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Part-time

believers not

needed

Why do so many people believe in a

blend of science and science fiction?

I’ve been fascinated by the landscape

of social media posts lately. Astronomy

enthusiasts are a smart bunch, but even

many of those who are experienced in the

details of the science seem to believe in a

blend of science and science fiction.

“Why couldn’t we travel across the

galaxy?” (Answer: Maybe we could, but

the evidence — laws of matter and mass

and relativity and gravitation — suggests

it would be difficult, if not impossible,

regardless of technological advances.)

“Why can’t you travel through black

holes?” (Answer: They would shred you

into a string — stellar black holes at least

— and therefore the whole travel idea

becomes irrelevant.)

This amalgam of science and science

fiction that dominates so many people’s

minds intrigues me. To many, what is

perceived as science is really corrupted by

wishful thinking.

In reality, you either believe in the prin-

ciples of science or you don’t. Science is a

long, slowly developing process of discov-

ery that sharpens our knowledge of how

the universe works. You either buy into it

and are a scientific thinker, or you are not.

Science doesn’t work with part-time

believers. — David J. Eicher

HOT BYTES >>

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SPACE-TIME FOAM

NASA’s high-energy

telescopes tested space-

time’s “foaminess.” It is

smooth down to 1,

times smaller than a

hydrogen atom nucleus.

FAT BLACK HOLES

The Chandra X-ray

Observatory saw black

holes consume gas so

rapidly that the sur-

rounding disk puffed up

into a doughnut shape.

ALIEN WEATHER

Kepler data revealed

cloudy mornings or hot,

clear afternoons on six of

14 exoplanets astrono-

mers studied — in other

words, weather.

The unusual reflection nebula van den Bergh 142 lies within the larger cloud of emission nebulosity IC 1396 in Cepheus.

TONY HALLAS (VAN DEN BERGH 142); NASA/CXC/M. WEISS (SPACE-TIME FOAM, FAT BLACK HOLES); LISA ESTEVES/UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO (ALIE

N WEATHER)