Strongly recommended by Kim Beom-jun, Ahn Eun-jin, Jeong Yeong-jin, Lee Kang-min, and Jindol & Hidi!
Stars, the Universe, and What the History of Observation Tells Us
“Looking at the stars is the most human thing you can do.”

When was the last time you looked up at the night sky? Yesterday? Last week? Last month? Or even a time in the past you can't even remember? We all live with the sky above us, yet at some point, we stopped looking up at it properly.
We are so focused on the achievements right in front of us, the tasks we need to get done today, and where we need to go right now that we don't even have time to look up and see the sky.


Here's the one and only astronomy book for you.
Author Ji Woong-bae, who is so in love with space that his shirts, glasses straps, and even his frequently used notebooks are filled with stars and planets, boldly says, “We are all born as astronomers” in an age when even looking at the night sky, let alone astronomy, is considered useless.
And from the latest astronomical issues where artificial intelligence has become another astronomer, to the history of paradigm shifts that cannot be left out when talking about astronomy, the discovery of light and gravitational waves, the debate over dark matter and dark energy, and the debate over terraforming Mars and extraterrestrial life, this book covers all the historical issues of astronomy in one volume, narrowing the distance between you and the universe.
According to the author, astronomy, unlike other sciences, has spatiotemporal limitations that make experiments impossible and require viewing the subject of study from a distance.
So the universe is a world that can only be known to the extent that it is visible, and its very existence humbles humans.


Why should we be interested in astronomy, which is of no immediate use? The author asks.
Humanity begins with being curious about useless things.
Perhaps the advantage humans gained from walking upright was that they could look up at the sky.
As you read the history of astronomy and the stories of those who struggled to unlock the secrets of the night sky, you too will want to look up at the sky tonight.

"I hope that through this book, everyone will quietly contemplate the beauty of astronomy." - Kim Beom-jun (Professor of Statistical Physics, Sungkyunkwan University)
“Like the universe, which is out of reach but always by your side, I hope this book will bring you a little closer to those distant stars.” - Ahn Eun-jin (actress)
"The only thing I trust is Professor Ji Woong-bae's sincere and kind demeanor, and his genuine gaze that seems to encapsulate the entire galaxy." - Jeong Yeong-jin (Jeong Pro, Host of [See Science])
“For those of us who have forgotten that we are astronomers, staring only at our smartphones, this book offers the romance of looking up at the night sky.” - Lee Kang-min (Editor-in-Chief of CBS [Lee Kang-min's Magazine])
"Reading this book, you'll feel as if you're participating in a special event, secretly hearing about the universe's untold secrets." - Jindol (webtoon artist, YouTuber)
“The more I read, the more strangely the universe, which had seemed so far away, seemed to get closer.” - Hidi (webtoon artist)

I believe that the ability to see the stars is the most special gift that upright walking has given us.
Thanks to this, unlike other four-legged animals, we have become beings who can comfortably look up at the sky by just raising our heads a little.
Thanks to this, we have become beings who know the universe, are curious about the universe, and feel lonely in the vast universe.
And in this universe, I became the only beautiful being who knew how to look at stars and enjoy it.
--- p.12 "Prologue: Stargazing is the most human act."

Although stars and galaxies are far away, the light from them that we have counted so far is in the hundreds of billions.
It has been a long time since human touch began to gradually disappear from the observatory.
Every night, all over the globe, diligent businessmen at automated observatories count the stars.
But even if artificial intelligence one day completely replaces human astronomers, the day will never come when humans stop looking at the sky.
And we will pass on what we have seen to future generations.
I became the little prince who told the story of a businessman.
--- p.61 「Chapter 1.
"All stories begin with counting stars."

It wasn't because scientists of the past were stupid that they came up with ridiculous theories.
It's just that the universe really did look that way to them.
The grand framework of the Big Bang cosmology that we firmly believe in today may one day be replaced by a completely different paradigm.
In the distant future, say, in the 30th century, our distant descendants may laugh at us for once insisting on the Big Bang theory, adding a crude correction called dark energy.
And they may be living in a completely different universe, telling the story of the birth and evolution of the universe in a completely different way that we cannot even dare to imagine today.
It's coming.
--- p.109 「Chapter 2.
How Old Beliefs Collapsed

This is why the stars in the night sky appear to twinkle when viewed with the naked eye.
In fact, starlight originally does not shake.
If we looked at a star from the Moon, which has no atmosphere, the star would appear as a perfect, unwavering little dot.
The reason stars appear to twinkle is purely due to the Earth's atmosphere.
As poet Yun Dong-ju said, it is because the starlight is blown by the wind.
In astronomical observation, the extent to which starlight appears to spread out like this is called seeing.
Spitzer believed that if he could go into space and look directly at starlight without the obstruction of Earth's atmosphere, he could obtain an overwhelming view that could not be replicated by ground-based telescopes.
--- p.137 「Chapter 3.
A message that flew through the darkness of light years

I believe that scientific advancements can significantly change our perspectives beyond the realm of science, in fields as diverse as music and literature.
Before we learned about the existence of gravitational waves, the expression “seeing gravity” would have been an extremely synesthetic and literary expression.
You might have thought that gravity wasn't originally a visual sensation.
But now we live in a world where we can actually see gravity.
The expression 'seeing gravity' is no longer a literary expression.
It is a scientific expression that expresses the reality of the universe as it is.
Now we see gravity.
I say this as an astronomer, not a poet.
--- p.200 Chapter 4.
How did the apple explain the power of the universe?

Dark matter allows the matter of the universe to be kneaded more efficiently, quickly, and stably.
The clump of dark matter that gathered in the primordial universe served as the seed of galaxies, the condensation nucleus of galaxies.
If there were no dark matter, the universe might never have formed any of these large and beautiful galaxies.
Because there would still be no place where baryons were densely packed and kneaded together.
The age of the universe, 13.8 billion years, may seem like an incredibly long time to us, but interestingly, thanks to dark matter, the universe has formed its current beautiful, massive structure in 'only' 13.8 billion years.
It was possible to complete it.
--- p.249 「Chapter 5.
"The invisible force that fills the empty space"

It is right to solve problems that occur on Earth within the Earth itself, if possible.
Abandoning Earth and dreaming of a new beginning somewhere else is a lazy and expensive alternative.
When we talk about Mars these days, we don't mean Earth.
There is a tendency to perceive Mars as a hopeful utopia where we can escape all the problems of Earth and start anew.
But Mars doesn't solve our fundamental problems.
The dream of going to Mars merely postpones the mistakes and resulting tragedies of our present reality for a future that will not arrive immediately.
--- p.318 「Chapter 6.
A story that goes beyond Earth

There is a very cool philosophical concept that runs through modern astronomy.
This is the concept of 'cosmological awareness', which refers to an attitude of living always aware that everything seen is influenced by everything unseen, and everything known is connected to everything yet unknown.
Only by becoming accustomed to this attitude can we fully accept and feel the universe.
Astronomy humbles us, and at the same time, only when we are humble can we truly enjoy astronomy.
The heart to admit what you don't know, not what you know.
The desire to show how much one does not know, even by underestimating what one knows.
That feeling made me an astronomer.

--- p.323 "Epilogue: Astronomy Makes Us Humble"