Space, Time, and Aliens: Collected Works on Cosmos and Culture

by Steven J. Dick

Overview

In this comprehensive and interdisciplinary volume, former NASA Chief Historian Steven Dick reflects on the exploration of space, astrobiology and its implications, cosmic evolution, astronomical institutions, discovering and classifying the cosmos, and the philosophy of astronomy. The unifying theme of the book is the connection between cosmos and culture, or what Carl Sagan many years ago called the “cosmic connection.”

As both an astronomer and historian of science, Dr. Dick has been both a witness to and a participant in many of the astronomical events of the last half century. This collection of papers presents his reflections over the last forty years in a way accessible to historians, philosophers, and scientists alike. From the search for alien life to ongoing space exploration efforts, readers will find this volume full of engaging topics relevant to science, society, and our collective future on planet Earth and beyond.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030416164
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	05/12/2020
Edition description:	1st ed. 2020
Pages:	799
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Steven J. Dick served as the NASA Chief Historian and Director of the NASA History Office from 2003 to 2009. He was the 2014 Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology at the Library of Congress’s John W. Kluge Center. In 2013 he testified before the United States Congress on the subject of astrobiology. From 2011 to 2012 he held the Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History at the National Air and Space Museum. For 25 years he worked as an astronomer and historian of science at the U. S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. He is the author or editor of 23 books, including Discovery and Classification in Astronomy: Controversy and Consensus (Cambridge, 2013), The Impact of Discovering Life Beyond Earth (Cambridge, 2015), Astrobiology, Discovery, and Societal Impact (Cambridge, 2018, winner of the PROSE Award from the Association of American Publishers), and Classifying the Cosmos: How We Can Make Sense of the Celestial Landscape (Springer, 2019). In 2006, Dick received the LeRoy E. Doggett Prize from the American Astronomical Society for a career that has significantly influenced the field of the history of astronomy. In 2009, minor planet 6544 Stevendick was named in his honor.

Table of Contents

Epigraph

Dedication

Preface: Cosmos and Culture

Part I. The Biological Universe

Introduction

1. Plurality of Worlds: A Persistent Theme in Western Civilization

2. The Twentieth Century History of the Extraterrestrial Life Debate: Major Themes

3. From the Physical World to the Biological Universe: Historical Developments Underlying the Search for

Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)

4. The Biophysical Cosmology: The Place of Bioastronomy in the History of Science

5. The Biological Universe Revisited

6. Back to the Future: SETI Before the Space Age

7. The Drake Equation in Context

Part II. Cosmic Evolution and Implications of Alien Life

Introduction

8. Cosmic Evolution: History, Culture, and Human Destiny

9. Consequences of Success in SETI: Lessons from the History of Science

10. Cultural Aspects of Astrobiology: A Preliminary Reconnaissance at the Turn of the Millennium

11. The Role of Anthropology in SETI: An Historical View

12. Bringing Culture to Cosmos: Cultural Evolution, the Postbiological Universe, and SETI

13. Toward a Constructive Naturalistic Cosmotheology

14. Astroethics and Cosmocentrism

15. Should We Message ET and Is an Asilomar Consultation Process Possible

16. Astrobiology and Society: An Overview at the Beginning of the 21^st Century

Part III. The Exploration of Space

Introduction

17. Exploring the Unknown: 50 Years of NASA History

18. Exploration, Discovery and Culture: NASA’s Role in History

19. Space, Time and Aliens: The Role of Imagination in Outer Space

20. The Impact of the Hubble Space Telescope

21. The Decision to Cancel the Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission (SM4) and its Reversal

22. Reflections on French-American Relations in Space, 1957–1975

Part IV. Measuring the Universe: Goals, Institutions, Techniques

Introduction

23. Measuring the Universe: A Brief History of Astrometry

24. Pulkovo Observatory and the National Observatory Movement

25. John Quincy Adams, the Smithsonian Bequest, and the Origins of the U. S. Naval Observatory

26. The First Time Balls, the First North American Time Ball

27. The U. S. Naval Astronomical Expedition of James Melville Gilliss in the Southern Hemisphere, 1849-1852

28. Measuring the Astronomical Unit: The American Transit of Venus Expeditions of 1874 and 1882

29. Geodesy, Time, and the Markowitz Moon Camera: An Interwoven International Geophysical Year

Story

Part V. Discovering, Classifying, and Understanding the Cosmos

Introduction

30. Pluto, Discovery, and Classification in Astronomy

31. Astronomy’s Three Kingdoms: A Comprehensive Classification System for Astronomy

32. The Discovery of Polar Motion and its Importance

33. Observation and Interpretation of the Leonid Meteors over the Last Millennium

34. The Discovery and Exploration of the Moons of Mars

35. The Universe and Alfred Russel Wallace

36. Discovering a New Realm of the Universe: Hubble, Galaxies, and Classification

Part VI The Philosophy of Astronomy, Cosmology, and Astrobiology

Introduction

37. The Philosophy of Astronomy, Cosmology, and Astrobiology: A Preliminary Reconnaissance

38. Critical Issues in the History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Astrobiology

39. Lessons Learned from the Twentieth-Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate

40. Cosmology and Biology, an Entangled Web?

Part VII Envoi: Reflections on Humanity and the Cosmos

41. Interstellar Humanity

42. The Consolations of Astronomy and the Cosmic Perspective

Appendix 1 Testimony Before the United States Congress

Appendix 2 Sources and Permissions

Editorial Reviews

Steven Dick’s writing is always very interesting, thoughtful, and well-researched, and he is very good at covering broad themes. … Much of this book is an interesting read, and it forms a very useful reference work … .” (Richard McKim, The Observatory, Vol. 141 (1282), June, 2021)

“Steve Dick not only makes accessible a significant portion of his oeuvre, but provides perceptive contemporary commentary on how the many questions and issues he has addressed over the years in the areas of the history of astronomy, the taxonomy of astronomical practice, the continuing search for life elsewhere in the Universe, and the question of the ubiquity of life itself, have fared, through his efforts and those of many others.” (David H. DeVorkin, Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, Vol. 23 (3), 2020)

From the Publisher