Popular Science Review - Measuring the Universe

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Review - Measuring the Universe - Kitty Ferguson

How big is the universe? It's one of those questions that has tantalised people from the first moment they started looking out at the stars. Could it go on for ever - which is hard to get your mind round - or does it stop, in which case, what happens at the edge?

Although the answer has regularly lurched up to 'infinite', on the whole the picture of the size of a finite universe has gone through steady growth, from the early picture no bigger than the solar system to the billions of light years that's the best guess today.

As a subject it's a fascinating one, but perhaps of limited scope, and Ferguson is careful to bring in a range of associated aspects - so, for instance, she spends quite a while talking about light as she explains the different ways we can 'see' and measure the extent of the universe.

Despite the promising subject, and good straight-forward writing, it never quite settles as a good read. It's hard really to say why, but this is a good book that seems to carry a little invisible sticker saying 'could do better'.

Also in hardback:

Reviewed by Martin O'Brien

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