The Story of Astrophysics in Five Revolutions

Vaudo, chief diversity officer at the European Space Agency, debuts with an approachable chronicle of five pivotal moments that advanced scientific understanding of the cosmos. She explains that in 1687, Isaac Newton suggested the same “invisible hand” that causes apples to fall to Earth also governs the movement of celestial bodies, allowing astronomers to predict their trajectories with greater accuracy than ever before. Fast-forwarding to the early 20th century, Vaudo discusses how Albert Einstein kicked off two revolutions, first with his theory of special relativity, which showed that the speed of light is a fixed constant and that space and time dilate in tandem, and then with his theory of general relativity, which demonstrated the “equivalence between gravity and acceleration.” Elsewhere, Vaudo describes how astronomer Edwin Hubble’s 1929 discovery that the universe is expanding gave rise to the concept of the big bang, and how in the 1930s, British physicist Paul Dirac’s assertion of the existence of positrons (antimatter particles) that annihilate electrons upon contact raised still unanswered questions about how electrons came to outnumber positrons, enabling the formation of the observable universe. Vaudo makes the science accessible to lay readers, and offers a mind-bending conclusion that examines the possibility of parallel universes, 25 spatial dimensions, and other ideas on the frontiers of contemporary astrophysics. Armchair astronomers will be riveted. (Apr.)