Postcards From A Star Trekker

Astrophysicist and science educator Neil deGrasse Tyson’s latest book compiles decades of correspondence with ordinary folks who looked at the world and asked ‘how come?’

- Rihan Najib

“I am about an hour north of Baghdad. This is a place in your book that has gotten a few references,” writes a private in the US Army deployed in Iraq, referring to the fact that during the Golden Age of Islam from the 8th to the 14th century, the intellectual cradle of the world was Baghdad. The soldier goes on to say how the revelations of the book spawned long chats with Iraqi locals who were acquainted with their city’s role in scientific history. “These conversations [...] leave me feeling more like a heavily armed tourist, rather than an occupying invader.”

The book is Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries (2007) and the letter is addressed to its author, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who writes back to the private: “Two thirds of all stars that have names, are named in Arabic, enabled by major advances in navigation a thousand years ago. The most enduring thing about being human is the discovery of cosmic truths that transcend culture, politics, religion and time, forming the corpus of knowledge and wisdom that we call civilization.”

Among the most popular science educators in the US and abroad, Tyson (61) enjoys planetwide popularity. Amassing a cult following through his books such as City of Stars: A New Yorker’s Guide to the Cosmos (2002) and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry (2017) as well as his shows such as StarTalk and Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, Tyson has received several awards for his role in communicating the wonders of science to the public. Recently, he congratulated Indian scientists on attempting to bring India into the elite club of moon-faring nations with the Chandrayaan-2 lunar exploration mission.