Learn about our solar system in this Step 3 Science Reader packed with NASA photos and space facts! Step into Reading, the most trusted name in early readers, delivers an introduction to the final fro
Cosmology - the science of the Universe at large - has experienced a renaissance in the decades bracketing the turn of the twenty-first century. Exploring our emerging understanding of cosmology, this text takes two complementary points of view: the physical principles underlying theories of cosmology, and the observable consequences of models of Universal expansion. The book develops cosmological models based on fundamental physical principles, with mathematics limited to the minimum necessary to keep the material accessible for students of physics and astronomy at the advanced undergraduate level. A substantial review of general relativity leading up to the Einstein field equations is included, with derivations of explicit formulations connecting observable features of the Universe to models of its expansion. Self-contained and up to date in respect of modern observations, the text provides a solid theoretical grounding in modern cosmology while preparing readers for the changes that
When observing the sky on a very clear, dark night, the soft glow of the Milky Way with its thousands of stars can be seen with the naked eye. Over the centuries since Galileo Galilei first pointed a
Introduces the constellation Pisces, providing the stories of the Greeks about its origin and describing some of the individual stars and the galaxy M74 found within its borders.
Introduces the constellation Andromeda, providing the stories of the Greeks about its origin and describing some of the individual stars and the galaxy M31 found within its borders.
Are there other galaxies out there? How do we know that they exist? Can we expect an alien invasion? In this fascinating book, readers will learn about black holes, gigantic telescopes, and space expl
"Humans are like a tiny speck compared to Earth. And Earth is like a tiny speck compared to the universe. Words cannot describe how massive our universe really is. It's difficult to imagine that we're
Our galaxy is just one of a hundred billion galaxies in the Universe. Breathtaking full color photos of galaxies from the Hubble Space telescope accompany informative text, helping readers understand
"A groundbreaking revision of the Copernican principle Though the concept of "the universe" suggests the containment of everything, the latest ideas in cosmology hint that our universe may be just on
The Milky Way is just one of billions of galaxies in the universe. Yet by exploring the galaxy we call home, we have been able to uncover some of the universe’s many unknowns. This illuminating volume
The ordinary atoms that make up the known universe--from our bodies and the air we breathe to the planets and stars--constitute only 5 percent of all matter and energy in the cosmos. The rest is known
"Max Tegmark leads us on an astonishing journey through past, present, and future, and through the physics, astronomy and mathematics that are the foundation of his work, most particularly his hypothe
Today we are all familiar with the iconic pictures of the nebulae produced by the Hubble Space Telescope’s digital cameras. But there was a time, before the successful application of photography to th
The Book of Curiosities is an eleventh-century Arabic account of the heavens and the Earth, illustrated by remarkable maps and astronomical diagrams. This authoritative edition and translation opens a
Astrophysicist and scholar Martin Harwit examines how our understanding of the cosmos advanced rapidly during the twentieth century and identifies the factors contributing to this progress. Astronomy, whose tools were largely imported from physics and engineering, benefited mid-century from the US policy of coupling basic research with practical national priorities. This strategy, initially developed for military and industrial purposes, provided astronomy with powerful tools yielding access - at virtually no cost - to radio, infrared, X-ray, and gamma-ray observations. Today, astronomers are investigating the new frontiers of dark matter and dark energy, critical to understanding the cosmos but of indeterminate socio-economic promise. Harwit addresses these current challenges in view of competing national priorities and proposes alternative new approaches in search of the true Universe. This is an engaging read for astrophysicists, policy makers, historians, and sociologists of scienc
One of the most fascinating unresolved problems of modern astrophysics is how the galaxies we observe today were formed. The Lambda-Cold Dark Matter paradigm predicts that large spiral galaxies such as the Milky Way formed through accretion and tidal disruption of satellite galaxies. The galaxies of the Local Group provide the best laboratory in which to investigate these galaxy formation processes because they can be studied with sufficiently high resolution to exhume fossils of galactic evolution embedded in the spatial distribution, kinematics, and chemical abundances of their oldest stars. Based on the twentieth Winter School of the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics, this volume provides a firm grounding for graduate students and early career researchers working on Local Group cosmology. It presents modules from eight eminent and experienced scientists at the forefront of Local Group research, and includes overviews of observational techniques, diagnostic tools, and various
The formation and evolution of galaxies is one of the most important topics in astrophysics. Secular evolution refers to the relatively slow dynamical evolution due to internal processes induced by a galaxy's spiral arms, bars, galactic winds, black holes and dark matter haloes. It plays an important role in the evolution of spiral galaxies with major consequences for galactic bulges, the transfer of angular momentum, and the distribution of a galaxy's constituent stars, gas and dust. This internal evolution is key to understanding cosmological models of galaxy formation and evolution. Based on the twenty-third Winter School of the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics, this volume presents reviews from nine experts on the observational and theoretical research into secular processes, and what these processes can tell us about the structure and formation of galaxies. The volume provides a grounding for graduate students and researchers working on galactic dynamics and galaxy evoluti
