The Scale of the Universe debate in 1996

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-1996

Abstract

On April 21, 1996, Sidney van den Bergh and Gustav Tammann engaged in a public debate titled "The Scale of the Universe." The arguments they presented focused on recently determined and still controversial values of the Hubble Constant. The program was moderated by John Bahcall, with lectures on the background and history behind humanity's quest for the scale of the Universe given by Owen Gingerich and Virginia Trimble. These introductory lectures along with the arguments presented by the 1996 debaters are recreated in the following papers. This debate was of the same title and held in the same auditorium as the "Great Debate" between Heber Curtis and Harlow Shapley in 1920. Here we discuss some of the issues surrounding the organization and inspiration for the 1996 debate. Like the 1920 debate, the 1996 debate was not intended to resolve a disagreement instantly. Instead it is hoped that this debate and the written contributions will stand as educational tools, summarizing the arguments behind today's Hubble Constant controversy, and will help provide a framework for evaluating progress in this field as the century which saw its creation draws to a close. Together with last year's debate, "The Distance Scale to Gamma Ray Bursts" (Nemiroff, R. J. 1995, PASP. 107, 1131), these papers may also provide a clue as to how scientists think.

Publication Title

Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific

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