis and Richard Matzner)

Chapter 8. Stranger Than Fiction: Cygnus X-3
(with David Ascman)

Chapter 9. The Ultimate Collider
Antoni Akahito (Tony Rothman)

-S. Wormley

WAS EINSTEIN RIGHT?
Putting General Relativity to the Test
by Clifford M. Will
Basic Books, Inc., Publishers New York
QC173.6.W55 1986 530.1'1 85-73877

ASTRONOMY WITH BINOCULARS
A Practical Guide to Observing the Skies
by James Muirden
Arco Publishing, Inc. New York
QB64.M86 1983 523 83-7099
ISBN 0-668-05832-3 (pbk.) $7.95

"Quasars. Cosmic fireball radiation. Pulsars. Black holes.
Gravitational lenses. What do these things have in common?

"First, they were all discovered after 1960, during a period of
unparalleled advances in the technology of scientific investigation,
especially in astronomy.

"Second, they have attracted intense popular interest. Just look at the
success in recent years of the books (THE FIRST THREE MINUTES). Movies
(THE BLACK HOLE), and television productions ("COSMOS") that have
presented them to the general public, to say nothing of wristwatches
(Pulsar) and television sets (Quasar) that carry some of their names.

"Third, Their existence makes us ask the question, "Was Einstein right?"
Every item in the preceding list involves Einstein's general theory of
relativity in a crucial way. Black holes, the remains of dead,
collapsed stars, are an important prediction of the theory; a black
hole is thought to be responsible for the astronomical X-ray source
Cygnus X1, and they are believed by many to power quasars, the
incredibly luminous beacons that we can see almost to the edge of the
visible universe. The cosmic fireball radiation is most likely the
afterglow of the big bang that began the universe, an event whose
understanding requires the theory of relativity. The structure of
pulsers, believed to be rapidly spinning neutron stars, is strongly
influenced by super-strong general relativistic gravitational forces.
Finally, the recently discovered gravitational lenses are galaxies that
bend and focus passing light by means of the general relativistic
warping of space-time around them.

"Modern day astronomers and astrophysicists must use general relativity
as a tool in their attempts to comprehend these phenomena. If the
theory were incorrect, they would be at a loss; an important
underpinning of their models would be weakened.

"Of course, there is more at stake in the question "Was Einstein
right?" than keeping astrophysicists happy (and employed). General
relativity is a fundamental theory of the nature of space, time, and
gravitation, and has profoundly influenced how we view the universe.
But like any theory of nature, it cannot stand on its own. It must face
the test of experiment and observation. No matter how profound it may
be, no matter how beautiful or elegant it may appear, it must be
discarded if it does not agree with observation. Unfortunately,
observations of quasars, pulsars, and the like don't in themselves tell
us much about general relativity. The reason is that these objects
involve such complex physics that we can't easily distinguish the
effects of general relativity from the other forces at work. So to find
out if Einstein was right, we look at different kinds of tests.

"This book is about those tests. It is about an intensive twenty-year
effort, beginning around 1960, to check the predictions of general
relativity accurately, and to find new predictions to check."

Chapter 1. The Renaissance of General Relativity
Chapter 2. The Straight Road to Curved Space-Time
Chapter 3. The Gravitational Red Shift of Light and Clocks
Chapter 4. The Departure of Light from the Straight and Narrow
Chapter 5. The Perihelion Shift of Mercury: Triumph or Trouble?
Chapter 6. The Time Delay of Light: Better Late Than Never
Chapter 7. Do the Earth and the Moon Fall the Same?
Chapter 8. The Rise and Fall of the Brans-Dicke Theory
Chapter 9. Is the Gravitational Constant Constant?
Chapter 10. The Binary Pulser: Gravity Waves Exist!
Chapter 11. The Frontiers of Experimental Relativity
Chapter 12. Astronomy after the Renaissance: Is General Relativity Useful?

James Muirden's ASTRONOMY WITH BINOCULARS is targeted toward those
amateur astronomers who don't have the coins to go out and purchase a
telescope, but instead can use binoculars. Binoculars are one of the
best tools for observing the heavens. They are relatively inexpensive
(compared to a telescope), very easy to use, and powerful enough to
offer a real advantage over the naked eye in stargazing. Binoculars
give you visual access to all the stars in Tirion's Star Atlas 2000.0,
including many deep sky objects, the planets, sun (with solar filters),
the moon and other celestial phenomena. The chapter entitled, "Around
the Constellations" provides detailed information about colored stars,
double stars, clusters, variable stars, nebulae and other objects for
each constellation including those visible only in the southern
hemisphere.

ASTRONOMY WITH BINOCULARS is written with the philosophy that amateur
astronomers can do real astronomy with binoculars. Not only does this
book give you a lot of useful information about how and what to look
at, but it, combined with binoculars, opens up a whole world of
observation that you can do independently and for many, many years.

-S. Wormley

THE STARRY ROOM
Naked Eye Astronomy in the Intimate Universe
by Fred Schaaf
Foreward by Chet Raymo
Published by John Wiley & Sons 1988
QB64.S43 1988 523-dc19 88-21977 CIP
ISBN 0-471-62088-2

Chet Raymo's Forward:

"There are people with gifted palates who become winetasters. There are
people with perfect pitch who become piano tuners. There are people
with sensitive noses who work for perfumeries. Fred Schaaf has the gift
of sight; he writes about the night sky.

"The naturalist John Burroughs said that two things are necessary for
the art of seeing: knowledge and love. Schaff has both in abundance.
He is an amateur astronomer with the breadth of knowledge of the
professional. And he knows some things the professionals do not, like
optimum ways of seeing with the naked eye. He has seen things the
professionals say are too faint to see without optical aid - 7th
magnitude stars and a partial penumbral eclipse of the moon are
examples... and he teaches us how to do it. Schaaf's knowledge is
acquired from a long and intimate acquaintance with the night; some of
the things you will learn in this book you will find no place else.

"If Schaff is an amateur astronomer, he is an amateur in the original
meaning of the word... one who loves. I read somewhere that the root
of the Latin word for love "am" derives from baby-talk. Like yum-yum or
mmmm! it was an expression of delight. THE STARRY ROOM is the record of
one man's quest for the "am", those special moments when we experience
a thing not experienced (by us) before... an eyelash-thin moon, a
fire-green shooting star, a comet, an eclipse... and suddenly we know
the world in a new and more perfect way.

"Fred Schaaf's love and knowledge of the night are infectious. I have
been looking at the sky and reading the astronomical literature for
more than thirty years; what I found in this book is new and fresh.
Energy and curiosity shine like starlight on every page. Schaaf's vivid
descriptions of celestial events made me wish I had been with him the
night of the especially dark lunar eclipse of December 30, 1982, as the
"exquisite chiselry" of the lunar surface was "overwhelmed utterly by a
wave of inky darkness." Or the night at Dyers Cove when meteors rained
down from the heavens and a thunderstorm on the southern horizon
"flickered a mystical accompaniment." Or the time he saw the fireball
"like a mass of green fire" trailing tongues of flame. The book is full
of such moments, passionately experienced, beautifully described. It is
also full of the kind of information that makes it possible for you and
me to see such wonders and to understand what is seen.

"Perhaps it is wrong to call Schaaf an amateur astronomer. The
adjective has lost something of its original stature. Better to call
him a naturalist of the night. This book places him squarely in the
naturalist tradition, the tradition of Thoreau and Muir and Burroughs,
a tradition that bridges the gap between the sciences and the
humanities. In the introduction to DESERT SOLITAIRE, the naturalist
Edward Abbey says: "When traces of blood begin to mark your trail
you'll see something, Maybe." It is the traces of blood that
distinguish the naturalist from the professional scientist. It is the
traces of blood that make this book an irresistible trail to follow.

"What makes this book important is the "intensity" of Schaaf's
experience. After I had finished reading about half of it I felt
compelled to leave my chair and go out and look at the night. Schaaf
makes you feel that if you just look up at the sky you will see
something spectacular, and... you know... he is right."

Chapter 1. The Secrets of Seeing
Chapter 2. Year of the Mandala and Monarch Moon Eclipse
Chapter 3. The Many Suns of the Daytime Sky
Chapter 4. 100 Rainbows
Chapter 5. A Night at Meteor Cove
Chapter 6. Flight
Chapter 7. Go to Innisfree
Chapter 8. All the Worlds in My Window
Chapter 9. Making the Indoor Sky
Chapter 10. The Power of Vision
Chapter 11. The Next Supernova
Chapter 12. The End of the Stars (Not One Child in Ten)
Chapter 13. The Best and Worst of Returns
Chapter 14. The Fate and Meaning of Halley's Comet
Chapter 15. Walking to the Stars

-S. Wormley

A MODERN DAY YANKEE IN A CONNECTICUT COURT
And Other Essays on Science
by Alan Lightman
Viking Penquin Inc., New York 1986
Q173.L724 1986 500 85-41106
ISBN 0-670-81239-0

HOW TO USE AN ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE
A Beginners Guide to Observing the Cosmos
by James Muirden
Simon & Shuster Inc. 1988
QB88.M85 1988 522'.2-dc19 88-1917 CIP
ISBN 0-671-47744-7
ISBN 0-671-66404-2 Pbk.

In his critically acclaimed first collection of essays, TIME TRAVEL AND
PAPA JOE'S PIPE, Harvard University (and Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory) physicist, Alan Lightman exhibited a unique gift for
exploring science and connecting its ideas and meanings to our lives.
His vision of science, of the human needs and aspirations that lie at
its heart, is articulated even more eloquently in the essays and
stories gathered in A MODERN DAY YANKEE IN A CONNECTICUT COURT.

How have we been handicapped by modern technology? When a man and a
woman meet and suddenly smile at each other, what can be explained--or
not explained? Why do scientists often do their best work at a young
age? What faith must scientists possess to pursue the origin of the
universe? What can computers tell us about the endlessly inventive
patterns of snowflakes? These are among the questions that Prof.
Lightman probes with imagination, delicacy, and wit. Through anecdote,
history, parable, and metaphor, Alan Lightman transforms the world of
science into the world we live in.

Essay Titles: A Flash of Light; Conversations with Papa Joe; Smile;
E.T. Call Harvard; Rendezvous; Time for the Stars; Four Fingers in a
Hundred Cubits; A Day in December; In His Image; Gravitational Waves; A
Telegram from Clarence; The Origin of the Universe; Tiny Patterns;
Walden; To Cleave an Atom; A Modest Proposal; Lost in Space; The Dark
Night Sky; Elapsed Expectations; Let There Be Light; How the Camel Got
His Hump; A Modern Day Yankee in a Connecticut Court.

Astronomy, as a pastime, has never been so popular as it is today--if
we rate popularity by the number of books and telescopes that are being
sold. Nor has the average amateur ever been so well-equipped as he is
today. The idea behind Muirden's book, HOW TO USE AN ASTRONOMICAL
TELESCOPE is simple enough. It is to give you some guidelines when
selecting an instrument. It then surveys some fields of observation
that are open to you, and supplies sufficient information go get you
going, assuming minimal knowledge, but maximal enthusiasm!

James Muirden, who spent nine years working as an astronomical optician
making telescopes before receiving a teaching degree at Exeter
University, makes no apology for emphasizing the vital importance of
training the eye to use a telescope properly, and of observing
systematically. If you don't practice, you will NOT get the best out of
you instrument; if you are not systematic, you will NOT get the best
out of the sky.

Astronomy is not an easy hobby. No matter how expensive your telescope,
you will suffer cloud and cold, unsteady air conditions that blur the
view, unwanted bright lights that blind you, and at times sheer
tiredness and mosquito fatigue. This is the necessary route towards
becoming a true amateur astronomer; and perhaps, when we consider the
obstacles, it is not surprising that so many decent instruments remain
unused, or used only to a fraction of their potential. Muirden's HOW TO
USE AN ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE is a particularly useful book for
beginning telescope users. Chapter 9, entitled, "Observing Double
and Multiple Stars", by itself, makes this a valuable book to own.

- S. Wormley

ASTRONOMICAL TABLES OF THE SUN, MOON, AND PLANETS
by Jean Meeus
Willmann-Bell, Inc. P.O. Box 3125, Richmond, Virginia 23235
QB12.M44 1983 528 83-5762
ISBN 0-943396-02-6

ASTRONOMICAL TABLES OF THE SUN, MOON, AND PLANETS will interest all who
thirst for knowledge about past, present, and future celestial events.
In compiling these listings of thousands of separate astronomical
phenomena. Jean Meeus has created a valuable reference for all who love
the sky.

Meeus' clear style of explanation liberally sprinkled with examples
quickly becomes apparent in his introductory note on time reckoning and
the two different time scales used throughout this work. In the first
chapter Meeus lists planetary phenomena, concentrating on the 30-year
interval 1976-2005. Instead of merely listing, in almanac fashion, all
events in simple chronological order, the author provides, in one
chapter, over 60 separate tables and columns of events, conveniently
arranged into categories. The listing of mutual planetary conjunctions
alone, for example, includes 21 separate tables.

In the section on planetary phenomena, we can find such data as the
ranges in angular distance from the sun for Mercury and Venus at their
greatest elongations; the maximum angular distance Venus can appear to
wander from the ecliptic (the furthest possible for any naked-eye
planet); a list of transits of Earth across the solar disk as seen from
other planets (observers on Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus all witnessed
such an event in 1984); and the closest approach to Earth of all the
planets Venus through Pluto during the 20th Century.

Meeus points out several periodicities between planetary events, and
many more can be discovered by examining his tables. Long-time
skywatchers gradually become aware of celestial rhythms as events
unfold year by year; but now, with such data conveniently arranged
before us, our consciousness of cycles is quickened. Mercury's
elongations, for example, occur about three days later every thirteen
years. Venus-sun alignments repeat about two and a half days earlier
every eight years. Scanning the tables for Mars, the reader will note
that oppositions recur at 25- to 27-month intervals, and that very
close ones recur at intervals of 15 to 17 years. Sanning the columns
for magnitude, distance, and apparent size of Mars, the reader will
note the ebb and flow connecting the distant oppositions (in 1963,
1980,1995) with the close ones (1971, 1988, 2003). Elsewhere in the
book, a longer listing of Mars oppositions shows that the approach in
the year 2003 will be the closest so far in the Christian era, and that
there won't be a closer approach of Mars until the year 2287.

In each trip around the sun, Saturn displays two maxima and two minima
in its brilliance at opposition. The maxima results from the "open"
aspect of the rings as the planet nears the aphelion and perihelion
points of its 30-year orbit; the minima correspond to times of edge-on
views of the rings. A separate table lists passages of sun and Earth
through Saturn's ring plane; telescopic viewers can expect the next
edgewise presentation of the rings in 1995-1996.

Dates of northernmost and southernmost journeys in our sky are given
for most of the planets, as well as dates of celestial equator
crossings for the five outer ones. Most of the 1980's were a poor time
for northern observers to study the four gas giants: Meeus' tables show
Jupiter reached a southernmost point in 1984, Neptune reached one in
1986, and Saturn and Uranus riding low in 1989. Even Mars passed
further south in 1986 (nearly 29 degrees south of the equator) than at
any time since 1907. But recovery follows quickly. At its very close
opposition in 1988 Mars was well placed near the equator Jupiter
crossed that boundary in 1987 and reached its northernmost position in
1990.

Providing separate lists for each planetary pair-up, while giving the
angular distance from the sun for each event, Meeus tells us when to
expect the next similar conjunction, and whether it will be seen in the
morning or evening sky. Multiple conjunctions between single pairs of
planets are bracketed for emphasis; five triple conjunctions between
gas giants are slated for 1981-1993, beginning with the much-publicized
"Great Conjunction: of Jupiter-Saturn in 1981 and concluding with a
Uranus-Neptune thrice pairing in 1993.

"quasi-conjuctions" (close approaches between bright planets without a
conjunction in right ascension) are omitted in conventional almanacs,
but you'll find them here!

Of interest to historical investigators (such as Dave Oesper) are
tables which help reconstruct the appearance of the sky at times in the
distant past. Given are such data as: Dates and times of equinoxes and
solstices; oppositions of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn; inferior and
superior conjunctions of Venus; illuminated fraction of the moon;
celestial coordinates of 48 bright zodiacal stars; and solar
conjunctions with 12 bright stars. Continuing at least four centuries
into the future, these tables are also useful to those who wish to
predict future sky happenings.

Students of the moon will find tables of the four principal lunar
phases and of the sun's selenographic colongitude. The latter enable
the user to fix the location of the moon's terminator (day-night
boundary) and the angle of solar illumination on any lunar feature for
any hour of observation since the invention of the telescope through
the year 2399. Tables giving the dates of equinoxes and solstices of
Mars will aid in interpreting observations as far back as the
telescopic drawings by Huygens and Cassini. through the recent Viking
orbiter and lander missions, all the way to the middle of the 21st
century.

Sky events for the next several decades are especially well covered. A
listing of all occultations of planets and bright stars through the
year 2000 is supplied, with data and calculator programs for
computation of local circumstances and graze limits. Mathematical
procedures are clearly outlined, so PC users can write their own
programs. Lunar distances are given for each perigee and apogee until
the year 2005. Eclipse buffs will appreciate the listing of solar
eclipses through the year 2050. Additional data for the same period
enable the reader to obtain the times of principal stages of all
eclipses of the moon.

Data on past and future transits of Mercury and Venus enable the
calculation of the four contact times of the planetary and solar
disks. By comparing your local sunrise and sunset times, you can
determine which lunar eclipses and which planet transits (including
those of Venus coming up in 2004 and 2012) can be seen from your area!

Jean Meeus' books and articles on celestial phenomena have been
enthusiastically received world-wide. His writings are standard
references in the field. Serving interests ranging from serious
research to simple sky gazing, ASTRONOMICAL TABLES OF THE SUN, MOON,
AND PLANETS offers a wide and fascinating selection of data on past,
present, and future sky events.

--- S. Wormley

COBE DETECTS STRUCTURE OF EARLY UNIVERSE
APRIL 22, 1992
RELEASE 92-51

Scientists announced today, at the American Physical Society's
meeting held in Washington, D.C., that they have detected the
long-sought variations within the glow from the Big Bang -- the
primeval explosion that began the Universe 15 billion years ago --
using NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE). This detection is a
major milestone in a 25-year search and supports theories explaining
how the initial expansion happened.

These variations show up as temperature fluctuations in the sky,
revealed by statistical analysis of maps made by the Differential
Microwave Radiometers (DMR) on the COBE satellite. The fluctuations
are extremely faint, only about thirty millionths of a degree warmer
or cooler than the rest of the sky, which is itself very cold --
only 2.73 degrees above absolute zero. The DMR is still gathering
data and the measurements are expected to become even more precise.

The Big Bang theory was initially suggested because it explains why
distant galaxies are receding from us at enormous speeds, as though
all galaxies started moving away from the same location a long time
ago. The theory also predicts the existence of cosmic background
radiation -- the glow left over from the explosion itself. The Big
Bang theory received its strongest confirmation when this radiation
was discovered in 1964 by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, who later
won the Nobel Prize for this discovery.

Although the Big Bang theory is widely accepted, there have been
several unresolved mysteries. How could all of the matter and energy
in the Universe become so evenly mixed in the instant following the
Big Bang? How could this evenly distributed matter then break up
spontaneously into objects of all sizes, such as galaxies and
clusters of galaxies? The temperature variations seen by COBE help
to resolve these mysteries.

"The COBE receivers mapped the sky as it would appear if our eyes
could see microwaves at the wavelengths 3.3, 5.7 and 9.6 mm, which is
about 10,000 times longer than the wavelength of ordinary light,"
explained Dr. George Smoot, University of California, Berkeley, the
leader of the team that made this discovery. "Most of the energy
received from the sky at these wavelengths is from the cosmic
background radiation of the Big Bang, but it is extremely faint by
human standards.

"Hundreds of millions of measurements were made by the DMR over the
course of a year, and then combined to make pictures of the sky.
Making sure all the measurements were combined correctly required
exquisitely careful computer analysis," Smoot explained.

Another COBE scientist, Dr. Charles Bennett of the Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., explained that a major challenge for
the team was to distinguish the Big Bang signals from those coming
from our own Milky Way Galaxy. "The Milky Way emits microwaves that
appear mostly concentrated in a narrow zone around the sky. We
compared the signals at different positions and at different
wavelengths to separate the radiation of the Big Bang from that of
the Milky Way Galaxy," said Dr. Bennett.

The temperatures and sizes of the fluctuations in the background
radiation COBE detected agree with the predictions of "inflationary
cosmology," a theory that says the structure and behavior of the
Universe were determined by minute fluctuations occurring when the
Universe was much younger than one-trillionth of a second. The COBE
results provide new evidence in support of the "inflationary"
scenario.

The amount of gravity provided by these visible fluctuations was
inadequate to draw together the galaxies and clusters of galaxies.
Instead, astronomers conclude that the galaxies formed only because
most of the material in the Universe is invisible and totally unlike
ordinary matter.

This "dark matter" provides the necessary gravitational attraction
for forming galaxies. The fluctuations seen by COBE are too small to
explain how the visible matter in the young Universe could condense
into the galaxies that now exist. According to COBE scientist Dr.
Edward Wright from the University of California, Los Angeles, the
COBE measurements support theories postulating large amounts of dark
matter.

"These theories say that most of the matter in the Universe is
invisible to us and must be a new kind of matter, not yet detected in
our laboratories," he explained. "Nevertheless, we need such
invisible matter to explain how galaxies formed in the early Universe
and gathered themselves together into huge clusters. Ordinary matter
would be attracted into regions of concentrated dark matter, and the
Universe as we know it today could develop, eventually leading to the
formation of galaxies, stars and planets," Wright said.

COBE was launched in November, 1989, from Vandenberg Air Force Base,
Calif., aboard a Goddard-managed Delta launch vehicle. The Goddard
Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., manages COBE for NASA's Office
of Space Science and Applications, Astrophysics Division, Washington,
D.C.

EINSTEIN'S MOON
Bell's Theorem and the Curious quest for Quantum Reality
by F. David Peat
Contemporary Books, Inc., Chicago 1990
QC174.17.B45P43 1990 530.1'2--dc20 90-37370
ISBN 0-8092-4512-4

THE BACKYARD ASTRONOMER'S GUIDE
by Terence Dickinson & Alan Dyer
Camden House Publishing, Ontario 1991
QB64.D53 1991 522 C91-094361-3
ISBN 0-921820-11-9

The development of quantum theory is one of the greatest scientific
achievements of the twentieth century. It has led to enormous
technological innovations, from computer chips to lasers, and each day
physicists and engineers around the world use it to predict and explain
new phenomena. What is not understood is WHY it works. Unlike classical
physics, quantum theory totally discards causality, declaring that
events on the subatomic level simply happen.

Einstein refused to believe in a reality that precluded cause and
effect. "God does not play dice with the universe." he declared. He
especially objected to the theory's insistence that particles, forces,
and events seemed to come into existence only when a measurement or
observation was made. "Do you really believe," Einstein once asked his
colleague Abraham Pais, "that the moon only exists when you're looking
at it?"

For more than half a century physicists and philosophers debated
whether the quantum theory really was a complete and accurate
description of reality. Then in 1964, physicist John Bell proposed a
brilliant method to resolve the issue. "Bell's Theorem," says the
eminent physicist Henry Stapps, "is the most profound discovery of
science."

By the early 1980's a number of elegant experiments applying Bell's
Theorem have proved that quantum theory, which speaks in terms of
probabilities rather than actualities, is indeed a complete explanation
of reality... God DOES play dice with the universe!

EINSTEIN'S MOON is the story of the development of the quantum theory
and of the philosophical problems it poses. The book describes, in
layperson's terms, how Bell's Theorem works, as well as the experiments
that demonstrate that reality is stranger than any of us could ever
have imagined.

American poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote: "The man on
the street does not know a star in the sky." His observation stood the
test of a century and a half. But in recent years, and during the past
decade in particular, a growing number of people WANT to become
acquainted with the stars. More people enrolled in the astronomy
courses of colleges, universities and planetariums than in any previous
decade. Dedicated to the concerns of amateur astronomers, Terence
Dickinson and Alan Dyer's THE BACKYARD ASTRONOMER'S GUIDE focuses on
topics being actively discussed by today's Ames Area Amateur
Astronomers.

The truth is, one can become a competent amateur astronomer with
hardware no more sophisticated than binoculars combined with the
appropriate material: this book, one or two atlases, an annual
astronomical almanac and a subscription to ASTRONOMY or SKY & TELESCOPE
magazines. But most enthusiasts yearn to graduate to a telescope. THE
BACKYARD ASTRONOMER'S GUIDE acts as your guide as you select and use
the proper equipment and accessories for many enjoyable nights under
the stars - in essence THE BACKYARD ASTRONOMER'S GUIDE is a practical
guide to getting the most out of the experience of night sky watching.

Introduction - A New Stargazer's Guidebook
Chapter 1. Amateur Astronomy Comes of Age

Part I - Equipment for Backyard Astronomy
Chapter 2. Binoculars for the Beginner and the Serious Observer
Chapter 3. Telescopes for Recreational Astronomy
Chapter 4. Eyepieces and Filters
Chapter 5. Accessories and Observing Aids
Chapter 6. Nine Myths About Telescopes and Observing

Part II - Observing the Celestial Panorama
Chapter 7. The Sky Without a Telescope
Chapter 8. Observing Conditions: Your site and Light Pollution
Chapter 9. Observing the Moon, Sun and Comets
Chapter 10. Observing the Planets
Chapter 11. How to Find Your Way Around the Sky
Chapter 12. Exploring the Deep Sky

Part III - Astrophotography
Chapter 13. Capturing the Sky on Film
Chapter 14. The Essential Techniques
Chapter 15. Eclipses, Gremlins and Advanced Techniques
Epilogue The Universe Awaits

Part IV - Appendixes
Recommended Books and Magazines
North American Organizations
Astronomy Product Sources
Polar Alignment
Maintaining Telescope Preformance
A Glossary of Optical Jargon, by Peter Ceravolo
How to Test Your Telescope's Optics
Charts of Selected Sky Regions
Index

--- S. Wormley

ANCIENT LIGHT
Our Changing View of the Universe
by Alan Lightman
Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA 1991
QB981.L538 1991 523.1--dc20 91-12459 CIP
ISBN 0-674-03362-0

LONGING FOR THE HARMONIES
Themes and Variations From Modern Physics
by Frank Wilczek and Betsy Devine
W. W. Norton & Company, New York 1988
QC21.2.W52 1987 530 87-7653
ISBN 0-393-02482-2

Does space go on forever? Or is there some limit, some enormous outer
boundary to the stars? Has the universe existed forever? If not, when
and how did it begin? And will it end? These are the primal questions
that many a youngster (and oldster) asks upon gazing upward on a starry
night. They are the questions of cosmology.

Cosmology is the most speculative of all sciences. By the nature of its
questions, cosmology stands at the boundary between science,
philosophy, and religion. In the last fifteen years, cosmology has
undergone a revolution. New ideas from subatomic physics have allowed
scientists to probe the first nanosecond of the universe, addressing
questions previously thought to lie beyond the reach of science. New
observations of the locations and motions of the galaxies have
challenged our view of a homogeneous cosmos and thrown most theories
into disarray.

In ANCIENT LIGHT, the MIT physicist and writer Alan Lightman (also
author of A MODERN DAY YANKEE IN A CONNECTICUT COURT reviewed in the
4/92 issue of the AAAA newsletter) tells the story of cosmology,
including its history, the theories and the evidence, the new
discoveries, the outstanding questions, and the controversies. Striking
and original analogies enliven the book and make it accessible to the
general reader.

ANCIENT LIGHT begins with the cosmological ideas of the early
Babylonians and Greeks and then discusses the development of the big
bang theory, which holds that the universe began in a giant explosion
some ten billion years ago; modifications of the big bang theory such
as the inflationary universe model, hypothesizes that a kind of
negative gravity operated in the infinite universe; the discovery of
huge amounts of invisible matter, called "dark matter"; new maps of
galaxy positions and motions including the "Great Wall"; instrumental
techniques; and the remarkable suggestion that a slightly different
universe would not allow the existence of life. The human story is told
through biographical sketches of key figures past and present,
including Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Alan Guth, Margaret Geller,
and Vera Rubin.

ANCIENT LIGHT contains the most lucid discussion of cosmology today.
After reading ANCIENT LIGHT your view of space and time will never be
the same.

Among the pages of LONGING FOR THE HARMONIES, Schrodinger's cat sits
poised, a playful symbol of the riddles of quantum mechanics... the
bizarre behavior of the elusive subatomic particles known as "quarks"
becomes a set of mating rules... the search for the identity of cosmic
"dark matter" zeroes in upon several likely suspects, including the
first particle named for a laundry detergent.

These tantalizing discoveries or inspired guesses of today's physics,
along with scores of other startling facts about the true nature of the
universe we only dimly see, are here brought into harmony with
traditional physics by scientists Frank Wilczek and Betsy Devine.
Devoted to sharing their own delight and awe before the fundamental
mysteries of the cosmos, they also have a serious purpose: to reveal to
the lay reader how a heightened perception can respond to timeless
themes of the physical universe. For example, they show how even the
most exotic theories alway confirm that physical laws are precisely the
same throughout the universe. Even in galaxies so vastly far apart that
they cannot possible have been influenced by the same events. They
explain how we have learned that the most massive molten stars and the
tiniest frozen particles are in physical harmony.

In fact, the authors frequently use lively anecdotes to remind us that
our expanded knowledge of the universe is the direct result of the
lonely, determined (and often frustrating) work of gifted men and women
throughout history. Einstein's brilliant discoveries, for example, were
followed by thirty years of stubborn theorizing that seemed to reach a
dead end. Today, a thousand feet below the surface of the earth,
scientists patiently watch a cold dark vat hoping to see what has never
been seen--an example of proton decay; the chances are getting slimmer,
yet still they watch. But perhaps the most charming and instructive
story of one person's driven desire to comprehend at least a small part
of physical paradox is Wilczek's own frank recollection of his student
years, when he found himself locked in a tight international race to
discover the concept that made him famous, "asymptotic freedom."

Part of the challenge to contemporary physicists is to explain the
apparently improbable. The lesson of LONGING FOR THE HARMONIES is that
all explanations will eventually be found, if at all, only when man
continues to engage in a careful dialogue with nature.

The gradual progress of these step-by-step, brief, graceful essays
reflects the slow but implacable growth of our understanding of the
myriad odd details that form a comprehensive, harmonious whole. In
their depiction of the workings of the half-known universe, Wilczek and
Devine bring all of us face to face with the beauty of eternal order
and the inevitability of rational ends and beginnings.

--- S. Wormley

THE MIND'S SKY
Human Intelligence in a Cosmic Context
By Timothy Ferris
(author of COMING OF AGE IN THE MILKY WAY)
Bantom Books, New York 1992
Q175.F414 1992 153--dc20 91-31282
ISBN 0-553-08040-7

NGC 2000.0
The Complete New General Catalogue and Index Catalogues of Nebulae and
Star Clusters by J. L. E. Dreyer
Edited by Roger W. Sinnott
Sky Publishing Corporation, Cambridge, MA 1988
QB853.D74 1988 523.8'908 88-29962
ISBN 0-933346-51-4
ISBN 0-521-37813-3 (Cambridge Univ. Press)

Most of us know Timothy Ferris from his books, THE RED LIMIT, GALAXIES
and recently, COMING OF AGE IN THE MILKY WAY. In his new book, THE
MIND'S SKY, Ferris synthesizes inner and outer space with a penetrating
examination into the nature of the universe and the human brain that
perceives it. Through the lenses of two innovative fields of
scientific research - neuroscience and the search for extraterrestrial
intelligence (SETI) - Ferris discusses the relationship between mind
and universe.

Timothy Ferris begins, "Each of us inhabits two equally mysterious
universes, one outside the mind and the other within it. Since my youth
I have tried to understand the relationship between these two realms.
Many a night I sat at the telescope till dawn, marveling at the soft
pewter glow of the distant galaxies, the glittering gold and silver
star fields of the Milky Way, at sun-hugging Mercury, the pearl-white
crescent of Venus, or the parchment-sharp rings of Saturn, and wondered
what "we" have to do with all "that".

"I have never shared the sentiment that the enormity of the cosmos need
make us feel insignificant. The stars are too involving for that; they
stimulate our curiosity, arouse us to reflection, nourish our sense of
beauty, and challenge our conception of who we are. We feel connected
to them, somehow. I do not think this intuition can be dismissed as
mere sentiment, for the simple reason that we are able to some degree
to "understand" what goes on out there. We know that iron oxide stains
the ruddy sands of Mars, that helium atoms dance in the upper
atmosphere of the sun, that storms dot the surface of Aldebaran, and
that new stars are being born in the Tarantula nebula; we can predict
eclipses of the satellites of Jupiter, weigh the great catherine wheel
of the Andromeda galaxy, take the temperature of Triton, and age-date
the craters of the moon. Our knowledge of the universe amounts, of
course, to an infinitesimal fraction of the whole, but the fact that we
can learn anything at all about the stars suggests that thought--and
maybe even "intelligence"--is not purely parochial phenomenon, the
product of our one world alone, but may have universal currency".

Ferris advances the provocative thesis that SETI, our current search
for life on other planets, could reward the human reace with the fruit
of cosmic knowledge--or prove as cataclysmic as Eve's desire for the
apple. And he looks at information theory--a new philosophy of
knowledge and communication. THE MIND'S SKY is filled with a
combination of scientific fact, human anecdote and insight.

NGC 2000.0 is a centennial reissue of J. L. E. Dreyer's New General
Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters preserves the most useful
features of the original while providing modern positions, magnitudes,
and identifications as to type of object, wherever possible. This is
the first update of Dreyer's complete work attempted in 80 years. It
combines in one listing all 13,266 objects in the original NGC and its
two subsequent Index Catalogues.

Dreyer's compilation was the last great effort with the stated aim of
including every nonstellar object discovered by astronomers up to that
time. Soon after 1908, the concept of "discovery" lost its meaning as
powerful photographic telescopes began finding even more galaxies and
nebulae with ease. Astronomers working in narrow fields of study have
continued to compile specialized catalogues of fainter objects, of
course. But the best known wonders of the sky are still widely
identified in the literature by their NGC and IC numbers.

Dreyer's classic and succinct visual descriptions are reproduced in
full for each object. Numerous corrections of all kinds have been drawn
from extensive lists of errata, some published and others not, to make
this a truly up-to-date and accurate compilation. The listing is by
right ascension, with cross-indexing by NGC and IC numbers. This
edition once again makes the NGC a valuable tool for observers and
astronomers. When David Oesper is willing to trade his $75 set of the
NEARBY GALAXIES CATALOG and NEARBY GALAXIES ATLAS, by R. B. Tully for
my $19.95 NGC 2000.0, well... you can draw your own conclusion! I
didn't trade!

--- S. Wormley

THE WORLD OF MATHEMATICS (4 vols., 2479 pages)
A Small Library of the Literature of Mathematics
from A'h-mose' the Scribe to Albert Einstein
Presented with Commentaries and Notes
by James R. Newman
Forward by Philip and Phylis Morrison
Tempus Books of Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington 1988
QA3.W67 1988 510 88-20040
ISBN 1-55615-149-7 (cloth)
ISBN 1-55615-148-9 (paper)

THE WORLD OF PHYSICS (3 vols., 2948 pages)
A Small Library of the Literature of Physics
from Antiquity to the Present
Volume 1 - The Aristotelian Cosmos and the Newtonian System
Volume 2 - The Einstein Universe and the Bohr Atom
Volume 3 - The Evolutionary Cosmos and the Limits of Science
by Jefferson Hane Weaver
Simon and Schuster, New York 1987
QC7.5.W43 1987 530 86-1903
ISBN 0-671-49926-2 (vol. 1)
ISBN 0-671-49930-0 (vol. 2)
ISBN 0-671-49931-9 (vol. 3)
ISBN 0-671-64216-2 (set)

THE WORLD TREASURY OF PHYSICS, ASTRONOMY, AND MATHEMATICS
(1 vol., 859 pages)
Edited by Timothy Ferris
With a Foreword by Clifton Fadiman, General Editor
Little, Brown and Company, Boston 1991
QC71.W67 1991 500.2--dc20 90-45693

"An anthology is a work of prejudice," wrote James Newman, the finest
and deservedly the most popular of all anthologists in or around the
sciences. His sharp little phrase begins to hint at why; a less vivid
writer would have used the word "taste" instead of "prejudice". Indeed,
he went on, "I have felt at liberty to present the mathematics I like."

You will like THE WORLD OF MATHEMATICS too. Newman wrote with unfailing
wit, tinted with irony and never dulled by cliche. He made these 133
selections, chosen with great success to allow access by the
nonspecialist, more accessible still by adding a brilliant page or two
of introduction. Almost every time he steers you to the nub of the work
in its context, whether the piece is a sober chapter of Greek
philosophy or a tongue-in-cheek "New Yorker" story.

Volume One: General Survey; Historical and Biographical; Arithmetic,
Numbers, and the Art of Counting; Mathematics of Space and Motion;
Index.
Volume Two: Mathematics and the Physical World; Mathematics and Social
Science; The Laws of Chance; Index.
Volume Three: Statistics and the Design of Experiments; The Supreme Art
of Abstraction: Group Theory; Mathematics and Infinity; Mathematical
Truth and the Structure of Mathematics; The Mathematical Way of
Thinking; Mathematics and Logic; The Unreasonableness of Mathematics;
How to Solve It; The Vocabulary of Mathematics; Mathematics as an Art;
Index.
Volume Four; The Mathematician; Mathematical Machines: Can a Machine
Think?; Mathematics in Warfare; A Mathematical Theory of Art;
Mathematics of the Good; Mathematics in Literature; Mathematics and
Music; Mathematics as a Culture Clue; Amusements, Puzzles, Fancies;
Index.

Jefferson Weaver spent nearly five years collecting materials for a
physics anthology which he hoped would capture the scope, beauty and
intellectual excitement of the subject. The idea to assemble a history
of physics as told by the physicists themselves was originally inspired
by James R. Newman's THE WORLD OF MATHEMATICS, which reached a wide
audience with an impressive diversity of nontechnical articles about
nearly every aspect of mathematical thought.

THE WORLD OF PHYSICS samples the evolution of physical theories about
the nature and the origin of the Universe over the past several
millennia. The selections span the entire history of physics, going
back not only to the Greek classics but also to their predecessors and
possible roots in the cosmologies of Asia and Asia Minor. Even included
is "Eureka--A Prose Poem" by Edgar Allan Poe! The selections end with
the most recent developments and extrapolations into the future of
physics and modern cosmology. All selections emphasize the cultural and
intellectual rather than the technological aspects of physics. In
making the selections, Weaver had in mind the educated novice, not the
specialist, so most of the selections are free of equations and
technical jargon.

Timothy Ferris's THE WORLD TREASURY OF PHYSICS, ASTRONOMY, AND
MATHEMATICS is an anthology which represents an attempt to collect some
of the best modern science writing -- the most elegant and intelligible
non-technical writing on astronomy, physics, and mathematics published
in the twentieth century. Many a pious rational might be proffered in
defense of its publication. One might, for instance, argue that such a
book could help drive back the darkness of scientific illiteracy. That
scientific illiteracy exists is not in doubt. A survey conducted for
the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the mid 1980's found that only
one-third of the American public understands what a molecule is, that
nearly half reject the theory of evolution, and that only one in ten
can distinguish astronomy from astrology. Far less certain, though, is
the assertion that any one book can do much to improve the situation.
Nevertheless, this anthology makes for a good read, adds a little
education into the bargain, and encourages its readers to keep
learning, which this reviewer thinks is outstanding!

--- S. Wormley

OBSERVING VARIABLE STARS
A guide for the beginner
by David H. Levy
Cambridge University Press 1989
ISBN 0-521-32112-1

SEEING THE DEEP SKY
Telescopic Astronomy Beyond the Solar System
by Fred Schaaf
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York 1992
QB64.S426 1992 522'.2'078--dc20 91-33119
ISBN 0-471-53068-9
ISBN 0-471-53069-7 (pbk.)

What do you see when you look through a telescope? Is it the mountains
and valleys of a lunar highland, or perhaps a thinly-veiled Jovian
storm? Or do you prefer the ghostly light of the distant galaxies,
island universes adrift in a sea of space and time? Perhaps you see the
fluctuations of stars in our galaxy, stars of all ages whose nightly
appearance changes according to some cosmic drumbeat whose rhythm we
try to unravel.

A variable star is simply a star that changes in brightness. Observing
variable stars is both useful to science, and fun. It is a field that
needs the observations that dedicated amateurs with binoculars or small
telescopes have the time and enthusiasm to make. It will reciprocate as
you contribute to it, for the more you observe the more you will learn
about your subjects of observation.

The purpose of OBSERVING VARIABLE STARS is to inspire you to observe
variable stars. Through its pages, Levy shares his enthusiasm for
these distant suns that change in brightness. Accordingly the book's
approach is to emphasize the observing, and to keep the scientific
explanations simple and in the background.

When variable star observing became popular in the early years of this
century, the prospect of amateur observers adding something to our
understanding of nature was the main attraction. In his hugely popular
book, FIELD BOOK OF THE SKYS, William Tyler Olcott invited his readers
to become part of "the great work of astrophysical research" through a
program that could be accomplished from their own back yards.

The stellar wind of research changes in direction. Where the careful
monitoring of hundreds of long period variable stars once was viewed
as the major interest area for variables, today we follow other types
as well. In 1920, few astronomers even knew about the stars that have
periodic outbursts, the dwarf novae, which today are an important
research field. A program for beginners today includes a mixture of
Mira-type stars, dwarf novae, eclipsing binary stars and other stars
whose light fluctuations are worth noting. Astronomy is a dynamic,
evolving science, and the types of variables we add to our programs
reflect this changing scene.

Getting started can be an experience. The first time Levy spent a night
outside trying to estimate the brightness of a variable star, he
resolved never to look at one again. The star he chose for that
ill-fated night was Chi Cygni, a famous long period variable, which at
maximum can often be seen clearly. But on that night, Chi Cygni was
nowhere near maximum, and at 13th magnitude, it was completely lost in
a sea of very faint Milky Way stars. Levy wasn't sure that Chi Cygni
would be very bright that night, but he certainly didn't expect it to
be as faint as that.

In David Levy's words, "Serious observing is like playing or composing
music. To get the most out of these activities takes heart and soul.
The mere thought of doing it gives you a pleasant feeling and a twinkle
in your eye, but when you first put eye to eyepiece, or finger to
keyboard, or pen to paper, your whole being is filled with a special
satisfaction. With variables, this joy has the added dimension of being
a part of what is happening away from home".

SEEING THE DEEP SKY is actually the third book in a series devoted to
projects in astronomy. Each book is independent of the others. But to
capture anything close to the full range of what astronomy offers, you
should take a look at all three.

The first book, SEEING THE SKY (Wiley, 1990), covers naked-eye
observations of everything from rainbows, twilights, and meteors out to
various kinds of stars and the Milky Way. The second work, SEEING THE
SOLAR SYSTEM (Wiley, 1991), is devoted to telescopic projects involving
the Moon, Sun, planets, comets, and various minor members of our solar
system. This third book offers telescope projects about the different
kinds of stars, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies that lie beyond
our solar system--in what astronomers have come to call "the deep
sky".

Along with surveying a selection of deep-sky objects of the kinds much
discussed in books and magazines in recent years--nebulae, star
clusters, and galaxies--readers will enjoy the projects in this book on
objects less often appreciated (but equally deserving): double stars,
colorful stars, and stars that are representative of the various
spectral types and classes. A large portion of the book is devoted to
learning about the nature of the stars themselves (rather than clusters
or galaxies of then, or nebulae). Schaaf packs a lot descriptive
information in his book boardering on pure inspiration.

--- S. Wormley

CAMBRIDGE STAR ATLAS 2000.0
by Wil Tirion
Cambridge University Press 1991
GB65.W5 1991 523.8'022'3-dc20 89-38035 CIP
ISBN 0 521 26322 0

RELATIVITY THEORY
Concepts and Basic Principles
by Amos Harpaz
Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Boston 1992
QC173.6.H37 1992 530.1'1--dc20 91-33056 CIP
ISBN 0-86720-220-3

Wil Tirion, the renowned astronomical cartographer, has provided the
cartography for many astronomical atlases including:

Atlas Name Mag Epoch
--------------------------------------------------------------
BSAA STAR CHARTS 6.5 1950.0
FIELD GUIDE TO STARS AND PLANETS 7.5 2000.0
MEN, MONSTERS, AND THE UNIVERSE 6.5 2000.0
SKY ATLAS 2000.0 (Deluxe Ed) 8.0 2000.0
SKY ATLAS 2000.0 (Desk, Field Eds) 8.0 2000.0
THE BRIGHT STAR ATLAS 2000.0 6.5 2000.0
URANOMETRIA 2000.0 (Vols. 1 & 2) 9.5 2000.0

and now:

CAMBRIDGE STAR ATLAS 2000.0 6.5 2000.0

So why another atlas that has the same stars as three of his previous
publications? The difference is that CAMBRIDGE STAR ATLAS 2000.0 is a
6.5 magnitude version of SKY ATLAS 2000.0 (Deluxe edition) with color
codes to enable any user to distinguish the various kinds of objects
shown with ease. The charts are complemented by tables of objects to
look for: stars of different sorts, open clusters, globular clusters
planetary nebulae, diffuse nebulae and galaxies. Each table is placed
opposite the corresponding chart for ease of use. Finder charts for
each month of the year, all sky maps to show the distributions of
different type of objects, and a lot of good basic information make the
CAMBRIDGE STAR ATLAS 2000.0 the first choice among Tirion's magnitude
6.5 star atlases.

RELATIVITY THEORY intends to explain the principles of the General
Theory of Relativity (GTR) for first year university students. Almost
seventy years have elapsed since Einstein proposed his theory of
relativity. The special theory, which deals with the specific case of
non-accelerated (inertial) systems, has been already established as
part of the regular course of physics in high schools, but the ideas
and the principles of GTR still remain a "mystery" for the regular
audience, even including advanced students of non-physics faculties.

There is no objective reason for this situation. Its real cause is
twofold: (1) the mystical image of this theory in the public eye, and
(2) the lack of effort by the physics community to present the theory
in simpler terms. The ideas and the conclusions of the Theory of
Relativity (both the special and the general) are indeed revolutionary,
and this fact causes the psychological difficulty to dominate the
problem.

Another difficulty concerns the mathematical tools needed to understand
the theory. The GTR cannot be presented without using tensors. Upon
encountering the concept of "tensor" in a popular scientific text, lay
readers usually close the book immediately, assuming that they have
reached the limit of their ability to understand. RELATIVITY THEORY
attempts to to remove the shroud of mystery from this concept and to
show that, although it is more complex, it is not different in
principle from a vector, a concept already studied and used in high
schools.

Albert Einstein is known as the creator of the Theory of Relativity.
Intuitively, one deduces that Einstein "invented" the concept of
relativity and introduced its use in physics, or as the saying goes:
"Since Einstein, we know that everything is relative." Of course this
is only an expression. The fact that the information we have on the
physical world is relative to the basic situation of the observer was
known for a long time. When we talk about relativity, we talk about
the relative situation between the observer and the observed system,
and it does not make any difference whether we mean the situation of
the observer relative to the system or the situation of the system
relative to the observer.

The Newtonian mechanics, as was formulated three hundred years ago,
also included the mathematical formulation of relativeness of
phenomena, in the form called "Galilean relativity." If we try to
define in brief what Einstein did to the principle of relativity, we
shall say that in the Special Theory of Relativity (STR), Einstein
solved contradictions which appeared in the application of the
principle of relativity to the motion of light (and to the electro-
magnetic effects in general). The solution of these contradictions led
to far-reaching conclusions. This theory, proposed by Einstein in 1905,
was called the "Special Theory" because it dealt with the specific case
of motions in constant velocities only, and did not deal with systems
moving in acceleration relative to the observer.

The General Theory deals with the relativity of all kinds of motions
and with measurements made by accelerated (or decelerated) observers.
Here the conclusions were even more far reaching than those of STR: it
was found that the treatment of the effects of gravitation can be
included in the treatment of accelerated system, and these effects can
be interpreted as if the emerge from the situation of relative
acceleration between an inertial observer and the observed system,
Hence, the GTR, proposed fully by Einstein in 1915, includes also the
theory of gravitation.

This book is a bold attempt to give a scientific explanation of the
central ideas of general relativity for readers with very modest
backgrounds in mathematics and physics. A minimum of mathematical
machinery is developed--somewhat informally--as the exposition
proceeds. However, let me point out that the reader should be intent
on mastering the mathematics required for a deeper understanding of
relativity. The book is strong on the physical side: the main ideas are
there, the standard terms are well defined, evidence supporting the
theory is discussed, and the main applications are presented. Amos
Harpaz works through important chains of reasoning in detail and, while
prerequisites for the book are slight, RELATIVITY THEORY requires
thoughtful study that will be rewarded with a thorough understanding of
the subject.

-- S. Wormley

THE GREAT SUNDIAL CUTOUT BOOK
By Robert Adzema and Mablen Jones
Hawthorn Books, Inc., New York 1978
Library of Congress Cat. No. 78-52964
ISBN 0-8015-3117-9

MR TOMPKINS IN PAPERBACK
Containing Mr Tompkins in Wonderland
and Mr Tompkins Explores the Atom
by George Gamow
Cambridge University Press 1965
Library of Congress Cat. No. 65-20791
ISBN 0-521-09355-4 paperback

THE EVOLUTION OF RELATIVITY
by Christopher Ray
Adam Hilger, Bristo and Philadelphia 1987
QC173.52.R39 1987 530.1'1'09 87-21137
ISBN 0-85274-423-4

Centuries ago, time, society, and the cosmos were inextricably linked.
Now we live in a schism between intuited biological rhythms and
chronarchy (rule by the clock). Our past is broken into discrete events
where only beginnings and endings recall an order, such as births,
deaths, graduations, and other rights of passage.

The digital watch offers us a dynamic image of our fractured
contemporary vision of time. We view the numbers much as we observe the
events of our days--like digits flashing, then disappearing into
oblivion and existing only as we recall their passage. At least the
traditional clockface, with hands orbiting about the dial in a circular
path, give a map, a direction, and a trajectory for a journey through
time, a connection between past and future. Indeed, that circular image
dominated much of history's ideas about the gigantic clocklike working
and spatial composition of the universe. The flashing digital timepiece
parallels a more contemporary cosmological theory that matter and
energy in the universe are oscillating events constantly alternating
from one state of being to the other.

However, our physical bodies and all forms of organic life above the
level of viruses and bacteria are running on a different clock--that
is, solar time. Solar rhythms result from daily, seasonal, yearly, and
longer periods of cyclical movement of both the earth and the sun in
relation to each other, and they vary in length, speed, and quality
relative to our celestial position in space. The sun is our biological
and emotional pacemaker.

The sundials offered in THE GREAT SUNDIAL CUTOUT BOOK celebrate this
great god of life and poetry and light--our star of stars. These dials
are brought to life by the sun's radiant aura, the same emanations
which bring us comfort, warmth, and healing. We turn toward the light
flooding into our rooms, entranced by the lengthening shadows creeping
over dial, sill, and stair. Such moments are "time out," an escape from
the regimentation of the clock.

You can share in this ritual tradition of mythical time and unbounded
creativity by following the pilgrimages of the sun on the miniature
models in this book. They have their origins in the study of man's
reliance on the sun. Some of the cutouts are based on variations of
historic dials; others are astronomical models of instruments to
measure your location--not only to help you find out where you are on
your planet but also to enable you to test your dials accurately and
set them up properly. All are intended to reveal the dramatic poetry of
our star's majestic radiance. THE GREAT SUNDIAL CUTOUT BOOK invites you
to play in the sun.

George Gamow writes, "In the winter of 1938 I wrote a short,
scientifically fantastic story (not a science fiction story) in which
I tried to explain to the layman the basic ideas of the theory of
curvature of space and the expanding universe. I decided to do this by
exaggerating the actually existing relativistic phenomena to such an
extent that they could easily be observed by the hero of the story,
C.G.H. Tompkins, a bank clerk interested in modern science".

The initials of Mr Tompkins originated from three fundamental physical
constants: the velocity of light c; the gravitational constant G; and
the quantum constant h, which have to be changed by immensely large
factors in order to make their effect easily noticeable by the man on
the street.

George Gamow continues, "I sent the manuscript to HARPER's MAGAZINE
and, like all beginning authors, got it back with a rejection slip. The
other half-a-dozen magazines which I tried followed suit. So I put the
manuscript in a drawer of my desk and forgot about it. During the
summer of the same year, I attended the International Conference of
Theoretical Physics, organized by the League of Nations in Warsaw. I
was chatting over a glass of excellent Polish miod with my old friend
Sir Charles Darwin, the grandson of Charles (THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES)
Darwin, and the conversation turned to the popularization of science.
I told Darwin about the bad luck I had along this line, and he said:
'Look, Gamow, when you get back to the United States dig up your
manuscript and send it to Dr. C. P. Snow, who is the editor of a
popular scientific magazine DISCOVERY published by the Cambridge
University Press.'

"So I did just this, and a week later came a telegram from Snow
saying: 'Your article will be published in the next issue. Please send
more.' Thus a number of stories on Mr Tompkins, which popularized the
theory of relativity and the quantum theory, appeared in subsequent
issues of DISCOVERY. Soon thereafter I received a letter from Cambridge
University Press, suggesting that these articles, with a few additional
stories to increase the number of pages, should be published in book
form. The book, called MR TOMPKINS IN WONDERLAND, was published by
Cambridge University Press in 1940 and since time has been reprinted
sixteen times".

Imagine yourself in a town where the speed of light is not 186,000
miles per second, but 10 mph! Relativistic effects are the way of life
for the town's residents. Or perhaps, while playing billiards, your
ball goes in every direction at once! Gamow's MR TOMPKINS IN PAPERBACK
give the reader insight into the effects of the velocity of light c,
the gravitational constant G, and the quantum constant h (plank's
constant) and thus some understanding of the basic ideas of the two
pillars of twentieth-century physics: relativity theory and quantum
mechanics.

Relativity has stimulated the minds of many great physicists and has
attracted the attention of mathematicians. It has provided the raw
material fo many important historical studies and has always challenged
and sometimes confounded those with philosophical predispositions. THE
EVOLUTION OF RELATIVITY is concerned with the development of relativity
theories, from the ideas of Ernst Mach to the work of Stephen Hawking,
and contains wide-ranging discussions on the role of the search for
conceptual simplicity in directing the evolution of space-time
physics.

Christopher Ray's analysis begins with Newton's classical account of
space and time and his characterization of their absolute natures.
Newton's ideas of space and time were attacked in the second half of
the nineteenth century by Ernst Mach--an attack which led to the
advocacy by Einstein and others of Mach's principle. Ray presents a new
interpretation of Mach's thought and the role of Mach's principle in
relativistic physics. He extends the debate about the nature of space
and time into quantum relativity and challenges current accounts of the
structure of scientific theories given by Kuhn and others. Relativity
is presented as a dynamic theoretical context--evolving from its
classical forms into a complex framework of ideas embracing diverse and
sometimes conflicting views.

--S. Wormley

ASTROPHYSICAL CONCEPTS, 2nd ed.
by Martin Harwit
Springer-Verlag, New York 1988
QB461.H37 1988 523.01 87-32387
ISBN 0-387-96683-8

STEPHEN HAWKING'S A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME, A READER'S COMPANION
Edited by Stephen Hawking
Prepared by Gene Stone
Bantam Books, New York 1992
QB981.M377S74 1992 523.1--dc20 92-6526 CPI
ISBN 0-553-07772-4

In a sense each of us has been inside a star; in a sense each of us has
been in the vast empty space between stars; and--if the universe ever
had a beginning--each of us was there!

Every molecule in our bodies contains matter that once was subjected to
the tremendous temperatures and pressures at the center of a star. This
is where the iron in our red blood cells originated. The oxygen we
breathe, the carbon and nitrogen in our tissues, and the calcium in our
bones, also were formed through the fusion of smaller atoms at the
center of a star.

Terrestrial ores containing uranium, plutonium, lead, and many other
massive atoms must have been formed in a supernova explosion--the
self-destruction of a star in which a sun's mass is hurled into space
at huge velocity. In fact, most of the matter on earth and in our
bodies must have gone through such a catastrophic event!

The elements lithium, beryllium, and boron, which we find in traces on
earth, seem to have originated through cosmic ray bombardment in
interstellar space. At that epoch the earth we now walk on was
distributed so tenuously that a gram of soil would have occupied a
volume the size of the entire planet.

To account for the deuterium, the heavy hydrogen isotope found on
earth, we may have to go back to a cosmic explosion signifying the
birth of the entire universe.

How do we know all this? And how sure are we of this knowledge?

ASTROPHYSICAL CONCEPTS was written to answer such questions and to
provide a means for making astrophysical judgements. We are just
beginning a long and exciting journey into the universe. There is much
to be learned, much to be discarded, and much to be revised. We have
excellent theories, but theories are guides for understanding the
truth. They are not truth itself. We must therefore continually revise
them if they are to keep leading us in the right direction.

ASTROPHYSICAL CONCEPTS presents a wide range of astrophysical topics in
sufficient depth to give the reader a general quantitative
understanding of the subject. The book outlines cosmic events but does
not portray them in detail--it provides a series of astrophysical
sketches, an approach that befits the present uncertainties and
changing views in astrophysics. Throughout the book Harwit emphasizes
astrophysical concepts. This means that objects such as asteroids,
stars, supernova, or quasars are not described in individual chapters
or sections. Instead they are mentioned throughout the text whenever
relevant physical principles are discussed.

Stephen Hawking's A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME is a worldwide publishing
phenomenon, with more than five and a half million copies in print in
thirty languages, and its author hailed as the most brilliant
theoretical physicist since Einstein. STEPHEN HAWKING'S A BRIEF HISTORY
OF TIME, A READER'S COMPANION is the essential companion volume to A
BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME and to the award-winning documentary film that it
inspired.

From the inception of discussions with filmmakers, Hawking insisted
that he did not want a filmed biography, but a work that could
illuminate his research for a vast new audience. The result is a vivid
oral history contributed by Hawking, members of his family, lifelong
friends, colleagues, and the world's leading physicists. Its also a
dynamic tour through the evolution and nature of Hawking's scientific
concepts.

Derek Powney - "[As Undergraduates] we were asked to read a chapter,
chapter ten, in a book called ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM by Bleaney and
Bleaney, an unlikely combination, a husband-and-wife team. At the end
of the chapter there where thirteen questions, and all of them were
final honors questions. Our tutor, Bobby Berman, said, 'Do as many as
you can.'

"So we had a go and I discovered very rapidly that I couldn't do any of
them. Richard [Bryan] was my partner, and we worked together for a week
and managed to do one and a half questions, of which we felt very
proud. Gordon [Berry] refused all assistance and managed to do one by
himself. Stephen, as always, hadn't started. Stephen didn't do very
much work when he was up.

"We said to him, 'It's no good, Hawking, you have to get up for
breakfast in the morning.' This would indeed be an event of its own,
because he didn't get up for breakfast. He looked at us thoughtfully,
and the next morning he did get up for breakfast. Being good little
boys, we trotted off to our three lectures of the morning, whilst
Stephen didn't. He went up to his rooms at nine o'clock, or five to
nine, say, because it was only five minutes up to the labs from
University.

"We came back about twelve and down came Stephen. We were in the
college gateway, in the lodge. 'Ah, Hawking!' I said. 'How many have
you managed to do, then?'

"'Well,' he said, 'I've only had time to do the first ten.' We fell
about with laughter, which just froze on our lips because he was
looking at us very quizzically. We suddenly realized that that's
exactly what he had done--the first ten. I think at that point we
realized that it was not just that we weren't in the same street, we
weren't on the same planet".

Kip Thorne - "there are many different approaches to quantum gravity,
to the marriage between general relativity and quantum theory. The one
I find most appealing is the approach that Hartle and Harking have
taken with their descriptions of how quantum mechanics and gravity are
married. To me it smells right. When you're working at the ultimate
frontiers of science, of physics, you have to rely in great measure on
how something smells, on how it feels..."

John Wheeler - "I had worked with the other great man in the quantum
debate, Niels Bohr, in Copenhagen. And I know no greater debate in the
last hundreds of years than the debate between Bohr and Einstein, no
greater debate between two greater men, or one that extended over a
longer period of time--twenty-eight years--at a higher level of
colleagueship. To put it in brief: Does the world exist out there
independent of us, as Einstein thought; or, as Bohr thought, is there
some sense in which we, through our choice of observing equipment, have
something to do with what comes about..."

A READER'S COMPANION is meticulously annotated with biographical notes
for each participant and explanatory passages that amplify the
scientific ideas they discuss. Drawings and graphics illuminate the
scientific concepts at issue, including black holes and the arrow of
time. A READER'S COMPANION is an immensely moving, endlessly
fascinating portrait of one of the great minds of the twentieth
century.

-- S. Wormley

UNITS AND CONVERSION CHARTS
A Handbook for Engineers and Scientists
by Theodore Wildi
IEEE Press, New York 1991
IEEE Order Number: PP0267-5
ISBN 0-87942-273-4

EINSTEIN'S DREAMS (A NOVEL)
by Alan Lightman
Pantheon Books, New York 1993
PS3562.I45397E38 1993 813'.54--dc20 92-50465
ISBN 0-679-41646-3

THE DEEP SKY FIELD GUIDE TO URANOMETRIA 2000.0
by Cragin, Lucyk, Rappaport
Willmann-Bell, Inc, P.O.Box 35025, Richmond, VA 23235
QB65.C8 1992 523'.8'022'3--dc20 92-27060 CIP
ISBN 0-943396-38-7

As systems of measurement evolved in various parts of the world, they
produced a large number of units. Theodore Wildi's handbook shows in an
exceptionally clear and useful way how these units relate to each
other, and how they are defined. Its principal advantage lies in the
conversion of units, a process made exceedingly simple by a set of new
conversion charts. They enable the engineer, scientist and technician
to make rapid and clear-cut conversions between units of the American
Customary system, the English system, former metric systems, and the
International System of Units (SI).

The conversion charts rank the units by order of size so that the
relationship between any two units can be found quickly and without
ambiguity. They significantly reduce the time usually needed to consult
handbooks, tables and so forth, in solving engineering and scientific
problems. The units of various quantities such as force, pressure,
viscosity, etc., are displayed by means of conversion charts. The
charts show the relative size of the unit by the position it occupies
on the page. The largest unit is at the top, the smallest at the bottom
and intermediate units are ranked in between.

SI units and their multiples and sub-multiples appear in red (gray as
reproduced here) boxes on the conversion charts. Because they are
connected by flyers ("flyers" are introduced to bypass a series of
units) that are multiples of ten, it is possible to move swiftly from
one end of the chart to the other should a conversion between
widely-separated units be required. Exact conversion numbers are in
red, the remaining black numbers are accurate to the number of
significant figures shown. The conversion rule is simple - with the
arrow, multiply - against the arrow - divide. For example a parsec
equals 3.2616 light years.

Fig. No. 1

The charts are based on values published by the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI), the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO), the Bureau International des Poids et Mesres,
The Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) and by the
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc.(IEEE). Because
the charts are universal, conversions can be made quickly and
confidently. Official symbols for all SI units are given, along with
the name of the unit. For dimensional analysis, the charts show the
dimensions of units in terms of SI base units (shown in brackets).

In addition, five appendices contain useful information on units,
including: an overview of the International System of Units; the
meaning of quantities, units, and standards; the theory and
interpretation of decibel measurements; selected physical constants;
the application of quantity equations and numerical equations in
solving technical problems.

Alan Lightman's EINSTEIN'S DREAMS (A NOVEL) is about the size of a
Gideon Bible found in lodgings across the country. The book's paper
jacket has the feel of quality. Inside the book.... It is ten minutes
past six by the invisible clock on the wall. Minute by minute new
objects gain form. In the dim light of morning the young patent clerk
sprawls in his chair, head down on his desk. For the past several
months, he has dreamed many dreams about time. His dreams have taken
hold of his research. But the dreaming is finished. Out of the many
possible natures of time, imagined in as many nights, on seems
compelling. Not that the others are impossible. The others might exist
in other worlds.

The patent clerk is Albert Einstein. In his dreams he imagines new
worlds, in which time can be circular, or flow backwards, or slow down
at higher altitudes, or take the form of a nightingale.

EINSTEIN'S DREAMS is an enchantment and a literary adventure, one which
Salman Rushdie has compared to Italo Calvino's INVISIBLE CITIES: "And I
really can't think of higher praise. It is at once intellectually
provocative and touching and comic and so very beautifully written.
Quite frankly I haven't been so excited by a novel, let alone a first
novel, for a very long time."

Walter Scott Houston writes, "I tell you what follows because THE DEEP
SKY FIELD GUIDE TO URANOMETRIA 2000.0 (DSFG) is one of those rare
frontier-busting events that will permanently alter the course of
amateur astronomy. This is not a catalog in the 19th century sense. It
is more like a data file of easy access. It is not built for the coffee
table but to augment another frontier buster--URANOMETRIA 2000.0."

"What can we expect from the DSFG and its twin, URANOMETRIA 2000.0? For
one thing the constellations, useful as they were to goat herders 5000
years ago and despite the cultural job they provide for historians, are
nothing but obstacles to today's fast-lane observers. The URANOMETRIA
2000.0 map number is now the key to the data."

"With... [this book] and URANOMETRIA 2000.0, you are about to
experience the joy of having a map to 9.5 magnitude and the non-stellar
tabular data for just that map. The working package is now map + guide
and a telescope. That is all you need to begin your assault. And if a
nova or comet intrudes on your dreams you can check immediately, no
running back to the house to find the right catalog. This bridge, this
union, will come from this symbiosis of map-guide-telescope-observer."

THE DEEP SKY FIELD GUIDE TO URANOMETRIA 2000.0 is the outgrowth of
projects begun separately by Murray Cragin and James Lucyk, who,
shortly after the introduction of URANOMETRIA 2000.0, began to create
map-by-map lists of the non-stellar objects to aid themselves when
observing at the telescope. The premise was simple: for the first time
they would bring together, under one cover, all pertinent data for
URANOMETRIA 2000.0's deep-sky objects in an easy-to-use-format.

The DSFG provides, by URANOMETRIA 2000.0 chart number, basic
"observable" catalog information for some 14,000 non-stellar
objects... 469 mini-catalogs, one table for each map that plots at
least one deep-sky object.

Fig. No. 2

Perry Willmann Remaklus writes, "And what is the result? Is it
perfect? Anyone who works with astronomical data soon learns that
perfection is impossible--even as we prepare the final copy the
telephone lines buzz across the continent and into the early morning
hours with last minute corrections. But now, all that we know that
needs fixing has been fixed. It's time to go to press, and under these
crisp November [1992] night skies with U2000.0 and the galleys from
DSFG at hand, I marvel anew at what has been accomplished. With their
efforts writ large for all to see, James Lucyk and Murray Cragin now
join Wil Tirion, Barry Rappaport, and George Lovi as mappers of the
night sky. And to you, the user, thank you for your support of U2000.0
and your help and understanding in making the subsequent editions of
U2000.0 and DSFG even better."

-S. Wormley

THE AGE OF THE EARTH
by G. Brent Dalrymple
Stanford University Press 1991
QE508.D28 1991 551.1--dc20 90-47051 CIP
ISBN 0-8047-1569-6

LAND NAVIGATION HANDBOOK
The Sierra Club Guide to Map and Compass
by W. S. Kals
Sierra Club Books 1983
GV200.4.K34 1983 796.5 82-16917
ISBN 0-87156-331-2

THE AGE OF THE EARTH is a definitive, masterly history and synthesis of
all that has been said (by theologians and scientists) and is known (to
science) about the question, How old is the Earth? It explains in a
simple and straightforward way the evidence and logic that have led
scientists to conclude that the Earth and the other parts of the solar
system are not several thousand years old, as some today would have it,
but four and one-half billion years old.

It is a fascinating story, but not so simple as a single measurement.
Our universe is a large, old, and complicated place. Earth and other
bodies have endured a long and sometimes violent history, the events of
which have frequently obscured the record that we seek to decipher.
Although in detail the journey into Earth's past requires considerable
scientific skill, knowledge, and imagination, the story is not so
complicated that it cannot be explained to someone who wants to know and
understand the basic evidence. This book, then, has been written for
people with some modest background in science, but at a level that will
allow the material to be useful and accessible to those without a deep
knowledge of geology or physics or mathematics.

Most of the book is organized into chapters that discuss the several
types of evidence for the age of the Earth. The first two chapters give
a brief history of the universe as science knows it and an account of
some of the historical attempts, made before modern radiometric methods
were realized, to determine the age of the Earth. The quantitative
evidence for Earth's are is based on measurements involving long-lived,
naturally occurring radioactive isotopes, and Chapter 3 explains how
these methods work and how they can be used to date events that occurred
so far back in the distant past.

Chapter 4 is a discussion of the Earth's oldest known rocks. It may
surprise some readers to learn that the first 700 million years or so of
Earth's history have been effectively erased, and that the oldest rocks
found on Earth are not nearly so old as the Earth itself. Some of the
key evidence for the age of the Earth comes from bodies in the Solar
System that are less highly evolved. These bodies, the Moon and
meteorites, provide a record of the timing of some of the earliest
events in the Solar System, and the ages of the oldest lunar samples and
meteorites are the subjects of chapters 5 and 6.

Chapter 7 explains the simple and elegant method that provides us with a
reasonably accurate figure for the age of the Earth, and Chapter 8
discusses the evidence for the ages of the Milky Way Galaxy and the
Universe. The final chapter summarizes what we know and would like to
know about the age of the Earth.

Every out-doorsperson (and every grazing-star-occulter) at one time or
another needs to chart a course in the wilderness. In LAND NAVIGATION
HANDBOOK an expert navigator, W. S. Kals, combines his map-and-compass
skills with a special concern for the needs of the wilderness wanderer
to create a comprehensive primer for the beginning pathfinder and the
veteran woodsman. Kals, a former planetarium director, is author of
PRACTICAL NAVIGATION and THE STARGAZER'S BIBLE, among other books.

Not only do you learn how to navigate from the sky anywhere on the
planet, but you also learn how to find out where you are--essential for
many an astronomical calculation. Kals' subject matter includes:
Choosing and using a compass; Reading topographic maps; Measuring
distances and estimating travel times; Determining and adjusting for
local declination around the globe, including allowances for annual
change; Altimeter navigation; Navigation using the sun and stars,
including instructions for the tropics and southern hemisphere. After
recently reading half a dozen books dealing with land navigation, this
reviewer finds Kals' book is the most readable, informative and useful.

-S. Wormley

ASTRONOMICAL ALGORITHMS
by Jean Meeus
Willmann-Bell, Inc., P.O. Box 35025, Richmond, Virginia 23235 1991
QB51.3.E43M42 1991 520-dc20 91-23501 CIP

EXPLANATORY SUPPLEMENT TO THE ASTRONOMICAL ALMANAC
Edited by P. Kenneth Seidelmann, U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington D.C.
University Science Books Mill Valley, CA 94941 1992
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 91-65331
ISBN 0-935702-68-7

MAP USE - READING, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION, 3rd ed.
by Phillip C. Muehrcke and Juliana O. Muehrcke
JP Publications, P.O. Box 44173, Madison, Wisconsin 53744-4173 1992
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 92-71696
ISBN 0-9602978-3-9

In the Foreword, Roger W. Sinnott, of Sky & Telescope magazine writes,
"People who write their own computer programs often wonder why the
machine gives inaccurate planet positions, an unreal eclipse track, or a
faulty Moon phase. Sometimes they insist, bewildered, 'and I used double
precision, too.' Even commercial software is sometimes afflicted with
gremlins, which comes as quite a shock to anyone caught up in the
mystique and presumed infallibility of computers. Good techniques can
help us avoid erroneous results from a flawed program or a simplistic
procedure--and that's what this book is all about.
"In the field of celestial calculations, Jean Meeus has enjoyed wide
acclaim and respect since long before microcomputers and pocket
calculators appeared on the market. When he brought out his ASTRONOMICAL
FORMULAE FOR CALCULATORS in 1979, it was practically the only book of
its genre. It quickly became the "source among sources," even for other
writers in the field. Many of them have warmly acknowledged their debt
(or should have), citing the unparalleled clarity of his instructions
and the rigor of his methods.

"And now the Belgian astronomer has outdone himself yet again! Virtually
every previous handbook on celestial calculations (including his own
earlier work) was forced to rely on formulae for the Sun, Moon, and
planets that were developed in the last century--or at least before
1920. The past 10 years, however, have seen a stunning revolution in how
the world's major observatories produce their almanacs. The Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in California and the U.S. Naval Observatory in
Washington, D.C., have perfected powerful new machine methods for
modeling the motions and interactions of bodies within the solar system.
At the same time in Paris, the Bureau des Longitudes has been a beehive
of activity aimed as describing these motions analytically, in the form
of explicit equations.

"Yet until now the fruits of this exciting work have remained mostly out
of reach of ordinary people. The details have existed mainly on reels of
magnetic tape in a form comprehensible only to the largest brains, human
or electronic. But ASTRONOMICAL ALGORITHMS changes all that. With his
special knack for computations of all sorts, the author has made the
essentials of these modern techniques available to us all.

"We also stand at a confusing crossroads for astronomy. In just the last
few years the International Astronomical Union has introduced subtle
changes in the reference frame used for the coordinates of celestial
objects, both within and far beyond our solar system. So sweeping are
these revisions that a highly respected work for professional
astronomers, the EXPLANATORY SUPPLEMENT TO THE ASTRONOMICAL EPHEMERIS,
published in 1961, is now seriously out of date. [The EXPLANATORY
SUPPLEMENT TO THE ASTRONOMICAL ALMANAC, published in 1992 replaces this
older work.] While the technical journals have seen a flurry of
scientific papers on these issues, [Meeus' book] is the first to offer
succinct and practical methods for coping with the changeover. It will
be many years before astronomical data bases and catalogs are fully
converted to the new system, and anyone who needs a detailed
understanding of what's going on will appreciate this book's many
comments about the FK4 and FK5 reference frames, 'equinox error,' and
the distinction between 'J' and 'B' when placed before an epoch like
2000.0.

"Scarcely any formula is presented without a fully worked numerical
example--so crucial to the debugging process. the emphasis throughout is
on testing, on the proper arrangement of formulae, and on not pushing
them beyond the time span over which they are valid. Chapter 2 contains
much wisdom of this sort, growing out of the author's long experience
with various computers and their languages. He alerts us to other
pitfalls throughout the text. Anyone who tries to chart the path of a
comet, for instance, soon encounters Kepler's equation. It has so vexed
astronomers over the years that literally hundreds of solutions have
been proposed; the striking graphs in Chapter 29 give a good idea why.

"We now live in a thrilling time for practitioners of the
number-crunching art. The four-function pocket calculators that were so
costly 20 years ago are now incorporated as a gimmick on certain
wristwatches. The memory capacity of the 1K RAM board in the pioneering
MITS Altair microcomputer is exceeded 500-fold by a single chip in some
of today's laptop and notebook computers. Who knows what other marvels
lie just ahead? By presenting these astronomical algorithms in standard
mathematical notation, rather than in the form of program listings, the
author has made them accessible to users of a wide variety of machines
and computer languages--including those not yet invented".

The primary purpose of this 760 page (completely revised and rewritten
to conform to the FK5 reference frame in current use) EXPLANATORY
SUPPLEMENT TO THE ASTRONOMICAL ALMANAC is to provide users of THE
ASTRONOMICAL ALMANAC with more complete explanations of the
significance, sources, methods of computation, and use of the data given
in the almanac than can be included annually in the almanac itself. The
secondary purpose is to provide complementary information that doesn't
change annually, such as conceptual explanations, lists of constants and
other data, bibliographic references, and historical information
relating to the almanac.

Many users of the almanac are not the professional astronomers for whom
it is primarily designed, and so this supplement contains some
explanatory material at an elementary level; it is not, however,
intended for use as a basic textbook on spherical and dynamical
astronomy. In some respects it does supplement such textbooks since it
is concerned with new concepts or new techniques.

This supplement differs in many respects from its predecessor, the
EXPLANATORY SUPPLEMENT TO THE ASTRONOMICAL EPHEMERIS AND THE AMERICAN
EPHEMERIS AND NAUTICAL ALMANAC. Vector and matrix notation have been
introduced and more diagrams have been provided. Simple conversion
tables and tables of quantities that can be calculated directly from
simple formulas have been omitted. Detailed step-by-step examples have
been omitted, and approximation methods have not been given. Most of the
text is new but historical material has been carried over for the
convenience of those who do not have ready access to the previous
supplement.

There is a tremendous amount of information and rigor in the EXPLANATORY
SUPPLEMENT. The following chapters (and some sub-chapters) give a little
insight into the content.

1. Introduction to Positional Astronomy
2. Time

3. Celestial Reference Systems
4. Terrestrial Coordinates and the Rotation of the Earth
The task of establishing or defining the terrestrial
coordinates of a point is inextricably linked to establishing
the rotation of the earth over time. The definition of any
terrestrial reference coordinate system is given by
establishing a celestial reference coordinate system and a
suitable transformation between them. This chapter includes
grid systems such as Longitude and Latitude, Universal
Transverse Mercator (UTM), Universal Polar Stereographic
(UPS), and so on, Geodetic Datums, and the Global Positioning
System (GPS).

5. Orbital Ephemerides of the Sun, Moon, and Planets
6. Orbital Ephemerides and Rings of Satellites

7. Physical Ephemerides of the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Satellites
8. Eclipses of the Sun and Moon

9. Astronomical Phenomena
9.1 General Aspects of the Night Sky
9.2 Configurations of The Sun, Moon, and Planets
9.3 Risings, Settings, and Twilight
9.4 Occultations
9.5 Pole-Star Tables
9.6 References
10. Stars and Stellar Systems

11. Computational Techniques
11.1 Introduction to Computing Techniques
11.2 Interpolation and subtabulation
11.3 Plane and Spherical Trigonometry
11.4 Matrix and Vector Techniques
11.41 Rotation of Axis Using Matrices
11.42 Spherical Coordinates Using Vectors
11.43 Spherical Coordinate Transformations
11.5 Numerical Calculus
11.6 Statistics
11.7 References
12. Calendars
This section includes: Introduction, The Gregorian, Hebrew,
Islamic, Indian, and Chinese Calendars as well as Julian
Day Numbers and Julian Date, The Julian Calendar, Calendar
Conversion Algorithms and References.

13. Historical Information
14. Related Publications
15. Reference Data

Glossary

Index

The last chapter, Reference Data, contains pages of Fundamental
Constants, Time and Standard Epochs, constants relating to the Sun,
Earth, and Moon, Geodetic Reference Systems, Planets: Mean Elements,
Planets: Rotational Data, Planets: Physical and Photometric Data,
Satellites: Orbital Data, Satellites: Physical and Photometric Data,
Planetary Rings and on and on. One thing, especially curious, in the
section on Units of Length, Speed, and Mass was the following:

c = 299792458 m/s = 1.80261750E12 furlongs/fortnight

which, by this reviewer's calculations, is exactly right. But who uses
speed in terms of furlongs/fortnight? In a book by William C. Wickes,
"HP48 Insights - Part II: Problem Solving Insights", Larken
Publications, Corvallis, Oregon, 1992 there is an example of how you can
define any units you like with the HP48-SX handheld calculator. One of
Wickes' examples creates units, furlong (0.125 miles) and fortnight (14
days), then further defines the unit "slow" as 1_furlong/fortnight which
is equal to 1.6630952831E-4 m/s. Was furlong/fortnight historically used
in astronomy? This reviewer thinks the editor, P. Kenneth Seidelmann,
uses an HP48-SX calculator and included c = 299792458 m/s =
1.80261750E12 furlongs/fortnight as his unique signature as editor of a
fine reference work.

People whose professions it is to study, design, and make maps for the
rest of us to use are called cartographers. From them we ask for little
less than a miracle. We want the overwhelming detail, complexity, and
proportion of our surroundings reduced to a simple map representation
which we can carry around with us conveniently but which will still
provide us with a meaningful basis for relating to the environment.
It is fair to say that the cartographer has given us what we ask for. A
vast array of subjects has been mapped in a variety of cleaver, even
ingenious, ways. Advances in environmental data collection, processing,
and graphic portrayal, with the annual support of millions of dollars of
government and private funds, have made maps accessible to everyone.
They not only cover almost any topic of interest for all parts of the
world, but they are also remarkably low in cost.

Sadly enough, many of us have not acquired the basic skill necessary to
take full advantage of these maps. We blunder through the environment,
not appreciating what it has to offer, often causing hardship for
ourselves and others, and all too frequently relating to our
surroundings in a destructive way. This need not be the case. Learning
to use a map is a relatively easy and painless process, with an immense
payoff.

Numerous books on map making have been written. But since map use is not
the simple reverse of map making, most of these books are of limited
value to you as a map reader. In contrast, MAP USE, now in its third
edition, has been written strictly for the person who wants to use maps.
Academics have tended to treat maps as indoor things, rarely included in
their textbooks the fact that one of the most exciting ways to use maps
is in the field. Conversely, the numerous military manuals and field
guides to map and compass use have focused narrowly on way finding,
virtually ignoring the role which maps play in communicating
environmental information. MAP USE is an attempt to bridge the gap
between these two extremes, to pull fragments of information from many
fields into a coherent way of looking at the environment. It is an
endeavor to provide a comprehensive, philosophical, and practical
treatment of map appreciation.

-S. Wormley
THE THEORY OF FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES
by Richard P. Feynman
Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA 1987
(1963) 61-18180
ISBN 0-8053-2507

THE FEYNMAN LECTURES ON PHYSICS
Vol. I - Mainly Mechanics, Radiation and Heat
Vol. II - Mainly Electromagnetism and Matter
Vol. III - Quantum Mechanics
by Richard P. Feynman, Robert B. Leighton, and Matthew Sands
Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA 1963
63-20717

THE CHARACTER OF PHYSICAL LAW
by Richard P. Feynman
MIT Press, Cambridge, MA 1965
67-14527
ISBN 0 262 56003 8 (pbk)

"SURELY YOU'RE JOKING, MR. FEYNMAN!" - ADVENTURES OF A CURIOUS CHARACTER
by Richard P. Feynman as told to Ralph Leighton
edited by Edward Hutchings
Norton, New York 1985 Bantom, New York 1989
QC16.F49A3 1989 530'.092'4 [B] 88-47879
ISBN 0553 34668-7 (pbk)

QED: THE STRANGE THEORY OF LIGHT AND MATTER
by Richard P. Feynman
Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ 1985
ISBN 0-691-08388-6

ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND THE LAWS OF PHYSICS
The 1986 Dirac Memorial Lectures
by Richard P. Feynman and Steven Weinberg
Lecture notes compiled by Richard MacKenzie and Paul Doust
Forward by John C. Taylor Cambridge University Press , New York 1987
QC793.28F49 1987 539.7'21--dc19
ISBN 0 521 340004

"WHAT DO YOU CARE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK?" - FURTHER ADVENTURES OF A
CURIOUS CHARACTER
by Richard P. Feynman as told to Ralph Leighton
Norton, New York 1988

TUVA OR BUST! RICHARD FEYNMAN'S LAST JOURNEY
by Ralph Leighton
Norton, New York 1991
QC16.F49L45 1991 957.5--dc20 90-42206
ISBN 0-393-02953-0

GENIUS - THE LIFE AND SCIENCE OF RICHARD FEYNMAN
by James Gleick
Pantheon Books, New York 1992
QC16.F49G54 1992 530'.092--dc20 [B] 92-6577
ISBN 0-679-40836-3

Richard P. Feynman was (and is) a hero to me, as he was (and is) to
physics students and colleagues around the world. When he died on
February 15th, 1988, the world lost one of the finest theoretical
physicist and one of the finest teachers of the 20th century.
Hans Bethe of Cornell University, paraphrasing the mathematician Mark
Kac, said there are two kinds of geniuses. The ordinary kind does great
things but lets other scientists feel that they could do the same if
only they worked hard enough. The other kind performs magic. "A magician
does things that nobody else can do and that seem completely
unexpected," Dr. Bethe said, "and that's Feynman."

To his scientific colleagues, Richard Feynman was a magician of the
highest caliber. Architect of quantum theories, 'enfant terrible' of the
atomic bomb project, caustic critic of the space shuttle commission,
Nobel Prize winner for work that gave physicists a new and easier way of
describing and calculating the interactions of subatomic particles,
Richard Feynman left his mark on virtually every area of modern physics.
Originality was his obsession. Never content with what he knew or with
what others knew, Feynman ceaselessly questioned scientific truths. But
there was another side to him, one which made him a legendary figure
among scientists. His curiosity moved well beyond things scientific: he
taught himself how to play drums, to give massages, to write Chinese, to
crack safes.

Because almost all Feynman's work originated with the spoken word, and
because its publication took so many shapes, formal and informal, no
final bibliography will ever be compiled. Neither Feynman nor Caltech
Libraries maintain more than a partial listing. Some lectures were
published repeatedly, in journals and collections, in versions that very
slightly or not at all. Others exist only in the form of Feynman's notes
before the fact, a student's handwritten notes after the fact, a
university preprint, a typed transcript, an edited or unedited
conference proceeding, a file on a computer disk, or a videotape or
audiotape. Some manuscripts are virtually intact and publishable; others
are no more than notes on a placemat; and in between is an unbroken
continuum.

What I, as reviewer, attempt to do here is introduce you, the reader, to
some of the writings by and about Feynman that have become a part of my
life.

THE THEORY OF FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES are notes on a special series of
lectures that Feynman gave during a visit to Cornell University in 1958.
Feynman's first academic position was as Professor at Cornell in the
Fall of 1945. He later moved to Caltech, so this was a visit to his old
institution in 1958.

Feynman: "That part of physics that we do understand today
(electrodynamics, beta-decay, isotropic spin rules, strangeness) has a
kind of simplicity which is often lost in the complex formulations
believed to be necessary to ultimately understand the dynamics of strong
interactions. To prepare oneself to be the theoretical physicist who
will some day find the key to these strong interactions, it might be
thought that a full knowledge of all these complicated formulations
would be necessary. That may be so, but the exact opposite may also be
so; it may be necessary to stay away from the corners where everyone
else has already worked unsuccessfully. In any event, it is always a
good idea to try analysis of those situations which have been
experimentally checked. This is necessary to get a clearer idea of what
is essential in our present knowledge and what can be changed without
serious conflict with experiments".

THE FEYNMAN LECTURES ON PHYSICS, Vols. I, II, III, were written as
undergraduate texts, and though contain plenty of math, are an absolute
joy to read. Feynman was known to be a brilliant physicist, and a
brilliant teacher. Feynman wrote in his preface, "The lectures here are
not in any way meant to be a survey course, but are very serious. I
thought to address them to the most intelligent in the class and to make
sure, if possible, that even the most intelligent [freshman] student was
unable to completely encompass everything that was in the lectures--by
putting in suggestions of applications of the ideas and concepts in
various directions outside the main line of attack. For this reason,
though, I tried very hard to make all the statements as accurate as
possible, to point out in every case where the equations and ideas
fitted into the body of physics, and how--when they learned more--things
would be modified. I also felt that for such students it is important to
indicate what it is that they should--if they are sufficiently
clever--be able to understand by deduction from what has been said
before, and what is being put in as something new. When [new] ideas came
in, I would try either to deduce them if they were deducible, or to
explain that it was a new idea which hadn't any basis in terms of things
they had already learned and which was not supposed to be provable--but
was just added in".

Feynman was pessimistic about the success of his course, yet these
lectures have become classics. He did not think he had done well by the
students. Feynman continues in his preface, "I think, however, that
there isn't any solution to this problem of education other than to
realize that the best teaching can be done only when there is a direct
individual relationship between a student and a good teacher--a
situation in which the student discusses the ideas, thinks about the
things, and talks about the things. It's impossible to learn very much
by simply sitting in a lecture, or even by simply doing problems that
are assigned. But in our modern times we have so many students to teach
that we have to try to find some substitute for the ideal. Perhaps my
lectures can make some contribution. Perhaps in some small place where
there are individual teachers and students, they may get some
inspiration or some ideas from the lectures. Perhaps they will have fun
thinking them through--or going on to develop some of the ideas
further".

The seven chapters which make up Feynman's THE CHARACTER OF PHYSICAL LAW
were lectures presented as the Messenger Lectures at Cornell University
in 1964. They were delivered to an audience of students who wished to
know in general terms more about 'The Character of Physical Law'. These
lectures were not given from a prepared manuscript, but were delivered
extempore from a few notes. This book is a transcript of those lectures
made by the BBC Science and Features Department. The subject matter is
described by the chapter titles:

1. The Law of Gravitation, an example of Physical Law
2. The Relation of Mathematics to Physics
3. The Great Conservation Principles
4. Symmetry in Physical Law
5. The Distinction of Past and Future
6. Probability and Uncertainty - the Quantum Mechanical view of
Nature
7. Seeking New Laws

It is truly a delight to read "SURELY YOU'RE JOKING, MR. FEYNMAN!" -
ADVENTURES OF A CURIOUS CHARACTER. And like a book on tape that you can
listen to over and over, one tends to read Feynman's stories over and
over bringing inspiration and a smile each time read. Richard P. Feynman
solved the mystery of liquid helium. He also painted a Roman slave girl
for a massage parlor, played a skillful frigideira in a Brazilian samba
band, and accompanied ballet on the bongo drums. He was judged both
mentally deficient by a United States Army psychiatrist and worthy of
the Nobel Prize for physics by the Swedish Academy. If a more curious
character ever walked the halls of science, he or she never wrote a
book.

"SURELY YOU'RE JOKING, MR. FEYNMAN!" is based on taped conversations
with his friend and drumming partner, Ralph Leighton. As befits a great
teacher and storyteller, little was changed from Feynman's spoken words.
His unique mixture of intelligence, curiosity, skepticism, and chutzpah
comes off the page as vibrantly as if her were in the room. Ralph
Leighton writes in his short preface, "The stories in this book were
collected intermittently and informally during seven years of very
enjoyable drumming with Richard Feynman. I have found each story by
itself to be amusing, and the collection taken together to be amazing:
That one person could have so many wonderfully crazy things happen to
him in one life is sometimes hard to believe. That one person could
invent so much innocent mischief in one life is surely an inspiration"!

QED: THE STRANGE THEORY OF LIGHT AND MATTER is the text and diagrams
from four lectures Feynman gave for the general public with the clarity,
accuracy, and completeness that have made his lectures famous. Assuming
little scientific background of his readers, he describes the
interactions of light and electrons--absurd, he points out, from the
point of view of common sense, yet underlying almost everything we
observe in the physical world. QED stands for the forbiddingly named
theory of quantum electrodynamics.

This book is a venture that, in all probability, was never previously
tried--a straightforward, honest explanation of a rather difficult
subject for a nontechnical audience. It is designed to give the
interested reader an appreciation for the kind of thinking that
physicists have resorted to in order to explain how Nature behaves.

As a boy, Richard Feynman was inspired to study calculus from a book
that began, "What one fool can do, another can." He dedicated QED to his
readers with similar words: "What one fool can understand, another can."

John C. Taylor writes in the forward to ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND THE
LAWS OF PHYSICS The 1986 Dirac Memorial Lectures, "Paul Dirac was one of
the finest physicists of this century. The development of quantum
mechanics began at the turn of the century, but it was Dirac who in
1925-26, brought the subject to its definitive form, creating a theory
as compelling as Newton's mechanics had been.

"Dirac immediately set about reconciling the quantum theory with
Einstein's special theory of relativity (of 1905). The nature of the
marriage between these two marvelous theories, and the fruits of that
union, have been the constant preoccupation of fundamental physics from
1925 to the present day. Dirac contributed more than anyone else to this
crucial enterprise, including in 1930 the prediction of the existence of
antimatter.

"Dirac died in 1984, and St John's College, Cambridge (Dirac's college),
very generously endowed an annual lecture to be held a Cambridge
University in Dirac's memory. The first two Dirac Lectures, printed in
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND THE LAWS OF PHYSICS, are contrasting variations
on Dirac's theme of the union of quantum theory and relativity.

"Richard Feynman, in the years since the Second World War, did more than
anyone else to evolve Dirac's relativistic quantum theory into a general
and powerful method of making physical predictions about the
interactions of particles and radiation. His work complements Dirac's in
a remarkable way. His style of doing physics has been vastly
influential. His lecture here, which gives some flavour of that style,
expounds the physical reality underlying Dirac's prediction of
antimatter.

"The crowning achievement to date of the relativistic quantum theory has
been the unification of electricity and magnetism on the one hand
(themselves unified by Maxwell a century ago) with the the weak forces
of radioactive decay on the other. Steven Weinberg is one of the chief
authors of this unification, in work which predicted the existence and
properties of new particles (weighing as much as heavy atoms), which
were subsequently triumphantly produced, precisely as predicted, at the
European laboratory CERN in Geneva in 1983. This echoed Dirac's
prediction, half a century earlier, of the positron and its subsequent
discovery, though the energy necessary to produce a positron was 100 000
times less.

"In his lecture, Weinberg shows how tightly quantum theory and
relativity together constrain the laws of Nature, and he speculates how
Einstein's theory of gravitation (of 1915) will be reconciled with
quantum theory.

"We in Cambridge were fortunate that these two leading physicists agreed
to commemorate Dirac by coming to lecture here. They drew audiences of
several hundred undergraduates and and graduates, some of them
physicists, some not. Both Feynman and Weinberg have been concerned to
explain physics to nonspecialists, and we hope that this volume too will
interest a wide readership.

"Dirac stated his philosophy of physics in the sentence 'physical laws
should have mathematical beauty. Dirac, Feynman and Weinberg have each
made beautiful theories which have been spectacularly upheld in
experimental tests. But the experiment, outside the scope of these
Lectures, are another story".

"WHAT DO YOU CARE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK?" - FURTHER ADVENTURES OF A
CURIOUS CHARACTER is a bit more serious that its predecessor. Ralph
Leighton explains, "BECAUSE of the appearance of 'SURELY YOU'RE JOKING,
MR. FEYNMAN!' a few things need to be explained here.

"First, although the central character in this book is the same as
before, the 'adventures of a curious character' here are different: some
are light and some tragic, but most of the time Mr. Feynman is surely
not joking--although it's often hard to tell.

"Second, the stories in this book fit together more loosely than those
in 'SURELY YOU'RE JOKING...,' where they were arranged chronologically
to give a semblance of order. (That resulted in some readers getting the
mistaken idea that SYJ is an autobiography.) My motivation is simple:
ever since hearing my first Feynman stories, I have had the powerful
desire to share them with others.

"Finally, most of these stories were not told at drumming sessions, as
before. I will elaborate on this in the brief outline that follows.

"Part 1, 'A Curious Character.' begins by describing the influence of
those who most shaped Feynman's personality--his father, Mel, and his
first love, Arlene. The first story was adapted from 'The Pleasure of
Finding Things Out,' a BBC program [aired on PBS's NOVA series] produced
by Christopher Sykes. The story of Arlene, from which the title of this
book was taken, was painful for Feynman to recount. It was assembled
over the past ten years out of pieces from six different stories. When
it was finally complete, Feynman was especially fond of this story, and
happy to share it with others.

"The other Feynman stories in Part 1, although generally lighter in
tone, are included here because there won't be a second volume of SYJ.
Feynman was particularly proud of 'It's as Simple as One, Two, Three,"
which he occasionally thought of writing up as a psychology paper. The
letters in the last chapter of Part 1 have been provided courtesy of
Gweneth Feynman, Freeman Dyson, and Henry Bethe.

"Part 2, 'Mr. Feynman Goes to Washington,' is, unfortunately, Feynman's
last big adventure. The story is particularly long because its content
is still timely. (Shorter versions have appeared in ENGINEERING AND
SCIENCE and PHYSICS TODAY.) It was not published sooner because Feynman
underwent his third and fourth major surgeries--plus radiation,
hyperthermia, and other treatments--since serving on the Rogers
Commission [which investigated the Challenger accident].

"Feynman's decade-long battle against cancer ended on February 15, 1988,
two weeks after he taught his last class at Caltech. I decided to
include one of the most eloquent and inspirational speeches, 'The Value
of Science,' as an epilogue".

TUVA OR BUST! RICHARD FEYNMAN'S LAST JOURNEY was also aired on PBS's
NOVA series.

"So you think you know every county in the world?" The mischievous voice
was that of Richard Feynman, world-renowned physicist and prankster par
excellence.

"Uh, sure," answered Ralph Leighton, Feynman's sidekick, fellow drummer,
and geography enthusiast. The scene was the Feynman's dinner table; the
year. 1977.

"Okay," Feynman went on, "then whatever happened to Tannu Tuva?"
"Tannu what? I never heard of it, " replied Ralph. "There is no such
country."

"When I was a kid," Richard continued, "I used to collect stamps. There
were some wonderful triangular and diamond-shaped stamps that came from
a place called Tannu Tuva. In the 1930's it was a purple splotch on the
map near Outer Mongolia, but I've never heard anything about it ever
since."

Still doubtful, Leighton followed Feynman to his favorite book, the
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, looking for Tuva. There it was, a notch in
northwest Mongolia, masquerading as the Tuvinskaya ASSR, deep in the
heart of Asia, isolated and inaccessible.

"Look at this!" exclaimed Richard. "Its capital is Kyzyl. A place that's
spelled K-Y-Z-Y-L has just got to be interesting." Feynman and Leighton
grinned and shook hands. Each knew what the other was thinking: We will
go to Tuva together!

During their decade-long quest to reach Tannu Tuva, Richard Feynman
struggled with recurring bouts of cancer and with NASA bureaucracy as a
member of the Rogers Commission investigating the space shuttle
Challenger disaster. His protege often had to make forays into the
unknown without him. TUVA OR BUST! chronicles the deepening friendship
of two zany strategists whose laughter, love of the absurd, and sense of
the utter gravity of fun is infectious. The journey to Tuva was Richard
Feynman's last adventure, a journey of the mind and spirit. One could
have no better guide and companion.

News of Feynman's death was slow to reach Moscow. In early March Gweneth
received a letter dated February 19, 1988. The letterhead was adorned
with two busts of Lenin. The text said:

Dear Professor R. P. Feynman,

I have the great pleasure to invite you, your wife, and four
of your colleagues to visit the Soviet Union as the guests of the
USSR Academy of Sciences.
I was informed by the corresponding member of the USSR
Academy of Sciences, Prof. A. P. Kapitsa, that you would like
to visit Tuva ASSR and get acquainted with its sightseeings.
We consider the most favourable time for such a trip to be the
period of May and June of this year. Your trip will take three
to four weeks.
I hope that during your tour you will have time to meet
Soviet colleagues in Novosibirsk and Moscow who know your
activities and works and, undoubtedly, will be very pleased to
meet you.
Kindly note that the USSR Academy of Sciences will cover
expenses on your and your colleagues' staying in the USSR.

Yours sincerely,

Academician E. P. Velikhov

In GENIUS - THE LIFE AND SCIENCE OF RICHARD FEYNMAN, James
Gleick, author of the acclaimed best-seller CHAOS, shows us a
Feynman few have seen. He penetrates beyond the gleeful showman
depicted in Feynman's own memoirs and reveals a darker Feynman:
his ambition, his periods of despair and uncertainty, his intense
emotional nature. Gleick explores the nature of genius, our
obsession with it and why the very idea may belong to another
time. GENIUS records the life of a scientist who has forever
changed science--and changed what it means to know something in
this uncertain century.

Gleick writes, "Feynman resented the polished myths of most scientific
history, but when he had ascended to the top of the physicists' mental
pantheon of heroes, he had created a myth of his own. The reputation,
apart from the person, became an edifice standing monumentally amid the
rest of the scenery of modern science. Feynman diagrams, Feynman
integrals, and Feynman rules joined Feynman stories in the language that
physicists share. They would say of a promising young colleague, 'He's
no Feynman, but...' When he entered a room where physicists had
gathered--the student cafeteria at the California Institute of
Technology, or the auditorium at any scientific meeting--with him would
come a shift in the noise level, a disturbance of the field that seemed
to radiate from where he was carrying his tray or taking his front-row
seat. Even his senior colleagues tried to look without looking. Younger
physicists were drawn to Feynman's rough glamour. They practiced
imitating his handwriting and his manner of throwing equations onto the
blackboard. One group held a half-serious debate on the question Is
Feynman human? They envied the inspiration that came (so it seemed to
them) in flashes. They admired him for other qualities as well: a faith
in nature's simple truths, a skepticism about official wisdom, and an
impatience with mediocrity.

"After he died several colleagues tried to write his epitaph. One was
Julian Schwinger, in a certain time not just his colleague but his
pre-eminent rival, who chose these words: 'An honest man, the
outstanding intuitionist of our age, and a prime example of what may lie
in store for anyone who dares to follow the beat of a different drum.'"

-S. Wormley

MOON MORPHOLOGY
Interpretations Based on Lunar Orbiter Photography
By Peter H. Schultz
University of Texas Press 1976
QB591.S38 1975 523.3 74-22176
ISBN 0-292-75036-6

The past several years have seen an all-encompassing revolution in the
geological sciences. On Earth, through extensive oceanographic
research, the unifying concept of plate tectonics evolved by which it
can be shown that this planet is divided into a set of rigid plates
that are moving apart along spreading lines, are sliding under one
another at the site of ocean trenches, or are sliding past one another,
as along the San Andreas fault zone in California. From space has come
the study of samples from another planet, the culmination of many
manned landings on the Moon. Each line of research is a spectacular
collaboration of engineering and scientific talent: one, the
exploration of the wet ocean of Earth; the other, the empty ocean of
space.

Telescopic studies of the Moon, since the pioneer synthesis of G. K.
Gilbert in 1893, have demonstrated that the dominant process that
shaped the lunar surface was impact events of all sizes. It also seemed
likely that the dark maria were covered with lava flows, but resolving
the problem of what proportion of the lunar craters was volcanic had to
await the Orbiter photographic missions and the later Apollo landings.
It seemed likely, however, that impact processes dominated because, as
F. E. Wright pointed out in the 1930's, the fact that at full moon the
surface was equally bright at the limbs demonstrated that the entire
surface was covered with dust. The depth of this dust (the crushed and
pulverized surface layer of impact debris now known as regolith) could
not be determined with telescopic resolution.

The three successful Ranger missions furnished an early close-up view
of two mare regions and a highland crater floor, Alphonsus. These
missions extended the determination of crater size versus frequency
distribution down to diameters of one meter. Furthermore, these photos
showed that the slopes on the maria were sufficiently gentle to be of
no serious hazard to either manned or unmanned spacecraft (obvious
exceptions being large, blocky craters). The identification of blocks
lying on the surface indicated that the regolith had a bearing strength
presumably firm enough to support a spacecraft without its sinking
deeply into the regolith. Blocky rimmed craters, along with the
derivation of a steady-state cratering theory, permitted estimates of
regolith thickness for these landing sites--less than ten meters for
the maria.

The five successful Surveyor missions furnished the next steps in lunar
investigations by exploring four mare sites spread across the Moon's
equatorial belt and a fifth on the rim of Tycho, a large fresh crater
in the Southern Highlands. These crafts showed that the lunar surface
did have the predicted strengths to support a spacecraft, returning
thousands of television views, dug several trenches in the lunar
surface, performed chemical analysis, measured mechanical properties,
and carried out a number of other experiments.

Both the Ranger and Surveyor systems obtained data on small areas in
great detail. With the advent of the Orbiter spacecraft, however, came
the photographic coverage of the entire Moon--both nearside and
farside. For the first time it was possible to compare and analyze
features over the entire planet. The stunningly beautiful photographs
provide resolutions ranging from hundreds of meters down to meters for
a few selected areas. These photographs have been and will continue to
be the prime reservoir of data for comparison of morphologic features
and interpretation of their origin for as long as the Moon and the
samples obtained by the manned American Apollo and unmanned Soviet Luna
missions are studied.

A broad-based but detailed study, MOON MORPHOLOGY is an illustrated
survey of the lunar surface based on photographs taken by Lunar
Orbiter. Many of the photographs are stereo-pairs allowing readers to
visualize the surface features in three dimensions (3-D). It is the
first morphologic study of another planetary body at photographic
resolutions sufficient to permit examination of features as small as
on-tenth kilometer (300 ft), and is both a catalog of surface forms and
a text about surface processes.

The Moon exhibits a wide variety of surface features, reflecting
differences in origin and in the degrees, as well as types, of
modifying processes. Dr. Peter H. Schultz examines and compares most of
the characteristic surface forms and fits them into a coherent scheme
as a reference--not only for future lunar studies but also for studies
of other planetary surfaces.

The features are organized into five main categories: craters,
positive-relief features, negative-relief features, albedo contrasts,
and plains-forming units. Each chapter is followed by a summary to
integrate observations and interpretations and to analyze their
significance in the realm of lunar geological history.

Schultz discusses craters in three separate chapters concerning the
floor, wall, and rim zones, each of which is systematically arranged
according to crater diameter. This zonal approach permits detailed
inspections of regions and processes that distinguish one crater from
another. It also permits delineation between possible formative
processes and modifying processes. A large illustrated appendix
recombines these zones for selected craters so that the reader can
review their inter-relations.

The study then focuses on positive- (i.e. ridges and composite forms)
and negative-relief features (i.e. curvilinear rilles), which include a
large assortment of forms produced by internal processes, most of which
are related to the periods of widespread volcanism represented by the
maria. The inferred preservation of such features--particularly where
they are closely related to crater forms--places a constraint on the
processes that have acted to subdue the lunar surface over the last
three billion years.

The chapters dealing with albedo contrasts and plains-forming units
incorporate material from the discussions on craters and positive- and
negative-relief features, enlarging our picture of the Moon and its
geologic history.

-S. Wormley

365 STARRY NIGHTS
An introduction to astronomy for every night of the year
by Chet Raymo
Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1982
QB64.R38 1982 523 82-7511
ISBN 0-13-920512-8 (pbk.) AACR2
Available at Big Table Books, 330 Main St., Ames, Iowa 50010

Divided into 365 concise, illustrated essays, 365 STARRY NIGHTS focuses
on aesthetic as well as scientific considerations of the night sky. It
gives you up-to-date information not only about the stars you can see
with the naked eye from mid-northern latitudes, but also about the many
deep-sky phenomena that challenge the professional and amateur
astronomers alike.

Each section begins with a full-page map of the stars that appear in
that month's evening sky, followed by clear, simple text full of
critical information and helpful hints on how to observe the stars, how
to describe their position, why certain stars are bright while others
are not, and so on. When we were kids, it was always most interesting
to know what was biggest or hottest or the most ferocious, ect. Chet
Raymo does not disappoint kids. He also manages to intertwine with very
basic information those particularly interesting and exotic phenomenon
in the sky that puzzle and intrigue professional astronomers. 365
STARRY NIGHTS is an excellent book for teaching astronomy to your kids
(and to yourself), night-by-night, week-by-week or season-by-season.

Copious illustrations accompany the text throughout. Professor Raymo
has lectured to scouts, clubs, church groups, and school children on
the subject of stars. His experience in telling a story and inspiring
curiosity are obvious in 365 STARRY NIGHTS. This book is a very good
way to share your enthusiasm for astronomy with your family and it is
an excellent resource for AAAA speakers to prepare for our public star
parties.

-S. Wormley
THE STARS - A New Way To See Them
by H. A. Rey
Houghton Mifflin, Boston 1980
ISBN 0-395-24830-2 Pbk

LANDFORMS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES-- A DIGITAL SHADED-RELIEF PORTRAYAL
Manuscript approved for publication April 17, 1991 accompanies MAP I-2206
by Gail P. Thelin and Richard J. Pike
U.S. Department of the Interior - USGS 1991
Available for $19.95 at The Map Store, 2911 Ingersoll, Des Moines, IA 50312
Available for $ 5.95 at Travel Genie (by Target), 620 W. Lincoln Way, Ames, IA 50010

This book is meant for people who want to know just enough about the
stars to be able to go out at night and find the major constellations,
for the mere pleasure of it. Of course one can enjoy the stars without
knowing them. But if you know them at least a little the pleasure is
infinitely greater. It is fun to watch them announce the seasons, to
see them rise at the expected times and places and follow their paths
year in, year out, more reliable than anything else.

Besides, if you know the stars you are not easily lost. They tell you
the time and direction on land, on sea, and in the air, and this can be
valuable on many occasions. And should you be fortunate enough to
venture into space, anywhere in the solar system, where no earthly
landmarks exist, the constellations would be your only guideposts, and
familiar ones, too. In short, to be familiar with the stars is both
enjoyable and useful, and most of us would like to know them.

____________________

Maps of the Moon, Mars and Jupiter have always been sought by amateur
astronomers. LANDFORMS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES--A DIGITAL
SHADED-RELIEF PORTRAYAL and its accompanying manuscript is as
fascinating as the surface of any other planet. Realistic portrayal and
mapping of topographic form is a centuries-old problem: to trick the
eye into perceiving a two-dimensional graphic as a three-dimensional
landscape. Among the cartographic devices invented by illustrators to
supply the necessary visual depth cues are hachuring, hypsographic
tinting, contour density, parallel-profile density, pictorial relief,
and shaded relief. The latter two manual techniques have been
particularly successful. Shaded relief, or hill shading, shows
topography by the intensity of shadows cast by a light source. First
drafted by pencil, pen, or brush, shaded relief also has been executed
by airbrush, dark-plate, and photography of raised-relief models.
However, topographic detail is much too complex to be mapped both
accurately and economically over large areas by any of these means.
Digital image-processing and computer graphics have mechanized much of
the art of landform representations by combining the two most effective
traditional techniques, pictorial relief and hill shading. The
resulting image is a shaded pictorial-relief (physiographic) map in
vertical perspective. Although automated shaded-relief maps can look
deceptively like satellite pictures, they are not acquired directly by
Earth-orbiting spacecraft, nor are the data from which they are made.
The images are computed from a large array of closely spaced terrain
heights, usually in grid-cell format, called a digital elevation model
(DEM).

The shaded-relief image displayed here was made by the computer
processing of 12 million terrain heights contained in a digital
elevation model of the conterminous United States. The model was
developed by digitizing elevation contours from published
1:250,000-scale topographic maps and then converting the contour data
to a matrix of elevation values. The matrix consists of 6,096 cells in
the east-west direction and 3,800 cells in the north-south direction.
The distance between cells or picture elements (pixels) is 805 m (0.5
mi) on the ground, which corresponds to 0.23 mm (0.01 in) on the 36 by
60 inch map.

Special image processing software was used to compute a theoretical
brightness value (reflected-light intensity) for each pixel. This value
is based principally on a mathematical relation between Sun position
and local ground slope and slope direction. The view or appearance of
terrain can be changed by varying the location of the Sun. To obtain
the best portrayal of both smooth and high-relief topography, this
image was illuminated from the west-northwest by a simulated sun 25
degrees above the horizon. The lightest areas represent fully
illuminated steep slopes, intermediate gray tones gentle topography,
and the darkest tones are steep areas in the shadow. A vertical
exaggeration of 2x has been applied to further enhance land-surface
features, that is, hills appear twice as high as they really are and
valleys twice as deep. Terrain features as small as 1,600 m (1 mi)
across on the ground can be distinguished in this image. The map,
reproduced on the next two pages, is a very poor representation, but
gives you a hint of this breath-taking landscape.

A sixteen page manuscript accompanies the map providing technical
details of it development. There is also considerable information on
landforms of interest. A major strength of the new map is not so much
its expression of the obvious, but rather its depiction of features
that are subtler or less familiar. The manuscript details examples from
four main types: landforms of the central United States, low-relief
landforms elsewhere, families of linear features that may have major
significance, and minor linear trends. The new map clearly shows the
regional terrain textures on which physiographic divisions of the
United States are largely based.

-S. Wormley

UNIVERSAL CONSTANTS IN PHYSICS
by Gilles Cohen-Tannoudji
McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York 1993
QC39.C574 1993 92-21994 530.8'1--dc20
ISBN 0-07-011651-2 Pbk

PRACTICAL ASTRONOMY WITH YOUR CALCULATOR, 3rd edition
by Peter Duffett-Smith
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1988
QB47 522'.028'54
ISBN 0 521 35699 7 ppk

The reality of the world explored by physicists remains shrouded in
mystery. Four "universal constants," associated with four of the
greatest names in modern science, nonetheless allow reality to be
delimited with amazing precision. From Einstein's work we know that
there is a speed limit in the Universe: the speed of light; Plank showed
us that a "quantum" of action marks the lower limit of each action;
Boltzmann predicted the existence of a quantum of information. These
constraints impose a self-discipline on physics and assign to its world
some "horizon lines." They stimulate the imagination and summon the
progress of knowledge. The quantum theory of gravitation, discovered by
Newton, has not yet been integrated into the thinking of physicists so
that a truly scientific cosmogony can be developed. In the future, will
new constants of the same type be discovered? Nothing leads us to
believe that this is impossible, but then the image of this world, will
once again change.

The universal constants discussed in Gilles Cohen-Tannoudji's book are
Newton's constant G, Boltzmann's constant k, the speed of light c, and
Planck's constant h. These constants play a fundamental role in the
structure of physics: its organization into autonomous disciplines when
the constants are considered separately, but also its unification when
two, three, or even all four of the constants are considered
simultaneously. During its history, physics has been able to introduce
other constants, such as the vacuum dielectric constant, or the Hubble
constant, but Cohen-Tannoudji believes that only G, k, c, and h are
universal constants. This opinion is not unanimously accepted by
physicists, some of whom think that other constants are just as
fundamental, or that not all of the four have the same importance. Such
a diversity of opinions should not be surprising, because nothing
compels physicists to unanimity on the subject of epistemology of
physics.

I as reader and review, found this to be a compelling book.
Cohen-Tannoudji interweaves history, philosophy and insight with this
intriguing treatise on four universal constants that seem to tightly
bound the way the Universe can be.

___________________

At the September meeting of the Ames Area Amateur Astronomers, some of
you got to play with the Voyager II software on the Physics and
Astronomy Department's Macintosh LC III computers. It is very nice to
have all the computation done for you, but you can learn much more
astronomy if you do the work yourself. Peter Duffett-Smith's PRACTICAL
ASTRONOMY WITH YOUR CALCULATOR shows you how to do that. The author's
clear and easy to follow routines enable you to solve a variety of
practical problems in astronomy using a scientific calculator.
Mathematical complexity is kept firmly in the background, leaving just
the elements necessary for swiftly making calculations. The major topics
are: time, coordinate systems, the Sun, the planetary system, binary
stars, the Moon, and eclipses. In the third edition there are entirely
new sections on generalized coordinate transformations, nutation,
aberration with excellent diagrams. The calculations for sunrise and
moonrise, always difficult to do precisely, are also improved.

Let's say you wanted to find Venus with your binoculars or telescope in
the full brightness of daylight. Actually you can see Venus in full
daylight with your naked eye. The trick is knowing exactly where to
look. You could look up the equatorial coordinates for Venus in the
ASTRONOMICAL ALMANAC, or calculate them using Peter Duffett-Smith's
book, then convert those coordinated to azimuth and altitude. But then
to really pinpoint where to look for Venus, you need to know your
location on the Earth accurately, and make corrections for the effects
of precession, nutation, aberration and refraction, as is required for
accurate celestial navigation.

Listed below are the dates, transit times, horizontal coordinates
corrected for precession, nutation, aberration and refraction, and
magnitudes for Venus during the first week of October as seen from the
center of Ames. If you find Venus in the full daylight, call me, Sam
Wormley, at 232-6300, giving me the details. I will give you a copy of
Peter Duffett-Smith's book. Go for it... Let's see how many of you can
find Venus at midday.

Date Transit* Altitude Azimuth Magnitude
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Oct.1 11:26:50 56 01'32.9" 178 48'05.2" -4.1681
Oct.2 11:27:31 55 34'46.4" 178 49'00.5" -4.1639
Oct.3 11:28:11 55 07'45.6" 178 49'40.1" -4.1596
Oct.4 11:28:50 54 40'31.3" 178 50'03.8" -4.1555
Oct.5 11:29:30 54 13'04.5" 178 51'02.1" -4.1513
Oct.6 11:30:09 53 45'25.5" 178 51'42.9" -4.1473
Oct.7 11:30:47 53 17'35.0" 178 52'05.8" -4.1432

*The actual transit is occurring before Venus appears to be due south
(180 deg) because of the combined effects of nutation and aberration.
Notice that the altitude is decreasing daily as well as the magnitude.
This is because Venus is moving south in declination and moving further
away from us respectively.

Fujinon "Polaris" 7x50 FMTRC-SX Compass Binocular - $545.00
Magnification: 7, Brightness: 50.4, 131m view at 1000m, Weight: 1560 g
available from: West Marine, 500 Westridge Drive, Watsonville, CA 95076,
Ph. 800-538-0775

Nikon Travelite III 8x23 CF Binocular - $89.52
Magnification: 8, Brightness: 8.4, 109m view at 1000m, Weight: 230 g
available from: H. B. Leiserowitz Co., 213 13th St., Des Moines, IA
50309-3680, Ph. 244-5195

Last year I bought Fujinon "Polaris" 7x50 Binoculars. They are water
proof, have a built in compass for marine navigation, were rated as
"superior" by Practical Sailor, and meet U.S. Military specs and so
on.... and I paid a good price for this quality of optics and
operability. They are outstanding. I have a much older pair of 7x50
binoculars that I bought from Edmund Scientific in 1965. It is difficult
to tell much difference in the optical performance between these two
7x50 binoculars.

Last month Carl Cross talked about a pair of Bushnell (a trade mark of
Bausch & Lomb Company) binoculars that are available at Kmart for just
over $40 including tax. There are many good buys in binoculars and there
are many not-so-good buys up and down the price spectrum. What should
you look for in binoculars? As far as the optics go, you should get a
crisp single image with both eyes, without color fringes or distortion
of the image at the edges, and a relatively flat field of view. External
and internal coating on the optics greatly reduce light scattering and
flare, but significantly increase the cost. If those criteria are met,
you can probably expect lots of years of good service from your
binoculars.

Last week I bought a pair of Nikon Travelite III 8x23 CF binoculars for
$89.52. I spent the first two weeks of September in the mountains of
Colorado, hiking, biking, photographing, navigating and looking at the
sky. One evening up on Mesa Verde in southwestern Colorado I was seduced
by the clear night sky. That was one of the few nights I slept in a bed
on the trip... a cabin with a big window right next to the bed facing
southwest. Seducing me was Scorpius and the Milky Way followed by the
"teapot" of Sagittarius. I was looking at the detail with my 7x50's and
with my friend's Nikon 8x23's. I was amazed that I could see almost all
of the same stars with the little 8x23's, albeit dimmer. Looking at the
open cluster, M22, I could see almost the same detail in both
binoculars.

Got dressed and went outside about 10 p.m. to take in the rest of the
sky. Mesa Verde is up 3000 feet higher than the surrounding area. Even
on Colorado's Mesa Verde, there was a bit of light pollution along the
horizon from the towns of Durango and Cortez down below and some unknown
light source to the south. Nothing any amateur astronomer would complain
about, but still disappointing considering the location. I spent a
wonderful hour drinking in the dark sky and making comparisons between
the binoculars. The little Nikon's showed the dim star, v draco, in the
head of the dragon, to be two, well separated pinpoints of light.

By 10:29 p.m. my old friend, the Pleiades joined me in the eastern sky.
I was now noticing a few small clouds infringing on my night. And it
seemed my once pristine sky was becoming a bit hazy. The Moon, with a
phase of 0.61, was just below the horizon and made its unwelcome
appearance at 11:02 p.m. Shortly after some lunar observation via
binoculars, I returned to bed. It had been a fine experience.

Although the little Nikon Travelite III 8x23 CF binoculars will never
match the brightness and clarity of the Fujinon 7x50's, they certainly
give a credible performance. They weigh a mere 230 g and so can be
carried everywhere. Their performance in C.Y. Stephens a few nights ago
was spectacular. Although there is noticeable flare when looking into
the Sun side of the sky in the daytime or at the bright moon at night,
flare is not really a problem looking at the night sky.... The Moon is
so great in binoculars that you aren't the least bit caring about the
bit of flare.

By the way... I was just outside looking at the 10 day, 14 hour old
Moon. You can see the rim of Sinus Iridum (Montes Jura) on the dark side
of the terminator... Wow, I've never seen anything like that before.

-S. Wormley

Book Reviews

THE ASTRONOMICAL ALMANAC, 1994
Data for Astronomy, Space Sciences, Geodesy, Surveying, Navigation and other applications U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington D.C., 1994
Also available from Willmann-Bell, Inc., P.O. Box 35025, Richmond, VA 23235

There is no better source of annual ephemerides of the Sun, Moon,
planets, planetary satellites, asteroids and all the solar system
phenomena. The principle ephemerides in THE ASTRONOMICAL ALMANAC have
been computed from fundamental ephemerides of the planets and the Moon
prepared at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California, in cooperation
with the U.S. Navel Observatory. They are in general accord with the
recommendations of the International Astronomical Union and are
consistent with IAU(1976) system of astronomical constants apart from
minor modifications introduced to permit a better fit to observations;
in particular, dynamical time-scales and the standard reference system
of J2000.0 are used where appropriate. A brief description of the use of
each ephemeris is given with it, and the bases and additional notes are
given in the Explanation at the end of the volume. Additional
information about the IAU recommendations and the ephemerides is given
in the EXPLANATORY SUPPLEMENT TO THE ASTRONOMICAL ALMANAC, 1992
(reviewed in the Vol. 14, No.5, May AAAA Newsletter).

-S. Wormley
Book Reviews (less the italics and drawings, unfortunately)

ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR 1994
By Guy Ottewell
Department of Physics, Furman University in co-operation with the
Astronomical League
Astronomical Workshop 803 294-2208 $16.00
ISBN 0-934546-27-4

THE LIGHT-HEARTED ASTRONOMER
by Ken Fulton
AstroMedia, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1984
QB63.F86 1984 523 84-6218
ISBN 0-913135-01-1

OUTDOOR OPTICS
by Leif J Robinson (editor of Sky & Telescope)
Lyon & Bruford, Publishers, New York 1989
QC373.B55R63 1990 681'.412--dc20 89-13770 CIP
ISBN 1-55821-065-2 $13.95

The first issue of this annual book, THE ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR was for
1974 and is now used by about 20,000 (amateurs, teachers, planetariums,
libraries..) in at least 90 countries.

When you first look at a page of this book it may seem frighteningly
technical. That is because a lot of information has been packed in, for
the more advanced astronomer. You may be surprised at how soon you come
to demand this information yourself. The 70 pages give wonderful detail
of what's happening within our solar system including the sun, moon,
eclipses, planets, comets, asteroids and anything else that's
interesting. One of Ottewell's greatest strengths is his skill and
ability to conceptualize in three dimensions. He is noted for his
splendid graphics and diagrams to help the reader visualize the events
taking place. Each year we look forward to a new Ottewell Painting
adorning the cover of THE ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR and the means to insure
that we won't miss what's happening in our part of the universe.

Fulton's THE LIGHT-HEARTED ASTRONOMER is aimed at two very special types
of potential amateur astronomers: those eager, nervous, and
inexperienced tenderfoots who are about to get "ants in their pants" and
jump in over their heads physically, financially, and psychologically
when they purchase their first telescope; and those not scientifically
inclined who feel drawn to aesthetically embrace the celestial wonders,
but who tend to shy away because they also feel intimidated by
astronomy's mantle of science, or are simply uninterested in that aspect
of it altogether.

Every amateur astronomer can benefit from Fulton. In addition to being
essential reading for us amateur astronomers, Fulton's writing can walk
you through a lot of reality... as in his chapter "Blunders and Bloopers
and Murphy's Law" which begins, "I DROPPED A BEAUTIFUL NEW 12.5-inch f/6
mirror once. Murphy made me do it. Either that, or he made the mirror do
it. I can't even begin to describe what the concrete floor of my garage
did to that glass or my nerves. The word 'shattered' isn't nearly strong
enough to use here. Little shards of that long-lost mirror still sparkle
at me from time to time from deep within the old floor's cracks, each
one a grim reminder of my butterfingers... Needless to say, after that
champion blunder happened, I sort of died inside. I stormed into my
house vowing never, ever to bother with astronomy again. My wife said:
"You wrecked the car last summer. That didn't stop you from driving. It
just made you drive more carefully... "

Fulton's chapter, "Living with a Non-Astronomer Spouse", tenderly
concludes with, "There have been many times when my wife has stepped
outside to check the sky. It is always a special gift for me when she
comes up and says: "It's a nice night. Why don't you take advantage of
it? I've fixed you a snack and some good coffee. Have fun."

Reading and digesting Fulton's book is like... not having to learn from
every mistake yourself. But don't consider just this reviewer's praise
for Fulton. Here is what others have said:

"There are not a billion words in this book. Other than being too short,
it's not bad."
- C.S., a famous astronomer

"Fulton's book is one you can really sink your teeth into. Now I know
I'm not alone -- many people spend their nights outside. These are my
kind of people."
- Count Dracula

"I hate this book! I love this book! It stinks! It's great! Fulton is a
degenerate hack! He's a great writer!"
- Dr. Jekyll

"I was having a rough time getting into amateur astronomy. Seeking help,
I went out and purchased Fulton's book. When I returned home, someone
had stolen my telescope."
- Delmer Scott, amateur astronomer

"Don't read this book! Buy a telescope from us -- but don't read this
book!"
-Bugsy Barrow, President of Larceny Optics

"Look... I sweated blood earning our living while my husband wrote this
book. Please, for my sake, buy it. I'm pregnant. I need a vacation."
- Doris Fulton, wife of the author

When you picture a binocular in your mind's eye, the image you conjure
up will probably be that of a Porro-prism design. These binoculars have
been the mainstay of manufactures for decades. And they will almost
certainly continue to dominate the marketplace in the foreseeable
future. There are two reasons why this is so. The first is their ability
to consistently achieve both a wide field and excellent image sharpness.
The second is cost: high-quality Porro-prism binoculars can usually be
purchased for less than half the price of equivalent models that use
roof prisms.

But roof-prism binoculars have many virtues of their own. Four
mechanical features stand out: they are generally lighter than their
Porro-prism counterparts; they tolerate rough treatment slightly better,
because the optics are arranged more simply; they are less susceptible
to internal fogging due to their greater structural integrity and method
of focusing--in other words, they don't have a "bridge"; they have a
shape that makes them almost beg to nestle in your hands. In fact, many
people claim that they don't sense holding roof-prism binoculars.
Perhaps that impression is gained from the relative lightness of this
design and its straight, hand-fitting barrels.

As mentioned earlier, a disadvantage of roof-prism binoculars is the
high cost of the best models. And there is another, even more important,
"kicker." The images formed by roof-prism instruments, in general, will
not be as sharp as those produced by Porro-prism designs. To achieve
sharpness equal to Porros, roof prisms must be manufactured and aligned
about three hundred times more accurately. On a commercial assembly line
that tolerance cannot be routinely achieved. Another problem inherent in
roof prisms is that they have a special reflecting surface that can
cause a 5- to 15-percent light loss above and beyond that of any other
optics in the system. The result, of course, is a dimmer image. Most
manufacturers use aluminum for this surface; a silver coating, such as
Bausch & Lomb employs in its Elite product line is superior.
Leif J Robinson, not only discusses binocular design, uses, care,
testing and so on, but he also carries over a bit into amateur
telescopes. He says, "Remember: There are good optics; there are cheap
optics; but there are no good cheap optics."

The Follower of the Pleiades

Who can tell the name of the huge red star now rising in the east? Or of
the bird last summer that made haunting cries in the night and flapped
up from its hiding place like a large brown moth? Nowadays there is
little incentive to learn the names of things. The nominalist
philosophies on which we rest our ways of knowing emphasize the
arbitrariness of labels. A name is an empty x to be assigned at will.
Stout little x staggers through out textbooks carrying all the burdens
of knowledge. No it is the celestial coordinates of that red star in the
east (4h 34.8m R.A., + 16deg 28' dec.), now it is the Linnean
designation of the bird that cries in the summer night (Caprimulgus
vociferus).

Thoreau tells us that when he learned the Indian names for things he
began to see them in a new way. When he asked his Indian guide in Maine
why a certain still lake was called Sebamook, the guide replied: "Like
as here is a place, and there is a place, and you take water from there
and fill this, and it stays here; that is Sebamook." Thoreau compiled a
glossary of Indian names and their meanings. It was like a map of the
Maine woods. It was a natural history. The Indian names of things
reminded Thoreau that intelligence flows in channels other than our own.

No part of our environment is so rich as archive of other intelligences
as the night sky. The night is a repository of human cultural history.
The names of the stars are entries in a family album that show us what
we have been and what we have become. Some star names are adjectives
that describe the stars: Sirius, for example, means "sparkling" or
"scorching." Arcturus takes its name from its place in the sky, not far
from Ursa Major; it is "the guardian of the Bear." Some names refer to
the place of the star within a constellation: Betelgeuse, of Arabic
origin, probably means "the hand" of Orion.

Most of our star names are Arabic: Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali, the
"southern claw and "northern claw" of the Scorpion (now part of Libra),
are among the more exotic examples of Arabic names. Greek and Latin
names are not uncommon among the stars; Canopus is from the Greek,
Capella is Latin. Nunki in Sagittarius is Sumerian; and at least one
star name on Western maps, Tsh in Cassiopeia, made its way from China.
Nunki harkens back to prehistory; Cor Coroli, "the heart of Charles" (II
of England), is a late arrival--Newton's colleague Edmund Halley named
the star to honor his monarch. The star names Sualocin and Rotanev, in
Delphinus, sneaked onto sky maps when Piazzi, in his Palermo Catalogue
of 1814, reversed the names of his assistant, Nicolaus Venator, and
attached them to stars, confounding later etymologists who puzzled over
their derivation.

It is said that Adam had the privilege of naming everything in Paradise.
I would like to imagine that he took the responsibility seriously. He
sat beneath the Tree of Knowledge and thought and thought, and then with
a sudden insight he leapt to his feet and whispered, "Willow." And
willow it was and willow was exactly right and willow it has been ever
since. And it occurred to him to think "willowy Eve" and "weeping
willow," and language took flame on his tongue and the flame spread from
tree to bush, from bush to bird, from bird to star, and soon all of the
night was ablaze with parts of speech. Scorcher, guardian, heart of
Charles: the stars burn in our intelligence.

The bird in the summer night that flapped up from hiding like a large
brown moth cried its own name. It was the whippoorwill. And the red star
that even now is rising outside my window is Aldebaran. Let me tell you
about that star. Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation
Taurus, and so it earns for its stout x the designation Alpha Tauri. In
the Henry Draper Catalog it is listed as 29139, and in the Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory Catalog it is 94027. We see Aldebaran in the
sky as one of the cluster of stars called the Hyades, in the face of the
Bull. From time immemorial Aldebaran has reigned among the Hyades like a
queen bee in her hive. But Aldebaran is not properly a member of the
cluster--it is only half as far away as the stars of the Hyades. The
distance to Aldebaran has been measured by direct triangulation (the
so-called method of parallax), the way a surveyor would measure the
distance to a remote peak by laying out a baseline and measuring angles.
When astronomers measure the distance to stars the use the diameter of
the Earth's orbit as a baseline. But even with so large a base, only the
nearest stars are close enough for the method to work. Aldebaran is
barely within range of triangulation. It is sixty-eight light-years
away. If you set out to drive to Aldebaran, minding the
fifty-five-miles-per-hour speed limit, it would take you 800 million
years to get there.

Aldebaran is a star of spectral class K5, which means it has a surface
temperature of 4000 degrees Kelvin, and even though I have called it red
(the Hindus called it the "red deer"), it more accurately appears pale
orange to the naked eye. Aldebaran is a giant star (but not a supergiant
like Betelgeuse or Antares), a star approaching the end of its life,
puffed up and dying. It may be slightly variable, as dying stars often
are, its surface heaving slowly in and out with a kind of labored breath
or sighing. Some tens of millions of years ago Aldebaran was a mid-sized
yellow star like our sun, perhaps modestly warming a comfortable family
of planets. The planets of Aldebaran, if it had any, have now been
seared by the huge heat of the star's terminal trauma.

Like other stars, Aldebaran moves across our sky, although not enough
from night to night, or even in a lifetime, for us to notice the
displacement. It was, in fact, one of the first stars whose motion in
the sky was discovered. An occultation of Aldebaran by the moon was
recorded in Athens in March of A.D. 509; on that night the moon passed
directly between the Earth and the star, briefly blocking the star's
light. Aldebaran is one of the few first-magnitude stars that lie close
enough to the moon's apparent path in the sky for this to sometimes
happen. Several times I have myself watched occultations of Aldebaran.
On one of those occasions, it was the unlit edge of a crescent moon that
approached the star; one instant the star was shining half a degree from
the crescent moon, and then--click!--it was gone, like a coin in the
hand of a prestidigitator.

Newton's friend Edmund Halley recognized that the moon could not have
occulted Aldebaran in March of the year 509 unless at that time the star
was a fraction of a degree further north, and so he concluded that the
star had changed its position on the celestial sphere. We now call this
slow slide across the bowl of night the proper motion of a star, and
here in my catalogue it says Aldebaran has a proper motion of 0.2
seconds of arc per year, which means that in the nearly 1500 years since
the Athenian occultation Aldebaran has moved a distance equal to a
fourth of the moon's diameter. In addition to this slow lateral slide in
the direction of the constellation Orion, Aldebaran is moving away from
us, a motion that can be detected by a slight stretching or reddening of
the star's light. In the 1500 years since the occultation of Athens, the
distance between us and Aldebaran has increased by 2 trillion miles; if
you were driving to Aldebaran at fifty-five miles per hour, you would
never get there at all.

So now I have paraded Aldebaran's x's, and it is out of these x's that
we say we know that star, and it is out of the accumulated x's of
Aldebaran and all the other stars that we have come to know that the
universe is not the star-studded body of a goddess or the many-storied
mountain that Dante climbed with Beatrice. It is out of the accumulated
x's--the right ascensions and declinations, parallaxes, proper motions,
radial velocities, magnitudes and spectral types--that we have
discovered the universe of the galaxies and quasars, the universe of
light-years and infinities. Flexible x, the empty vessel, the chameleon,
has been our instrument of knowing.

Aldebaran is the star's name, even to the astronomer who on the
necessary occasions notes it down as HD 29139. Aldebaran means "the
follower," from the Arabic Al-Dabaran. Most Arabic star names are
translations of earlier designations of Greek or Hellenic origin, but
Al-Dabaran was in use in Arabia before that people had any contact with
classical science. The Arabs of old used the stars to distinguish the
seasons and to navigate featureless desert seas. The names of the stars
were as well known to the simple desert sailor as to the astronomers and
mathematicians of Alexandria.

Aldebaran "follows" the Pleiades, that oasis of faint stars in the empty
quarter of Taurus. The six or seven naked-eye stars of the Pleiades are
not particularly bright, but there is nothing else like them in the sky.
When the Pleiades appear above the eastern horizon you can be sure that
Aldebaran will rise an hour later at the same place and follow that
glittering cluster across the bowl of night.

Other Arabic names for the star can be translated as "fat camel" or
"driver of the Pleiades." Aldebaran's ancient Roman name, Palilicium,
commemorated the Feast of Pales, the special deity of shepherds; and
shepherds watching flocks by night knew the star's rising. Ptolemy
called it "the Torch Bearer," and to the Babylonians it was I-Kuu, the
"leading star of stars." To most modern watchers of the constellations,
Aldebaran can be nothing else but the fierce red eye of the bull that
charges at Orion.

Follower, driver, fat camel, red eye: Names illuminate the sky like an
aurora; they enfold the stars in curtains of intelligence. "The most
visible joy," says the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, "can only reveal itself
to us when we've transformed it, within." Rilke gave his own names to
the stars and constellations, animating and transforming them. "there,
look," her cries, "the Rider, the Staff, and that fuller constellation
the call Fruitgarland. Then, further, toward the Pole: Cradle, Way, The
Burning Book, Doll, Window." The "animated, experienced things that
share our lives" are passing away, claims Rilke, crowded out by
pseudo-things, things "empty and indifferent." The usurper, presumably,
is little x, marching in ranks with its brothers, an irresistible
infiltration.

But surely in this matter Rilke is wrong, for x has itself been an
effective instrument of transformation. Science makes good use of x,
uses it like a beast of burden to bear an enterprise that has taken us
beyond the cold desert night of the bedouin, beyond the fat red star
that tends the Pleiades as a shepherd minds his goats, into a universe
more wonderful than any shepherd might have dreamed. In science, little
x is an appliance, a tool that lets us tinker in a mathematical sort of
way with the infinite machinery of the universe. It is an immensely
effective tool because the machinery of the universe seems to be in some
mysterious and remarkable way mathematical. Because of x, we live in a
night hung with red giant stars that swell and burn with a red
thermonuclear light, and nit in a night of fat camels or red deer.
Intelligence has turned to flow in new channels. I will follow that
stream. I will transform those red giant stars. I will animate them. I
will make those huge red stars my own.

It is a continuous story. Ptolemy of Alexandria referred to Aldebaran as
"the Torch Bearer," and the Romans made that star commemorate the Feast
of Pales. When classical science waned after the fall of Rome, astronomy
and the sciences generally died out in Europe. But the Arabs kept the
old traditions alive; they translated Greek astronomical lore into the
language of Islam, and they infused Greek sources that Europeans
recovered astronomy in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Spain became
the most important center of this transmission, for there Arabic and
Christian scholars has mingled since the Islamic conquests of A.D. 711.
In the Christian parts of Spain translations were made of the Arabic
texts from the late tenth century onward; it was from these texts that
we received the name of the red star in Taurus, transformed into
something resembling Latin.

"The Follower" retained its Arabic name in Europe until 1603, when
Johann Bayer, in the spirit of the scientific revolution, Imposed Greek
letters on the stars in a more or less systematic way, and "the
Follower" became Alpha Tauri. Aldebaran became HD 29139 in the Henry
Draper Catalog, compiled by Annie Jump Cannon and E. C. Pickering
between 1918 and 1924, and SAO 94027 in the Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory Catalog of 1966. And so the stream of intelligence has
twisted and tumbled over the uneven topography of culture, now finding
one channel, now another, always flowing toward the distant ocean that
is truth.

The night will not be empty or indifferent as long as we mind the stars,
naming them--"fat camel," "Alpha Tauri," "HD 29139"--transforming them
within. I repeat the names of the stars in a kind of litany: Aldebaran,
El Nath, Rigel, Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Alpha Centauri, Barnard's Star,
Wolf 359, BD+362147 (with its suspected unnamed companion). It is we
ourselves who give the stars heir invisible reality, beyond the visible.
By watching. By naming. They depend upon us, says Rilke; we are their
transformers, "our whole existence, the flights and plunges of our love,
all fit us for this task."

-Chet Raymo
reading from his book, The Soul of The Night

ROBERT FROST - A TRIBUTE TO THE SOURCE
Poems by Robert Frost
Photographs by Dewitt Jones
Text by David Bradley
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York 1979
PS3511.R94Z518 1979 811'.0'12 [B] 78-10444
ISBN 0-03-046326-2
Reviewed by Sam Wormley

Thoughts for Christmas Eve....

Frost was at work on a new book. Poems from Derry were still maturing,
some from England were almost ready. He had never succeeded in
larruping a poem as one might a horse to make it go. Poems had to come
to him in their own ways:

"A poem begins with a lump in the throat; a home-sickness or a
love-sickness. It is a reaching-out toward expression; an effort to
find fulfillment. A complete poem is where an emotion has found its
thought and the thought has found the words".

Some poems took years to find their words. Among the slow-growers was
"Birches." The impulse for "Birches" had been with him from the
earliest memories in Lawrence, never changing, always nagging him with
the sensations of striving and balance, but always incomplete.
Throughout Derry the poem seemed to be waiting a revelation. In England
(where no boys swing birches) Frost found the physical act carried
through to a spiritual meaning, something to do with Earth and human
aspirations. Now, in Franconia, after three full decades, the poem
found its thought and the thought worked out its words.

There were other times when words came bubbling like a spring runoff.
At such times Frost would often write straight through the night. One
spring night a few years later he found the cantankerous drafts of a
long satiric poem suddenly turned agreeable, almost doing the writing
for him. During five hours he hurried to keep up--images, stories,
history, snatches of conversation, phrases flowing together as though
following some unseen channel. The poem ran on page after page without
serious hindrance right to the concluding ironies. Only then did he
look up. Dawn's first graying had begun outside his window; across the
road the angular rooflines of a barn were emerging. He realized how
tired he was, let out completely.

He got up to make coffee. Opening the door, he watched the light coming
and listened to the birds waking up in the trees... Suddenly he knew
he had company: in that tranquil moment a new troupe of words began to
play through his mind:

Whose woods these are I think I know....

Pine trees, dusk, December, a horse-drawn sleigh, falling snow--where
did these words come from, so unbidden, so self-assured?

His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

Derry again, never-to-be-forgotten Derry. The words drifted down out of
the dark memories: a Christmas Eve when, much too late to be selling
anything, he had driven into town to peddle milk and eggs in order to
buy presents--no one interested, all busy with their own family
celebrations--returning home empty-handed. And yet this poem seemed
bent on avoiding the personal reality in order to create a new reality
of its own. To make matters more difficult the lyric demanded a tighter
than usual bonding of rhyme: four rhymes instead of two, and a linking
of one stanza to the next: a-a-b-a, b-b-c-b, c-c-d-c ...

This posed an enormous challenge: how to keep such a linkage going.
Dante could manage a rhyme-chain in Italian, but in English the weight
of crude links usually buried its poem. Frost felt the bind at once.
Four times he tried to get into his second stanza; four times the lines
collapsed. Going on to explore the third stanza, he had better luck.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake....

Beginning with the right words, the third stanza not only moved freely
to completion but showed the poet how to go back and remake the
second.

One other test remained: the ending; where and how to cut the
rhyme-chain. Leave it dangling? Stop the poem in a final three rhymes?
Jam the end with five rhymes? Try to hook the last link back into the
first stanza? All were unworthy of the symmetry the poem has promised
itself.

Frost tried one line, then another; both were wrong. But half-hidden in
the words of the second attempt--"that bid me on, and there are
miles"--he saw the shining ending he had been looking for.

The collaboration was done, the unexpected company satisfied. Groggy
but elated, Frost could now go to bed. The Sun was just coming up.

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a work of pure sorcery.
Whatever there is about good poetry--a mystery beyond meter, rhymes,
images, metaphor--it throws a spell over the simple scene. An
experience of pain and humiliation is wholly transformed. Poet, reader,
light, dark, duty, life, love join in an instant of communion. No words
or rhythms interrupt the spell. They all move in a planetary harmony.
Form and energy become one within the poem, as elemental as the mystery
of an atom. The poem is a culminating display of why Frost trusted
form.

STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

Whose woods these are I think I know
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Book Reviews

OUR UNIVERSE, An Armchair Guide
By Michael Rowan-Robinson
W. H. Freeman and Company, New York 1990
QB43.2.R675 1990 520--dc20 90-36905 CIP
ISBN 0-7167-2156-2

THE COSMOLOGICAL DISTANCE LADDER
By Michael Rowan-Robinson
W. H. Freeman and Company, New York 1985
QB991.C66R68 1984 521 84-4088
ISBN 0-7167-1586-4

RIPPLES IN THE COSMOS, A view behind the scenes of the new cosmology
By Michael Rowan-Robinson
W. H. Freeman and Company, New York 1993
QB991.C64R68 1993 523. 1--dc20 93-1590 CIP
ISBN 0-7167-4503-8

COSMOLOGY, 2nd Ed.
By Michael Rowan-Robinson
Oxford University Press 1977, 1981
QB981 523.1 80-41980
ISBN 0-19-851858-7 Pbk

THEORY AND EXPERIMENT IN GRAVITATIONAL PHYSICS, Revised Edition
by Clifford M. Will
McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Dept. of Physics, Washington
University, St Louis Cambridge University Press 1993
QC178.W47 1993 531'.14--dc20 92-29555 CIP
ISBN 0 521 43973 6 paperback

When did we stop looking at the night sky? Today there are very few
people, and that includes astronomers, who can identify more than a few
of the most obvious constellations. When I asked John Basart, EE
Professor and Radio Astronomer at Iowa State University, if he had seen
Comet Halley in 1986-87, he confided that he had no interest in going
out to look at the sky. Two or three thousand years ago, people had a
thorough knowledge of the night sky and its motion. This is very clear
from the many astronomical references in ancient literature, whether it
be the Chinese lyric poets or the classical Greek and Roman writers. For
Dante, astronomy was central to his whole vision of the world. The
writings of Shakespeare and his contemporaries are full of astronomical
allusions. But it is much more unusual to find astronomical references
in modern writing.

This apparent indifference to the starry night does not just date from
the moment when everyone uprooted and made for the smoke-shrouded
cities. Surely the great Romantics, Goethe, Byron, they must have known
the night sky? Not a bit of it. They talk airily of 'the stars' but it's
hard to find much evidence that they new the name of a single one. Since
the sixteenth century, writers who have been familiar with the night
sky--for example Milton, Tennyson, Thomas Hardy, Italo Calvino--have
been the exception rather than the rule. But of course the stars, the
universe, have remained a powerful image in all centuries.

Perhaps people stopped looking at the sky because with Copernicus,
Galileo, and Newton everything was explained. The erratic motions of the
planets along the zodiac held no more mystery, no longer was it rational
to imagine that comets were terrible omens. Human destiny was not tied
to the night sky and so we gradually stopped looking at it. But the
discoveries of modern astronomy show that both our history and our
destiny are bound up with the stars. The astronomers of the present age,
with their superb telescopes on the tops of mountains or orbiting the
Earth on spacecraft, have given us images of the stars and galaxies
unimaginable to the ancients. And with these images has come a new
insight into the nature of the stars and of the universe.

Of course there are the armchair astronomers, those who are only too
willing to study and discuss the night sky provided it is from the
comfort of their armchairs. You are an armchair astronomer. But then so
am I, and so too that band of eccentrics who earn their living from
astronomical research. They fly out to the exotic places where they like
to put their telescopes and pass the night in a warm room, sitting in an
armchair, glancing at a television monitor, while a huge lump of metal
and wires revolves in its dome nearby.

OUR UNIVERSE, AN ARMCHAIR GUIDE, combines that wonder at the night sky
that we have inherited from the past with the magnificent images and
startling insights of modern astronomy. Michael Rowan-Robinson has
focused on twenty famous astronomical objects spanning the whole range
of what there is in the universe, from comets to quasars. More than half
of them are visible to the naked eye, have been known since antiquity,
and are the source of mythological stories from many cultures and of
literature from all ages. However their true nature has been revealed
only in this century and, in many cases, only in the past twenty years.
All the rest, except one (the quasar 3C273), have been known for at
least two hundred years and can be seen with good binoculars or a small
telescope. Through these twenty objects, Rowan-Robinson unfolds what we
know about the universe we live in.
____________

Michael Rowan-Robinson gives an introduction to modern astronomy from an
unusual viewpoint, that of the measurement of distance, from the scale
of the solar system up to the largest cosmological scales. The scale of
cosmological distances has been a topic of dramatic controversy for the
better part of the last two decades. Experts estimating the size of the
universe, as measured by the Hubble constant, have differed by as much
as a factor of two. THE COSMOLOGICAL DISTANCE LADDER, sheds light on the
origins of the controversy, critically reviewing the main techniques of
measuring distances between astronomical bodies both within and outside
our galaxy. Stars, galaxies, and clusters of galaxies all play a major
part in the distance ladder, and knowledge of distances is essential for
all branched of astronomy.

As we climb the rungs of the cosmological distance ladder, we follow the
history of astronomy, from the geometrical arguments and speculations of
the Greeks about the solar system to the first correct estimates of the
relative distances of the planets from the sun by Copernicus; from the
painstaking observations which led to the discoveries of the parallax
and proper motion of the nearby stars to the opening up of Hubble's
"realm of the nebulae". And this is also the history of mankind's
expanding horizon.

After an introduction which gives the historical and philosophical
background to the measurement of distances and times in the universe
(Chapter I), the measurement of distances within the galaxy is explored,
and the structure and evolution of stars and galaxies are described
(Chapter II). The main techniques of measuring distances to external
galaxies are critically reviewed, both those primary methods which can
be calibrated from theoretical arguments or from measurements in our
Galaxy (Chapter III) and secondary methods which depend on already
knowing the distances to some nearby galaxies (Chapter IV). An
elementary introduction to the relativistic Big Bang (and other)
cosmological models is given in Chapter V--the less mathematically
minded reader might prefer to skip this chapter at a first reading.
However, you should challenge yourself. Finally, in Chapter VI, the
value of the Hubble constant is reviewed and the origins of the current
controversy over the distance scale are examined. The size and age of
the universe are discussed and two questions are considered; Are there
characteristic length-scales in the universe? Are we alive at a special
time in the universe?
____________

On April 23rd, 1992 a major science story appeared in newspaper
headlines around the world. Had I been Newsletter Editor at the time,
you can bet that you would have had good coverage of the same among
these pages. The announcement of the discovery of small-scale
fluctuations in the cosmic microwave radiation, ripples in the cosmos,
was a bolt from the blue, taking most of the world's cosmologists by
surprise. Then came the first reactions: 'the discovery of the century,
perhaps of all time' (Stephen Hawking), 'the Holy Grail of cosmology',
'a certain Nobel Prize' and so on.

Using telescopes in orbit around the Earth, working at wavelengths
invisible to the human eye, astronomers have taken two enormous steps
forward in their search for an explanation of the evolution of
structure. The first was the mapping of the distribution of galaxies by
the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS); the second the detection of
ripples in the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE).

Professor Michael Rowan-Robinson was a leading participant with IRAS.
His book, Ripples in the Cosmos, describes how the IRAS discoveries and
the COBE ripples are connected together--how this has helped to solve
the galaxy formation problem. Michael Rowan-Robinson goes on to ask
fundamental questions about the nature of science, how it works, and
what it is like to work in the space program and with the great modern
telescopes.
____________

From the earliest times man has asked questions about the universe he
finds himself in. We are fortunate to be alive in the third great age of
cosmology. The first was the age of Epicurus, Aristarchus, and
Hipparchus, the third and second centuries BC, when the notion of an
infinite universe in which the Earth is not at the center was first
considered, though not adopted. The second began with the methodical
program of Copernicus to prove the motion of the Earth and ended with
the great cry of Bruno: 'The stars are suns like our own and there are
countless suns freely suspended in limitless space, all of them
surrounded by planets like our own Earth, peopled with living beings.
The Sun has no central position in the boundless infinite.

In the third age of cosmology, which could be said to have begun with
Einstein's proposal of an isotropic and homogeneous universe, we are
seeing the whole electromagnetic spectrum, from radio through microwave
and infrared to X- and g-rays, pressed into the service of cosmology. We
are probably only at the beginning of the revolution that these new
windows on the universe will bring about.

Despite the wealth of new information, the models of the universe that
are now favored are the simplest big-bang models put forward by
Einstein, de Sitter, Friedmann, and Lemaītre in the 20's. The decisive
factor in this convergence of thinking has been the cosmic microwave
radiation discovered by Penzias and Wilson in 1965. For no explanation
of this other than that it is the relic of the fireball phase of an
isotropic big bang has stood the test of time. The steady-state
cosmology has long since fallen by the wayside. Like THE COSMOLOGICAL
DISTANCE LADDER, Rowan-Robinson's COSMOLOGY is most useful as a college
text book, but, unlike many rigorous textbooks, these can be digested by
eager Ames Area Amateur Astronomers.

____________

Quoting Clifford Will, "For over half a century, the general theory of
relativity has stood as a monument to the genius of Albert Einstein. It
has altered forever our view of the nature of space and time, and has
forced us to grapple with the question of the birth and fate of the
universe. Yet, despite its subsequently great influence on scientific
thought, general relativity was supported initially by very meager
observational evidence. It has only been in the last two decades that a
technological revolution has brought about a confrontation between
general relativity and experiment at unprecedented levels of accuracy.
It is not unusual to attain precise measurements within a fraction of a
percent (and better) of the minuscule effects predicted by general
relativity for the solar system...

"In 1992 we find that general relativity has continued to hold up under
extensive experimental scrutiny. The question then arises, why bother to
test it further? One reason is that gravity is a fundamental
interaction of nature, and as such requires the most solid empirical
underpinning we can provide. Another is that all attempts to quantize
gravity and to unify it with the other forces suggest that gravity
stands apart from the other interactions in many ways, thus the more
deeply we understand gravity and its observational implications, the
better we may be able to mesh it with the other forces. Finally, and
most importantly, the predictions of general relativity are fixed; the
theory contains no adjustable constants so nothing can be changed. Thus
every test of the theory is potentially a deadly test. A verified
discrepancy between observations and prediction would kill the theory,
and another would have to be substituted in its place. Although it is
remarkable that this theory, born 77 years ago out of almost pure
thought [by Albert Einstein], has managed to survive every test, the
possibility of suddenly finding a discrepancy will continue to drive
experiments for years to come".

THEORY AND EXPERIMENT IN GRAVITATIONAL PHYSICS, is a revised
edition of a classic and highly regarded book, first published in 1981,
giving a comprehensive survey of the intensive research and testing of
general relativity that has been conducted over the last three decades.
As a foundation for this survey, the book first introduces the important
principles of gravitational theory, developing the mathematical
formalism that is necessary to carry out specific computations so that
theoretical predictions can be compared with experimental findings. A
completely up-to-date survey of experimental results is included, not
only discussing Einstein's "classical" tests, such as the deflection of
light and perihelion shift of Mercury, but also new solar system tests,
never envisioned by Einstein, that make use of the high precision space
and laboratory technologies of today. The book goes on to explore new
arenas for testing gravitational theory in black holes, neutron stars,
gravitational waves and cosmology. Included is a systematic account of
the remarkable "binary pulsar" PSR1913+16, which has yielded precise
confirmation of existence of gravitational waves.

-S. Wormley

Book Review

YOUNG MEN & FIRE
by Norman Maclean (1902-90)
The University of Chicago Press 1992
SD421.32.M9M33 1992 634.9'618'0978664--dc20 92-11890 CIP
ISBN (cloth): 0-226-50061-6
ISBN (paperback): 0-226-50062-4

Book Reviews

THE UNIVERSE AND EYE
Text by Timothy Ferris, Illustrations by Ingram Pinn
Forward by John Gribbin
Cronical Books, San Francisco 1993
Q126.F47 1993 500--dc20 92-25619 CIP
ISBN 0-8118-0300-7

TIME FOR THE STARS
by Alan Lightman
Penguin Books USA, New York 1992
QB15.L54 1992 520'.9'049--dc20 91-18091
ISBN 0-670-83976-0

A MODERN DAY YANKEE IN A CONNECTICUT COURT
by Alan Lightman
Penguin Books USA, New York 1986
Q173.L724 1986 500 85-41106
ISBN 0-670-81239-0

The Universe and Eye is a delightful book suitable for young readers as
well as old. Timothy Ferris has penned a number of one- and two-page
essays, each illustrated by an original drawing by Ingram Pinn. The
subject matter ranges from nanotechnology to the environment to
inflation and the big bang. Philip Morrison (book reviewer for
Scientific American) recently praised The Universe and Eye on NPR's Talk
of the Nation, Science Friday. This reviewer couldn't agree more. Here
are a couple of samples:

Interstellar Travel: "Interstellar travel is routine in the pages of
science fiction tales, but most of the scientists and engineers who have
studied the question are pessimistic about the prospect of flying to the
stars. The cost in propellant, they note, might well exceed the total
current energy output of the industrialized world. A starship at speed
would have have to deflect or evade every tiny interstellar dust grain,
each of which would pack the wallop of a cannon ball. These and many
other high hurdles lie between here and a real-world realization of Star
Trek

"Still, one wonders. A haunting invitation is contained in the special
theory of relativity, which shows that the passage of time aboard a
starship moving at nearly the velocity of light would be so much slower
than here on Earth that astronauts could travel vast distances in
manageable periods. If their ship could maintain a steady acceleration
that reproduced the force of Earth's gravity, they could sail all the
way to the Andromeda galaxy in less than thirty years of on-board time.
But they could never return [to their own spacetime]. By the time they
landed in Andromeda, two million years would have expired back home".

Time Travel: "Theorists tilling the fertile gardens of Albert Einstein's
general theory of relativity tell us that time travel may indeed be
possible -- not out here in the ordinary world, where journeys into the
past would violate fundamental laws of science and logic, but in the
netherworld that lurks within black holes. There, on the slopes of
steeply curving space, one might find "spacetime loops" spun in such a
fashion that an astronaut who dove into one would emerge in the past.

"The American physicist J. Richard Gott III, working with a conjecture
first published by Kip Thorne, described such a scenario. "If you fell
into a black hole you'd look for a closed time-like curve, because
entering one would forestall your doom," Gott remarked. "If you made
your way to an entrance you'd see, say, eleven copies of yourself. The
first version of yourself might say, 'I've been around once,' the
second, 'I've been around twice,' and so on. You plunge into the loop,
fly around it, and return to see yourself entering the black hole.
Wanting to be helpful, you call out, 'I've been around once.' You're now
the first image of yourself that you saw when you entered. After another
trip, again encountering your original self, you call 'I've been around
twice.' And so on, until, after eleven times around, you leave the loop,
only to be killed a short time later when you crash into the singularity
at the center of the black hole."
____________

The title, Time for the Stars, is taken from a Robert Heinlein novel
about a foundation dedicated to very long-term scientific projects. The
foundation prided itself on funding only projects whose prospective
benefits lay at least two centuries away. Like Heinleins's fictitious
foundation, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences also tries to plan
ahead, although not as far as two centuries. A private organization of
leading scientists, the National Academy of Sciences was created in 1863
to provide expert advice to government on matters of science and
technology.

Time for the Stars is based on the report of the National Academy of
Science's Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee, which recently
completed it assessment of the current state of American astronomy and
its recommendations for new initiatives for the 1990's. Alan Lightman
traces the historical and cultural background of astronomy and then goes
on to review basic scientific issues; the current understanding of our
solar system and planets, stars, galaxies, and the universe as a whole;
the outstanding problems in astronomy; and the professional astronomical
community's recommendations for new instruments and research for the
coming decade.

The astronomical community, and the world, were shaken by the failure of
the focusing ability of the Hubble Space Telescope, launched in April
1990 after three decades of planning, An investigation of the failure
has shown that the problem did not arise from the intrinsic design or
specification of the telescope, but rather from an inaccurate shaping of
the telescope's mirror and inadequate testing of the shape. Thus the
disaster, as painful as it has been, does not herald a fundamental flaw
in the capability of advanced astronomical equipment. The long-term
goals and aspirations of astronomy have not changed. We must have time
for the stars.
____________

Quoting from Alan Lightman's A Modern Day Yankee In A Connecticut Court
and other essays on Science. Conversations with Papa Joe. The First
Evening. An extraordinary thing happened one night last winter. I was
relaxing in my study after a long day at the university. As I sat
reading, drawing on my great-grandfather's pipe, the old gentleman
himself materialized in the curling gray smoke and seated himself in the
comfortable wingback across from me. He seemed much less surprised than
I and immediately occupied himself with dusting off his suit, as if he'd
been on a long journey.

I should explain that I know little of Papa Joe. He came to this country
from Hungary about 1880, in his early teens, and started a construction
company in Nashville. According to my older relatives, he was not
formally educated, but a capable man, with a good head on his shoulders
and a strong curiosity about the world. His pipe, a fine old England
briar with a solid bowl and a beautiful straight grain, had been tucked
away in a drawer for years when my father found it and gave it to me.
This was only the second time I had lit it.

After introducing ourselves, we settled into conversation. "I've been
looking for that pipe," the old gentleman said, taking a deep whiff of
the aromas filling the room.

"It's a wonderful pipe," I agreed. "It's always made me wonder what you
were like."

Papa Joe was eager, of course, to learn what had happened in the last
sixty years and began asking questions. We talked of how his various
descendants had got on in life, the Great Depression, the Second World
War, the landing of men on the moon.

All of a sudden, I realized I hadn't offered Papa Joe his own pipe. I
wiped off the stem and held it out to him. He reached for it
immediately, but then hesitated, and finally pulled back his hand.

"What's been has been," he said with a sigh, the walked over to the
large window behind my desk and stood looking out. It was one of those
crystal nights, with cold, clear skies. Even from my chair near the
fire, I could easily make out Orion, with Betelgeuse at the hunter's
shoulder and Rigel marking his left foot. Taurus the Bull was close by,
glistening through the branches of my maple tree.

"I love the sky at night," said Papa Joe. "Never new much about the
stars, but I always wanted to." He paused, in thought. "I used to tell
your father that each star was a firefly."

"I suppose the nights you remember were clearer than this," I said. "Our
streetlamps and city lights spoil a view a bit."

He nodded. "But you're not bad off here, on this little street. Not bad
off at all. My pipe's found a good home." Just as the old gentleman
uttered those words, he started to fade.

"Wait! Wait!" I cried out to him. "I can tell you some things about the
sky, if you're interested. I'm actually an astronomer."

At that, my great-grandfather's figure grew firm once again. "I reckon
I'll stay awhile then," he said, and returned his gaze to the window. "I
trust the sky. Clothes and men change with the styles, but not the
stars."

"If you don't look too long, or too far," I said.

"What do you mean?" he asked, turning back toward me.

"You can be pretty sure that each of those stars up there will
eventually dim to a cinder or blow itself apart. It's only a matter of
time." Papa Joe had a stricken look on his face, like a man who'd
suddenly lost an old friend. I felt a wave of embarrassment. I tried to
change the subject, but he wouldn't let me. Instead, he pressed me to
explain my remark. I didn't know exactly where to begin, so I put
another log on the fire. Papa Joe returned to his chair.

"One thing I have to tell you about modern science," I finally said, "is
that it has galloped off into territories far beyond where we can follow
with our bodies. What we experience directly with our human senses is
only a small fraction of the world around us. But we very badly want to
see what our eyes cannot see, and hear what our ears cannot hear. We
want to know about places beyond the stars and about happenings before
the earth was formed. So we've built enormous machines that dissect the
insides of atoms. We've built telescopes that peer out to unimaginable
distances and instruments that record colors invisible to the human eye.
Our theorists have worked out equations to describe the beginning of
time".

"A lot of what we now believe about the world has come to us only by
looking at the readings of our instruments and trusting the logic of our
calculations. Of all people today, I think scientists have the deepest
faith in the unseen world. The greater the scientist, the deeper his
faith."

"That's a turn of events," exclaimed my great-grandfather. "I always
thought of scientists as fellows who wouldn't forecast rain until they
were drenched. This is pleasant news."

"It's a special brand of faith," I continued. "You might say that the
scientist sees God as a mathematician. and with some justification, as
far as I can tell. As our artificial eyes and ears have revealed each
new patch of the invisible tapestry, it looks more and more precise. And
our abstract equations and scribblings work remarkably well as
predicting the patterns."

"You've whetted my appetite, young man. But please mind, I'm not much
with philosophy. I like to have solid proof for what I believe."

"Do you believe the Earth spins on its axis, Papa Joe?"

"Yes."

"What solid proof do you have?" said I. "Do you feel yourself whipped
around through space at several hundred miles per hour?" Papa Joe
started to speak, twisted his thick moustache uneasily, and said
nothing.

"If you set swinging a long heavy pendulum and watched it carefully, the
way Monsieur Foucault first did in the last century, you'd notice that
its plane of motion very slowly rotates. That plus some principles of
physics prove that the Earth turns on its axis. But you'd never catch
the tiny effect with your own senses."

The old gentleman chuckled. "All right, I get your point. I'm all ears
to what you've learned with your modern devices, if ears are of use
anymore. Now tell me about the heavens, misbehaving behind our backs."

"First," I said, "we need to get some idea of the distances. But that's
not easy. The prickliest problems in astronomy has been finding the
distances to the stars. When we look into the sky, we perceive length
and width, but not depth. From our vantage, stars are just white dots on
the night sky, like distant ships on the night sea, visible only by
their running lights. Some are certainly closer than others, but which
ones? How can we measure the size and shape of space itself, stretching
all around us? Astronomers puzzled over this problem for thousands of
years, knowing that it held the answer to so many other celestial
mysteries."

"I'm surprised you can't figure depths with your telescopes."

"Look at any star thorough the most powerful telescope," I said, "and
it will appear as a mere point of light. How do you gauge something like
that? And all you've got for reference are other points of light."

"I guess that must mean that the stars are very small, or else very far
away," said Papa Joe.

"They're not small, " I replied, "but you're right about the distance.
If the stars were nearby, then we'd see their locations shift back and
forth as the Earth moves from one side of the Sun to the other, changing
our angle of view. In fact, we do see a slight yearly shift in the
closest stars and can measure their distances by the amount of the
shift. The nearest star is several thousand times farther away than
Pluto. But the great majority of stars are so distant that they appear
fixed while we go back and forth around the Sun."

"Surely," spoke the old gentleman, "the nearer ships must look brighter
and the old ones farther away must look dimmer. Couldn't their distances
be judged in such a way?"

"Aha," I answered, "you're on the right track. But you're assuming that
all of the ships carry the same lights on board. Some of the ships, the
grander ones, will have stronger beacons, so at a great distance they
will appear just as bright as the closer but less luminous ones."

"I should have guessed that the stars, like everything else, would have
their own privates and captains," said Papa Joe. "I reckon the first
step might be to group the stars by kind somehow, although I can't see
how to do it. Then the dimness and brightness trick could be used on
stars of the same kind." Papa Joe smiled faintly, as if pleased with his
comments.

"That's in fact very close to what Professor Shapley did several decades
ago," I said. "Astronomers had noticed that certain stars change
brightness in a rhythmic and regular fashion, with some running through
their light cycles rapidly and others more slowly. Shapley put these
pulsating stars into groups, according to the length of their cycles.
Then he used the assumption that every star in the same group was
identical, with the same luminosity. For example, every star with a
light cycle between ten hours and eleven hours would be in one group;
every star with a cycle between eleven and twelve hours would be in
another, and so on. With this clever way of identifying what kind of
star he was looking at, Shapley could then use the dimness and
brightness method to figure its distance. So the pulsating stars became
points of reference, at known distances. Find a pulsating star lodged
within a group of other stars and you know the distance to them too.
Little by little, Shapley began mapping out the heavens and placing many
of the points of light at their proper depths, with better accuracy than
anyone had managed before. it was immensely tedious work, requiring the
scrutiny of thousands of telescopic photographs over time, in order to
see which stars changed brightness and how quickly."

"I'm pleased to hear," said Papa Joe, "that you Professor Shapley had
put in some hard work at his job. That makes me believe him all the
more. From what you said before, I had the notion that modern scientists
simply had to turn on their machines and lie back while new knowledge
was cranked out and charted. If you'll pardon me, it sometimes seems
that progress breeds laziness. For years, I had a fellow running my
stone quarry outside Nashville. Once the telephone lines came in, he
started calling me up with every damn fleabite, instead of thinking them
out like he used to do. But I've carried us off the point. What did
Shapley's labors turn up?"

"For one thing," I answered, "the heavens extend much farther than
astronomers previously thought. For another, we're not at the center,
and more than our planet is at the center of our solar system. Our sun
seems to be casually dropped at the outskirts of an enormous,
disk-shaped gathering of stars, called a galaxy, containing every star
our eyes can see and a hundred billion more. Before Shapley, astronomers
thought our sun was at the center of this galaxy. But the center is far
off, in the direction of Sagittarius. The dimensions of the whole this
are fantastic. If our solar system were the size of a dime, then the
galaxy would be the size of Tennessee."

My great-grandfather let out a whistle. "I can't imagine anything that
large. But being off center could have its advantages," he offered. "It
might keep us from getting too stuffed with ourselves. And what's out
past the galaxy?"

"Other galaxies, with a lot of mostly empty space in between. As far as
our telescopes can see, there are galaxies. Picture yourself gliding
through the depths of the universe. You come to a flotilla of stars, all
huddled together. That's a galaxy. After you've left the first galaxy
far behind, so it's a tiny white patch of fuzz in the dark, you come to
another huddling of stars. That's another galaxy. You pass one galaxy
after another, some shaped like pinwheels, some like spheres, some like
nothing in particular. Then you come to your own galaxy, the Milky Way.
you quickly search for your own sun and can hardly find it, a single
speck lost in the billions of other specks. The Earth is invisible. Then
you are gone and your galaxy dwindles behind you, becomes nothing. More
galaxies come and go, come and go."

Papa Joe had walked to the window and was looking out at the sky again.
He stood there a long while. "And Professor Shapley," he said softly,
"worked it out in a office somewhere, with his photographs and his good
head. He sure was small compared to what he was thinking about. That's
powerful faith. powerful faith."

As Papa Joe whispered these last words, his figure grew misty and began
to dissolve. I noticed my pipe had gone out. "Don't go," I called out.
"There's much more I haven't told you."

"All right. I'll be back tomorrow night," came a wisp of a voice.
"Tomorrow night," I repeated, and then he was gone.

To Be Continued

Book Reviews

ASTRONOMY WITH BINOCULARS
by James Muirden
Arco Publishing, New York 1985
QB64.M86 1983 523 83-7099
ISBN 0-668-05832-3 (ppk.)

TOURING THE UNIVERSE THROUGH BINOCULARS
By Philip S. Harrington
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York 1990
QB64.H37 1990 523--dc20 90-35740
ISBN 0-471-51337-7

A MODERN DAY YANKEE IN A CONNECTICUT COURT
by Alan Lightman
Penguin Books USA, New York 1986
Q173.L724 1986 500 85-41106
ISBN 0-670-81239-0

James Muirden's ASTRONOMY WITH BINOCULARS is targeted toward
those amateur astronomers who don't have the coins to go out and
purchase a telescope, but instead can use binoculars. Binoculars
are one of the best tools for observing the heavens. They are
relatively inexpensive (compared to a telescope), very easy to
use, and powerful enough to offer a real advantage over the naked
eye in stargazing. Binoculars give you visual access to all the
stars in Tirion's Star Atlas 2000.0, including many deep sky
objects, the planets, sun (with solar filters), the moon and
other celestial phenomena. The chapter entitled, "Around the
Constellations" provides detailed information about colored
stars, double stars, clusters, variable stars, nebulae and other
objects for each constellation including those visible only in
the southern hemisphere.

ASTRONOMY WITH BINOCULARS is written with the philosophy that
amateur astronomers can do real astronomy with binoculars. Not
only does this book give you a lot of useful information about
how and what to look at, but it, combined with binoculars, opens
up a whole world of observation that you can do independently and
for many, many years.

Still not convinced? Why bother with binoculars? Today's amateur
astronomers have... hugh telescopes, advanced optical designs,
and special accessories that were once considered to be only in
the realm of the professional are now readily available to the
likes of you and me. With all this why would anyone want to use
plain old binoculars?

The answer is that, for all the diversity of instrumentation, one
of the most useful, yet often neglected instruments to tour the
universe with is a pair of binoculars. There low power and wide
field of view make binoculars ideal for either casual scan or
some pretty sophisticated observing. You are freed from your
backyard or a sore back, and you don't need a special kind of
vehicle to get to the next star party.

Research has shown that when it comes to viewing the heavens, two
eyes are definitely better than one. Our power of resolution and
ability to detect faint objects are dramatically improved by
using both eyes. In addition, color perception and contrast are
enhanced. On the next clear, moonless night, try an easy test.
With both eyes open, cover one with your hand and look at the
sky. Make a mental note of the faintest stars you see. Now
uncover your eye and look again at the same area of the sky. Lo
and behold, there are more stars! Indeed, it is not unusual to
experience a 10-percent improvement in perception when viewing
with two eyes instead of one.

Now repeat this test with a nebulous object, such as the Milky
Way's hazy band stretching across the starry vault. Alternatively
cover and uncover one eye as before. The contrast between the
soft glow of our galaxy's star cloud and the background sky will
appear far more distinct through both eyes than with only one. In
fact, many observers enjoy up to a 40-percent increase in
contrast of hazy objects merely by using both eyes. Note that
while these two tests have been conducted without optical aid,
similar results are achieved through binoculars versus a single
equivalent-size nonocular or telescope.

How can this improvement be explained? Light entering the eyes is
focused by the lens onto the retina. The retina, consisting of
rods and cones, converts the image into electrical pulses and
sends them to the brain. The brain interprets the pulses and
produces the image we see. By having the brain rely on only one
set of pulses (i.e., by using just one eye), inconsistencies in
the signals will interfere with the final image seen. With two
sets of signals to interpret, the brain is able to reduce
interference by averaging the pair of electrical messages. The
result is the ability to see fainter, lower contrast objects.

There is little doubt that our view of the night sky improves
just by using both of our eyes. Thus along with their
portability, affordability, and ease of operation, binoculars are
the instrument of choice to tour the universe.

I almost forgot to tell you that Harrington's TOURING THE
UNIVERSE THROUGH BINOCULARS is intended to be the most thorough
examination of the binocular sky ever compiled. For this
reviewer, there is enough binocular observational data among
these pages to last me a good five years... and I walk out under
the sky just about every night clear or not.

Quoting from Alan Lightman's A MODERN DAY YANKEE IN A CONNECTICUT
COURT and other essays on Science. Conversations with Papa Joe.
The Second Evening. The next evening, I hurried through dinner
and, about eight o'clock, went to my study. I lit up my pipe and
drew furiously, filling the room with great clouds of smoke, but
nothing happened. Then, when I was starting to feel dizzy, Papa
Joe appeared, just as he had the night before. He stood tall and
erect for a moment and then sat down across from me, in his
chosen chair.

For a while neither of us spoke. Papa Joe seemed to be enjoying
the aromas wafting from the pipe, and I hated to interrupt his
pleasure. I'd filled the pipe with my own blend of cavendish and
burley, but, as happens with a fine old briar, all the tobaccos
he'd ever smoked in it had left their own flavors inside the bowl
and were now drifting through the room.

"I'm happy you came back," I finally said. "I hope our
conversation last night didn't upset you."

"I must admit, your modern view of the heavens takes some getting
used to. It strains me to picture a galaxy and its billions of
suns. I have a much easier time picturing a house, with the plans
and drawings all in front of me."

"Perhaps that's because you've put up a lot of houses with your
own hands. You know how the marks on the drawings will turn into
windows and doors."

"Just what I was getting at," said the old gentleman. "It seems
that your astronomers want me to imagine an enormous building
I've got no way of touching, and neither do they. All they've
given me for blueprints are photographs of small white dots, and
arguments. The reasoning is sound, I'll agree, but I keep
remembering Aesop's astronomer, who walked outside every night
looking up at the sky, until one night he fell into a well."

"Don't worry. " I said laughing, "we won't have to venture from
our chairs. We can continue last night's tour just fine from
where we're sitting."

"Good, lets go on. You left off with the galaxies, far apart like
little islands in space, except they're not little."

"Now you have to imagine that these galaxies are flying away from
each other a great speed," I said. "That we learned about fifty
years ago from Professor Hubble, who discovered that galaxies
appear redder than they should be if they were standing still."

"Hold on, you've lost me."

"Let me try and explain with an analogy to sound. When something
making a sound moves, the pitch of the sound changes. It goes up
when the thing's coming toward you, and down when it's going
away. The faster the speed, the greater the shift in pitch.
You've probably noticed the effect with a passing train. When
it's approaching, the pitch of its whistle rises, and when it's
going away the pitch drops."

The old gentleman nodded. "I know trains pretty good. The L. and
N. ran next to my quarry. Many times I heard that falling shriek
as it passed, but I never thought much about it."

"Well, the same kind of thing happens with light," I went on. "In
light, what corresponds to pitch is color. When a source of light
is moving toward you, its color goes up in frequency, which means
it becomes bluer. When it's moving away, it gets redder. At
ordinary speeds, the change in color is so slight that your eyes
can't see it, but certain very sensitive instruments can. Hubble
had one of these fastened to his telescope while he was studying
galaxies. When he found that their colors were shifted toward the
red, he concluded the galaxies were traveling away from him in
all directions. What's happening, we believe, is that every
galaxy is rushing away from every other galaxy, like dots painted
on an expanding balloon. The whole universe is expanding."

"Hold on, young man. You understand this business of colors much
better than I do, but it seems to me that if the galaxies are
flying off, we should see them move in our telescopes. Shouldn't
we?"

"Not if they're very far away, " I replied. "Motion at a great
distance is hard to detect. Galaxies are so far away they seem to
be standing still, even in telescopes. Fortunately, we have our
spectrometers."

"I'm beginning to feel better and better about being anchored to
this chair, with the universe flying apart all around me," said
Papa Joe, "I never guessed so much commotion was going on out
their."

"You're in with some good company," I replied. "Aristotle
convinced everybody the universe was perfectly steady, and people
believed him for two thousand years. He had some exhausting
arguments, and there wasn't any evidence to the contrary--not
until Professor Hubble."

"And if I understand you," said Papa Joe, "you're saying that
after all those centuries of peaceful nights under the stars,
your modern astronomers have decided that Creation is bursting
apart, on the strength of some gadgets looking a little smudges
of light through a telescope."

"That's what I'm saying. And I believe it, although I admit it
goes against what I see when I look up at the sky." I got up and
took out a pipe cleaner from my desk near the window. My
great-grandfather sat working his moustache.

"I reckon common sense isn't worth much in this business," he
mused.

"It seems to me, " I replied, "that common sense is what you
learn from personal experience. But we're talking about things
that you can't possibly experience, not with your human senses
anyway. A good deal of science these days is beyond the senses,
and it isn't at all common. The only way to get there is to start
with what you're dead sure about, then climb out a bit, standing
on solid logic, then climb a little further, inching your way
along and making certain each step is firmly supported by the one
below. Sometimes you take what you thought was a little step and
find yourself hanging in thin air. Then you have to grab on and
scramble back a few rungs. One way or another, you eventually get
so far up you can't see where you started. That's when you need
to have faith."

"I'll bet nothing compares to that feeling of being up in the
clouds'" said Papa Joe, "with the ground out of sight, and
knowing the strength of your ladder. That must be how Shapley
felt. And Hubble. I wish I'd been there."

I nodded. "So do I. Those guys had faith--but well-grounded faith,
I believe. Take Hubble's, for example. The same spectrometers we
point at galaxies we also point at lightbulbs set up in the lab,
where we're darn sure whether the lightbulbs are moving or not,
and how fast. The theory checks out. So if galaxies aren't flying
apart as we think, then the laws of nature in space are different
from what the are on the ground. That would be illogical. If one
and one makes two over here, one and one should make two over
there. Or else all science would be in a terrible mess, and
scientists would be out of work. Let's assume D. Hubble was
right, " I continued, "and the universe is expanding. That means
it was smaller and denser in the past."

Papa Joe nodded cautiously, like a man readying himself for the
pinch of a used-buggy salesman.

"Then if you mentally go backward in time," I went on, "the
galaxies get closer and closer together. Eventually, they touch
and merge and become a single mass, which gets denser and
denser. Planets and stars lose their boundaries. Atoms get
ripped apart and crushed together. Everything gets squeezed
closer and closer together. Finally, there comes a definite time
in the past when all the matter of the universe is compressed
into a single point. Astronomers can estimate that time by
measuring how fast the universe is expanding now. It's about ten
billion years ago. Ten billion years ago, according to the
theory, the universe exploded from a point and was born.
Scientists call that beginning the Big Bang."

The old gentleman was busily working his moustache again.
Furthermore, he had abandoned the safety of his chair and was
pacing the room, narrowly missing the logs piled by the
fireplace. "On the strength of some gadgets looking at little
smudges of light through a telescope," he muttered. "I used to
think I had chutzpah."

"It comes with the profession these days, " I said. Just then, a
church clock struck ten in the distance. Papa Joe produced from
his vest pocket a beautiful gold watch, flipped open its cover,
and nodded appreciatively. When he saw how taken I was with his
watch, he handed it to me to look at more closely. The he began
complaining again about the Big Bang.

"There's something else that adds weight to this ten billion
years," I offered. "Stars and planets began forming soon after
the universe began, so the earth has to be younger than the
universe, but probably not a lot younger. At the beginning of the
century, before people had any idea of a Big Bang, some chemists
found a way to tell how old the earth is. Special kinds of atoms
are continuously changing into other kinds of atoms, in a regular
way. For example, uranium atoms change into lead atoms. If you
start off with a rock of pure uranium, after a certain number of
years half of it will be lead. After that number of years again,
three quarters of it will be lead, and so on. So by measuring how
much uranium and how much lead are in the rock at any point in
time--and assuming the laws of nature don't change in time--you
can figure how long it's been since the rock was pure uranium.
About twenty years before Hubble made his measurements on
galaxies, some chemists dug up a few rocks, part uranium and part
lead, and used them to estimate the age of the earth. It came out
to about four billion years, nearly half the age of the universe,
according to Hubble. In other words, the figure that astronomers
get by looking at far-off galaxies through a telescope is roughly
the same as what chemists and geologists get by looking at rocks
under their feet. It amazes me how those two numbers agree."

"An interesting story," said my great-grandfather. "The faith of
one scientist holds up the faith of another. That's good. But
it's still faith, as you were saying before. You can measure you
atoms and galaxies until hell freezes over, but I doubt if you're
going to know for sure how old the universe is, or even if it has
an age."

"Not by being there at the start," I had to admit. "the entire
recorded history of human beings goes back only ten thousand
years. Our whole species goes back only a hundred thousand."

I was getting drowsy, and the fire was low. As I lazily rose from
my chair to put another log on the fire, I turned and noticed
that Papa Joe was also beginning to fad. He was standing in front
of a bookshelf, lost in thought, and various titles slowly
started to appear through his dissolving form--WALDEN, THE DOUBLE
HELIX, A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT. I hoped he
would come back again.

-To Be Continued

-S. Wormley

Book Reviews by S. Wormley

THE VISUAL DISPLAY OF QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION
by Edward R. Tufte
Graphics Press, Box 430, Cheshire, Connecticut 06410  1983

ENVISIONING INFORMATION
by Edward R. Tufte
Graphics Press, Box 430, Cheshire, Connecticut 06410 1990

A MODERN DAY YANKEE IN A CONNECTICUT COURT
by Alan Lightman
Penguin Books USA, New York 1986
Q173.L724 1986 500 85-41106
ISBN 0-670-81239-0

The world is complex, dynamic, multidimensional; the paper is
static, flat. How are we to represent the rich visual world of
experience and measurement on mere flatland? These books, The
Visual Display Of Quantitative Information and Envisioning
Information celebrate escapes from flatland, rendering several
hundred superb displays of complex data. Revealed here are design
strategies for enhancing the dimensionality and density of
portrayals of information--techniques exemplified in maps, the
manuscripts of Galileo, timetables, notation describing dance
movements, aerial photographs, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,
electrocardiograms, drawings of Calder and Klee, computerized
visualizations, and a textbook of Euclid's geometry.

To envision information--and what bright and splendid visions can
result--is to work at the intersection of image, word, number,
and art. The instruments are those of writing and typography, of
managing large data sets and statistical analysis, of line and
layout and color. And the standards of quality are those derived
from visual principles that tell us how to put the right mark in
the right place. The illustrations in The Visual Display Of
Quantitative Information and Envisioning Information repay
careful study. They are treasures, complex and witty, rich with
meaning. The text is of similar character, with every word meant
to count. The principles of information design are
universal--like mathematics--and are not tied to unique features
of a particular language or culture. Consequently, the examples
are widely distributed in space and time: illustrations from 17
countries and 7 centuries, and, for that matter, 3 planets and 1
star.

[Map}

Quoting from Alan Lightman's A Modern Day Yankee In A Connecticut
Court and other essays on Science. Conversations with Papa Joe.
The Third Evening. The next day I had three lectures to give,
which didn't go so well, and late meetings with students. It was
seven o'clock by the time I got home. I began wondering if I'd
ever see my great-grandfather again. To my delight, he appeared
that evening in the usual place, chipper and perched in the
wingback, scarcely after I'd got the pipe going. Apparently, he
was getting the knack for his strange kind of travel.

"In my time I used mostly Prince Albert in the pipe," he said,
taking a broad whiff of the smoke. "Named after the Queen's
husband. Now there was a woman with good common sense. And she
wasn't afraid to speak her mind either."

We chatted awhile about Queen Victoria, whom my great-grandfather
was well up on. From there, Papa Joe moved on to the Great War,
and how he nearly went broke when the prices of labor skyrocketed
and he felt morally bound to stick to the costs in his contracts.
I loved hearing his stories. After a few minutes, however, Papa
Joe grew impatient and got up from his chair to look out the
window.

"You haven't really kept your promise to tell me about stars," he
said. I started to speak, but he continued. "I used to take your
father out in the backyard at night to look at the stars. That's
when we all lived in the stone house on Sixteenth Avenue South.
Your grandfather was always too busy with business."

"Dad did the same with me when I was a boy," I said.

"What are stars, anyway?" asked Papa Joe.

"Well, to begin with, stars are pure gas, gigantic balls of gas,
much larger than planets. Their gravity holds them in, the same
way the earth's gravity keeps our air from flying off into
space."

"All gas, you say. Confounded flimsy material for heavenly
bodies, if you ask me. So if I dove into the sun, which is a star
as I remember, I'd never hit solid ground, all the way to the
center?"

"Right. Of course, you'd get burned into powder long before that,
bones and all. Stars give off a great deal of heat as well as
light."

"I have no plans to visit one of those balls of fire, beautiful
as they are," said Papa Joe, "But tell me, young man, how can you
be so sure that the sun isn't solid in the middle, with the gassy
part only a covering, like the air around the earth? Have your
solar scientists gotten up their courage and launched themselves
into the sun?"

"Hardly," I said with a grin. "Scientists these days prefer to
take their adventures through frightening equations. According to
which, the Sun requires a temperature of millions of degrees to
keep itself inflated the way it does against the inward pull of
its gravity. At that temperature, you can be sure any solid
matter would be instantly vaporized. The sin's got to be gas all
the way through."

"So now it's equations, after smudges of light through a
telescope," said the old gentleman, jingling some coins in his
pockets. "Please answer me this. Why don't stars burn themselves
up, in such a high heat?"

"They do," I answered, "but not for a very long time. Stars
outlive ordinary fires because they don't run on chemical
combustion. You burn wood or gasoline or flammable gas, and
you're getting energy only from the outer parts of atoms. If the
sun ran on that kind of energy, called chemical energy, it would
be out of fuel in a few thousand years. What you need in a star
is a different kind of energy, call atomic energy. That's the
energy you get from the inner parts of atoms. It's set free when
two atoms fuse together to make a larger atom, which happens only
under much higher heat than in chemical fires. In the sun, for
example, atoms of hydrogen gas are continuously joining to make
atoms of helium gas. Pound for pound of fuel, atomic energy is
millions of times more powerful than chemical energy. It should
keep the sun shining for billions of years."

Papa Joe nodded, "I love the way nature has various energies or
each different purpose, like you great-grandmother with outfits
for every occasion. Sometimes she wanted to shimmer and sometimes
to blaze." He chuckled. "But back to the sun. Can your scientists
predict what will happen after it's burned up its atomic fuel?"

"Yes. Near the finish, it should change brightness and color,
swell up to hundreds of times its size now, and engulf the earth.
Then, when it's entirely exhausted its fuel, it should collapse
to a very dense sphere about the size of the earth, growing
dimmer and dimmer and colder and colder. The outer planets of the
solar system, the ones not boiled away earlier, will continue to
orbit a dead central mass."

"It doesn't seem right," Papa Joe said, "the sun ending its
career shrunken up but kept on, like an old general with a desk
job." He sat for a while staring at the fire. "I just don't see
how you can figure so far in advance," he said finally. "Last
night it was billions of years in the past and tonight it's
billions of years in the future."

"Some of the predictions come from equations," I replied.

"You talk about your equations as if they were the Ten
Commandment. Where do they come from, anyway?" he asked.

"To be honest," I answered, "I wouldn't put complete trust in the
equations either, if that's all I had to go on. But there's other
evidence, observational evidence. Astronomers have looked at a
great many stars of all different ages and stages of development,
and from this, they believe they can piece together the life
story of a single star."

Papa Joe thought for a moment. "That must be the same way those
agricultural fellows figure out the way a redwood tree grows," he
said. "From what I've heard, a redwood lives a lot longer than a
man. But I guess if you studied a lot of them and saw some just
planted and some throwing their first leaves and some getting
old, you could get a pretty good idea how a single tree lives out
its life."

The old gentleman got up from his chair and put three more logs
on the fire. He remained standing comfortably by the fireplace,
resting on arm across the mantel. "From what you've said," Papa
Joe said, "I'd imagine that space should get darker and darker,
as each star goes out one by one."

"It's not quite like that, Papa Joe," I replied. "New stars are
continually being born, throughout the galaxy. The basic
ingredient, gas, is everywhere, strewn between the stars. To make
a star, the gas has to bunch up, which happens here and there
because of all the activity in space. Once such a clump forms, it
collapses under its own weight, causing it to heat up. Eventually
the temperature is high enough that atomic fusion can get under
way, and the thing becomes a star. We've actually seen newborn
stars and the gas that produced them."

"Death followed by birth," said Papa Joe. "It seems like a law of
nature. But with stars, I guess there are a lot of cold bodies
left floating through space."

"The end isn't that gruesome for all stars," I replied. "The ones
much heavier than our sun depart with a much grander flourish.
They explode at the end, and, while donating their insides to
space, they briefly outshine a whole galaxy. We call those
stellar explosions supernovae."

"That's the way to go," said my great-grandfather. "I don't
imagine that calm fellow Aristotle, who like his universe
undisturbed, would be happy with supernovae."

"He wouldn't be happy with a great many unheavenly bodies
astronomers have recently found, a lot of them in our own galaxy.
For example, there are pulsars and black holes, created by the
collapse of stars that can't hold themselves up under their own
weight. A pulsar is an extremely dense sphere with the mass of a
star and a diameter of ten miles. It spins once around every
second or less and spews pout a stream of energy into space like
a rotating searchlight. A black hole is a mass with such high
gravity that not even light can escape from its surface. Large
black holes, it's believed, chew up and swallow whole stars."

The old gentleman whistled. "It's a wonder our own solar system
has got on so peaceful, with all of the spinning and spewing and
chewing."

"Our stretch of the galaxy happens to be very quiet," I said.
"The interesting goings-on are much farther out. Even with
telescopes, some of these pulsars and black holes are the devil
to find. Unlike stars, many of then shine mostly with X-rays,
which the human eye can't see and which never get through the
earth's atmosphere in the first place. Luckily, we've figured
out how to launch small man-made moons, called satellites, which
orbit the earth above the atmosphere. Astronomers have gotten
into the act and begun loading their new instruments onto
satellites. The way it works is, the instruments catch the X-rays
coming in from a particular direction in outer space, convert
them into electrical signals, change these into a kind of Morse
code, and broadcast it all by radio to humans waiting below. On
the ground, scientists take the information and try to
reconstruct a picture of the object that gave off the X-rays."

"That certainly doesn't sound like what I remember of astronomy,"
said the old gentleman. "I knew a professional astronomer once. A
big man named Thayer, who lived on Fifth Avenue. When it was time
to do some observing, he'd pack up several days of sandwiches and
good books for the cloudy nights, travel to the top of a mountain
somewhere, and sit at the eyepiece of a telescope, making notes
and drawings and simply enjoying the view firsthand. I wonder
whether these X-ray fellows have fun in their work."

"Some of them do, at least the ones I know," I replied. "They
hang up their graphs and their charts and their numbers sent down
by satellite, and they stare at them, and pretty soon they start
talking about these pulsars and black holes like they were
cousins in Nebraska. Each one has got a name--there's Scorpius
X-1 and there's 3U 0900-40 and there's Cygnus X-1, and so on. For
each of them, the astronomers will tell you how many trillions of
miles away it is, how heavy it's likely to be, how large it's
likely to be, how fast it's spinning, what it would look like if
the eye could see it, and dozens of other details. These things
are real. Astronomers will never get anywhere near them.
Astronomers will never even see them. But they're real. The
instruments say they're real, so they're real."

"What's real and what's not is a swamp I'll steer clear of," said
the old gentleman. "But I do like the faith of modern scientists
in their gadgets. These black holes I'd like to hear more about,
if you don't mind. You mentioned that light can't get away from a
black hole, because of its gravity."

"Yes. That's why they're called 'black.' A black hole doesn't
have a material surface like a star, but has a boundary, and
within that boundary any light emitted, even headed out of the
hole, will be turned around and pulled to the center by gravity.
The size of the boundary varies in proportion to the mass inside.
For a black hole the mass of our sun, its boundary would be a
sphere a few miles across."

"Wait just a minute" said Papa Joe. "I took you to say that we've
picked up X-rays from black holes. How do X-rays get out from one
of those things when light can't?"

"I'm sorry, I should have explained that," I said. The old
gentleman was quicker than any of my students. "The X-rays from a
black hole don't come from the black hole itself, but from hot
gas rushing toward it. What we're looking at, or rather what our
instruments are looking at, is a sort of cocoon of shining gas
surrounding the black hole. Black holes with no gas around them
are completely invisible. They're harder to find."

"But of course, for you and your friends, invisibility is no
handicap against seeing things," said Papa Joe, with a wave of
his hand.

"That's truer than you think," I said, smiling. "Even if every
black hole were bare and invisible, a great many scientists would
still believe in them. The equations predict they exit."

"You keep dangling those damn equations," my great-grandfather
said, and began growing dim.

"Come back one more night," I pleaded to his vanishing form. "For
the equations. Just one more night."

"One more night," came a faint reply. After Papa Joe had gone, my
study felt very empty.

- To Be Continued

A CATALOGUE OF SOUTHERN PECULIAR GALAXIES AND ASSOCIATIONS
VOLUME I - POSITIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS
VOLUME II -SELECTED PHOTOGRAPHS
by Halton C. Arp and Barry F. Madore
Cambridge University Press 1987

BLACK HOLES & TIME WARPS - EINSTEIN'S OUTRAGEOUS LEGACY
by Kip S. Thorne
Foreword by Stephen Hawking
W. W. Norton & Company, New York 1994
QC6.T526 1993 530.1'1--dc20 93-2014
ISBN 0-393-03505-0

A MODERN DAY YANKEE IN A CONNECTICUT COURT
by Alan Lightman
Penguin Books USA, New York 1986
Q173.L724 1986 500 85-41106
ISBN 0-670-81239-0

Galaxies do not exist in total isolation. They interact with their
environment and they modify their surroundings through nuclear
activity, galactic winds, tidal encounters and collisions. While this
activity is not necessarily a continuous phenomenon, its effect on the
dynamics and long-term evolution of galaxies and galactic systems is
undoubtedly significant. Galaxies are the cumulative result of both
quiescent and catastrophic evolution. Arp's and Madore's Catalogue
highlights the most spectacular phases of galactic evolution, and
perhaps formation, by drawing attention to the basic forms in which
this activity is manifest.

Kip Thorne writes "I dedicate this book to John Archibald Wheeler, my
mentor and friend." Thus begins a fine new book dealing with the
ramifications of Einstein's outrageous theory of relativity... that as
far as we can tell is exactly right. The chapters tell you what this
book is about.

Prologue: A Voyage among the Holes - in which the reader, in a science
fiction tale, encounters black holes and all their strange properties
as best we understand them in the 1990's

1. The Relativity of Space Time - in which Einstein destroys Newton's
conceptions of space and time as absolute

2. The Warping of Space and Time - in which Hermann Minkoweski unifies
space and time, and Einstein warps them

3. Black Holes Discovered and Rejected - in which Einstein's laws of
warped spacetime predict black holes, and Einstein rejects the
prediction

4. The Mystery of the White Dwarfs - in which Eddington and
Chandrasekhar do battle over the deaths of massive stars; must they
shrink when they die, creating black holes? or will quantum mechanics
save them?

5. Implosion Is Compulsory - in which even nuclear force, supposedly
the strongest of all forces, cannot resist the crush of gravity

6. Implosion to What? - in which all the armaments of theoretical
physics cannot ward off the conclusion: implosion produces black holes

7. The Golden Age - in which black holes are found to spin and pulsate,
store energy and release it, and have no hair

8. The Search - in which a method to search for black holes in the sky
is proposed and pursued and succeeds(probably)

9. Serendipity - in which astronomers are forced to conclude, without
any prior prediction, that black holes a millionfold heavier than the
Sun inhabit the cores of galaxies (probably)

10. Ripples of Curvature - in which gravitational waves carry to Earth
encoded symphonies of black holes colliding, and physicists devise
instruments to monitor the waves and decipher their symphonies

11. What Is Reality? - in which spacetime is viewed as curved on
Sundays and flat on Mondays, and horizons are made from vacuum on
Saturdays and charge on Mondays, but Sunday's experiments and Monday's
experiments agree in all details

12. Black Holes Evaporate - in which a black-hole horizon is clothed in
an atmosphere of radiation and hot particles that slowly evaporate, and
the hole shrinks and then explodes

13. Inside Black Holes - in which physicists, wrestling with Einstein's
equation, seek the secret of what is inside a black hole; a route into
another universe? a singularity with infinite tidal gravity? the end
of space and time, and birth of quantum foam?

14. Wormholes and Time Machines - in which the author seeks insight
into physical laws by asking: can highly advanced civilizations build
wormholes through hyperspace for rapid interstellar travel and machines
for traveling backward in time?

Epilogue - an overview of Einstein's legacy, past and future, and an
update on several central characters

Characters
Chronology
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography

I continue quoting from Alan Lightman's, A Modern Day Yankee In A
Connecticut Court and other essays on Science. Conversations with Papa
Joe. The Fourth Evening.

The next day I stayed home to prepare some lectures, but my heart
wasn't in it. I spent the time reading a novel instead, sitting in Papa
Joe's chair. That night the old gentleman returned as he had promised,
and wasted no time in getting to the topic of conversation.

"Now, I'm not afraid of numbers, young man," he began. "A fellow in
construction for forty years knows numbers." He paused. "But I don't
understand about equations. And I especially don't understand why you
put so much stock in them."

I got out a sheet of paper and wrote down:

C = 2 pi r

"Papa Joe, this says that the circumference of a circle equals its
radius times two, times pi, a special number close to 3.14."

"I remember that rule," my great-grandfather said.

"The real strength of equations is their logic," I said. "You start at
one point, and an equation tells you what has to come next, according
to logic. In the example here, you give the radius of any circle, and
this equation says what its circumference has to be. I think the
Babylonians or somebody figured the thing out first. They went out and
measured the radii and the circumferences of a whole bunch of circles,
of all different sizes, and gradually realized that a precise
mathematical law held every time. It saved them a lot of trouble when
they found it. Equations in science are all like this, except usually
much more involved. They start with some law about nature, and tell you
what logically follows from the law, step by step. They give rules for
how things ought to behave."

"Does every single item in the world have an equation for how it
behaves?" asked Papa Joe.

"Most Scientists would say yes--for the physical world, that
is--although in some cases we haven't yet figured out what the
equations are."

"So, if I understand you right, you believe that everything in nature
follows rules. Whatever the thing is, you'll eventually find an
equation for it, and it'll stand up and salute."

"But what's the alternative?" I asked. "To be constantly afraid that at
any moment houses might float off the earth, or stars might change into
wheelbarrows, or people might start talking backwards? The world we're
born into is strange enough as it is. We've got to believe that, at
bottom, nature is at least rational. Scientists might not discover all
the rules straight off, but we trust that we'll find them."

"I can see where that view might bring you some comfort," said the old
gentleman.

"What's changed in this century," I continued, "is that we don't have a
physical feeling for all of the rules we've been finding. The
Babylonians could draw their circles and measure them with string to
test their equations. Sir Isaac Newton could compare the prediction of
his law of gravity with the observed motion of the planets. But many of
the new rules deal with things we can't touch or see, and some of them
plain violate common sense."

"I gave up common sense a few evenings ago," said the old gentleman,
chuckling, "with the heavens all bursting apart and those things flying
around the earth looking at invisible light. Your new equations and
your new gadgets should be very happy together. But I still don't have
any idea of these new rules you've been talking about."

"Let me give some examples," I said. "The ones that come to mind are
from physics."

"Fine, but please hold to a slow trot, if you don't mind."

I got up to stoke the fire and pour us some tea. "In the first third of
the century," I went on, "physicists discovered a new set of rules,
brimful of equations, called quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics
concerns the behavior of atoms, and particles even smaller than atoms.
One of the rules amounts to this: a subatomic particle can be at
several places at the same time."

"Young man, you're galloping."

"I can't help it. The difficulty is that all our experience with the
world is based on objects much larger than atoms. Golf balls and
marbles are things you can pick up with your hands. They have edges.
They stay where you put them. But as you go to smaller and smaller
sizes, matter begins behaving differently. When you get down to atoms
and smaller, your whole idea of a solid object falls apart. A particle
that size, like an electron, doesn't act like a little sphere with
sharp edges marking the boundary between itself and the rest of the
world. An electron acts like a haze, a blur covering all places it
might be at the moment. If you throw identical marbles with identical
aim at a wall, they'll all hit the wall in the same spot. But if you do
the same with electrons, they'll hit it in many different spots. That's
what the equations of quantum mechanics tell you. And those same
equations have made very accurate predictions about many other things
that have been measured and verified. So if you have faith in the
theory--and physicists these days do--then you have to accept this
slippery business with electrons. It goes against common sense, but
there it is."

The old gentleman had got up from his chair again. "I'm beginning to
get your meaning," he said. "Would you mind giving me some idea of how
your physicists go about finding these equations and rules?"

"It's not much like the Babylonian method of trial and error. For many
phenomena, we'd never stumble on the right rules that way. There are
too many choices. Somehow, we've got to sniff out the trial."

I paused a moment, and Papa Joe took a deep, lingering whiff of the
aromas drifting his way from the pipe.

"Simplicity seems the best guide," I continued, "although nobody knows
why. Scientists these days are constantly searching for the fewest and
simplest rules possible. Two rules for a thing are better than three. A
short rule is better than a long one. I know I'm being vague. Let me
give an analogy. To scientists, nature is a vast game of chess. They
see the board every now and then with their experiments, study what
squares the pieces are on, and from this try to figure out the rules of
play. At first, they might guess that every piece moves one square at a
time, like a pawn. When this doesn't work, they'll try something
slightly more elaborate, and so on, but never anything more complicated
than the facts require. What's astonishing is that this kind of
approach works remarkably well. It seems that nature loves simplicity.

"Take the case of the electron," I went on. "The precise equations for
electrons were worked out by Professor Dirac fifty years ago. Now Dirac
was a theorist, a pure pencil-and-paper man. I suspect he'd never been
under the hood of a car in his life. But he had great faith in this
idea of simplicity. So for the electron, he figured out the simplest
and prettiest rules possible, consistent with the other rules he
already knew. And his rules have held up for fifty years, tested by
countless experiments. A more complicated theory would have been wrong.
Out of his theory, by the way, came an unexpected prediction of a new
kind of particle never before seen, a close cousin of the electron,
called a positron. Professor Dirac wasn't looking for positrons; they
just marched out of his equations for electrons. A few years after his
prediction, real positrons began turning up in the Lab."

"Remarkable," said Papa Joe.

"There are quite a few stories like that one. With every success,
scientists have gotten more sure of themselves. In recent years,
physicists have staked their reputations and millions of dollars
hunting subatomic particles predicted by their theories."

My great-grandfather whistled softly. "I'd hate to be ruined by a
positron that wouldn't come out of the brush," he said. "You know, I
reckon it would be easier for me to follow you if I knew more math."

"Well, I'm cutting some corners, it's true," I said. "But you've been
keeping up better than I would on something this new."

"What I admire most in these scientists," said Papa Joe, "is how
they're willing to trust their equations against common sense. I don't
believe I could follow the plans for a house that seemed upside down.
That takes faith."

"I agree. You'd want to be darn sure of your architect. And you
wouldn't move in right away." We sat for a time without talking,
listening to the faint bark of a dog down the street.

"Tell me about some other theories that seem contrary," said the old
gentleman.

"You remember the black holes from last night?"

"Yes, They were my favorites."

"Black holes were predicted by Professor Einstein's new theory of
gravity. According to the theory, if you went to live near a black hole
and then came back to earth, you'd be much younger than if you'd stayed
here. The gravity of the thing slows down time in its vicinity."

"Confound it," shouted the old gentleman. "I'll go along with your
fuzzy atoms and particles, whatever they're good for, But time is time.
A year is a year, isn't it? I must have misheard you."

"You didn't mishear me, Papa Joe, although I agree that the idea seems
preposterous. You see, Professor Einstein's theories propose that the
flow of time is not fixed, as it seems. Time depends on motion and on
gravity. The effect is tiny unless you're moving at extremely high
speeds or being pulled by a very high gravity, and that's why you don't
notice it. But sensitive instruments and clocks have verified the
effect. It's taken me years to get used to the idea."

"Now that I think of it, I remember a big commotion over one of
Einstein's predictions being proved."

I nodded. "You're probably remembering the famous experiment during the
solar eclipse of 1919. One of Einstein's theories predicted that light
should be attracted by the sun, the way a planet is. The effect is very
small, because light travels much faster than planets, but it's there
and it's measurable. To test the prediction, you examine some stars
just past the edge of the sun. According to Einstein, the starlight
should be deflected by the sun on its way to the earth, and the images
of the stars should be slightly distorted. Some astronomers did the
measurement at the first convenient eclipse, when stars could be seen
near the sun, and confirmed the effect. These days, most scientists
believe just about every prediction of Einstein's theories. even the
ones not yet proved."

"I wonder whether Professor Einstein was bothered by this odd business
with time slowing down," said Papa Joe.

"I don't think so," I replied. "From what I can tell, Einstein believed
that the new ideas were logical and natural, given certain facts. He
had this wonderful way of starting from scratch, without taking
anything for granted. And he never expected to experience all the
mysteries of nature with his body. To him, it was pleasure enough to
get a mental glimpse now and then, and imagine the rest."

As I got up to stretch, the church clock in town chimed eleven. The old
gentleman was back at his spot near the window, looking out at the
night. I joined him there. Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, was
in easy view, as well as half a dozen constellations--celestial
pictures of hunters and serpents and lions and dogs, ancient visions of
men and women looking for order.

"You know," said Papa Joe, "I believe your faith is contagious. These
last few nights I've felt so tiny I could fit inside an atom, and so
big I could step from one star to the next." He paused, staring out the
window. "I proposed to your great-grandmother on a night like this."
Papa Joe turned and took a long look around the room. "You take care of
that pipe."

I stood for a moment beside my great-grandfather, shoulder to shoulder,
and then he melted away.

Conversations with Papa Joe appeared serially in Science 84-86, which
was my first introduction to the writings of Alan Lightman. It was a
great joy to discover this story as one of many essays in the
collection entitled, A Modern Day Yankee In A Connecticut Court. I
chose to reproduce Conversations with Papa Joe over four months, in its
entirety, to treat you to a fine story--but also to a story that
teaches some very fundamental ideas about astronomy and how we do
astronomy and science. Papa Joe was certainly a likable character--a
curious man with a good head on his shoulders.

-S. Wormley

Book Reviews by S. Wormley

THE SK- A USER'S GUIDE
by David H. Levy
Cambridge University Press, Great Britain 1993
ISBN 0 521 45958 3 paperback

THE TREASURY OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITTANICA
Clifton Fadiman, General Editor, Bruce L. Felknor and Robert McHenry, Contributing Editors
Viking Penquin, New York 1992
AC5.T74 1992 031--dc20 92-54069
ISBN 0 670 83568 4

AT HOME IN THE UNIVERSE
by John Archibald Wheeler
published by American Institute of Physics 1994
Q158.5.W44 1992 500--dc20
ISBN 0-88318-862-7

EINSTEIN, A LIFE IN SCIENCE
by Michael White and John Gribbin
published by Dutton (Penquin Books)
QC16.E5W47 1994 530'.092--dc20 [B] 93-42626 CIP
ISBN 0-525-93750-1

Quoting from Levy's The Sky - A User's Guide, 9 Jupiter-- "Late one
evening during the summer of 1964, I was attempting to observe Jupiter
through a 20 cm reflector. The giant planet was rising, ant it had just
cleared my neighbor's house -- not a appropriate viewing time, since
hot air rising from the roof would make Jupiter's appearance unsharp.
This would be a quick look before bed.

"In any event, the shimmering planet caught my attention more than I
had expected, for it was a minute or so before I noticed a police car
parked in front of the house. Two officers emerged and started walking
toward me. From their almost military gait, I assumed that this would
be an official visit. They quickly reached the telescope, and then
halted. I looked at them; they looked at me.

"One officer broke the silence; Excuse me, sir, would you mind if a
couple of nosy policemen looked at Jupiter?'

"The brief look those men had that night showed an object that would
have astonished ancient observers, and confirmed their view that it was
king of planets. Its symbol represents a modified Z standing for Zeus.
Jupiter leads our discussion of planets because it usually is the
easiest to find and the richest to observe. The other planets are
arranged here in the order of how easy each one is to find and begin to
observe, easiest to hardest.

9.1 Jupiter and its moons-- "When Galileo first noticed the movements
of three, and then four, objects near Jupiter, he realized that they
had to be moons that orbit Jupiter in much the same way our own Moon
orbits us. He was thrilled by these delicate movements and announced
then enthusiastically. It was years later that these and other
discoveries led the Roman Catholic Church to force him to recant, to
deny the discoveries and their implications. The Earth must remain
safely at the center of things.

"The names of Galileo's moons are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto,
and with much fainter Amalthea, found by Barnard in 1892, these are the
only moons to have been discovered visually. The Voyager spacecrafts
found exciting worlds -- active volcanoes on Io, a smooth covering of
ice on Europa, the craters and complex grooves of Ganymede, and heavily
cratered Callisto.

"Why not recall Galileo's work by recording the positions of the
Galilean moons for a month or so? Such a project has no scientific
value, of course, and you can even check your own identifications with
the charts in Sky & Telescope [, the Astronomical Almanac,] or the
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's Observer's Handbook. But just
this once, forget these printed charts and try to figure out which moon
is which. Io will appear to move the most quickly, completing on orbit
in just 1.77 days. After you have finished your 30-day moonwatch you
can check one of the sources to see how well you did. If you have a
primarily mathematical interest in observing, this observing project
will acquaint you with the subject of orbital mechanics. If your
interest is at all romantic, you will have just made four lifelong
friends.

9.2 Seeing-- "Learning to see detail on a distant planet is really an
art form, as William Herschel wrote over 200 years ago:

Seeing is in some respects an art which must be learnt. To make a
person see with such power is nearly the same as if I were asked to
make him play one of Handel's fugues upon the organ. Many a night
have I been practicing to see, and it would be strange if one did
not acquire a certain dexterity by such constant practice.

"To see any real detail even on this largest of planets, you need a
least a good 10 cm refractor or a 15 cm reflector telescope. Smaller
telescopes will show some detail, but not really enough to record.
Remember also that good planetary observation requires that Earth's
atmosphere be steady. Observing the details of planets require a sharp
eye that can pick up details at the very limit of visibility, like
reading the words on distant road signs.

"Seeing is a measure of the steadiness of the image of an object in the
sky. If out atmosphere is unsteady, it will be impossible to detect
these hard-to-see details. It is related to, though not the same as,
scintillation, the rapid brightness changes we see in the twinkling of
stars. Sometimes poor seeing results from turbulence in the upper
atmosphere, and on other nights the problem may lie in the atmosphere
just above you. On one night I was observing from a site high in some
mountains. Although it was very windy, the seeing was good and
planetary details were sharp and clear. Then I returned home and
started observing again from my own site. The wind was gone and the
session was much more comfortable, but the seeing had completely
deteriorated! Probably I was trying to observe through that wind raging
not far above me.

"I have found that a hazy night usually is a still night with good
'seeing' for planets. Does this mean that the murky skies over cities
on humid nights may be ideal for good planetary observation? Quite
possibly; if the murk is swamping everything fainter than the planets
and the brightest stars, and if there are no strong upper-atmosphere
winds, you might take advantage of a fine night for planetary
observation.

"Observers in Europe favor a scale developed by the planetary observer
Eugenios Antiniadi (1870-1944), who devised a five-point system where
'I' represents a perfectly steady image, 'II' involves excellent
moments lasting for several seconds, 'III' refers to average seeing
where a good image is frequently interrupted by fuzz periods, 'IV'
involves almost constant 'fuzzing out' of the image, and 'V' is so bad
that planetary detail is not really visible at all....".
________________

The subtitle of The Treasury Of The Encyclopedia Brittanica;
Celebrating 225 Years Of The Human Mind At Its Best is not a bad
description of this volume, which, by its very nature is hard to
review. The Treasury Of The Encyclopedia Brittanica is a collection of
some of the gems of unsurpassed eloquence, erudition, and entertainment
from the Brittanica's fifteen editions.

T. E. Lawrence on Guerrilla Warfare - For the editor of the 14th
edition (1929) it must have been a small triumph to persuade Lawrence
of Arabia (18881935) to write the article "Guerrilla Warfare." He was
one of the few Brittanica writers who was also a legend. His
contribution (given in full) as as dashing as he was. The current
edition contains an excellent treatment by Stanley Weintraub of this
bafflingly complex archaeologist-warrior-writer.

Carl Sagan on Life, Terrestrial and Otherwise - Carl Sagan (1934 ) is
one of a small group of distinguished American scientists able to
communicate with the general public. Some readers may recall with
pleasure the remarkable television series Cosmos (1980) which he
narrated and co-produced. His book of the same title is the
best-selling science volume of all time [with the possible exception of
Hawking's A Brief History of Time]. Since 1968 he has been Director of
the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University, where he is
the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy. Among his main publications
three have won wide popular audiences: The Dragons of Venice (1977),
Broca's Brain (1979). and Contact (1985). He is particularly interested
in the possibilities of intelligent extraterrestrial life forms. His
magisterial seventeen-page article on Life first appeared in the 1984
issue of the present 15th edition. From it we have excerpted the
introduction and part of the concluding section, which deal
respectively with definitions of life and with extraterrestrial life.

George Bernard Shaw on Socialism - This forceful, almost hortatory
essay appeared in the 13th edition (1926) and was so highly regarded
that it was carried over into the 14th (1929). The article is nearly as
interesting read between the lines, for there much is suggested about
the general state of the world in the 1920's. Shaw, by the way, was
proud to point out that in his youth he had read the 9th edition in its
entirety, excepting only the scientific articles. (R. McH.) We
reproduce the whole of this piece by George Bernard Shaw (18561950) for
two reasons. First, it is a superb piece of writing. Second, in view of
socialism's contemporary disarray, it is alive with accidental irony
Shaw could not possibly have foreseen.

Bertrand Russell on The Philosophical Consequences of Relativity - Not
many scientists can write lucidly for the lay reader about such matters
as the theory of relativity. On who could was the philosopher-
logician-mathematician Bertrand Russell, 3rd Earl Russell. In his long
virtually hyperactive life Lord Russell spread scientific understanding
as well as philosophical inquiry and reflection, atheism, pacifism, and
left-wing socialist activism. His Britannica article on The
Philosophical Consequences of Relativity (13th edition, 1926) clarified
the Space-time concept. It was written while he was completing a
popular book, The ABC of Relativity. (B.L.F.)

Today we are all Einsteinians. Our view of the cosmos and to a degree
man's place in it is as unconsciously colored and conditioned by
relativity as that of our not-too-remote ancestors was by Newtonian
theory. It's interesting therefore to note how a first-class mind
viewed the philosophical rather than the scientific consequences of
relativity almost three-quarters of a century ago. Particularly
pertinent, in view of our era's love affair with technology, is the
last paragraph. In the current Britannica the account of the
mathematician, philosopher, and publicist Bertrand Russell extends over
five columns, just as his life (18721970) extended over almost a
century. The reader is referred to it. Among Russell's voluminous
productions we call attention to what may oddly enough in the end turn
out to be his masterpiece, his three-volume Autobiography.
________________

Less than four years after the November 24, 1859, publication of The
Origin of Species, Charles Darwin (1863) wrote to Joseph Dalton Hooker,
"It is mere rubbish, thinking at present of the origin of life; one
might as well think of the origin of matter." Today, thanks not least
to Darwin himself, we possess an attractive and actively investigated
scenario for the origin of life. Will we ever know anything about the
still deeper issue, what is the origin of matter?

Leibniz put it in his famous words, "Why is there something rather than
nothing?" William James, translated the "why" to the more meaningful
"how": "How comes the world to be here...?"

We ask today. "How did the universe come into being?" realizing full
well that how properly to ask the question is also a part of the
question. On can even believe that one can only then state the issue in
the right words when one knows the answer. Or is there an answer? Is
the mystery of genesis forever beyond explanation?

The investigator of today is not content to let a major question remain
forever in the air, the football of endless indecisive games. Either it
can be ruled out or it must be answered: that is his credo. Something
may rule out the question as meaningless, as quantum mechanics rules
out any possibility to find out simultaneous values for the position
and momentum of an electron. Or something may establish the issue to be
undecidable, as Gdel has proved certain propositions to be
undecidable. But in the absence, as here, of some clear indication
that the question is meaningless or undecidable, the question must be
faced ant the relevant evidence sought out.

Wheeler's At Home In The Universe presents a feast of engaging essays
formed of reminiscence, science, and sometimes conjecture, providing
intimate glimpses of Einstein, Bohr, and other giants in the field who
were his friends and collaborators. He writes of debate and discussions
with Bohr that formed the cornerstone of nuclear fission theory, long
talks with Einstein in his upstairs study at Princeton, and the
eloquence and nobility of Hermann Weyl. He sees in these and other
great physicists--Marie Curie, Hideki Yukawa, and Hendrik Anthony
Kramers--exemplars of the scientific spirit.
________________

The date was Thursday 6 November 1919; the occasion, a joint meeting of
the Royal Society and the Royal Astronomical Society in the main hall
of Burlington House, London. An air of excitement and expectancy
permeated the Georgian spledour of the room. The scientists who had
packed into the hall fell silent as the president of the Royal Society,
J. J. Thompson, rose to address the meeting. For a moment he paused
and glanced up at the portrait of Isaac Newton hanging high above the
gathering. The meeting had been called to make the announcement the
scientific world had been waiting for -- the findings of Arthur
Eddington, recently returned from observation of the solar eclipse at
Principe, west Africa. The evidence supported a scientific theory which
would alter human perception as dramatically as had Newton's
breakthroughs two and a half centuries earlier.

Within twenty-four hours of the announcement, Albert Einstein's theory
would become public property, his work described in newspapers around
the world and his Berlin home besieged by journalists.

In Burlington House the mood, as described by a member of the audience,
the philosopher Alfred Whitehead, was "that of a Greek drama". The
gathered scientists were fully aware of the historic importance of the
occasion. First J. J. Thompson announced the purpose of the meeting and
reiterated the importance of relativity in modern physics, declaring
that Einstein's theory of relativity was "the greatest discovery in
connection with gravitation since Newton". Next to take the podium was
the Astronomer Royal, Sir Frank Dyson. To a hushed gathering he made
the announcement verifying Einstein's theory--that the bending of light
by the gravitational field of the Sun observed during the recent solar
eclipse did not tally with Newton's theory but coincided almost exactly
with Einstein's predicted value.

At the end of the 1980's, a satellite known as COBE (Cosmic Background
Explorer) was launched by NASA to study the background radiation with
more precision than ever before. In 1992, the NASA team announced that
they had discovered exactly the kinds of ripples in time that the
theory had predicted. It was headline news around the world--the
combination of Einstein's general theory, the Big Bang model, and the
added ingredient of dark matter, had been vindicated. This was, and
is, the most compelling evidence ever that the universe we live in is
described by the equations of Albert Einstein.

In White and Gribbin's Einstein, we learn of Einstein's possible
schizophrenia early in life, his two marriages, his friendships with
such figures as Franz Kafka and Bertrand Russell, and the search for
security and sanctuary that led him from one country to another in
Europe, and then from Nazi Germany to his tenure as a "scientific
saint" in America. White portrays Einstein as a man brimming with
paradoxes--a pacifist who advocated the creation of an atomic weapons
program, a man who hated regimentation but who was beguiled by the
strict beauty of mathematics, an atheist and a dedicated Zionist, a
figure revered by the world yet kept under surveillance by the FBI.

WHITNEY'S STAR FINDER: A Field Guide to the Heavens (1990 - 1995)
by Charles A. Whitney
published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1989
QB65.W48 1985 523 85-40349
ISBN 0-679-72582-2

Whitney's Star Finder is a field guide to the sky, particularly well
suited for reading youngsters with interest in astronomy. Whitney does
not attempt to explain detailed astronomical knowledge or the ways in
which astronomers study the sky, but he does attempt to explain the sky
itself and does it well and with a lot of very useful information. In
the front of the book, hiding in its own envelop is a "pop-up sky" a
14-sided global picture of all the brighter stars in both hemispheres.
And in a similar envelop glued into the back of the book is a star
finder wheel for Northern Latitudes (40) on one side and Southern
Latitudes (30) on the other side.

Book Review by S. Wormley

NEW HORIZONS IN AMATEUR ASTRONOMY
by Grant Fjermedal
Perigee Books (Putnam Publishing Group), New York, 1989
QB64.F54 1989 523 88-13096 CIP
ISBN 0 339 51486 4 (pbk.)

OBSERVING HANDBOOK AND CATALOG OF DEEP-SKY OBJECTS
by Christian B. Luginbuhl and Brian Skiff
Cambridge University Press, New York 1990
QB64.L84 522 - dc20 89-7318 1990
ISBN 0 521 25665 9

Each chapter in New Horizons In Amateur Astronomy gives the reader
insight into what more advanced amateur astronomy is like. The chapter
entitled "Hunting for Comets" was presented as a reading lecture to our
club in 1990. Each chapter is devoted to a different specific project
that you can work on, from searching for novas with binoculars to
hooking up your computer to your telescope. It offers a mix of hands-on
explanations on conducting your own research; background data on
observing, note-taking, priorities; hard-to-find descriptions of group
efforts with names and addresses so you can get involved; and first
hand accounts of the elation that this avocation produces.

Ch. 1. An Introduction to the New Golden Age
Ch. 2. Sidewalk Astronomy
Ch. 3. Observing Meteors
Ch. 4. Grazing Occultations and the Mountains of the Moon
Ch. 5. Variable-Star Observation
Ch. 6. Hunting for Comets
Ch. 7. The Nova Patrol
Ch. 8. Observing Earth Satellites
Ch. 9. Computers and Astronomy [Wouldn't Jack Troeger have fun with this chapter!]
Ch. 10. On the Boards [Computer Bulletin Boards]

Observing Handbook And Catalog Of Deep-Sky Objects grew out of a lack
of a comprehensive modern manual to aid in observing deep-sky objects.
The authors began by undertaking a systematic program of visual
observations, the aim being to observe each of approximately 1500
galaxies, star clusters and nebulae through three telescopic apertures
commonly used by amateur astronomers. As observing proceeded, data was
collected on each object from a wide variety of sources, mostly
reference catalogues and scientific papers in the professional
literature. Accurate total magnitudes were newly derived for open
clusters and planetary nebulae. Further, each object was examined after
observation on at least one of three photographic sky atlases or on
large-scale telescopic photographs to ensure the authenticity of
details the authors recorded visually.

Consequently, what is presented is not merely a list of visual
observations, but a compendium of information relevant to viewing the
brightest deep-sky objects. Included are dimensions, magnitudes,
orientations, and angular distances, verified in nearly all cases
through photography, photometry, or astrometry. Of the 88
constellations in the sky, 68 north of Declination -50 degrees are
encompassed by the present survey. The 2050 objects included range from
those best viewed in binoculars and small telescopes, such as the
Pleiades, to fifteenth magnitude galaxies. There is catalog of 2828
deep-sky objects and a catalog of 152 double and multiple stars,
including 39 intended as aids for gauging seeing.
Book Review by Helen Knudsen, Astrophysics Library, CalTech

THE PERFECT MACHINE
by Ronald Florence
HarperCollins [c.1994], New York
The official publication date is 14 September 1994, but should be
available from jobbers by end of August, at US $27.50, (Canadian
$38.75).

Truly, this is the last and final history to be written about the Hale
Telescope. It is unimaginable that anyone could possibly come up with
more information, more detail, more source materials. All these are
woven together in such a way as to prove once again that fact is indeed
quite stranger than fiction. If this were a piece of fiction, no one
would ever believe it. As Librarian for the Hale Telescope, I am
unabashedly prejudiced favorably towards this tantalizing account of
its history. To be sure, each and every large telescope certainly must
have its own hair-raising history waiting to be told. Perhaps each of
you large-telescope Librarians should enlist Ronald Florence to 'do'
your telescope's history! I have read the galley proof copy and can
personally vouch for the excitement value as described below by those
who know:

"Even though astronomy is my favorite science, I never would have
believed that a book describing what was for decades the largest
telescope on earth would hold me as firmly as any thriller. Ronald
Florence has done an amazing job in reconstructing one of the greatest
technological achievements of this century ... anyone who thinks that
all astronomers are unemotional, absent-minded academics is in for
quite a few surprises. The Perfect Machine is a perfect job of science
writing for the general public. Over to you, Pulitzer Prize Committee
..." --Arthur C. Clarke

"Magnificent ... a superb history by a super writer and historian ...
must reading for organizers and users of `big science'." --Allan
Sandage, Astronomer, Member of the Research Staff, The Observatories

"A splendid, stirring piece of work ... a genuine tour de force. I
hadn't expected that I could become so absorbed in the technicalities
of casting a 200-inch piece of glass or designing and perfecting a
500-ton instrument, but Florence writes about such matters with so much
clarity and narrative drive as to make the story ... gripping."
--Daniel Kevles, J.O. & Juliette Koepfli Professor of the Humanities,
California Institute of Technology

"The building of the Hale telescope at Palomar, a legendary triumph in
the fretful art of high-tech science, has found a worthy chronicler in
Ronald Florence. Atmospheric, sound, and elegantly readable, The
Perfect Machine provides a riveting account of how, out of a welter of
human passions and imperfections, this noble thing got built
right." --Timothy Ferris, Author of Coming of Age in the Milky
Way; Galaxies; The Red Limit: the Search for the Edge of the Universe;
The World Treasury of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics

"Ronald Florence's The Perfect Machine tells an unforgettable and
beautifully rendered story of the building of the great 200-inch Hale
Telescope in southern California, and of the history around it. It was
an incredibly important moment in American culture and science, and
Florence brings it alive. This is the best book on the subject that has
been written and is ever likely to be written." --Richard Preston,
Author of First Light. [Preston's book deals with the present-day
workings of the several telescopes on Palomar Mountain.]

"You don't have to be an astronomer or glass maker to find The Perfect
Machine an engrossing page-turner. Ronald Florence delineates the
scientists, engineers and others involved in the project as real people
of determination and ingenuity. You know how the story ends, yet you
find yourself cheering on the principal characters, as if this were
fiction. You wonder that they could accomplish this enormous task in an
era when science and technology often were scorned. As a member of the
Corning community, I am filled with pride that they achieved a feat of
this magnitude." --James Houghton, Chairman of the Board, Corning
Incorporated.