Origins_How the Planets, Stars, Galaxies and the Universe began
In the last decade, there has been a revolution in observational
astronomy, which has meant that we are very close to answering three of
the four big origin questions, of how the planets, stars, galaxies,
and the universe itself were formed. As recently as 1995 we knew of
only one planetary system: our own. Now we know of over a hundred, and
this knowledge has helped to reveal how planetary systems form.
Within the last four years, astronomers have
discovered that the universe is geometrically flat and that its
expansion is accelerating, fuelled by a mysterious dark energy. This
revolution in our observational knowledge of the universe, including
the first precise measurements of its age and matter and energy
content, has been vital groundwork for new ideas about its origin,
including the possibility that the universe originated in a larger
meta-universe .
Origin Questions describes, at an understandable and
basically non-mathematical level, the origin questions and the recent
steps that have been taken towards answering them.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Astronomy
Chris De Pree and Alan Axelrod present a comprehensive tour of the universe. Readers will enjoy the historical approach, starting with the ancients, moving on to Copernicus and Galileo, and ending in the modern era with Neil Armstrong and others.
This book provides an excellent guide not only for first-time observers, but also for experienced amateur astronomers.
Astronomical techniques, the solar system, stars, and the distant universe are described in a concise but thorough manner.
The simple physical concepts underlying these phenomena are presented as they are required.
A Brief History of Time
Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the modern classic
A Brief History of Time to help nonscientists understand the questions being asked by scientists today: Where did the universe come from? How and why did it begin? Will it come to an end, and if so, how? Hawking attempts to reveal these questions (and where we're looking for answers) using a minimum of technical jargon. Among the topics gracefully covered are gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time, and physicists' search for a grand unifying theory. This is
deep science; these concepts are so vast (or so tiny) as to cause vertigo while reading, and one can't help but marvel at Hawking's ability to synthesize this difficult subject for people not used to thinking about things like alternate dimensions. The journey is certainly worth taking, for, as Hawking says, the reward of understanding the universe may be a glimpse of "the mind of God."
--Therese Littleton--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
