Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

To read about something that took 13 billion years in a hurry almost seems like a travesty. I wouldn't say that now I have unlocked the secrets of the universe. Far from it. But Tyson goes the extra light year to make it somewhat understandable and I think I may have made a slight dent in my universe. I recall trying to read Hawking's A Brief History of Time and by the time I finished Chapter 1, I was gasping for breath. Contrastingly, ...in a Hurry is more patient with you but I freely admit going back couple of paragraphs to re-read what I thought I understood but hadn't.

There's plenty to learn in this short tome especially about the latest strides in discovery and how Einstein really was a genius and justifies all the hype around him. But at the same time, I feel as if physics is keenly awaiting its next Newton or Einstein to explain so much that still remains unexplained. As Durant once said, education is a gradual discovery of your ignorance is so apt when we look up to the skies and look beyond every year.

As far as the solar eclipse on Monday is concerned, did you know that it's such a unique phenomenon just because of this fact - “The Moon is about 400 times smaller than the Sun, but it also just happens to be about 400 times closer. The result is that from Earth, they appear to be the same size.” Mind blown.