Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
A fascinating and thought-provoking investigation into the nature of black holes--a blend of the spiritual, the philosophical, and the scientific--from the premier German astrophysicist who made history in 2018, capturing the first one on film.
A Light in the Darkness is the story of one of the greatest astrological achievements of all time: the first photographic evidence of black holes in April 2018, and its significance for humanity, told by the scientist who accomplished it. A man of faith ordained in the Protestant tradition, Heino Falcke wrestles with the ways in which black holes force us to confront the boundary where human life ends and the celestial begins. He also ponders why black holes are difficult for most of us to understand--comparing it to our inability to envisage our own inevitable death.
Black holes develop in outer space when a massive star dies, and its matter is condensed. That extreme amount of mass contained in a small space generates a gigantic amount of gravitational force, allowing the black hole to suck up everything that comes near, including light. These astronomical wonders are the subject of our greatest scientific and philosophical theorizing--the journey to a black hole would be the journey to the end of time itself. In this way, Falcke regards them as the most exquisite representations of fear, death . . . and, surprisingly, the divine.
Empirical and profound, A Light in the Darkness is the first work to examine both the physical nature and spiritual meaning of black holes, those astrophysical mysteries Falcke, calls "the epitome of merciless destruction."
Synopsis
The International Bestseller
On April 10, 2019, award-winning astrophysicist Heino Falcke presented the first image ever captured of a black hole at an international press conference--a turning point in astronomy that Science magazine called the scientific breakthrough of the year. That photo was captured with the unthinkable commitment of an intercontinental team of astronomers who transformed the world into a global telescope. While this image achieved Falcke's goal in making a black hole "visible" for the first time, he recognizes that the photo itself asks more questions for humanity than it answers.
Light in the Darkness takes us on Falcke's extraordinary journey to the darkest corners of the universe. From the first humans looking up at the night sky to modern astrophysics, from the study of black holes to the still-unsolved mysteries of the universe, Falcke asks, in even the greatest triumphs of science, is there room for doubts, faith, and a God? A plea for curiosity and humility, Light in the Darkness sees one of the great minds shaping the world today as he ponders the big, pressing questions that present themselves when we look up at the stars.