The World According to Odenwald: Goddard's Natural Philosopher

Photo by Chris Gunn/293

Odenwald pictured in front of his latest book, "Patterns in the Void: Why Nothing is Important."

"The part of the Universe that gives us comfort is not in control," says Goddard astronomer Sten Odenwald, as he relates the message of his latest book, "Patterns in the Void: Why Nothing is Important. " Much of the destiny of the Universe is determined by what we don't see and may never see."

He delivers this disquieting message with a grin, as if he is letting you in on an inside joke. "You've got this unknown dark energy pushing a runaway expansion of the Universe, which will render it barren and cold. Most of our genetic code is so-called 'junk DNA' with no apparent purpose. It may be leftover code from ancient viral infections, and may even become activated under certain conditions, which would likely serve its own interest, not ours."

Even from the beginning, we seem to have been an afterthought to unseen forces, Odenwald realized. "After the Big Bang, the primordial explosion of space that created all matter and energy in the Universe, gravity from an invisible type of matter called dark matter was required to pull normal matter into stars and galaxies. We don't know what dark matter is, but without it, we would not be here."

His eyes sparkle behind his glasses and he laughs. Sharing ideas, even if they are unsettling, is his passion. "Writing is a compulsion for me - I have no choice." His first dispatch from the frequently bizarre world of astronomy was "The Decay of the False Vacuum," an article published in the February 1984 issue of Astronomy magazine. "It was an enormous thrill to sell a manuscript to an editor who was eagerly waiting to receive it," Odenwald recalls. "Books have been a tougher nut to crack," he adds with a wry grin.

Odenwald has three titles published to date. Years of maintaining a question and answer feature at his award-winning Astronomy Café website led to his first book, The Astronomy Café: 365 Questions and Answers from "Ask the Astronomer." His current outreach experience for a solar science mission produced the second book, The 23rd cycle: Learning to Live with a Stormy Star.

Odenwald, an infrared astronomer who came to Goddard in 1992 to work for the COBE mission, is now the Education Manager for the Imager for Magnetopause to Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) mission. In communicating esoteric solar science to those not exposed to the field, Odenwald comfortably bridges the gulf between science, art, and emotion. "I'm what neuropsychologists call 'right-brained' - I respond to images, emotions, and the overall theme. This helps greatly when I teach. I can short-circuit the mathematical complexities and develop visual analogies students can work with."

Odenwald plans to continue writing because he believes astronomers can offer a unique perspective and synthesis of ideas to people and because he is "fascinated with the process." Ever since his first article, Odenwald has been refining his technique to connect with the public. "I learned to simplify while maintaining accuracy, and to use analogies and references to popular culture."

Odenwald is considering a number of possibilities, many related to astronomy and its philosophical implications, "I hope to find a happy ending to the discovery that our destiny is in invisible hands, and share it with people. One idea is related to the search for the 'ghost in the machine' - asking what place is there for the spirit in a Universe dominated by matter. We are finding that ordinary matter does not dominate, and matter itself has 'ghostly' properties, so maybe instead of saying there is no ghost, we'll conclude that there is no machine."

Visit the astronomy café at: http://itss.raytheon.com/cafe/cafe.html