in the early days In the 2000s, Phil Plait wrote his first book, bad astronomyHe debunked conspiracy theories and fallacies, such as the idea that NASA faked the moon landing in the 1970s, and the idea that planetary alignment could affect life on Earth. Twenty years later, he continues his quest to dispel astronomical misconceptions while sharing his love of space. An astronomer and science writer, Plait has spent his career sharing news about the universe and explaining complex concepts to the public through popular blogs and blogs. Newsletterboth called bad astronomy.
in his new book under alien skies, today Plait explores 10 fascinating spots in the solar system and beyond with his usual curiosity and humor. Plait delves into the science (and her science fiction) of these cosmic destinations, what telescopes and space photography tell us about these strange worlds, and what it’s like to actually visit them in person. It’s beyond what it is.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
WIRED: I always wanted to ask you why do you call yourself a bad astronomer?
Phil Plait: That’s because when I first started writing articles for the Web (we’re talking here in 1993), I started writing about astronomy misconceptions. Over time I started calling it “bad astronomy” and at the time someone started calling me a “bad astronomer” on message boards. The name is a bit of a cliché.
You call yourself a “scientific skeptic”. Can you explain what that means?
Scientific skepticism — What many call “critical thinking” (perhaps better) is basically saying, “OK, this is the claim, this is the proof. Does it support the claim or is it further?Is there evidence that I have not been shown?Is the claim a logical conclusion from that evidence?Is there a way to disprove this claim? And do you have any other ideas that might work better?”
And that’s the scientific process. I think that’s what is needed so much these days. A lot of people argue about climate change, vaccines and guns. The fact that people uncritically accept the claims of those they trust is not a good thing.
What was your motivation for writing under alien skies?
Getting people interested in astronomy is not that difficult. Isn’t it amazing? ”
And then I started getting this question [about images from space]: “What would this look like if you were there? Sure, we have this picture from Hubble, but what if you were actually floating next to space, Saturn, or this gas cloud? , TRUE looks like that? ”
In many cases the answer is yes. If you’re hovering over the moon, the view will look like you’re looking from one of these satellites. But when it comes to gas clouds, galaxies, and other things, especially James Webb’s Space Telescope, the answer is “No, it doesn’t look like it.”
I started thinking: What would it look like if you were actually inside a gas cloud? Ultimately, the answer is complicated.decided to pitch the article to astronomy The magazine basically covered and wrote three different scenarios. Popular articles. I thought: Look, this is going to be a good book! And boom, just 25 years later, I finally decided to get down to writing it.
