‘The Search for Life Continued: Planets Around Other Stars’ by Barrie W. Jones
Astrobiology is a complex, wide-ranging subject embracing biology, astronomy, geology, climatology, engineering, chemistry, computer modelling and, probably, a dozen other subjects I’ve not even thought of. It’s impossible for anyone to be truly expert in all these aspects and it takes a real optimist to attempt a synthesis. Barrie Jones is the quintessential optimist and makes a damn good attempt in this semi-popularization. The book’s organization is very much that of a textbook but the style and atmosphere invoke the best kind of popular science book; one that introduces you to new...
Read More‘The Scientific Exploration of Mars’ by Fredric W. Taylor
It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that the myth and superstition surrounding Mars began slowly to be replaced by observation and scientific fact. Its orbit was first calculated by Copernicus in the early 1500s, who assumed the path traced around the Sun to be a perfect circle. Soon after, Brahe and Kepler came on the scene to provide us with the picture we know today. With the invention of the telescope a century or so later Mars was recognised as the planet it is, and investigations into this alien, yet Earth-like, world could begin in earnest. As the prologue to The Scientific Exploration of...
Read More‘Science, Society, and the Search for Life in the Universe’ by Bruce Jakosky
This book explores the relationship between science and society, using the field of Astrobiology as an example. Jakosky’s goal, as he states in his preface, is to investigate the philosophical and societal issues in astrobiology. This focuses in particular on encouraging the specialists in science and the humanities to communicate more effectively with each other, with the idea that both sides will benefit greatly from doing so. The book begins on a scientific note, by introducing astrobiology as a popular and historical science, and then discusses deeper questions such as determining what...
Read More‘The Science of Doctor Who’ by Paul Parsons
One of the fascinations of Dr Who is that it is not entirely science fiction. Another Doctor, Paul Parsons, has written this wonderfully entertaining book, The Science of Doctor Who, in an attempt to bridge the gap between the science and the fiction. He wrote the book “to entertain, to boost enjoyment of the show and to answer the questions … of intelligent fans”. He adds: “If I did manage to educate anyone along the way, then I sincerely apologise”. He might well need to do some apologising! Dr Who seems timeless and ubiquitous. I watched the first Dalek story back in 1963 as a...
Read More‘Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity and the Exploration of the Red Planet’ by Steve Squyres
“Suppose just for a moment that the miracle of genesis really did occur on Mars… then evidence for how it happened may still be there, a story in the rocks waiting to be read.” – Steve Squyres. The tale of Spirit and Opportunity, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers, is surely one of the most gripping adventures in scientific history. But what did it take for Steve Squyres and his team of scientists and engineers to put Spirit and Opportunity on Mars? The short answer? Two decades of planning and preparation, the toil of hundreds of dedicated scientists and engineers spread over the earth,...
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