Wacky and Wonderful Misconceptions About Our Universe

Description

From unicorns on the Moon to UFOs piloted by Martian bees, this book chronicles some of the strangest ideas that have been put forward – and have actually been believed in -- about our Solar System. Drawn from tales dating from the Middle Ages to the present, this collection of stories takes readers on an imaginative and wild ride through the ages and minds of some of the wackiest, tackiest, most outlandish concepts in astronomy, cosmology and physics. Follow along as Geoff Kirby recounts each quirky idea in detail and explains how these theories fare against modern astronomical research and technologies. Front Matter ....Pages i-xvi Introduction (Geoffrey Kirby)....Pages 1-20 The Sun and Its Solar System: A Sexy Musical Pool Game? (Geoffrey Kirby)....Pages 21-53 Our Three Wacky Inner Planets: Imaginary, Delusionary and Inhabited (Geoffrey Kirby)....Pages 55-78 Earth: Flat, Hollow or Inside Out? (Geoffrey Kirby)....Pages 79-96 Our Moon: Inhabited, Small and Icy (Geoffrey Kirby)....Pages 97-126 Mars: Inhabited and a Threat? (Geoffrey Kirby)....Pages 127-149 Solar System Rubble: The Home of Princess Moon Owl? (Geoffrey Kirby)....Pages 151-173 The Outer Planets: Forests of Hemp, Armadas of Seamen and the Holy Foreskin of Jesus (Geoffrey Kirby)....Pages 175-201 Wackiness Beyond the Solar System (Geoffrey Kirby)....Pages 203-232 Is It Wacky to Believe in Astrology and UFOs? (Geoffrey Kirby)....Pages 233-251 Back Matter ....Pages 253-258