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Capturing The Universe by Rhodri Evans (book review).

Now here is a book you want to dally over, Rhodri Evans’ book, ‘Capturing The Universe’, collects together photographs of all the planets, before exploring the Milky Way and what lies beyond, the universe at large. Actually, it’s bigger than large and you can well believe that there are as many stars as grains of sand on Earth if not more.

 

Mars composite
Capturing The Universe by Rhodri Evans
pub: Andre Deutsch/Carlton 2019

Most of these photographs are by the various probes we’ve sent from our planet. When you look at these photos, keep reminding yourself, you are literally seeing new worlds. The look into the Milky Way with the various terrestrial and space-telescopes, shows it in a variety of electromagnetic frequencies, often on the same page and how in the last century we realised we were further out on the edge than at the centre of our galaxy. Considering the distance between stars, I often find it amazing how it looks beautiful as a collective whole.

NASA, ESA, E. Jullo (JPL/LAM), P. Natarajan (Yale) and J-P, Kneib (LAM)
Capturing The Universe by Rhodri Evans
pub: Andre Deutsch/Carlton 2019

Beyond our Solar system, when you look at the local group, which is our Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy, you can’t just look at the various star groups and not think that there must be people just like us looking at books or something similar and thinking we can’t be alone out there. The various star systems might be far apart but, well and truly, there are a lot of stars out there. When we move into the other galaxies and our more sensitive electronic cameras really do come into our own, then I defy anyone looking at our universe to not think just how amazing it all is and not be in awe.

NASA/UMass/D. Wang et al
Capturing The Universe by Rhodri Evans
pub: Andre Deutsch/Carlton 2019

Looking at the universe as a whole throughout this book, you suddenly realise what a small speck we are in the cosmos. If you aren’t humbled by that thought then look at these pictures. They are absolutely mind-blowing. My jaw is still dropping in free-fall. You get to see everything but black holes but, then, you wouldn’t see them anyway. There are some truly awe-inspiring sights out there. Seeing one that resembles the Cheshire cat smiling does make me wonder if the universe is in on the joke or, like our ancestors who names the consolations, we see different things.

If you’re into cosmology, then you’ll certainly want to add this book to your collection.

GF Willmetts

February 2019

(pub: Andre Deutsch/Carlton. 191 page illustrated large softcover. Price: £20.00 (UK). ISBN: 978-0-2330-579-9)

check out website: www.andredeutsch.co.uk

UncleGeoff

Geoff Willmetts has been editor at SFCrowsnest for some 21 plus years now, showing a versatility and knowledge in not only Science Fiction, but also the sciences and arts, all of which has been displayed here through editorials, reviews, articles and stories. With the latter, he has been running a short story series under the title of ‘Psi-Kicks’ If you want to contribute to SFCrowsnest, read the guidelines and show him what you can do. If it isn’t usable, he spends as much time telling you what the problems is as he would with material he accepts. This is largely how he got called an Uncle, as in Dutch Uncle. He’s not actually Dutch but hails from the west country in the UK.

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