Belajar Modern Astronomy: Expanding The Universe
Astronomy poses many of the same questions that religion does, the deepest questions a human being can ask: What is the universe? How big is it? How did it begin? How will it end? What part do we play in it? Are we alone? Through most of history, in fact, astronomy was part of religion. The astronomers of ancient times usually were priests. Astronomy in the 20th century changed humans' understanding as profoundly as Copernicus and Galileo did. At the start of the century, soon after George Ellery Hale, the first astronomer covered in this book, built his first large telescope, people thought the solar system was essentially at the center of the universe, much as people of Copernicus's time had believed the Earth was. Terjemahan:
Astronomi menimbulkan banyak pertanyaan yang sama bahwa agama tidak, pertanyaan-pertanyaan terdalam insan sanggup bertanya: Apakah alam semesta? Seberapa besar itu? Bagaimana memulainya? Bagaimana ini akan berakhir? Apa bab kita bermain di dalamnya? Apakah kita sendirian? Melalui sebagian besar sejarah, pada kenyataannya, astronomi merupakan bab dari agama. Para astronom zaman kuno biasanya menjadi imam. Astronomi pada kurun ke-20 mengubah pemahaman insan 'sebagai sangat ibarat Copernicus dan Galileo tidak. Pada awal kurun ini, segera sesudah George Ellery Hale, astronom pertama yang tercakup dalam buku ini, dibangun teleskop pertama yang besar, orang-orang berpikir tata surya intinya di sentra alam semesta, sama ibarat orang waktu Copernicus telah percaya Bumi itu.
