A review of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey”

I am a big fan of the original “Cosmos” TV series, made by Carl Sagan in 1980. Thus, when I heard that there was a 2014 reboot of the series, I had great interest in seeing it. It turned out to be not as good as the original series, although the newer series had its moments, and justified the cost of the purchase.

A review of “Astronomy: The Heavenly Challenge” (audiobook)

The battle over the Sun-centered universe was as much political as it was scientific. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a theory that had been defended since antiquity was suddenly challenged by the new theory that the Earth revolved around the Sun. In antiquity, the Earth had not yet been recognized as a “planet.” Thus, there was no apparent contradiction in saying that the Sun and the “planets” revolved around the Earth. At this time, it seemed to be the most natural theory in the world. Most importantly, it was defended by the Catholic Church – which held political as well as doctrinal power, and was at the peak of its military and political might.

How did the Cold War lead to the Space Race?

“Poyekhali!” (“Let's go!”)

– Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, at the moment of the Vostok 1 rocket launch that first sent him into space

An anecdote about the German rocket scientists, and whose sides they were on in the Cold War

At the end of World War II, it turned out that the best rocket scientists in the world were in Nazi Germany. As Nazis, these scientists had been using their skills to send V-2 rockets tearing into London (and other Allied cities). But after the war, they would be drafted into the rocket programs of their respective conquering nations, and end up using these rockets for more peaceful purposes. The lucky ones worked for the Western Allies, and particularly for the Americans. But some of them were in East Germany, and thus had to work for the Soviet Union instead (a somewhat harsher fate). For both sides, these German scientists would form the core of their future rocket programs, and thus participate in the Space Race on one side or the other of this coming conflict. The boundaries of the Cold War – which went through postwar Germany – thus decided which side they were on in this conflict, and many of them would rather have chosen the West if they'd been able to do so. The Space Race was thus destined to be an integral part of this coming Cold War.

Wernher von Braun, one of the most famous of the German rocket scientists (who was on the American side)

A review of Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage”

"The Cosmos is all that is, or ever was, or ever will be ... "

- Opening lines of Carl Sagan's "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage"

Let me start out with an up-front disclaimer that I am not an expert on natural science. I am a layperson when it comes to this subject, as I have never even taken an introductory class about astronomy. But expertise in the subject matter is not required to enjoy this documentary, as my love of it demonstrates. This is a good documentary for laypeople as well as subject experts.

This is not to say that I agree with everything that Carl Sagan says. He is both a liberal and an agnostic, which means that I disagree with him about politics and religion. But when he sticks to the science, his documentaries have much to offer. And his exposition of his views tends to be interesting, even when I do not agree with him. I have enjoyed classes from a number of liberals that I disagree with, and learned a lot from even the most far-out ones.

Some fun facts about our solar system

Most of us know that the years on other planets seldom (if ever) correspond to the years on our own. Here are some fun facts about the years of our solar system's outer planets: