The reason I had tears in my eyes is not because I'm easily touched by spectacular shows. It is because the overwhelmingly beautiful image and sound brought me back to a state of mind I had known at the age of 17, when I watched Carl Sagan's series "Cosmos" for the first time. This year reaching the age of 50, I could relive the same awe and wonder that also directed me to career in the space industry, perhaps still a little closer to Earth than the astronomy profession of my grandfather.
The author Neil deGrasse Tyson brings the area of astrophysics closer to a general audience. He probably has one of the nicest jobs in the universe. In this book, he describes the latest discoveries in astrophysics. The language is easily accessible and the tone of the book is very humorous. I discovered I didn't know that much about thermonuclear reactions. The author also devotes a chapter to what can happen when "the universe turns bad". If only people could be more aware of this, perhaps it would make us all more humble and careful with this planet.
At the end of the book, the author also spends some thoughts on the relation between science and religion. In his own fleet-footed, no-nonsense way, the author points out that religious books have never been very good at predicting the movement of celestial bodies. He also points out that science is not interested in philosophies of ignorance like "intelligent design". These ideas answer our lack of understanding with an idea that just 'packages' this current lack of understanding (these are my own words). Though being a 'religious' person myself, I fully subscribe to the author's view. And I guess most people (with a scientific education) in Europe would subscribe to this view as well. But I could imagine these topics create some controversy in the USA.
See also my blog on SETI. Below you see the entrance hall of the Natural History Museum in NYC.
