Roberto Trotta, a theoretical cosmologist and lecturer in astrophysics at Imperial College, London, is the author of the new book, "The Edge of the Sky: All You Need to Know About the All There Is". KBOO will give away a copy of the book during this broadcast!
Roberta Trotta deconstructs the Universe, using only the 1000 most common words in the English Language, in 85 pages. The result is not only illuminating, but pure poetry. Planets become crazy stars, galaxies are star crowds, The Milky Way is the white road, and Earth is the home world.
The Edge of the Sky is told from the point of view of a scientist (or student-person), during her night observations through a "Big Seer", one of the world's most powerful remote mountaintop telescopes—out of the reach of ever-encroaching light pollution. We are treated to passages like this:
"With the touch of a finger, she pushes the last red light and with barely a noise Big Seer opens his big eye. The light from the stars falls on her arm: All of a sudden Big Seer jumps to life. He moves his glass gaze slowly but without pausing. He knows what he is looking for."
Roberto Trotta answers the BIG QUESTIONS that humans have pondered throughout our time on planet earth, and raises new ones. He interprets rarefied scientific language and brings the latest discoveries back down to earth. It reads like a gift to humankind.
http://www.basicbooks.com/full-details?isbn=9780465044719
Leigh Anne Kranz hosts
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