REVIEW: To Infinity and Beyond by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Lindsey Nyx Walker
Linked to a special mini season of the award-winning StarTalk podcast, this enlightening illustrated narrative by the world’s most celebrated astrophysicist explains the universe from the solar system to the farthest reaches of space with authority and humor.
No one can make the mysteries of the universe more comprehensible and fun than Neil deGrasse Tyson. Drawing on mythology, history, and literature—alongside his trademark wit and charm—Tyson and StarTalk senior producer Lindsey Nyx Walker bring planetary science down to Earth and principles of astrophysics within reach. In this entertaining book, illustrated with vivid photographs and art, readers travel with him through space and time, starting with the Big Bang and voyaging to the far reaches of the universe and beyond. Along the way, science greets pop culture as Tyson explains the triumphs—and bloopers—in Hollywood’s blockbusters: all part of an entertaining ride through the cosmos.
The book begins as we leave Earth, encountering new truths about our planet’s atmosphere, the nature of sunlight, and the many missions that have demystified our galactic neighbors. But the farther out we travel, the weirder things get. What’s a void and what’s a vacuum? How can light be a wave and a particle at the same time? When we finally arrive in the blackness of outer space, Tyson takes on the spookiest phenomena of the cosmos: parallel worlds, black holes, time travel, and more.
For science junkies and fans of the conundrums that astrophysicists often ponder, To Infinity and Beyond is an enlightening adventure into the farthest reaches of the cosmos.
Review
Advances in telescopes and auxiliary technologies continually upend our assumptions about the universe and our place within it, by showing us the universe for what it is, rather than how it appears to our senses— and how it appeals to our fragile ego.
Who knows when a human first looked upwards and realized there was an out-there to wonder about. We have cave paintings and rock carvings dating to 40,000 years ago that depict not only animals but also comets, meteors, and constellations. Now, we’ve got really cool methods to learn about what is “up and out there.” But before we head off into space, we need to know all about our planet. From those early examples of humans thinking about what’s up in the sky, through discussions about the different levels of Earth’s atmosphere, air pressure, the Coriolis Effect, where’s the best location on Earth to place your launch facility, Felix Baumgartner’s “jump from the edge of space,” to all the junk now circling the planet we learn some pretty amazing stuff.
Then it’s time to look at our solar system starting with our sun (it emits all colors so actually it’s white rather than yellow/amber) that depends on “thermonuclear fusion—the contained nuclear bombs that continuously detonate within the Sun’s hot, dense core—[as] the only defense against its own gravity, the only thing preventing its collapse.” You’d think Mercury would be blazing hot but its shadowed canyon temperatures actually stay far below freezing. Venus is a hellscape of greenhouse warming gone insane but no, the Earth probably will never equal that.
Our Moon not only affects Earth’s tides but has also slowed, and continues to slow, our planet down as our days once zipped by in about five hours. It was his study of the orbit of Mars that led Kepler to develop his laws of planetary motion. At one point in history, four planets – Vesta, Ceres, Juno, and Pallas – were thought to be in the space between Mars and Jupiter. The largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter is 1300 times the size of Earth which is not as big as the longest lasting storm in the solar system – the Great Red Spot. The ring system of Saturn extends millions of miles from the planet but in most places is only a few hundred feet thick. The British discoverer of Uranus, which has vertical rings and orbits on its side, tried to name it after George III while Neptune has the fastest winds in the solar system. As for Pluto and Planet X — Pluto is now counted as a dwarf planet and Planet X never existed. Sadly we still don’t know much about the outer edges of our solar system.
Now when we head into outer space, my mind begins to stutter. What is “space” and what is “gravity?” Is space empty and is there zero gravity? No, the cosmic “vacuum” isn’t empty and all objects exert a force of gravity that extends to infinity. Hello spacetime continuum. LeGrand points, Mach speeds, supernova shockwaves, and the theory that in our past, nearby (50 light years) supernovae contributed to extinction events on Earth intrigued me. Ask yourself, if we are surrounded by billions of stars all constantly emitting light (which travels through the “vacuum” of space) why is the night dark. Then let the authors explain why.
The last section – whoa. It takes us “where space and time warp beyond recognition. We travel into the past and into the future; we move at speeds faster than light; and we recognize, as far as our human awareness can carry us, what it means to travel to infinity and beyond.” Special relativity, dark energy, and time dilation are beautifully described but still make my head hurt thinking about them. Quantum foam … let’s not even go there. Time travel, alas, doesn’t appear to be possible or at least if it is, then why did no one from the future travel back to Steven Hawking’s Reception for Time Travelers?
The book is strewn with breathtaking photographs. Little nuggets of interesting history and science facts are tucked in amongst the discussions. The Incredible Hulk? Not so credible. Maverick surviving an ejection from a fighter traveling at Mach 10? He’d end up like a bug on a windshield. Most space travel and time travel in movies – all wrong. Remember – the Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you. Let this book help you when the Universe thumbs its nose at you. B
~Jayne
Scientific thinking always leaves the door ajar for the seemingly impossible. So perhaps we exaggerate—but only just a little—when we declare that infinity is only a moment’s pause on the way to unlimited destinations that await us. For all we know, our cosmic journey has only just begun.
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Your review makes space science sound as interesting as my favorite science, geology. I will buy this in physical format to have around, and read in small pieces. Thank you.
@LML: Good choice. Reading in small doses is a good idea. And the photographs are breathtaking. I hope you enjoy the book.