To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2023

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Key Figures

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist and science communicator who has been the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City since 1996. He has also written numerous books on astrophysics, including Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries (2007), Astrophysics for People in a Hurry (2017), and Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization (2023). He aims to educate the broader public about the larger universe and the place that humanity holds within it. To that end, he has also hosted several shows for various networks, including Origins, a miniseries broadcast on PBS in the context of the long-running science show NOVA, and a revised and updated version of Carl Sagan’s original Cosmos. Tyson has also appeared (usually, as himself) on popular television shows, such as The Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Tyson often says that meeting Carl Sagan galvanized his desire to reach out to students and the general public as a science communicator. Sagan invited Tyson to Cornell University, where he was teaching, for a tour before Tyson entered college. As Tyson tells it, Sagan was so personable and available that he decided that he wanted to emulate that in his own career. He also credits a visit to the Hayden Planetarium as a child for sparking his original interest in the cosmos. Tyson took astronomy classes at the planetarium when he was in high school, and the experience further fueled his intellectual curiosity and impacted the way he wanted to teach: with humor and affability. He wanted to ensure that science, in particular astrophysics, was accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

Tyson has often been critical of how scientific exploration and education are underfunded: NASA, specifically, has been hampered by financial obstacles in launching new and more ambitious missions. The Space Shuttle program, Tyson has said, represented feats of engineering rather than advancements in space exploration. He is also skeptical of billionaire moguls who want to monetize the “new space race” (39). Thus, Tyson continues to educate the public and advocate for more aspirational innovations and objectives. As this book’s concluding paragraph begins, “Scientific thinking always leaves the door ajar for the seemingly impossible” (301). Tyson is all for turning the impossible vision into an attainable reality.

Lindsey Nyx Walker

Lindsey Nyx Walker is the Head Writer and Senior Producer for the StarTalk podcast and television show. She oversaw a star-studded list of guests with whom Neil deGrasse Tyson discussed science and the nature of the universe. These guests include political figures such as former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton; cultural icons like Norman Lear and William Shatner; actors including Susan Sarandon and Jeff Goldblum; and numerous scientists (Brian Greene, Stephen Hawking, Mae Jemison) and writers (Salman Rushdie, George R. R. Martin). Walker notes that StarTalk represented the first show on National Geographic that followed the late-night talk show format; it was also the first talk show based primarily on science.

Walker also worked as a reporter for Down to Earth magazine, a publication in New Delhi, India, and for the Art Science Research Laboratory in New York. She worked as a science writer for NASA’s Astrobiology Magazine. She also edited one of Tyson’s earlier books, Cosmic Queries: StarTalk’s Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We’re Going (2021). Her educational background is in both biology and journalism.

Scientists Through History

To Infinity and Beyond is peppered with references to famous and revolutionary scientists, from Copernicus and Kepler to Newton and Einstein. Many of the earliest scientists mentioned are considered polymaths: knowledgeable individuals whose range was nearly unlimited. Several renowned thinkers and their work are fundamental to the understanding of the universe as relayed by the authors.

Isaac Newton postulated the existence of gravity and proposed the three laws of motion. His understanding of gravity was, in part, inspired by his observation of the planets: “Newton explored and calculated the concept of Earth orbit well before anyone took the idea of leaving Earth seriously” (56). Thus, his work was foundational in furthering the understanding of how celestial bodies move and interact—gravity being key. Nicolaus Copernicus warrants a mention for his bold hypothesis that the solar system is heliocentric rather than Earth-centric. Later, Galileo Galilei confirmed Copernicus’s radical hypothesis with the newly invented telescope. For this, he was persecuted by the Catholic Church and held under house arrest.

Johannes Kepler also made invaluable contributions to astrophysics and also wrote what might be considered the first science fiction story, according to the authors. Kepler refined the understanding of orbits first put forward by Newton: “Johannes Kepler’s analysis of Mars overturned a concept even more deeply engrained in the worldview of the time: circular motion” (122). Kepler realized that planetary orbits traveled in elliptical orbits rather than circular ones, paving the way for more accurate discoveries of how celestial bodies interact within the solar system.

Finally, Albert Einstein and his theory of relativity added an entirely new dimension to the knowledge of the universe. He posited that it is not merely space that matters but time. Hence, scientists now speak of spacetime as the two elements are inextricably linked. His famous equation—E=mc²,energy equals mass times the speed of light squared—opened up the possibilities for time travel, different dimensions, and an expanding universe. Though Einstein did not always accept the implications of his theories, his intuitions and equations most often proved correct. For example, he introduced the cosmological constant, an equation that reveals how gravity can be counterbalanced to achieve a static universe, only later to abandon it. After it was revealed that the universe is expanding and that this expansion is caused in part by an antigravity force called dark energy, the cosmological constant was restored. As the authors put it, “[E]ven when Einstein was wrong, he was right” (276).