To the Edge of Reason: Pilgrimages to the Holy Sites of Cosmology

Ananthaswamy Anil, Belmont CA

Investigators

Abstract

P.I.: Anil Ananthaswamy, Writer (Science) Proposal Number: 0637460 Author and science magazine news editor, Anil Ananthaswamy is writing a book, To the Edge of Reason: Pilgrimages to the Holy Sites of Cosmology. The book will tell the story of cutting-edge cosmology in a unique and innovative way. The author will take readers to the very ends of the Earth to discuss science that, at times, can seem to be at the very edge of reason, stretching our incredulity with tales of ghostly neutrinos, missing dark matter, or mysterious dark energy. The chapters of the book will each represent a personal account of a trip to a remote region of Earth. Each such site hosts a telescope or instrument that is being (or will be) used to study an important aspect of the universe and is poised to answer key questions in cosmology. Antarctica has a special place in astronomy and cosmology, historically with the balloon experiments for detecting the cosmic microwave background, and now with the neutrino detection projects, the Antarctic ice sheet is a window to the cosmos. Ananthaswamy would like to show readers just how science is done in this stark and beautiful environment.