The dark matter problem is one of the most fundamental and profoundly difficult to solve problems in the history of science. Not knowing what makes up most of the known universe goes to the heart of our understanding of the Universe and our place in it. In Search of Dark Matter is the story of the emergence of the dark matter problem, from the initial erroneous ‘discovery’ of dark matter by Jan Oort to contemporary explanations for the nature of dark matter and its role in the origin and evolution of the Universe.........

This accessible volume provides readers - whether students new to the field or just interested members of the lay public - with the essential ideas of evolution using a minimum of jargon and mathematics. Concepts are introduced in a progressive order so that more complicated ideas build on simpler ones, and each is discussed in small, bite-sized segments so that they can be more easily understood.

Cosmology 101 introduces readers to all the aspects that make cosmology such a vibrant and dynamic field:
- The debate over whether the the Milky Way was the only "island universe", or only one of many "galaxies. The solution to this question set into motion a new revolution in cosmology.
- Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, which has completely altered how scientists model the universe
- The debates over the Steady-State versus the Big Bang model of the universe, and the recent theories, such as the inflationary model of the universe.

This volume in the Science 101 series provides readers with a solid understanding of how scientist know what they know about the universe.

 
Everyone knows that the universe is extremely old and extremely large. But how did scientists determine just how old and how large? How do astronomers know that there are upwards of 100 billion galaxies in the universe if the nearest one is over 40,000 light-years away? How do we know what the stars are made of? The answer is that our current knowledge of the universe has arisen from the work and ideas of scientists and philosophers over hundreds of years. While it's only been during the last several decades that scientists have had the technology and theories to really understand how the universe works, humans have thought about such issues for millennia. And the scientists who today are attempting to understand the most complex issues of the universe build upon the work and thought of the thinkers of the last hundreds of years.

 From an historical perspective, this text presents an entirely non- mathematical introduction to astronomy from the first endeavours of the ancients to the current developments in research enabled by cutting edge technological advances. Free of mathematics and complex graphs, the book nevertheless explains deep concepts of space and time, of relativity and quantum mechanics, and of origin and nature of the universe. It conveys not only the intrinsic fascination of the subject, but also the human side and the scientific method as practised by Kepler, defined and elucidated by Galileo, and then demonstrated by Newton.

Have you ever wondered what dark matter is or why galaxies collide? Or why the Moon is gradually drifting away from Earth? Space is really, really big, as Douglas Adams once pointed out, and there is no better guide to it than Fred Watson, astronomer to the stars.
Fred Watson has taken the many, many questions that have been asked by listeners of his popular, long-running radio shows, and answered them in Why Is Uranus Upside Down?
This highly entertaining and informative introduction to our planet and the Universe we live in is a must-read for enquiring minds of all ages.