Traveling the Sea of Night: Understanding Time and Distance in the Universe

Have you ever looked up at the sky at night and wondered just how far away the stars are? Or what astronomers mean when they talk about intergalactic space? Or megaparsecs?Or just how big the universe is, and how to grasp the incredible distances and vast corridors of time that describe it?This little book will describe for you, on a human scale, how anyone can comprehend the seemingly vast universe—by bringing it down to a human scale.Each chapter describes what is out there, and, equally important, HOW we know what we know—and you can follow the simple math in each chapter with a smartphone or a hand calculator.Finally, using everyday items found around the house, you can construct a model of each step in the incredible journey across the sea of night.

Astronomer Joseph R. Caruso was the physical science technician and telescope operator for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory at Harvard for nearly twenty years. He operated its 61-inch telescope (he made nearly half, or almost 64,000, of that institution's Echelle Observations on the device), and he also operated the observatory's 84-inch radio telescope for the Paul Horowitz Planetary Society's SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program. He has also taught college-level astronomy as well as adult education classes, spoken at numerous "star parties" and other astronomical events, lectured at planetariums, and conducted tours at the Oak Ridge Observatory. The 2001 recipient of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's Las Cumbres Amateur Outreach Award "for contributions to astronomy education and outreach in the Greater Boston area for more than twenty-five years," Mr. Caruso continues to make numerous community presentations, and he has also published in the field in notable journals/magazines, including Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, Selenology Today, Deep Sky, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and The Astronomical Journal.