Friday, May 6, 2016

National Space Day 2016 - Literature on Space


Carina Nebula "This turbulent cosmic pinnacle 

lies within a tempestuous stellar nursery called 
the Carina Nebula, located 7,500 light-years 
away in the southern constellation Carina. 
Scorching radiation and fast winds from
super-hot newborn stars in the nebula are 
shaping and compressing the pillar, causing 
new stars to form within it. Streamers of hot 
ionized gas can be seen flowing off the ridges 
of the structure, and wispy veils of gas and 
dust, illuminated by starlight, float
 around its towering peaks." 
Credit: NASA, 
ESA, and M. Livio and the 

Hubble 20th 
Anniversary Team (STScI)
So when I was little the only thing I wanted was to be an astronaut when I grew up. I came to learn that I did not have the perfect health needed to make that dream a possibility, but I never lost my love of, actually, let’s say obsession with space. So in honor of National Space Day today, I decided to do a post about non-fiction space books. Here I give some details on three of my favorite books about space and then mention a few others that are well worth the read. Just some quick background: National Space Day takes place on the first Friday in May and was created to remember all the extraordinary achievements we have made through space exploration, as well as the benefits and future opportunities. It is also a way to pay homage to all the men and women who have dedicated their lives to space and to keep people interested in the cosmos, the universe, and everything out there that is still in the great unknown. (I would like to note that all images I used in this post are actual images of space, taken by the Hubble Telescope, which can be viewed here: http://hubblesite.org/gallery/)

 The first book I want to mention is The Universe in Your Hand; A Journey Through Space, Time, and Beyond by Christophe Galfard. This book basically beaks down and explains Quantum Physics, black holes, the fabric of space, dark matter, spacetime, well let’s just say basically everything about the universe that is known to humans. I know this sounds like a daunting read, but the beauty of this book is how Galfard explains everything in a way that is so easy to understand, whether you know about space or not. I found myself blown away by this book and oftentimes speechless. The author uses writing techniques that allow you to travel through the universe and experience it as first hand as possible in your mind. Over the course of the book you learn so much as explained through made-up scenarios, layman’s terms, and simple to understand scientific explanations. It really is an astounding book and I am not sure I can even praise it enough. 
“However humble one needs to be before the majesty of nature, science, and only science, has given us eyes to see where our bodies are blind.”
Pismis 24 "The small open star cluster Pismis 24 contains 
extremely massive stars. The brightest object in the picture 
was once thought to weigh as much as 200 to 300 solar masses. 
This would have made it by far the most massive known star in 
the galaxy, and put it considerably above the currently believed 
upper mass limit of about 150 solar masses for individual stars. 
However, Hubble images show that it is really two stars, each 
100 solar masses, orbiting one another." 
Credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Maíz Apellániz (Instituto de 
Astrofísica de Andalucía, Spain)
Next is An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield. Many people know Hadfield for his acoustic rendition of Bowie’s Space Oddity while aboard the ISS (if you have never seen this do yourself a favor and watch it here: Space Oddity), but aside from that he is also the most accomplished astronaut in the world. In his book he covers the years of his training through to his experiences in space. An Astronaut’s Guide is full of his stories from his time in space giving, his first-hand account of the launch process, the terrifying yet amazing course of a spacewalk, crises and how they were handled, and so on. The book was quite humbling and gives such a big picture of not just the world we live in, but the universe around us. Through his writing he made me feel and think like an astronaut and I will be forever grateful for that. It is truly an amazing read and will change the way you look at things, both on Earth and beyond our tiny little planet. 
“I feel like a little kid, like a sorcerer, like the luckiest person alive. I am in space, weightless, and getting here only took 8 minutes and 42 seconds. Give or take a few thousand days of training.”


Omega Centauri "Hubble snapped this view of a 
colorful assortment of 100,000 stars residing in the crowded 
core of a giant star cluster. The image reveals a small region 
inside the massive globular cluster Omega Centauri, which 
boasts nearly 10 million stars. Globular clusters, ancient 
swarms of stars united by gravity, are the homesteaders of 
our Milky Way Galaxy. The stars in Omega Centauri are 
between 10 and 12 billion years old." 

Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team
The next book I would like to mention is Mars Rover Curiosity: An Inside Account from Curiosity's Chief Engineer by Rob Manning, William L. Simon. Now this book is VERY heavy on the science but it is so worth the read as far as I am concerned. Rob Manning worked on designing Curiosity and this is his first-hand account of the process they went through, from choosing a team all the way until the landing. He even goes to discuss a bit of our future with the Red Planet. There is no doubt that this man is incredibly smart and the book is full of science, math, and technical lingo, but what is great about Manning is that through the course of the book he speaks in a very down-to-earth manner while giving a lot of information and really teaching so much. It is also quite humorous at times, which always helps to lighten such a heavy subject. I love that it gives an insight into all the behind the scenes action of engineering such a huge project and talks not just about the high points, but also all the mistakes and setbacks. It is a fascinating read for those looking to learn more about what the space program accomplished with the Mars Rover and what it hopes to accomplish in the years to come. 
“It is estimated that just the extent of the universe we can observe from Earth contains as many as 1024 stars. That’s one septillion, the number 10 followed by 24 zeros.”

Stephan's Quintet "Three of the galaxies in this famous grouping 
are distorted from their gravitational interactions with one another. 
One member of the group, NGC 7320 (upper right), is actually 
seven times closer to Earth than the rest." 
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team
Well this was a long post, which I kind of expected, and I hope you enjoyed it and were a little inspired by it. There are a ton of incredible space books out there and I'm sure I could have gone on forever with this post, but I had to stop myself before I got too out of hand. I think what it all comes down to, is that without everything that exists in the universe, we would not exist, and I believe people should take the time to learn about what is out there and appreciate it. After all, our planet is incredibly infinitesimal in the grand scheme of things and there is something much, much, more immense surrounding us. I would like to encourage you to check out the above books (if you are interested), as well as some of the following books, for some awesome space reading:


Side note: Chris Hadfield also helped to garner more interest by the public in NASA and space by posting YouTube videos on how this are done / how things work in space. His videos include anything from brushing teeth, to sleeping, wringing out water, shaving, etc. You can check out all his videos about life in space on his YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPfak9ofGSn9vOEkIz328i4xQQq7e0kjc






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