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The Pioneer Detectives (2013)

by Konstantin Kakaes(Favorite Author)

3.85 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

The Millions

review 1: The Pioneer I and II space probes are 200,000 miles short of where they should be. Over millions of miles this amounts to 0..02% anomaly, but nonetheless, an anomaly. This anomaly challenges Einstein's theories of gravity, dark matter and dark forces. The data streams for twenty years were analyzed down to the minutest detail included momentum of the radio signals that were sent from the Pioneer space probes.The answer was in the differential heating of the spacecraft by the sun and the radioactive energy sources within the Pioneers themselves. A short interesting book about space travel and science.
review 2: This is a quick and engaging popular-science book, recounting the history of a challenge to Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, which describes ... morethe workings of gravity. The challenge arose from anomalous data about the travels of the Pioneer 10 spacecraft. Kakaes lays out his tale with the clear language and assured pacing of an experienced journalist, and in many ways the book felt like a really good piece of long-form journalism (say from Slate or The Atlantic), without all the ads. In fact, if I have one criticism for the book, it is that it could have been longer. There were a lot of interesting hints about NASA politics, international trends in scientific research, and our understanding of the solar system -- any of which could have been expanded into a chapter. The flip side of this, though, is that the book stays focused. It's the first book I've read in an e-reader format, and seemed pretty ideally suited for it: interesting, short, not convoluted, good layout, sparing endnotes.If you're interested in astronomy, or any popular-science topics, you will enjoy this book. As someone who hasn't studied any physics since high school and avoided most college science, I was able to follow most of the text and only skimmed through a couple of sentences. So, if you're not a science buff but you like learning new things about history, policy or exploration, you should be able to enjoy it too. less

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