A Grand and Bold Thing: An Extraordinary New Map of the Universe Ushering In A New Era of Discovery
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LATE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, what had been a fevered pace of discovery in astronomy for many years had slowed. The Hubble Space Telescope continued to produce an astonishing array of images, but the study of the universe was still fractured into domains: measuring the universe’s expansion rate, the evolution of galaxies in the early universe, the life and death of stars, the search for extrasolar planets, the quest to understand the nature of the elusive dark matter. So little was understood, still, about so many of the most fundamental questions, foremost among them: What was the overall structure of the universe? Why had stars formed into galaxies, and galaxies into massive clusters? What was needed, thought visionary astronomer Jim Gunn, recently awarded the National Medal of Science, was a massive survey of the sky, a kind of new map of the universe that would be so rich in detail and cover such a wide swath of space, be so grand and bold, that it would allow astronomers to see the big picture in a whole new way. So was born the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a remarkable undertaking bringing together hundreds of astronomers and launching a new era of supercharged astronomical discovery, an era of “e-science” that has taken astronomy from the lonely mountaintop observatory to the touch of your fingertips. Critically acclaimed science writer Ann Finkbeiner tells the inside story of the Sloan and how it is revolutionizing astronomy. The Sloan stitched together images of deep space taken over the course of five years, providing a remarkably detailed, three-dimensional map of a vast territory of the universe, all digitized and downloadable for easy searching on a personal computer, and available not only to professional astronomers but to the public as well. Bringing together for the first time images of many millions of galaxies—including the massive structure known as the Sloan Great Wall of galaxies, never seen before—the Sloan is allowing astronomers and armchair enthusiasts alike to watch the universe grow up, providing so many discoveries at such a fast pace that, as one astronomer said, it’s like drinking out of a fire hose. They are watching galaxies forming and galaxies merging with other galaxies, seeing streams of stars swirling out from galaxies, and forming a new understanding of how the smooth soup of matter that emerged from the Big Bang evolved into the universe as we know it. Ann Finkbeiner brings the excitement and the extraordinary potential of this new era of astronomy vividly to life and allows all readers to understand how they, too, can become part of the discovery process. A Grand and Bold Thing is vital reading for all. Publishers Weekly With this accessible and insightful book, science journalist Finkbeiner reveals the story behind today's most exciting astronomical research program: the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a massive technological undertaking whose results have allowed everyone, from astronomers to high school students, to create and work with "the most complete map of the universe ever." The SDSS began with astronomer Jim Gunn. Disillusioned by his work in the early days of the troubleplagued Hubble Space Telescope, Gunn dreamed of a "million-galaxy survey" that would be done "simply and cheaply, without bureaucratic delays." Along the route from ideal to reality, Gunn and the rest of the "Sloanies" encountered many obstacles, from obtaining funding and technical troubles to personality conflicts and the hassle of organizing groups at multiple universities and labs. By the time the survey began in 1998, the data--trillions of bytes--poured in, all available now via public Web sites like Google Sky and WikiSky. Finkbeiner (The Jasons) adroitly captures the major personalities as well as the science that drew them together. This delightful book reveals just how much SDSS has changed how astronomers work, and how they--and we--see the universe. (Aug.)
Prologue: The Instrument Fairy 1Chapter 1 Stakes Worth Playing For 7Chapter 2 Chicagoland 25Chapter 3 Putting on the Play 41Chapter 4 Photometric War 59Chapter 5 Running Open Loop 73Chapter 6 First Light 93Chapter 7 Drift Scanning 109Chapter 8 Spectroscopic War 121Chapter 9 Precision 139Chapter 10 The Virtual Observatory 153Chapter 11 Everything's Different 175Chapter 12 Jim Again 187Acknowledgments 199Sources 201Index 213
