Customer Reviews

Stardust: Supernovae and Life -- The Cosmic Connection

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For anyone curious about the sources for the chemical elements of life, this new book has the story. From the manufacture of hydrogen and helium in the big bang, to nucleosynthesis inside stars, to the production of the heaviest elements in supernovae, John Gribbin explains these phenomena in terms any interested person can understand. Often he stands slightly back from the day-to-day story, giving a full panorama that is usually seen only in textbooks. But textbooks never make it as intriguing as Gribbin does. He finds flawless metaphors for many difficult concepts, explains the background carefully, and gives us lots of inside info on the scientists involved. Having studied at Cambridge, he is personally acquainted with many of them. I especially enjoyed learning more about Fred Hoyle's role in the development of the Big Bang theory, his prediction of the carbon-12 resonance, and his contribution to stellar nucleosynthesis theory.

In Stardust Gribbin pays needed attention to panspermia -- it is the subject of the first chapter. He fully recognizes the scientific paradigm shift toward panspermia that has already taken place, now that the abundance of organic compounds in space has become established. He even opines, rather than "biological material falling onto a pre-existing planet,... it is much simpler for the material to mingle with the stuff from which planest formed in the first place" (p 15). This idea might mesh with Thomas Gold's theory that there is life very deep below Earth's surface. But in the end, Gribbin sees no need for the stronger versions of panspermia. For example, he writes, "Amino acids, it cannot be stressed enough, are just one step away from living molecules" (p 177). What the heck are "living molecules?" Of course, Gribbin is an astrophysicist, and in this book his focus is on the chemicals of life only. He does not even consider the hard problem of accounting for the genetic programs behind life. If he were to consider it, he might find panspermia to be worthy of another whole book. From a scientists who does such thorough research and writes so well, this would be a welcome prospect!

Carl Sagan was fond of the observation that "we are all starstuff"-that the atoms and molecules in our bodies were forged in the big bang and in the heart of exploding supernovae.

Gribbin fills in the background on that observation, describing how the simpler elements are formed during the big bang and how more complex elements are formed inside stars, particularly when they explode. It is a two-fold history, both of how astronomers and astrophysicists (a remarkably recent discipline) discovered how these were formed and of the universe itself and how it developed.

The only complaint I can come up with is that Gribbin gives Sagan too little credit, never quoting him with the statement above, even though it's truer and more characteristic than the "billions and billions" phrase the impressionists like to use. It's ironic that part of Gribbin's subtitle is the title of one of Sagan's most notable books.

Other than that, this is a gripping and easy-to-read relating of some of the fundamental concepts in modern astronomy. Highly recommended.

this book will tell you your place in the universe. every human being on the planet should be required to read this book. i have read every word in this book and i highlighted alot of text. i will re-read this book throughout my life.

also, read 'river out of eden' by richard dawkins for information on human evolution.

John Gribbin's survey of supernovae and life examines the developments in 20th century astronomy which led to the conclusion that human life is derived from stardust. From the 1920s, when scientists discerned the composition of stars, to work in the 1950s and 60s which equated cosmology to human origins, Stardust provides an intriguing history.