New astronomy and space titles reviewed
Flashes of Creation
Paul Halpern Hachette £22.99 HB
The Big Bang theory is happily taken for granted as the established model that describes how our Universe came into being. Indeed, this theory is so mainstream that there’s a popular TV series named after it. And yet there was a time in the not-so-distant past when about how cosmological debate everything started, how the elements were created and how they arrived at the abundance seen in our Universe today.
Flashes of Creation describes the lives of two of the giants of the great cosmological debate: George Gamow (1904-68) in the corner of the Big Bang theory and Fred Hoyle (1915-2001) with the steady-state theory. Although many different scientists contributed to the development of each theory, it is often these two interesting figures that are pitted against each other, despite them having few interactions in real life. This is also likely down to their mastery of science communication, both being among the first scientists to use radio and television to connect with the public.
The book starts with their childhoods and the landscape of physics at that time. It then progresses through the lives of both men, and nicely describes how our general understanding of the Universe changed due to key insights and discoveries over the last century. The final chapter concludes with the legacy of these two tremendous thinkers.
The book does not really go into detail about the physics itself, but tells us the human story of how this era unfolded, which is additionally brought to life with quotes from family members and other scientists.
This is something of a limitation to the book: you already have to be familiar with resource to understand some of the details. At times the pace of the book could be cosmology and some of the other ideas being discussed or you may find yourself needing another slow and some details were repeated. Having said this, if you’d like to know more about two of the leading figures in cosmology and the story of how we came to recognise the Big Bang theory as the best interpretation of how the Universe began, then this book is for you. ★★★★★
Laura Nuttall is a senior lecturer in gravitational waves at the University of Portsmouth
Interview with the author Paul Halpern
Was Fred Hoyle annoyed that the term ‘Big Bang’ stuck?
Hoyle coined the term in March 1949 on a BBC radio broadcast, as a way of poking fun at the concept of a universal explosion that no scientist might ever observe directly. When the transcript appeared in The Listener, the term began to seep into common use. It was picked up by the New York Times and has been popular ever since. Hoyle was aghast that the idea became so widely accepted.
How did Hoyle react to the prospect of being wrong?
Hoyle was brilliant and stubborn, and loved to match his wits against other scientists. But, when his best hunches were cast into doubt, he scrambled to find face-saving alternatives. He tried to promote the idea of ‘little bangs’ that would create helium more locally, along with iron or graphite needles scattered in space that would generate the requisite microwave background without the need for a Big Bang. By that point, mainstream scientists had stopped taking him seriously.
How much do we now understand about the birth of the Universe?
Since the Hoyle-Gamow debate, cosmology has made tremendous progress, thanks mainly to satellites that have mapped out the cosmic microwave radiation in finer and finer detail, along with the Hubble Space Telescope that has tracked the behaviour of extremely distant galaxies. It points to the fact that not only is the Universe expanding, but that the expansion is accelerating. It is truly a golden age of cosmology.
Paul Halpern is Professor of Physics at the University of the Sciences, Philadelphia
Ten Patterns that Explain the Universe
Brian Clegg MIT Press £25 PB
In the introduction to his new book, seasoned science writer Brian Clegg makes a case for the importance of patterns. The human gift for recognising them, he argues, has been vital to our success as a species. In the past few centuries, it’s become the cornerstone of how we understand the Universe.
The book’s remit is straightforward: to explain 10 of the most important patterns that have shaped our conception of the Universe. Simple though that sounds, it’s a challenge that could come unstuck in the hands of a writer lacking Clegg’s scope.
Some of the subjects are inevitable– the Periodic Table that reveals the behaviour of elements, for example, or the ‘echoes of creation’ left by the early cosmos in the Cosmic Microwave Background – but others are less so.
One chapter investigates Hermann Minkowski’s graphs depicting the nature of time and space, and the limits of perceptible reality itself. Another describes the Feynman diagrams that provide a visual shorthand for strange events in the quantum realm. Further chapters explore everything from particle trails, weather patterns and the nature of numbers, to the DNA that underlies life on Earth.
Clegg’s lucid prose, clever design and an array of photos and illustrations come together to present a procession of intriguing ideas, making this a great, approachable introduction to the bedrock of modern science. ★★★★★
Giles Sparrow is a science writer and a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
The Apollo Murders
Chris Hadfield Quercus £20 HB
Chris Hadfield has an unusually extensive CV. He is not only an accomplished test pilot and astronaut, but a photographer, musician, best-selling author, and now novelist. In this, his first story, what appears to be an accidental death in the run up to the launch of Apollo 18 turns into something much more sinister, and three suspects are trapped aboard the claustrophobic capsule while Cold War tensions heat up.
Told from several perspectives, Hadfield draws on his experience of spaceflight in this alternate-history tale, which is part murder mystery, part political thriller. Here Hadfield’s personal insight really stands out. Details such as the feel of the spacesuit, the headspace of the astronauts and the cabin layout, all put you into the story and make you feel claustrophobia, panic and determination alongside the characters. However, it does rely on having a good background knowledge of spaceflight and the Apollo missions. Without that, the frequent need to Google may take you out of the story a little. The multi-perspective storytelling can also take time to adjust to.
While often compelling, this book could also be streamlined: the minute technical details occasionally over-complicate the story and obscure the bigger picture.
Thriller fans used to a faster pace might be slightly underwhelmed, but Apollo and aeronautics buffs will love the detail and Hadfield’s exceptional insight into the experience of spaceflight. ★★★★★
Katie Sawers is a science writer specialising in cosmology and the history of astronomy
In Plain Sight
Ross Coulthart HarperCollins £16.99 PB
In June 2021 the US government released its long-awaited file on so-called ‘unidentified aerial phenomena’ (UAPs): the unusual objects reportedly seen above Earth for decades. While public reaction was mostly muted disappointment, the saga has brought UFOs again to the fore.
Investigative journalist Ross Coulthart’s new book In Plain Sight promises to explore the facts (sparse though they may be) regarding UAPs, exploring official government and military lines and detailing how much we actually know. What follows is a dissection of UAP reports and a history of related investigative agencies up to the present.
The subject of UFOs is of course thorny (the ‘UAP’ rebrand could be seen as a desire for the field to be taken more seriously), but questions remain. Why are there multiple reports of strange aerial objects? Why are government responses so often contradictory? And when do multiple, independent eyewitnesses count as evidence?
Answering these questions, Coulthart produces stupefying testimony from military and government sources, as well as insider evidence apparently never intended for public consumption. Happily, he handles the topic with cynicism, presenting just the facts and at times debunking the seemingly impenetrable evidence himself. It becomes not just a discussion of whether aliens have visited Earth, but an investigation into aerial objects that the US government has admitted it cannot identify (extraterrestrial or otherwise), and suggestions it could be silencing its own military.
The result is a fascinating read. If you’re a UFO enthusiast, you’ll find much to enjoy. If you’re a cynic, then fear not: you’re in good hands. But what you discover may just surprise you. ★★★★★
Iain Todd is BBC Sky at Night Magazine’s Staff Writer