WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 49
observations of stars, planets, galaxies,
and so on have demonstrated that chem-
istry is uniform throughout the cosmos.
That is, it works the same way in a galaxy
10 billion light-years away as it does in
your backyard. And that’s a crucially
important fact that astronomers use to
understand how the universe works.
Chemistry all around us
Chemistry is everywhere in the cosmos.
All matter that exists in the universe is
made of chemicals. The only thing we
experience every day that’s not made of
chemicals is thought — but our thoughts
are themselves byproducts of chemical
interactions within the brain.
Let’s step away from ourselves for a
moment to consider how matter goes
together. Again, there’s no magic
involved in the way the universe assem-
bles things. Consider some of the most
abundant objects on our planet: rocks
and minerals. There’s no randomness
here, nor any magical behind-the-scenes
thought or preordained control. A simple
pyrite crystal builds itself when iron and
sulfur atoms are in solution in the right
abundances. The atoms are electrochem-
ically attracted to each other, and they
assemble in a lattice in just the right way
to create a crystal. The more solution
that’s available, the larger the crystal can
grow. The same is true of the whole spec-
trum of about 5,400 known minerals,
including emeralds, diamonds, quartz,
garnets, wulfenite, rhodochrosite, and
many others.
Holding a mineral specimen in your
hand can be a special experience becauseof what spectroscopy tells us. From that
technique, as stated, we know that
chemistry and physics are consistent
throughout the universe. Temperatures,
pressures, and many other local
conditions could be wildly variable, but
countless other worlds throughout our
galaxy and the universe might contain
minerals very much like the ones weThere are two ways to view the images printed
in 3D. To free view the images with no mechan-
ical assistance, let your eyes relax as you view
the photos as though focusing on a point
behind them. At first, you will see the two
images split into four; as your eyes focus at the
correct distance, the middle two images will
combine to create a single, crisp 3D image. The
outer two images will remain on either side of
the 3D image and become blurry.
Alternatively, you can use a 3D viewer, such
as the Lite OWL viewer designed by Brian May
and included with the Cosmic Clouds 3-D book,
to view images in 3D. Only 5.3 by 2.5 inches (134
by 64 millimeters) and 0.1 inch (3 mm) thick, the
Lite OWL viewer is designed for easily viewing
3D images in books, magazines, modern and vin-
tage stereocards, and even video or other VR content on your
smartphone. You can purchase individual Lite OWL viewers
separately at http://www.MyScienceShop.comHOW TO VIEW OUR 3D IMAGES
When one views the distinctive Dumbbell Nebula (M27) in stereo, the two-dimensional dumbbell shape transforms into the object’s true shape: a three-
dimensional bloated sphere. Such planetary nebulae form from low-velocity gas belched away from the parent star, which is followed by higher-velocity
ejections. The collision between the gas clouds helps to light them up, giving us such a majestic view.