Mercury,
January/February 2005 Table of Contents
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Courtesy
of N. A.Sharp, NOAO/NSO/Kitt Peak FTS/AURA/NSF. |
by
C. Renee James
As
our knowledge about the Universe has progressed, we astronomers
have become a timid bunch. Instead of reading self-aggrandizing
reports about "remarkable" and "amazing" discoveries,
we instead find the great insights buried under pages of caveats
and qualifiers in the journals. The more we know, the more we realize
how uncertain we are. And sometimes the most pivotal discoveries
have been hidden almost apologetically from view, as though their
discoverers are ashamed to find something that contradicts contemporary
understanding. Such was the case for two fundamental findings in
the 20th century concerning the nature of the Sun and stars, findings
that have helped drive the basic picture of the evolution of the
material universe.
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