This book discusses cosmology from both an observational and a strong theoretical perspective. The first part focuses on gravitation, notably the expansion of the universe and determination of cosmolo
The beautiful and complex natural world becomes understandable and accessible in this series for emergent readers. A search-and-find feature guides early readers as they learn new vocabulary pertainin
Galaxies are known as the building blocks of the universe, but arriving at this understanding has been a thousand-year odyssey. This journey is told through the lens of the evolving use of images as investigative tools. Initial chapters explore how early insights developed in line with new methods of scientific imaging, particularly photography. The volume then explores the impact of optical, radio and x-ray imaging techniques. The final part of the story discusses the importance of atlases of galaxies; how astronomers organised images in ways that educated, promoted ideas and pushed for new knowledge. Images that created confusion as well as advanced knowledge are included to demonstrate the challenges faced by astronomers and the long road to understanding galaxies. By examining developments in imaging, this text places the study of galaxies in its broader historical context, contributing to both astronomy and the history of science.
Physicist Clifford Johnson thinks that we should have more conversations about science. Science should be on our daily conversation menu, along with topics like politics, books, sports, or the latest
Here is the essential companion to Welcome to the Universe, a New York Times bestseller that was inspired by the enormously popular introductory astronomy course for non science majors that Neil deGra
Here is the essential companion to Welcome to the Universe, a New York Times bestseller that was inspired by the enormously popular introductory astronomy course for non science majors that Neil deGra
The interest of nineteenth-century Lakotas in the sun, moon, and stars was an essential part of their never-ending quest to understand the universe. The Spirit and the Sky presents a survey of the eth
On July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the most powerful X-ray telescope ever built, was launched aboard the space shuttle Columbia. Since then, Chandra has given us a view of the universe
Did you know that the universe is expanding even as you read this? That stargazing is really looking back in time millions of years, and that sound cannot travel in space, so you can be as noisy as yo
This second edition of Introduction to Cosmology is an exciting update of an award-winning textbook. It is aimed primarily at advanced undergraduate students in physics and astronomy, but is also useful as a supplementary text at higher levels. It explains modern cosmological concepts, such as dark energy, in the context of the Big Bang theory. Its clear, lucid writing style, with a wealth of useful everyday analogies, makes it exceptionally engaging. Emphasis is placed on the links between theoretical concepts of cosmology and the observable properties of the universe, building deeper physical insights in the reader. The second edition includes recent observational results, fuller descriptions of special and general relativity, expanded discussions of dark energy, and a new chapter on baryonic matter that makes up stars and galaxies. It is an ideal textbook for the era of precision cosmology in the accelerating universe.
The advent of sensitive high-resolution observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation and their successful interpretation in terms of the standard cosmological model has led to great confidence in this model's reality. The prevailing attitude is that we now understand the Universe and need only work out the details. In this book, Sanders traces the development and successes of Lambda-CDM, and argues that this triumphalism may be premature. The model's two major components, dark energy and dark matter, have the character of the pre-twentieth-century luminiferous aether. While there is astronomical evidence for these hypothetical fluids, their enigmatic properties call into question our assumptions of the universality of locally determined physical law. Sanders explains how modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) is a significant challenge for cold dark matter. Overall, the message is hopeful: the field of cosmology has not become frozen, and there is much fundamental work ahead f
Welcome to the Universe is a personal guided tour of the cosmos by three of today's leading astrophysicists. Inspired by the enormously popular introductory astronomy course that Neil deGrasse Tyson,
