The Extravagant Universe
by Robert P. Kirshner · first published 2002
4mentions
2recommended by
2HN commenters
2011–2026first – last mentioned
100% recommend
One of the world's leading astronomers, Robert Kirshner, takes readers inside a lively research team on the quest that led them to an extraordinary cosmological discovery: the expansion of the universe is accelerating under the influence of a dark energy that makes space itself expand. In addition to sharing the story of this exciting discovery, Kirshner also brings the science up-to-date in a new epilogue. He explains how the idea of an accelerating universe -- once a daring interpretation of sketchy data -- is now the standard assumption in cosmology today. This measurement of dark energy --
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Robert Kirshner advised both Schmidt and Riess at Harvard and was an integral member of the High-Z Search Team. His book The Extravagant Universe is worth reading if you are interested in the topic. http://www.amazon.com/dp/069111742X/?tag=googhydr-20&hva... Many thought that Kirshner himself would get the Nobel for his work in the field, and…
on “The Nobel Prize in Physics 2011” ↗…team did some math that explains one otherwise unexplained phenomenon. I really, really wish science journalists could be as intellectually humble and conservative as the actual scientists. Read The Extravagant Universe if you want one of the great all-time tales of experimental physics, describing the lengths to which astronomers go to collect data, how long it takes, and how reluctant they were to even claim they were…
on “New research puts age of universe at 26.7 – not 13.7 – billion years” ↗…astronomers had been doing to make this more reliable and accurate. If you want to know all about this via first-hand account from one of the astronomers credited with the dark energy discovery, read The Extravagant Universe by Robert Kirschner. It's very accessible, not super-technical, but goes into painstaking detail on exactly how astronomers made the type IA work as a standard candle. It's also just a great testament…
on “New JWST data confirms, worsens the Hubble tension” ↗…extent, it would still take 60 years to gather the data you need. It doesn't make any difference whether robots or humans are running the program. One of my favorite books from the past few decades is The Extravagant Universe, written by one of the astronomers who helped discover dark energy and develop the current most-accepted model of cosmology. I love this book because of the emphasis on physical process in astronomy.…
on “Discovery Loop” ↗