Synopses & Reviews
Why is the sky dark at night?
The answer to this ancient and celebrated riddle, says Edward Harrison, seems relatively simple: the sun has set and is now shining on the other side of the earth. But suppose we were space travelers and far from any star. Out in the depths of space the heavens would be dark, even darker than the sky seen from the earth on cloudless and moonless nights. For more than four centuries, astronomers and other investigators have pondered the enigma of a dark sky and proposed many provocative but incorrect answers. Darkness at Night eloquently describes the misleading trails of inquiry and strange ideas that have abounded in the quest for a solution.
In tracing this story of discovery--one of the most intriguing in the history of science--astronomer and physicist Harrison explores the concept of infinite space, the structure and age of the universe, the nature of light, and other subjects that once were so perplexing. He introduces a range of stellar intellects, from Democritus in the ancient world to Digges in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, followed by Kepler, Newton, Halley, Chéseaux, Olbers, Poe, Kelvin, and Bondi.
Harrison's style is engaging, incisive yet poetic, and his strong grasp of history--from the Greeks to the twentieth century--adds perspective, depth, and scope to the narrative. Richly illustrated and annotated, this book will delight and enlighten both the casual reader and the serious inquirer.
Synopsis
In tracing this story of discovery--one of the most intriguing in the history of science--the astronomer and physicist Edward Harrison explores the concept of infinite space, the structure and age of the universe, the nature of light, and other subjects that once were so perplexing. Harrison's style is engaging, incisive yet poetic, and his strong grasp of history--from the Greeks to the twentieth century--adds perspective, depth, and scope to the narrative.
About the Author
Edward Harrison was Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Table of Contents
Prologue
1. Why Is the Sky Dark at Night?
I The Riddle Begins
2. Three Rival Systems
3. Celestial Light
4. The Starry Message
II The Riddle Develops
5. The Cartesian System
6. Newton's Needles and Halley's Shells
7. A Forest of Stars
8. The Misty Forest
9. Worlds on Worlds
10. Revelations of Chaos
III The Riddle Continues
11. The Fractal Universe
12. The Visible Universe
13. The Golden Walls of Edgar Allan Poe
14. Lord Kelvin Sees the Light
15. Ether Voids, Curved Space, and a Midnight Sun
16. The Expanding Universe
17. The Cosmic Redshift
18. Energy in the Universe
Epilogue
Proposed Solutions to the Riddle of Darkness at Night
Appendixes
1. Digges on the Infinity of the Universe
2. Halley on the Infinity of the Sphere of Stars
3. Chéseaux Explains the Riddle of Darkness
4. Olbers Revives the Riddle of Darkness
5. Kelvin on an Old and Celebrated Hypothesis
Notes
Bibliography
Index