Sky & Telescope - October 2019 - 68

BOOK REVIEW by S. N. Johnson-Roehr

An Kythe the Mystery
OOR BIG BRAW COSMOS: A Cocktail of Cosmic Science, Imagery & Poetry
John C. Brown and Rab Wilson
Luath Press Ltd, 2019
256 pages, ISBN 978-1-913025-05-2
US $45.00, UK £25.00, hardcover.
ASTRONOMER ROYAL FOR SCOTLAND John C. Brown and distinguished

Scots poet Rab Wilson have produced
an unusual and thought-provoking
exploration of the universe. With
forewords by Andy Lawrence (University
of Edinburgh) and Jocelyn Bell Burnell (Oxford University), Oor Big Braw
Cosmos: A Cocktail of Cosmic Science,
Imagery & Poetry brings together science
and art to tell the story of our cosmos
from a deliberately Scots perspective.
Written to be an accessible introduction to astronomy, Oor Big Braw Cosmos
features photography from a number
Scottish amateur astronomers, as well
as illustrations by the American artist
Lynette Cook. Though a legitimate
guide to the universe - past, present,
and future - what makes this book
unique is its literary bent. As the title
suggests, the Scots language makes frequent appearances in the text, so much
so that the authors refer their readers
to the Dictionary of the Scots Language (Dictionar o the Scots Leid) in the
introduction. In addition, every chapter
offers original Scots poems, penned by
Rab Wilson. Wordplay meets science
meets popular culture on every page.
The ﬁrst half of the book details the
history and structure of the universe,
opening with a brief but lyrical explanation of the numbers and measures
astronomers use to describe the cosmos.
A succint review of the Big Bang in the
ﬁrst chapter is followed by a deeper
exploration of planetary systems in the
next. This is a good read, particularly
if you've been meaning to catch up on
current solar system science. Exo68

OCTOBE R 2 019 * SK Y & TELESCOPE

planet science is always
a moving target, but the
authors provide a cogent
summary of the methods
used to search for new
planets and descriptions
of some of the more
intriguing discoveries.
Space art and poetry
were put to good use in
this section (look, for
instance, for the "bricht
unwavering steady licht"
of the International Space Station).
Chapter 3 is dedicated to solar science, with a quick nod to Tlingit, Haida,
and Tsimshian legends. A section on
the Sun's atmospheric structure and
space weather (solar ﬂares, geomagnetic
storms, and aurorae) is followed by several well-illustrated pages detailing the
life and death of stars. This naturally
leads into a discussion of star clusters,
nebulae, and supernova remnants.
In Chapter 4, the authors go big,
looking at galaxies and the largescale structure of the universe. This is
another colorful section, thoughtfully
illustrated with Hubble Space Telescope
photos and ground-based images captured by Scottish astrophotographers.
The ﬁfth chapter beats as the true
heart of the book; it's here that we
get a direct look at some early Scots
astronomers: James Gregory (the
"Scottish Newton"); Alexander Wilson (solar structure); Thomas Brisbane
(the world's ﬁrst geomagnetic observatory); Mary Somerville (The Mechanism
of the Heavens and On the Connexion
of the Physical Sciences); Thomas Henderson (the ﬁrst Astronomer Royal for
Scotland); John Pringle Nichol (The
Architecture of the Heavens); Charles
Piazzi Smyth (the second Astronomer
Royal for Scotland); James Clerk Max-

well ("What's the go o'
that?"); and Williamina
Fleming (curator of the
Harvard College Observatory astrophotography
plate collection).
Archaeoastronomy,
with a focus on Neolithic
structures in Scotland, as
well as Scottish contributions to the analysis of
sites like Stonehenge, is
discussed in Chapter 6.
Systems of modeling the universe, from
Kepler to the planetarium to modern
space art, are illustrated and explained.
Chapter 7 ampliﬁes the authors'
Scotland-inﬂected interactions with
the cosmos. Particularly captivating is
the use of high-latitude solarigraphs to
reveal local weather variations. Musings
on the coat of arms for the Astronomer
Royal and observing in the north round
out this section.
The book concludes with a few
thoughts on the fate of the cosmos: the
end of life on Earth and in our solar
system, the fate of stars and galaxies,
and, ultimately, the fate of the universe.
An appendix includes suggestions for
further reading, a map of Scottish sites
of astronomical interest, and a cosmological timeline.
Oor Big Braw Cosmos has few weaknesses. It's easy to read (though you
might have to learn a few Scots words),
packed with images, and full of whimsical poems. If you have questions about
the universe or Scotland's role in the
history of astronomy, Oor Big Braw
Cosmos will surely answer them.

¢ Associate Editor S. N. JOHNSONROEHR once wrote an American History

term paper on Scotland . . . and got
away with it.
Sky & Telescope - October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - October 2019
