New Books in Popular Culture Marcus Chown, "A Crack in Everything: How Black Holes Came in from the Cold and Took Cosmic Centre Stage" (Apollo, 2025)
Nov 7, 2025
Marcus Chown, a former radio astronomer and science writer, dives into the fascinating world of black holes in his new book. He shares how these cosmic enigmas transitioned from theoretical oddities to central figures in our understanding of the universe. Chown recounts pivotal discoveries, like the identification of Cygnus X-1, and explains the common misconceptions surrounding black holes. He also discusses how gravitational waves are reshaping our understanding of these entities, making black holes a key focus in modern astrophysics.
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Early Inspiration From Cygnus X-1
- Marcus Chown describes hearing Paul Murdin speak about Cygnus X-1 at age 12, which sparked his lifelong interest in black holes.
- He then pursued radio astronomy and later interviewed many pioneers to tell their personal stories in the book.
Black Holes Moved To Cosmic Center Stage
- Black holes are regions where gravity prevents even light from escaping, commonly formed when massive stars collapse at end of life.
- Chown argues they moved "in from the cold" to become central to understanding cosmic structure and our existence.
Singularities Expose Theory Limits
- Einstein's general relativity describes gravity as curvature of space-time and predicted singularities when mass compresses enough.
- Einstein resisted black holes because singularities indicate a breakdown of theory, implying a deeper quantum gravity is needed.
