In his recently published book “For the Love of Mars; A Human History of the Red Planet,” Dr. Matthew Shindell of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, guides his readers through the history of our observations, interpretations, and most recently explorations of the aptly called red planet.
Having recently added a copy of a much desired new edition of a textbook on the subject of astrobiology, my mind was primed and receptive for a recent note on Princeton’s social media channels pointing out that in addition to both hardcover and paperback editions of Dr. Kevin Peter Hand’s 2020 published book “Alien Oceans; the Search for Life in the Depths of Space,” they also have the book available in audio format, unabridged and read by the author, through their Princeton Audio imprint.
The scene: a very nicely appointed high-rise hotel room in 1953. Two figures – “the Actress” (who looks remarkably like Marylin Monroe, played by Theresa Russell) and “the Professor” (looking every bit the spitting image of Albert Einstein, played by Michael Emil) – are gazing out a large window into the night. Professor: I prefer […]
Our universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding,
In all of the directions it can whiz;
As fast as it can go, at the speed of light, you know,
Twelve million miles a minute and that’s the fastest speed there is.
So sang Eric Idle to a perplexed housewife (a drag-clad Terry Jones) in “Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life.” Truly, it’s one of the most beloved science songs of the twentieth century; right up there with Tom Lehrer singing “The Elements.”