Robert Jastrow, one of the noted astronomers of our time and, as it happens, a former professor of mine at Dartmouth, died earlier this year. This is my overdue tribute to his life and work.
Jastrow was one of the great popularizers of science. One of his books, Red Giants and White Dwarfs, became a national bestseller and conveyed to a whole generation of Americans the excitment and mystery of space exploration. When American astronauts landed on the moon, Jastrow provided expert commentary for the TV networks covering the event.
But Jastrow never permitted popularization to get in the way of serious professional accomplishment. After getting his doctorate in physics from Columbia, he became head of the theoretical divison at NASA. Later he was appointed head of the Goddard Space Institute. In 1992 he became chairman of Mount Wilson Observatory in California.
In addition to medals for scientific achivement, Jastrow also won acclaim as a gifted teacher. At Dartmouth, I always found him friendly and accessible. Later our paths crossed because Jastrow became an energetic and resourceful defender of President Reagan's strategic missile defense initiative, dubbed by its critics as "Star Wars."
While critics like physicist Hans Bethe said Star Wars would never work, the Russians agreed with Jastrow that it would, and they desperately sought to outlaw it. (Obviously if the Russians felt it was a boondoggle they would have supported it, since this would be a great way to waste America's defense budget.) In his last years Jastrow became increasingly skeptical of claims that global warming is destroying the planet. He saw global warming as an effort to exploit science for ideological ends.
One of Jastrow's gems is a little book called God and the Astronomers in which Jastrow, although himself an agnostic, made a startling argument. He argued that "the astronomical evience leads to a biblical view of the origin of the world." Jastrow not only documents his claim but shows why leading scientists including Einstein resisted the new discoveries, because they threatened the dogma that scientific laws enjoy eternal validity. Jastrow showed that in reality the laws of physics themselves came into existence with the Big Bang; beyond or apart from our universe, there are no such laws.
Jastrow's story reads like a detective novel, with the only difference that the facts he recounts are true. And here is his stunning conclusion: "For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries."
Reader Comments ( Page 3 of 36)
31. I find it interesting that there is always someone (or many someones) waiting to comment on DD's posts that disagrees so FAITHfully. Normally stating things as fact without much if any proof.
Mike at 9:42AM on Jul 1st 2008
32. so, the point I got out of this article was, the Big Bang really happened, and the universe is very very old. Kinda knocks the creationists timeline, eh? So, what is real? A bunch of theologians sitting around at the end of time? Hmm..that does not sound like something Christians would believe.
Can one believe an "agnostic" and still profess to believe in the bible?
abbot at 9:40AM on Jul 1st 2008
33. Gee whiz Mike, your argument sounds just like a christian arguing the deification of Jesus without proof.
sparrow at 9:49AM on Jul 1st 2008
34. So what Dinesh is saying is that at the summit of Mt Ignorance are theologians. Wow, I think I totally agree!
Mokele Mbembe at 9:49AM on Jul 1st 2008
35. to the fellow at post #12 who calls himself Isaac Asimov and states that 90% of Astro-physicists "belief" in God....
You remind me of the hiker that called himself "Ender" but then didn't finish the trail. You can't claim to be something when you're the very opposite of it.
abbot at 9:52AM on Jul 1st 2008
36. What happy irony that my last post came right after what Mike said.
Mokele Mbembe at 9:52AM on Jul 1st 2008
37. abbot,
I think we call him Legion.
Mokele Mbembe at 9:53AM on Jul 1st 2008
38. What is the scientific phenomenon scientists are basing the big bang on, what caused the explosion?
The people universe was creationism, slow and drawn out... kings were the most educated, kings had lots of sex, more intelligent people. But that grew just hundreds in a lifetime, not much of a big bang.
Thousands of years passed, and we still haven't created intelligence. Evidence- this blog
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The space universe was creationism, decaying atoms collect to make rock, rocks collect to make planetoid bodies, a molten core develops, when the planetoid body reaches critical mass the crust burns off, a sun, or star.
It happened all over the universe. The sun creating heat, draws more matter to it, which is heated up as it approaches, that matter collects in turn heating up matter farther out, at which time a critical mass is reached and a new sun forms outside the perameters of the first, it expands the universe, slowly. No Big Bang.
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Why do people keep harping? Is it to keep people dumb?
Nanotechnology at 10:00AM on Jul 1st 2008
39. I was told you people haven't figured it out yet!
That this is some sort of research project to discover the truth. How's it going?
I'm an idiot, and I know the truth.
Nanotechnology at 10:07AM on Jul 1st 2008
40. String theory-
Females were taken from each family of the Orient. Supposedly because they worth less than males working in the fields. They were taken to mountain retreats, the father thinking they were killed. They studied, they moved out in small pacts. They moved into the west, like a string. They educated other women. They enslaved man with religion. World over... nobody has a family, except those who don't have a life.
Nanotechnology at 10:13AM on Jul 1st 2008
41. CERN is making black holes. Isn't that lovely?
Mokele Mbembe at 10:18AM on Jul 1st 2008
42. If I show up every 30 minutes, will I ensure you never post again. You have no evidence to your posts, just lies!!!!!!!!!!!
Nanotechnology at 10:21AM on Jul 1st 2008
43. Where did 'Ender' end it? Tell me, and I will finish the trail.
Nanotechnology at 10:22AM on Jul 1st 2008
44. Moke, CERN is making black holes.
So you are saying... since oriental women are now white. Intelligent men are creating non-whites to overpower the relgions of white dwarfs?
Nanotechnology at 10:30AM on Jul 1st 2008
45. Once again DD does not tell the truth. DD does NOT believe in God. DD is a cult member that believes a dead Jewish man was executed and came back to life and flew off into outer space and is sitting up there ready to pounce. We call these people nut jobs.
Larry at 10:31AM on Jul 1st 2008