ASTRONOMY & NATURAL HISTORY CONNECTIONS: FROM DARWIN TO EINSTEIN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I- GETTING CONNECTED - In the opening chapter, the author is conducting an astronomy tour to a university outreach group and establishes a teaching system that is easy to learn, fun, and connects the audience (both the tour group and the reader) to the Cosmos, which is the goal.
II - EARLY CONNECTIONS - Chapter II introduces the outliers throughout history that were one step ahead in “getting it”.
V – RELATIVELY RECENT CONNECTIONS - This Chapter takes us through the 20thCentury developments in Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Cosmology.
VI - WONDROUS CONNECTIONS - In this Chapter, I share some moments and concepts that were epiphanies.
ASTRONOMY & NATURAL HISTORY CONNECTIONS: FROM DARWIN TO EINSTEIN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I- GETTING CONNECTED - In the opening chapter, the author is conducting an astronomy tour to a university outreach group and establishes a teaching system that is easy to learn, fun, and connects the audience (both the tour group and the reader) to the Cosmos, which is the goal.
II - EARLY CONNECTIONS - Chapter II introduces the outliers throughout history that were one step ahead in “getting it”.
- Prehistory, Mesopotamia, China, Anasazi
- Classical Greek Period – Includes narrative sketches of Pythagoras, Socrates, Hippocrates, Plato Aristotle, and Euclid.
- Hellenistic Greek Period – Includes narrative sketches of Alexander the Great, Eratosthenes, Aristarchus, Archimedes, Hipparchus, Pliny the Elder, Ptolemy, and Galen.
- The Dark Ages
- Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler
- Galileo Galilei
- Sir Isaac Newton
- The Transit of Venus and The Lighting of the Standard Candle – An introduction to of the history of distance measurement in the Universe, including parallax.
- Evolution and Natural Selection – It’s much simpler than you think.
- What is a Species? – It’s more complex than you think.
- Exaptation – What in the World is That?
- Why do Animals Migrate? - It’s one strategy, but not the only one.
- Is there Disharmony on these Islands? - It’s a good story.
- Nucleosynthesis – The chemistry of nuclear fusion is explained in an easy-to-understand manner.
- Nebulae – Emission, Reflection, and Dark Nebulae are discussed as well as Planetary Nebulae.
- Red Giants – The fate of our Sun
- White Dwarfs and Planetary Nebulae – Old age was never more beautiful.
- Type 1A Supernovae – Explosive but useful.
- Neutron Stars and Pulsars - The odd couple.
- Heavy Metal – No elements heavier than iron can be formed by nucleosynthesis.
- Black Holes - Everybody loves Black Holes.
- Star Clusters– There’s more than one kind.
- Galaxies – Billions and billions.
- Groups and Clusters of Galaxies – Way, way out there.
- Filaments, Walls, and Voids – The structure of the Universe.
V – RELATIVELY RECENT CONNECTIONS - This Chapter takes us through the 20thCentury developments in Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Cosmology.
- The Theory of Special Relativity
- The Theory of General Relativity
- Einstein – The Last Thirty Years
- Quantum Mechanics
- Hubble’s Law and our Expanding Universe
- The Big Bang
VI - WONDROUS CONNECTIONS - In this Chapter, I share some moments and concepts that were epiphanies.
- What Exactly is Life?
- Putting Life on Hold
- Cold Water on the Equator?
- When the North Pole Becomes the South Pole
- Growing by Shrinking
- Wandering Eyes and Sex Changes . . . In Fish
- Incredible Breakthrough in Solar Energy – Photosynthesis
- Survival of the Fittest Bacteria
- Endosymbiosis Theory
- Dark Matter
- Dark Energy
- Exoplanets
- The Search for Life in the Universe
- Genetic Switches
- The Future of Manned and Robotic Missions Outside the Solar System.
- The Colonization of Mars – “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly”.
- Staying Connected –The message is to maintain your curiosity, keep learning and enjoy being connected.