STEPHEN HAWKING'S UNIVERSE
by Terence Dickinson, SkyNews Editor

His withered body is but a shell for his soaring mind, which grapples with problems at the frontiers of quantum physics and cosmology-and, apparently, colonizing other worlds Stephen Hawking, arguably the world's most famous living scientist, is Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, the same position held by Isaac Newton three centuries ago. A few weeks ago, he received the oldest award for scientific achievement, the Copley Medal, for his contributions to theoretical physics and theoretical cosmology. First awarded by The Royal Society of England in 1731, the Copley Medal predates the Nobel Prize by 170 years and has been awarded to such scientific luminaries as Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein and Louis Pasteur.

Hawking's work has been fundamental in understanding and classifying black holes. He has also authored four popular-science books, including A Brief History of Time, the second-best selling science book of all time. (Number one is Carl Sagan's Cosmos.)

Hawking is probably equally famous for being one of the longest-surviving people on Earth with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease, a rapidly progressive neurological disease that attacks the nerve cells (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscles. Hawking was diagnosed with ALS when he was 21. He is now 64 and, for more than three decades, has been conducting his daily life from a high-tech motorized wheelchair fitted with a computer and voice synthesizer. Since the mid-1980s, he has required full-time nurses as well as at least one student or colleague who sees to his technical and professional arrangements.

His withered body-he can slightly move only two fingers and cannot speak-is but a shell for his soaring mind, which grapples with problems at the frontiers of quantum physics and cosmology. "I try to lead as normal a life as possible and not think about my condition or regret the things it prevents me from doing," says Hawking. "Fortunately, I do theoretical cosmology, which requires only thinking."

He is also known for his dry wit. The high point of his sixtieth birthday party was an appearance by an actress impersonating Marilyn Monroe, who sang a rendition of "I Want to Be Loved by You." When the applause died down, Hawking told the audience, "Marilyn and I go way back."
Far from being confined, he conducts a daily schedule of theoretical research at his office at Cambridge, a short wheelchair trip from his home. Students and faculty used to regard him as a bit of a terror on wheels, as he would beetle around campus at bicycle speed. That ended in 2002, when a wheel became jammed in a sidewalk crack and Hawking was sent flying into a wall, breaking his hip. Now he drives the chair at a more sedate walking speed.

His stature in theoretical physics was established in the 1980s for his work on black holes, and he has been in demand ever since to speak at research conferences, traveling from England to North America more than 30 times. During the past six months, he was in China, Singapore and Washington, D.C.

Hawking visited Ontario in 1998 to officially open the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. While he was here, he gave a talk to a standing-room-only crowd of more than 3,000 at Convocation Hall, University of Toronto.

At a reception afterwards, I was standing near him, and for some reason, I caught his gaze. Compared with his rumpled, immobilized child-sized body, his lively blue eyes are compelling-and, I admit, a bit unsettling when they are staring directly at you.

"Hello." The greeting, clearly intended for me, emerged in synthetic clarity from the speakers in his wheelchair. I stepped forward and introduced myself, adding that I had enjoyed his talk and appreciated his description of the instanton, which was new to me. This immediately identified me as a novice in quantum field theory. Hawking replied with a slight smile, then his gaze turned elsewhere as his chair speakers said, "Thank you." (Note to fellow quantum field theory novices: An instanton is a topologically nontrivial field configuration in four-dimensional Euclidean space. No, I don't understand it either, despite what I told the great man himself.)

Well, at least we conversed, however briefly. So I was naturally drawn to some remarks he made in a BBC interview after the Copley Medal presentation.

“It is important for the human race to spread out into space for the survival of the species,” he began. “Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers we have not yet thought of.”

Hawking went on to say that humans must colonize planets in other solar systems, traveling there using advanced “Star Trek”-style propulsion, or face extinction. He said that advances yet to come could revolutionize the velocity of space travel and make such colonies possible.
“Science fiction has developed the idea of warp drive, which takes you instantly to your destination,” he added. “Once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe.”

When I read these remarks, I was a bit surprised at such talk, which may sound daring for a respected scientist but is, in fact, rather hackneyed. Not only has the idea of colonizing other planets as a way of saving humanity from disaster been a staple of science fiction for nearly a century, it is one of its most well-worn tenets. I first encountered it around age 10 on a Saturday afternoon in the early 1950s at the Biltmore movie theatre in Toronto.

The film was When Worlds Collide. Astronomers had spotted a star on a collision course with our solar system. Earth would be destroyed in the collision. The only escape was to build a rocket to carry a couple of dozen humans to an apparently habitable planet of the intruder star. In the final scene, the ship lands safely on the new world, which has a breathable atmosphere and a greenish sky.

When Worlds Collide won the 1951 Academy Award for special effects, though even by the standards of the day, it was pretty hokey. Of course, as a 10-year-old who was already interested in the stars, I was thrilled. A few years later I read the book on which the movie was based, written in 1931. Presumably Professor Hawking is aware that these ideas go back a long way. If I ever meet him again, I might ask him whether he has ever seen the movie. (In any case, he’ll get a chance to see a modern big-budget version in 2008 when Steven Spielberg produces a remake.)

Whether he has seen the film or not, I’m curious as to why he chose to mention the subject at all. Maybe he’s working on his own science fiction novel, one with a new twist on this old idea. Or perhaps he sees hints in his theoretical work that warp drive might not be purely in the realm of science fiction. Or he could be tossing ideas forward simply to inspire young minds, as mine was by a 1950s science fiction movie more than half a century ago.

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BINOCULAR OBJECTS FOR THE AMATEUR ASTRONOMER
by Todd Carlson, Assistant Editor

Binoculars, as SkyNews Editor Terence Dickinson discussed in the previous E-News, can be used to see a number of deep sky objects.

Here is a list showcasing some of the best binocular objects currently visible. Note that the best observations will come from locations with minimal light pollution. Observers from areas with heavy light pollution may not be able to find every object.

Alcor and MizarSharp-eyed observers may have previously noticed that the second star from the end of the handle of the Big Dipper is in fact two stars—Alcor and Mizar (the brighter of the pair). Binoculars will easily show the 1.5° separation between them. Even though both are roughly the same distance from Earth (Alcor 81 light-years; Mizar 78 light-years), note the difference in luminosity.
Click for a sky chart

The Pleiades Star Cluster—M45Occasionally misidentified as the Little Dipper, the Pleiades actually do resemble a small spoon. Rising in the east just after the dinner hour, the Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, is 370 light-years away and within the constellation Taurus.
Click for a sky chart

The Hyades ClusterFound to the lower left of the Pleiades is the Hyades star cluster. Also part of Taurus, this cluster is easily identified by its “V” shape and is 153 light-years distant. The bright red star Aldebaron appears to be part of the Hyades but is less than half way to the cluster.
Click for a sky chart

M35This open cluster covers about half a degree and appears as a bright hazy patch. Found near the bottom of Gemini, the cluster is 2800 light-years from Earth and spans 30 light-years wide.
Click for a sky chart

M44Another beautiful star cluster. Commonly referred to as the Beehive Cluster, it is visible to the naked eye as a small but distinct fuzzy patch. 550 light-years from Earth.
Click for a sky chart

The Orion Nebula—M42Appearing as a star to the naked eye, binoculars easily reveal it to be a small cloud. At 1,400 light-years away, the Orion Nebula is one of the premier winter deep sky objects to view. Note: Best observed from a location devoid of light pollution.
Click for a sky chart

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In the March/April 2007 issue of SkyNews:

• The Great Comet of 2007.
• Total Lunar Eclipse March 3.
• Exploring the Night Sky by Alan Dyer.
• Scoping the Sky by Ken Hewitt-White—Deep-sky Gems in Gemini.
• Product Reviews: Celestron’s Computerized Backyard Telescopes.
• Readers’ Gallery.
• And more!

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