Merry Christmas from The Great Galactic Space Gimmick!
In today’s Space Gimmick library entry, I present reviews on two really great science books. Krakatoa by Simon Winchester and Great Astronomers by Robert S. Ball.
Krakatoa by Simon Winchester.
The book Krakatoa isn’t necessarily about space, but it does cover many impacts to science that the catastrophic eruption of August 1883 had on the world. When the eruption occurred, new mass communication and scientific instruments were at the forefront of usage around the globe. I found this historical account very compelling especially describing the scientific and societal effects that the eruption had on the Sundar Straits in Sumatra. The eyewitness accounts, the seismic and pressure readings that were collected from the eruption added new insight into how to apply geophysical science disciplines for correlation to volcanic events on other planets such as Mars and Planetary moons. Also, the advance of the telegraph allowed rapid communication of the disaster to be communicated around the world relatively easily (a forerunner to the modern internet). The eruption of Krakatoa was one of the worst volcanic disasters in history. The volcanic explosion of the island caused a lethal tsunami that led to 36,000 deaths, and the amount of ash and aerosol released by it caused blood-red sunsets and cool temperatures for the next several years. The explosion of the island also goes down as producing the loudest noise in recorded history, apparently heard over 2000 miles away near Perth, Australia with a related air pressure wave that was felt seven times around the globe (over several days).
Three volcanoes: Krakatoa (Earth), Surt (Moon of Io), and Olympus Mons (Mars).
Collecting eyewitness accounts as well as the scientific measurements that were made of the eruption lent themselves to fledgling methods in scientific research that would have a direct impact on space exploration in the years to come. Krakatoa’s eruption was minor compared to the volcanoes that are on Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io or Mons Olympus on Mars, but nevertheless, it’s relevant.
Great Astronomers by Robert S. Ball.
In Great Astronomers, each chapter written by Robert S. Ball covered a general biography of well-known historic astronomers. The book went into detail about the lives of various astronomers that made solid contributions to science including some of the historic settings into which they were born, lived, and worked. It covered their interactions with other scientists and astronomers of the day and detailed intricate information about the specific offerings their efforts made to increase the knowledge of space, including the composition of the stars, the movement of planetary objects, asteroids, comets, and other space-borne phenomena that until then had only been speculated on.
Galileo, Copernicus, and Brahe.
Astronomers such as Galileo, Copernicus, Brahe, Newton, Kepler, Halley, and many others were covered in detail. This again included each of their own achievements related to astronomy pursuits and what gave their offerings such impact to the science.
William Herschel and Planet Uranus (his discovery).
One that stood out was William Herschel, the first astronomer to discover a planet since the invention of the telescope. I wrote more about this before (see my article on Uranus), but I was taken aback by the fact that he was a musician before he got into astronomy. Sometimes it takes time for people to discover what their true passions are or the passions tend to develop over time and he seized upon the opportunity.
I found both books to be very fascinating and highly recommend both. These can be purchased at amazon.com or on Audible or Scribd. For The Great Galactic Space Gimmick, I’m Gimmick Commander Ben Faltinowski. 🔭 ⭐️
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