Coming of Age in the Milky Way (85 page)

electromagnetism and, 193

Maury, Antonia, 258, 259

Maxwell, James Clerk, 10, 185–188, 190, 255

Maxwellian velocity distribution theory, 263

Medici, Cosimo de, 95, 96

Mendel, Gregor, 242

Mercury, 23, 68, 279

death of the sun and, 270

mean distance from the sun (est.), 124

transit of, 131

Messier, Charles, 157

Meteorites, 252

Michelson, Albert, 180, 182

Michelson-Morley experiment, 11, 180–181, 188

aether drift theory and, 188, 192

Micrometry, 125

Microwave radiotelescope, 213, 347

Milky Way galaxy, 48, 96, 144, 145, 146, 149, 152, 161, 162

big bang and, 272–273

dark nebulae in, 144, 158

diameter of, 171

early-universe theory of, 341

ecology of, 266–267

elements in, 277

galaxies beyond, 175

Galileo’s observation of, 89, 90

location in the solar system of, 168–175

spectroscopy and, 166

spiral arms of, 153, 174

Milton, John, 76, 83, 101

Mimas (satellite of Saturn), 156

Minkowsky, Hermann, 197–198

Moon, 22

Galileo’s observation of, 88, 90

Newton’s laws of gravitation and, 107

Moon rocks, 252

Morrison, Philip, 371

Music, symmetries in, 304–305

Mutuality of gravitation, 117–118

NASA’s interstellar spacecraft study, 375

Natural selection theory of evolution,
see
Darwinism

Navigation astronomy as tool for, 20–21, 47–49, 52

determination of longitude and, 128–130

Nebulae, 151–152

bright, 143–144

elliptical, 144, 146, 148, 152, 161–162, 165

Herschel’s study of, 150–159

island universe theory of, 161, 171, 172, 173

nature of, 144

planetary, 143, 157

spiral, 144, 162, 165–166

Nebular hypothesis, 161, 162, 165–166

defects in, 166–173

Ne’eman, Yuval, 311

Neoplatonism, 64, 65

Networking of interstellar communications, 375–380

Neutrino decoupling, 344

Neutrinos, 264, 265, 327, 344

Neutrons, 256

as fermions, 292

quarks and, 296, 338, 340

symmetry and, 307

Neutron star, 279

Newton, Humphrey, 113, 115–116

Newton, Isaac, 101, 103–122, 127, 128, 152, 161

the calculus invented by, 106, 108–110

date of Creation estimated by, 220

Einstein and, 177, 178, 183, 184, 193
n

gravitation and, 103, 107–109, 113–118, 120–121, 177

inertia and, 34, 94, 116–117, 177

Kepler’s third law and, 81, 108
n
, 112–113, 115

the
Principia
of, 103, 115–118, 119, 120–121

reflecting telescope of, 110–112

stellar distances measured by, 136

Newton’s first law, 116–117

Newton’s second law, 117

Newton’s third law, 117

Nickel, 277

Nitrogen-14, 251

Noneuclidean geometries, 198, 199

Novikov, Igor, 280

Nuclear energy, 248

Nuclear forces,
see
Strong nuclear force; Weak nuclear force

Nuclear fusion, 248, 252–254, 367

See also Stellar nuclear fusion

Nuclear physics, 211–212

Nuclear weapons, 252–254

Nucleons, 293, 294

Observational astrophysics, 168

Olbers, Wilhelm, 201
n

Olbers’s paradox, 201
n

Oldenburg, Henry, 111, 112

“On the Electrodynamics of

Moving Bodies” (Einstein), 193

On the Heavens
(Aristotle), 28, 69

On the Revolutions
(Copernicus), 63, 64, 65, 66, 67–68, 84, 98

Öpik, Ernst, 275–276

Oppenheimer, Robert, 279, 310

Optics, 110, 163, 187

Oresme, Nicole, 64–65

Origin of Species, The
(Darwin), 68, 116, 236, 242, 243–244, 245, 248

Origin of the universe,
see

Cosmogony

Orion Nebula, 157

Oxygen, 272

Pangenesis theory of Darwin, 242

Parallax (triangulation), 125–126, 127, 130

of the stars, 136–141

Parity violation in the weak nuclear force, 313

Particle physics

-cosmology link, 335–348

time and, 337–340

Pauli, Wolfgang, 292, 310, 333

Pauli exclusion principle, 292, 293

PEP accelerator, 333

PETRA accelerator, 333

Photinos, 333

Photon decoupling, 343

Photons, 258, 264–265, 318, 337

early-universe theory and, 343

released by the big bang, 212
n
, 213, 214

Pi, value of, 40

Pi mesons, 318

Planck, Max, 183, 193, 258, 286

Einstein and, 204
n

Planetary nebulae, 143, 157

Planetesimals, 167
n

Planets, 22–23

Copernicus and, 68

elliptical orbit of, 66

extrasolar, 394–395

Kepler’s laws and, 79–81

mean distances from the sun (est.), 124

measuring distances via micrometry and triangulation, 125–126, 127

Newton’s laws and, 107, 117, 120–121

retrograde motion of, 23, 24, 25, 26–27

spacecraft missions to, 370, 371

transit of, 130–136

See also
names of planets

Plato, 19, 25–26, 27, 31, 62, 64, 65, 75, 145, 217

Pleiades (star cluster), 259, 263

Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for, 269–270

Plutarch, 33, 39, 40

Poincaré, Henri, 181–182, 193, 201

Polaris (North Star), 57

Pole star, 52

Political power, use of astronomy for, 22

Polo, Marco, 47, 49–50, 54

Popper, Karl, 383

Portable telescopes, 163

Positrons, 308

Pound, James, 137, 153

Precession of equinoxes, 23
n

Primordial atom, 211, 212

Principia
(Newton), 103, 115–118, 120–121

publication of, 118–119, 120

Printing press, invention of, 62–63

Probes in interstellar flight, 374–375, 376

Project Ozma (SETI experiment), 372

Proton accelerators, 319–326

Proton-antiproton collider, 324–326

Proton-proton chain reaction for stellar nuclear fusion, 263–265, 272, 278

Protons, 262, 264–265

as fermions, 292

half-life of, 327

heat of stars and, 260–261

penetration of the Coulomb barrier by, 262, 264–265

quarks and, 338, 340

symmetry and, 307

Ptolemy, Claudius, 28–31, 33, 34, 38, 40, 62, 63, 69, 72, 124, 145

Islamic astronomy and, 43

Pythagoras, 35, 217

Pythagorean doctrine of celestial harmony, 75–77

Q and A time for interstellar radio signals, 376, 377, 378

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD), 297, 311, 312, 313

Quantum electrodynamics (QED), 297, 315–316

Quantum field theory relativistic, 297, 337

string theory and, 328

symmetry and, 312–313

Quantum genesis hypothesis, 351, 362–365

Quantum indeterminacy, 287–288

Einstein and, 290–291

proton action and, 262

quantum genesis hypothesis and, 365

Quantum leap, 288

Quantum mechanics, 200, 257

string theory and, 330, 331

Quantum numbers, 31

Quantum physics, 178, 183, 186, 200, 286–299, 367

four fundamental forces in, 293–294, 295

standard model theories for, 292–299

symmetry and, 307–309

Quantum principle, 286–287

Quantum tunneling, 262–263

Quantum vacuum, 351–352

Quarks, 293, 294–295, 350

antiquarks and, 344

big bang and, 338, 339, 340

inflationary universe hypothesis and, 360

symmetry and, 312

Quasars, 174, 390

Radioactive decay, 293

Radioactivity, 248, 249–254, 255, 256

Radio astronomy, 213–214

Radiometric age-dating, 250–252

age of the solar system by, 266

Radio telescopes, 213, 347

SETI projects and, 371–372, 374, 376

Radium, 249, 250

Red giant stars, 269, 270

Redshift-distance relation of galaxies, 207–208, 209–211, 214

Reflecting telescope, 110–112, 154, 168

Refracting telescope, 152–157, 158

Relativistic quantum field theories, 297, 337

Relativistic time dilation, 192–193

Relativity (term), 193, 285–286

See also
General theory of relativity; Special theory of relativity

Renaissance, 47–59

Retrograde motion of planets, 23, 24, 25

Eudoxus and, 26–27

Roman Catholic Church

Copernicus’s heliocentric theory and, 67

persecution of Galileo by, 11, 84, 96–100

Rubbia, Carlo, 322–323, 324–326

Russell, Henry Norris, 168, 259–260, 261

Rutherford, Ernest, 249–250, 256, 282

Salam, Abdus, 313, 314, 316, 317, 321, 326

Sandage, Allan, 174, 351

Saturn, 23, 43, 73, 117

mean distance from the sun (est.), 124

Saturn (cont.)

rings of, 81

satellites of, 156

triangulation of, 136

Scientific age-dating, 221–229

Second law of thermodynamics, 247

SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence), 371–372, 374

Shapley, Harlow, 168–172, 208

Silver, 277, 279

Slipher, Vesto, 206–208, 210

Smith, William, 221, 222

Sodium, 165

Solar fusion, 263–265

Solar system age of, 266

comets as products of, 69
n

Copernicus’s model of, 65–66, 123, 124

Galileo and, 88–90, 123, 132

Kepler and, 75, 78–82, 123

location of Milky Way in, 168–175

mean distances of planets from the sun in (est.), 124

measuring proportions of, 123–126

Newton’s laws and, 117, 120–121, 123

origin of (computer model), 167
n

space probes from other stars in, 374–375, 376

Tycho and, 73, 123

Solar telescopes, 168

Spacecraft, 81, 104, 252, 370–371

Space probes in interstellar flight, 374–375, 376

Spacetime continuum, 31, 32

four-dimensional, 197, 198, 199–202

Spacetime geometry, 364–365

Special theory of relativity, 11, 178, 183, 185, 191–194, 197, 200

Lorentz contraction as key element in, 181, 191

quantum physics and, 297

symmetry and, 307

Spectroscopy, 144, 162–166

Bohr and, 257–259

Spiral nebulae, 144, 162, 165–166

Milky Way galaxy and, 171, 172, 175

redshifts of, 207–208, 209–210

Star clusters, 259, 263, 270, 271

age of, 269

globular, 170–171

Stars, 19–25

aberration of starlight, 139

double, 168

exploding, 167

Galileo’s observation of, 89, 90

lifetime of, 265–271, 280

quantum tunneling and, 262–263

spectral classes of, 258–260

tree of, 260, 267–270

Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for, 259–260

triangulation of, 127, 136–141

variable, 168–169, 170, 172, 173, 208, 274

Stellar energy, 256–266, 280

Stellar nuclear fusion, 263–271

as source of elements, 271–272, 275–280

String theory, 328–332, 347
n
, 391

Strong nuclear force, 292, 294, 295, 296, 297, 346

quantum chromodynamics and, 311, 312

symmetry of, 309

Sun, 65

age of nuclear fusion and, 248, 252–254

thermodynamics and, 246–248

ancient astronomy and, 22

composition of, 164–165, 265–266

lifetime of, 265–266, 270–271

See also
Heliocentric universe

Superconducting super collider, 326, 340

Supernovae, 61, 70–71, 167, 268, 270, 276, 327, 391–392

Superstring concept, 332–333

Supersymmetry, 312, 328–334

early-universe theory and, 345, 348

inflationary universe theory and, 359

Symmetry, 320–334, 348

asymmetries and, 313

GUTs and, 327–328, 332–334

mystery of the universe and, 385–386

string theory and, 328–332

supersymmetry and, 328–334

unified electroweak theory and, 313–314, 317–318, 321–326

Telescopes

Galileo’s improvement on, 84, 86–88, 95–96

Herschel and, 152–157, 158

Newton and, 110–112

radiotelescopes, 213, 347

reflecting, 110–112, 154, 168

refracting, 152–157, 158

zenith, 137

Teller, Edward, 212, 263

Thermodynamics, 246–248, 254

symmetry of law of, 307

Thermonuclear fusion, 261–262

Tides, Newton’s laws and, 117

Time cyclical, 217–220

imaginary, 363, 364

linear, 220–225

lookback time, 174

particle physics-cosmology link and, 337–348

special theory of relativity and, 191, 192–193

timekeeping by the stars, 21–22

Tin, 275, 279

Toscanelli, Paolo dal Pozzo, 49, 55, 58, 59

Transit of the planets, 130–136

Translational symmetries, 304

Tree of life, 238–239

Triangulation,
see
Parallax

Tryon, Edward, 353–355, 361

Tycho (Tycho Brahe), 61, 69, 70–73, 74, 77, 97, 124, 167

Kepler and, 77–79

solar system and, 73, 123

Unified electroweak theory, 313–314, 317–318, 321–326, 345

big bang and, 336–337

Unified field theory, 186, 299, 308–309, 332–333

experimental versions of, 346–348

Uniformitarianism, 225–229, 233

“Up” quarks, 296, 312

Uranium, 249, 250

Uranus, 155–156

Ussher, James, 220, 224

Vacuum genesis of the universe, 351–356, 361, 362, 393–394

Variable stars, 168–169, 170, 172, 173, 208, 274

Venus, 68

angular diameter of, 154