Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2022

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Preface-Overture

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-5

Chapters 6-8

Chapter 9-Coda

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Key Figures

Neil deGrasse Tyson

An astrophysicist, author, and educator, Neil deGrasse Tyson was born in 1958 in New York City, New York, where he attended the Bronx High School of Science. He holds four degrees, including a BA in Physics from Harvard, an MA in Astronomy from University of Texas, and both an MA in Philosophy and a PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia University. In addition, he has been awarded 23 honorary doctorates. Tyson has had a diverse career; he has worked as a research scientist and as a lecturer, and he has served on two White House commissions. He is currently the head of the Hayden Planetarium and a research associate in the Department of Astrophysics at the renowned American Museum of Natural History, both in New York City. He was awarded the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Distinguished Public Service Medal. Both an asteroid, “13123 Tyson,” and a frog species, Indirana tysoni, were named after Tyson. He has also become a pop icon and was named People Magazine’s “Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive” in 2000.

Tyson’s career has centered on public education and promoting science literacy. Not only has he addressed the general population through his numerous accessible books, but he has also created a popular podcast, Star Talk, has hosted television shows, and has repeatedly appeared in the media, both on the news and on popular shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Like much of Tyson’s work, Starry Messenger is an educational text that aims to promote science literacy. The text draws on his litany of diverse education and career experiences, as he strays from sharing scientific information and focuses on educating the public about how evidence-based thinking and a cosmic perspective could improve global social conditions.

Galileo Galilei

Italian scientist and philosopher Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was a critical figure in the Scientific Revolution during the 1500s and 1600s. Galileo significantly contributed to the development of science by enhancing the telescope; inventing an early microscope; discovering Jupiter’s moons, the rings of Saturn, and Venus’s phases; and through his studies of trajectory and relative motion. He is well known for supporting the heliocentric (sun-centered rather than Earth-centered) model of the solar system, introduced by the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), who published texts describing the model shortly before his death in 1543. Galileo expanded on heliocentrism by documenting planetary movements and finding proof to support Copernicus’s heliocentrism. He published his findings in his text Sidereus Nuncius, and his popularity grew. Galileo was later arrested and imprisoned in Rome for heresy. Nevertheless, he continued his research and published his final text, Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations Concerning Two New Sciences, in 1938 by having it sent to Holland (Machamer, Peter and David Marshall Miller. “Galileo Galilei.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2021).

The title Sidereus Nuncius translates to English as “Starry Messenger.” In the introduction of Starry Messenger, Tyson explains that he chose the title of his book, Starry Messenger, to honor Galileo and to carry on his legacy of encouraging a cosmic perspective: “These first-ever cosmic perspectives in our world were ego checks on our self-importance—messages from the stars forcing people to rethink our relationships to one another, to Earth, and to the cosmos” (6). Tyson aims to build on Galileo’s influence by demonstrating how a cosmic perspective can benefit society.

Presidential Commissions

Tyson references the two Presidential or White House Commissions on which he served under President George W. Bush. Presidential Commissions are special task forces that the sitting president initiates. They are designed to conduct investigations or research on specific topics. The two commissions on which Tyson served were the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry (2001) and the President’s Commission on Implementation of United States Exploration Policy (2004).

Congress and President Bush established the Commission on the Future of the US Aerospace Industry to study the future of the aerospace industry in regard to economics and national safety. They appointed 12 commissioners from diverse backgrounds, including astronaut Buzz Aldrin, President of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association Ed Bolen, and former US Representative Robert Smith Walker. The Commission declared that space exploration would be critical to both scientific discovery and to the US economy and quality of life (NSS. “Final Report of Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry.” NSS, 2002).

President Bush formed the President’s Commission on Implementation of US Space Exploration Policy, appointing nine members to act as advisors for implementing space exploration policies. The commissioners agreed that space exploration was critical to the future of the US and suggested a space program to stimulate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education; in addition, the commissioners called for a transformation in the relationship between NASA and the private sector of space exploration and for the development of space exploration technology (Aldridge Jr., Edward C. “Pete,” et al. “A Journey to Inspire, Innovate, and Discover.” President’s Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy, 2004).

Tyson mentions his service on the commissions in his discussion on political conflicts in Chapter 4. While serving on these commissions, Tyson worked with international and bipartisan teams. During his first commission, he worked with Russian scientists, which helped him recognize that political divisions are irrational. In addition, he recalls how during his service on the second commission, he collaborated with staunch liberals and conservatives, which strengthened his resolve to think independently and disregard political labels. He uses these experiences to demonstrate that evidence-based thinking and a cosmic perspective can erode sociopolitical divisions.