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Weird Astronomical Theories of the Solar System and Beyond

  • Book
  • © 2016

Overview

Authors:
  1. David Seargent

    1. The Entrance, Australia

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  • Covers a variety of unconventional theories about the formation of the Solar System, the introduction of life on Earth, the nature of comets, and more
  • Maintains an approachable, informal and non-technical tone accessible to non-specialists
  • Continues the author's well-received "Weird" series, including "Weird Weather," "Weird Astronomy," "Weird Worlds," and "Weird Universe"
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Astronomers' Universe (ASTRONOM)

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Table of contents (5 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiv
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Is There a Cosmic Web of Life?

    • David Seargent
    Pages 1-54

  3. The Birth of the Solar System: Some Unconventional Ideas

    • David Seargent
    Pages 55-98

  4. Focused Starlight, Cosmic Impacts and Life on Earth

    • David Seargent
    Pages 99-131

  5. Comet Controversies

    • David Seargent
    Pages 133-201

  6. Weird Theories of a Weird Universe

    • David Seargent
    Pages 203-256

  7. Back Matter

    Pages 257-270
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Keywords

About this book

After addressing strange cosmological hypotheses in Weird Universe, David Seargent tackles the no-less bizarre theories closer to home. Alternate views on the Solar System's formation, comet composition, and the evolution of life on Earth are only some of the topics he addresses in this new work. Although these ideas exist on the fringe of mainstream astronomy, they can still shed light on the origins of life and the evolution of the planets. Continuing the author's series of books popularizing strange astronomy facts and knowledge, Weird Astronomical Theories presents an approachable exploration of the still mysterious questions about the origin of comets, the pattern of mass extinctions on Earth, and more. The alternative theories discussed here do not come from untrained amateurs. The scientists whose work is covered includes the mid-20th century Russian S. K. Vsekhsvyatskii, cosmologist Max Tegmark, British astronomers Victor Clube and William Napier, and American Tom Van Flandern, a specialist in celestial mechanics who held a variety of unusual beliefs about the possibility of intelligent life having come from elsewhere. Despite being outliers, their work reveals how much astronomical understanding is still evolving. Unconventional approaches have also pushed our scientific understanding for the better, as with R.W. Mandl's approaching Einstein with regard to gravitational lensing.  Even without full substantiation (and some theories are hardly credible), their hypotheses allow for a new perspective on how the Solar System became what it is today.

Reviews

“In his latest book, David Seargent (the Australian comet expert) dives into a host of strange and weird theoretical proposals associated with our Solar System. … This is an extremely enjoyable and thought-provoking book.” (David W. Hughes, The Observatory, Vol. 136 (1255), December, 2016)

Authors and Affiliations

  • The Entrance, Australia

    David Seargent

About the author

David A. J. Seargent holds an MA and Ph.D., both in Philosophy from the University of Newcastle NSW, where he formerly worked as a tutor in Philosophy for the Department of Community of Programs/Worker’s Educational Association external education program. As an amateur astronomer, he is known for his observations of comets, one of which he discovered in 1978. He is the author of five astronomy books: “Comets – Vagabonds in Space” (Doubleday, 1982), “The Greatest Comets in History” (Springer, 2008), “Weird Astronomy” (Springer, 2010),“Weird Weather” (Springer, 2012),  "Weird Worlds" (2013), and most recently "Weird Universe" (2015). He is the author of a regular column in “Australian Sky and Telescope” magazine.

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