Universal Truths: The Day We Found the Universe

The Day We Found The Universe by Marcia Bartusiak (520.9 BAR Main)
Reviewed by Susan Wolfe

It was January 1, 1925, to be exact.

What a great book! It is funny, historical and true. Normally, you think that scientists and astronomers are all serious, no-nonsense types, with little or no personality, but, oh, you would be so wrong. Modern astronomy was full of quirky, odd-ball characters who would make SyFy shows like “Eureka” seem tame.

The first modern observatory was built in the late 19th century by eccentric millionaire, John Lick, who also planned to build a pyramid in downtown San Francisco. At that time, scientists were mostly convinced that the galaxy was actually the universe with the sun at its center. This is the story of how that view was changed with the explosion of discoveries, lucky guesses, contests of will, and wrong turns made by the scientists.

It was a unique and exciting time. “Canals” had been discovered on Mars. War of the Worlds had just been published, with Martians invading earth. Observatories were being hacked out of mountaintops came giant telescopes. Ironically, it was James Keeler toying around with a small reflective telescope (which was despised by most scientists) who discovered little pinwheels of light. Some scientists thought these pinwheels might be other galaxies, others were certain that they were within our own galaxy. Some other scientists were just busy counting stars. It was during this time that a young Einstein appeared out of left field with his new theories. It set off a flurry of estimates of how to measure distances between stars.

Fast forward to January 1925. That was when 35 year old Edwin Hubble announced findings that the universe was a thousand trillion times larger than previously believed.

Hubble was an odd character too. He was often called an Adonis. Handsome. Athletic. His greatest nightmare was being caught in a scientific error and he had to be convinced to submit his research to the 1925 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Raised in Missouri, he went to England as a Rhodes Scholar, where he completely reinvented himself, adopting a British accent that he maintained throughout his life. He added dubious credentials to his resume, like practicing law, which he never did. Hollywood loved him. As you can tell, he wasn’t popular with most astronomers. But, hey, the “Hubble Telescope” was named after him.

I’ve often heard that truth is stranger than fiction. It is certainly true with this Wild West ride through science. It is funny, cleverly written, and you will chuckle while you read. I would highly recommend this book.