COSMIC QUERIES

Astrophysicists Tyson and Trefil ask the big questions—and “not all have answers.”

Tyson, better known for popularizing and explaining tangled issues of science than for his considerable body of scientific research, and Trefil, a veteran physics professor and author of dozens of science books, peer into “the gulf between the depths of human curiosity and the limits of human ignorance.” That gulf has produced some fiery arguments over the years. In a characteristically light touch, the authors imagine Aristotle sitting down to a glass of retsina and Isaac Newton quaffing a flagon of mead while arguing about the nature of gravity. Newton has the advantage, not just of a couple of thousand years of accumulated knowledge, but also because he has the scientific method on his side, “a technique that has led to profound changes in the human condition through the search for objective truths and an understanding of our place in the universe.” Not that the ancients were without their insights: The Greek scholar Eratosthenes was able to suss out the circumference of the spherical Earth through an ingenious application of common knowledge and shrewd calculation. As they proceed, the authors, with assistance from striking photos and illustrations, explain the reasons why our science is applicable everywhere in the universe—at least so far as we know—and consider why we haven’t found concrete evidence of being visited by extraterrestrials. As for alien life, Earth has some very interesting critters. The authors highlight the tardigrade, a microscopic being that the European Space Agency sent into orbit for 12 days without a bit of harm coming to the tiny crew. “Tolerating extreme conditions such as frozen polar lakes, boiling hot deep-sea vents, and even high doses of radiation, tardigrades have broadened our definition of life on Earth and diversified our search for life-forms on other planets,” they write appreciatively on the way to raising other big questions—e.g., “What preceded the Big Bang?”

A lively, richly illustrated celebration of scientific inquiry.