I am happy to report that I have a new book coming out! It is called A Universe of Earths: Our Planet and Other Worlds, from Copernicus to NASA. It is being published by Oxford University Press. I wrote it with Dennis Danielson of the University of British Columbia. It is supposed to be out in January.
Click here for the OUP website for the book.
Dennis and I conducted a panel discussion session on the book at the 16th Biennial History of Astronomy Workshop at the University of Notre Dame (ND XVI) June 11-14, 2025, a conference that I have regularly attended since 2009. Joining us for that panel were historian of astronomy Steven J. Dick and … drumroll … Br. Guy Consolmagno, S.J. and Fr. Paul Gabor, S.J. of the Vatican Observatory. Dennis and I sent a late draft of the book to these three gentlemen for them to read over. At the conference, Dennis and I each spoke on our ideas about the central concepts of the book, and then Br. Guy, Steve, and Fr. Paul all gave responses.
The theme of ND XVI was “Visual practices in the production and transmission of astronomical knowledge” (click here for more on the theme). You will hear references to that sprinkled throughout the discussion. The title of our session was “Starring the Earth: Science, Our Planet, and the Plurality of Worlds”. (Plurality of Worlds refers to the idea of a universe full of other Earths). The working title of the book was going to be Starring the Earth, but OUP guided us eventually to A Universe of Earths. The entire discussion was recorded by Jon Voisey, who posted it on YouTube; thanks to him, you can check it out just like you were at Notre Dame:
The abstract for our panel session was as follows:
Graney and Danielson are putting the finishing touches on a book that is under contract with OUP. By June 2025 it should be well in press. Its working title is Starring the Earth. In it they argue for a revision of how historians, astronomers, and the broader public all see the role of science in the story of the Copernican system, the Plurality of Worlds, and the place of our Earth in the universe. Part of their argument involves the question of star sizes in the Copernican system; some discussion of how stars are represented in world system diagrams will connect with the theme of “Visual practices in the production and transmission of astronomical knowledge”. In this session Graney and Danielson will each present a synopsis of their central argument, seen from the standpoint of science (Graney) and the humanities (Danielson). Then there will be invited critical responses and commentary from the standpoint of a historian of science (Dick) and a working research astronomer (Consolmagno, Gabor). Lastly, there will be open discussion.
Readers of Sacred Space Astronomy know Br. Guy, of course, but I specifically wanted to invite him to be on the panel because: he has an interest in intelligent life on other worlds, being co-author with Fr. Paul Mueller, S.J. of Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? . . . and Other Questions from the Astronomers’ In-box at the Vatican Observatory (click here for more on it); he serves on the Science Advisory Board of the SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence) Institute; he has an interest in the workings of science (he and I co-authored When Science Goes Wrong: The Desire and Search for Truth); and he is a big science fiction fan (so he just likes the idea of other Earths)! Of course, he was in Rome in June for the Vatican Observatory Summer School, but he was able to contribute comments via video.
Steve Dick is one of the leading historians of the idea of other Earths. He was NASA Chief Historian and Director of the NASA History Office from 2003 to 2009. Prior to that, he was an astronomer and historian of science at the U.S. Naval Observatory for more than two decades. He was the 2014 Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology at the Library of Congress’s John W. Kluge Center, and in 2013 testified before the United States Congress on the subject of astrobiology. From 2011 to 2012 he held the Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History at the National Air and Space Museum. He is the author or editor of more than 100 articles and 25 books, and recipient of the 2006 LeRoy E. Doggett Prize from the American Astronomical Society for a career that has significantly influenced the field of the history of astronomy. And more — you can find more at his website, www.stevenjdick.com. It was great to have him on the panel.
Fr. Paul is Vice Director of the Vatican Observatory. He is the guy who oversaw the installation of the robotic control system on the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope on Mt. Graham (despite customs brokers, snowstorms, and fried 25kV power cables). He is also a faculty member of Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, where he teaches ASTR320 “History and Philosophy of Astronomical Thought”. And he has written occasionally for Sacred Space Astronomy (but not for some time). When I asked Guy to be on the panel, he recommended I also ask Paul (who I knew, of course, but had not worked with as much as I have worked with Guy). Paul not only was an asset to the panel, as you can see from the video, but a big asset to the conference in general. He is much better at general conference conviviality than I am.
Stay tuned! You’ll be hearing more about A Universe of Earths. Click on the image below for the OUP website for the book.
