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Welcome to VastBeyond.com Unique space content with a personal touch. |
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What is Possible…A review of "Seeing in the Dark," By Timothy Ferris Simon & Schuster, 2002 Some publications wind up on dusty old library shelves. Their intentions good, their authors intelligent. For a brief moment, these books capture an audience and then are placed into the vault of human history as a footnote. I hope that Timothy Ferris' latest guide to the heavens and to the revitalized amateur astronomy movement does not meet this same fate. For it surely would not be deserved. "Seeing in the Dark" may not be The Great American Novel, but it rightly deserves to be placed alongside Ferris' own childhood guides. It deserves, like the great ocean master Nathaniel Bowditch's guide to seafaring, to be a well-worn narrative to understanding not only the universe, but also the people who aim to comprehend it. It is good to say this, but one must appreciate the precision with which this fine book must have been penned. Written from 1991 to 2001 as mentioned in the Preface, one is at first struck by the quality of structure presented in simply the table of contents. There we journey from "The Shore" of Ferris' own experience and an overview of the history of the current amateur astronomy movement to explanations of the Vast Beyond, as expounded in the narrative travels to "Blue Water" and "The Depths" of our solar system and galaxies respectively. What Ferris does is like how he describes globular star clusters: "[they] are thought to provide astrophysicists with something akin to the 'untouched, unspoiled' tribes relished by anthropologists--populations that have remained relatively free from contaminating outside influences." (p. 244) "Seeing in the Dark" is a snapshot of a perfect time in which to evaluate amateur versus professional astronomy. It is a centered guide describing a moment in our history during which amateur astronomers have regained importance, due to the rise of CCDs (charge-coupled devices, which collect much more light than any previous instruments), Dobsonian telescopes (relatively inexpensive telescopes handcrafted by amateurs) and the internet. Ferris notes that previous to the 20th century amateurs made most astronomical discoveries. Today's resurgence because of increased and widely available technological improvements is part of the dichotomy of reason and innovation that is spotlighted time and again in the book. Theories are necessary, Ferris notes, because without knowing what to look for, amateurs would have no base point from which to begin their investigations. Yet, professionals increasingly require the assistance of their non-professional allies. For activities such as scanning for variable stars, tracking near Earth asteroids and comets and other activities that require time, manpower and devotion, the time is ripe for amateurs to lend a hand. Ferris' book is a guide demonstrating exactly how that is being accomplished. By spotlighting various amateur superstars--from Stephen James O'Meara, who visually calculated the rotational period of the planet Uranus, to Jack Newton, whose astronomical photographs rival those of professionals--Ferris provides a good representation of the realm of the possible for amateurs. By also showing that you need not dedicate your entire life to stargazing, he opens the door for many more to participate. What Ferris does right is provide a picture of amateur potential and make an argument for its continuation. He notes, "Untapped brainpower is humanity's greatest asset, and future discoveries may frequently be made by observers who have never seen a major telescope and whose astronomical equipment consists of little more than a computer, a modem, and an active, educated mind." (p. 234) Yet, he also drags on a little by listing the achievements of past amateur astronomers and by darting through the cosmos in a sort of checklist towards the book's end. All said, though, this is a centered, "down-to-earth" guide to one of the more interesting current (and yet ancient) human movements. Not to be missed! VastBeyond.com Homepage |