Galileo's New Universe: The Revolution in Our Understanding of the Cosmos [Paperback]

Stephen P. Maran (Author), Laurence A. Marschall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2009

The historical and social implications of the telescope and that instrument’s modern-day significance are brought into startling focus in this fascinating account. When Galileo looked to the sky with his perspicillum, or spyglass, roughly 400 years ago, he could not have fathomed the amount of change his astonishing findings—a seemingly flat moon magically transformed into a dynamic, crater-filled orb and a large, black sky suddenly held millions of galaxies—would have on civilizations. Reflecting on how Galileo’s world compares with contemporary society, this insightful analysis deftly moves from the cutting-edge technology available in 17th-century Europe to the unbelievable phenomena discovered during the last 50 years, documenting important astronomical advances and the effects they have had over the years.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

On the occasion of the telescope's 400th birthday, author and former NASA scientist Maran (Astronomy for Dummies) and physics professor Marschall (The Supernova Story) examine how Galileo's invention led to ground-breaking discoveries and the confirmation of the heliocentric Copernican hypothesis. Alternating between Galileo's perspective and that of 21st century astrophysics, Maran and Marschall dramatize the "profound novelty" of Galileo's first steps and the enormous distance we've come since: astronomer s now collect more information in an "eyeblink" than Galileo could in three years of systematic observation. Though a Dutchman fashioned the first rudimentary telescope ("two disks of glass and a piece of lead pipe"), the improvements Galileo developed in 1609 turned the humble spyglass (a military and shipping aid) into a precision instrument for studying the heavens. Galileo's first astonishing discovery was that the Moon, previously thought to be an ethereal body entirely unlike the earth, had a landscape. Just two years later he was observing sun spots and tracking Venus. A charming peek into astronomy's "family album," this lively history is ideal for armchair scientists and stargazers.
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About the Author

Stephen P. Maran worked at NASA for more than 35 years, on projects including the Hubble Space Telescope. He is the author of more than 10 books, including The Astronomy and Astrophysics Encyclopedia and Astronomy for Dummies, and is the press officer for the American Astronomical Society. He has an asteroid named for him and has been awarded the NASA Medal for Exceptional Achievement, the George Van Biesbroeck Prize of the American Astronomical Society, and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's Klumpke-Roberts Award. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Laurence A. Marschall is the W. K. T. Sahm Professor of Physics at Gettysburg College and the author of The Supernova Story. He is a regular columnist for Natural History, a contributing editor of Smithsonian Air and Space, and an astronomy contributor for The World Book Encyclopedia. He is the deputy press officer of the American Astronomical Society and has been published in numerous publications, including Astronomy, Discover, Harper's, Newsday, and The New York Times Book Review. He lives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Paperback: 174 pages
• Publisher: BenBella Books (March 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933771593
• ISBN-13: 978-1933771595
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,202,148 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful to read, May 19, 2009

By 

D. Bell "Dodger Fan" (Covina, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Galileo's New Universe: The Revolution in Our Understanding of the Cosmos (Paperback)

On the 400th anniversary of the telescope, the authors weave a history of Galileo and his revolutionary tool with up-to-date science of the cosmos. The blend makes for a fascinating read. Just enought technical to put you in awe, but sensible enough that all - science types and art types - will thoroughly enjoy the acquisition of heavenly knowledge.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tying together history and modern science, May 15, 2009

By 

Michael J Edelman (Huntington Woods, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Galileo's New Universe: The Revolution in Our Understanding of the Cosmos (Paperback)

There have been a great many books about Galileo in recent years, starting with Dava Sobel's Galileo's Daughter. What makes this book different is that it ties Galileo's earliest discoveries to what modern science knows about the Universe today. Co-authors Stephen Maran and Lawrence Marschall are well equipped to tell this story, with Maran having spent 35 year with NASA and Marschall having taught astronomy, physics, and science writing for many years as well.

The book is organized around a series of topics dealing with the instruments and the objects of astronomy. Chapter one gives us a brief summary of Galileo's life, and the age in which he lived. Chapter two deals with telescope, and succeeding chapters start with Earth's Moon, and from there, take us to the Sun, the planets, and beyond. Each chapter tells two stories: First, what was known about the topic in the ages of Galileo, and what Galileo added to that knowledge, and second, what science has discovered since then. This narrative style does an excellent job of illustrating Galileo's place in the historical narrative of astronomy, and helps the reader to better understand how pivotal Galileo's role was in explaining the Universe around us.

If this book has one fault, it's the lack of illustrations. It's very difficult to explain how a telescope works, or the arrangement of the planets, with text alone- particularly for the reader unfamiliar with astronomy. I think this book would be greatly improved with the addition of simple line drawings and star charts, and I would encourage the publishers to consider doing this in future editions.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but not what I expected, March 18, 2011

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Metallurgist (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Galileo's New Universe: The Revolution in Our Understanding of the Cosmos (Paperback)

I was expecting a book about Galileo and his concept of the universe, and while this is covered it is not the main focus of the book. Its subtitle Celebrating the Telescopes 400th Anniversary, is a more accurate reflection of the contents of the book. The book starts with a very brief biography of Galileo, but it contains less information than that contained in the Wikipedia article on Galileo. This is then followed by a chapter on Galileo's improvement of the telescope and a discussion of modern telescopes. The remaining 8 chapters utilize the same format - there is a brief description of what Galileo saw (with chapters on the moon, the sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Comets, the stars and Milky Way and finally his cosmology in general), followed by a discussion of the modern view of each of these observations. Thus, only about half of the 168 pages of the text are actually about Galileo. The book only mentions his book on Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems and the problems that this caused him, but this information is superficial at best and is covered in far more detail in the aforementioned Wikipedia article. There is almost no discussion of any of Galileo's very important contributions to physics in general.

My chief problems with this book are two fold. First, it was nowhere as comprehensive as I had hoped it to be and secondly it contains no illustrations of any kind and this is the type of book that cries out for illustrations that would greatly clarify the text. In short - this is a fine book if you are primarily interested in Galileo's telescope and the observation that he made with it. However, it is not very good if you want to know more about Galileo. Five-stars for the telescope, but overall only 4-stars.