Questions About Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

by Neil deGrasse Tyson (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (29)

Does this book align itself with any particular theory or religious belief about how the universe began?

Shelli No; this a science book, not a philosophy book, therefore it "aligns" itself only with facts, and it assumes that the reader does too. It presents wha…moreNo; this a science book, not a philosophy book, therefore it "aligns" itself only with facts, and it assumes that the reader does too. It presents what we know about the beginning of the universe as agreed upon by respected mainstream scientists, sketches out how they were tested or otherwise shown to be true, traces the history of how our understanding developed over time and introduces us to the scientists who contributed to that understanding with their contributions. Whenever Dr. Tyson inserts his imaginings or conjectures, he makes that clear. (less)

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In the first chapter, he mentions that the universe is two light years across. And then later he says that two minutes have passed. The universe cannot be two light years across unless a year of time has passed, right? Is there something that I am missing?

Spaced Out Cosmonaut Space can expand faster then the speed of light. The Universe was expanding much faster in in the beginning. We can only see 13.7 billion light years …moreSpace can expand faster then the speed of light. The Universe was expanding much faster in in the beginning. We can only see 13.7 billion light years away, that's where space starts to expand faster then the speed of light and this expansion is increasing the further you go. So you can imagine the space expansion speed at the edge of our observable universe, is just a tiny number compared to other parts of the unobservable universe, which to our comprehension is basically infinite. Space can basically expands infinity faster then the speed of light.(less)

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I'm not sure who to contact about this, but Goodreads needs to update the page count for the hardcover edition. Hardcover has 224 pages, not 144 as listed on Goodreads. Who would deal with this?

Victor Cardoso Done. Nevertheless, in order to better process such requests please post them in the Librarians group, as otherwise the chances of being spoted are ra…moreDone. Nevertheless, in order to better process such requests please post them in the Librarians group, as otherwise the chances of being spoted are rather small.(less)

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What movies is DeGrasse Tyson referring to in the preface of this book? Mentions that it contains a famous actress playing an astrophysicist.

Alan (The Lone Librarian) Teder Just started this on audio, and the quote I heard was "the highest grossing film of all time is by a famous director who set his story on a planet orb…moreJust started this on audio, and the quote I heard was "the highest grossing film of all time is by a famous director who set his story on a planet orbiting a distant star which features a famous actress playing an astrobiologist."
That would make it the film "Avatar" by director James Cameron featuring Sigourney Weaver playing Dr. Grace Augustine. (less)

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1. Does this book include a lot of figures? Because some kindle edition books don't have good formatting when there are lots of figures. 2. Although the title is "for people in a hurry", I read from reviews that this book actually contains a lot of information. I've read Hawking's A brief history of time and I liked it. Is this book harder or easier to digest?

Greg Qirul, I think this is easier to digest than Hawking's "Brief History", which I had to read 3 times to even sort of get it. Still, here, there are par…moreQirul, I think this is easier to digest than Hawking's "Brief History", which I had to read 3 times to even sort of get it. Still, here, there are parts of the book that were difficult for me, and that's probably true of all non-astrophysicists.(less)

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