Building on a long tradition of effective pedagogy and comprehensive coverage, The Cosmic Perspective, Seventh Edition provides a thoroughly engaging and up-to-date introduction to astronomy for non-science majors. The text provides a wealth of features that enhance student skill-building, including new group work exercises that engage students in active learning, helping them retain concepts longer and build communication skills for the future. The Seventh Edition has also been fully updated to include the latest astronomical observations, results from recent space missions, and new theoretical developments that inform our understanding of the early universe. This text is also available in two volumes, which can be purchased separately: * The Cosmic Perspective: The Solar System, Seventh Edition (includes Chapters 1-13, 24) * The Cosmic Perspective: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology, Seventh Edition (includes Chapters 1-6, S2-S4, 14-24)

You are reading the word "now" right now. But what does that mean? "Now" has bedeviled philosophers, priests, and modern-day physicists from Augustine to Einstein and beyond. In Now, eminent physicist Richard A. Muller takes up the challenge. He begins with remarkably clear explanations of relativity, entropy, entanglement, the Big Bang, and more, setting the stage for his own revolutionary theory of time, one that makes testable predictions. Muller's monumental work will spark major debate about the most fundamental assumptions of our universe, and may crack one of physics' longest-standing enigmas.

This book describes some of the frontier problems of cosmology: our almost total ignorance of what the Universe is made up of, the mystery of its origin and its end. The book starts with a description of the historical events that led to the construction of the Big Bang model together with the stages that transformed the Universe from a very hot place to a very cold one, full with the structures that we observe today. These structures (stars, galaxies, etc.) constitute only 5% of the contents of the Universe. Concerning the remaining 95%, dubbed dark matter and dark energy, we know very little, and we have only indirect evidence of their existence. The text describes the story and the protagonists who showed the need for the existence of this 'missing matter', the observations, and puzzles they had to solve to understand that dark matter was not ordinary matter. The book describes the hunt for dark matter, carried out with instruments operating in space, on the Earth's surface, and in laboratories built in the bowels of the Earth. It also describes dark energy, which manifests itself in the accelerated expansion of the Universe, and appeared only a few billions of years ago. The book discusses why dark energy must exist and what its existence implies, especially for the future and the end of our Universe.

Bringing his cosmic perspective to civilization on Earth, Neil deGrasse Tyson, bestselling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, shines new light on the crucial fault lines of our time-war, politics, religion, truth, beauty, gender, race, and tribalism-in a way that stimulates a deeper sense of unity for us all. In a time when our political and cultural perspectives feel more divisive than ever, Tyson provides a much-needed antidote to so much of what divides us, while making a passionate case for the twin engines of enlightenment-a cosmic perspective and the rationality of science. After thinking deeply about how a scientist views the world and about what Earth looks like from space, Tyson has found that terrestrial thoughts change as our brain resets and recalibrates life's priorities, along with the actions we might take in response. As a result, no outlook on culture, society, or civilisation remains untouched. In Starry Messenger, Tyson reveals just how human the enterprise of science is. Far from a cold, unfeeling undertaking, scientific methods, tools, and discoveries have shaped modern civilisation and created the landscape we've built for ourselves on which to live, work, and play. Tyson shows how an infusion of science and rational thinking renders worldviews deeper and more informed than ever before-and exposes unfounded perspectives and unjustified emotions. With crystalline prose and an abundance of evidence, Starry Messenger walks us through the scientific palette that sees and paints the world differently. From lessons on resolving global conflict to reminders of how precious it is to be alive, Tyson reveals, with warmth and eloquence, ten surprising, brilliant, and beautiful truths of human society, informed and enlightened by knowledge of our place in the universe.

The extraordinary life of Bernard Lovell began before the First World War and his story encompasses many of the great events of last hundred years: the Second World War, the invention of radio astronomy, the space race, the Moon landings, the exploration of the Solar System, the Cold War, the Cuban missile crisis and the defence of Britain against nuclear attack. It can now be revealed that he was also a spy. "He ranks as one of the great visionary leaders of science," Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, said of him. The great radio telescope which Lovell built became and remains one of the most important scientific instruments in the World. The Jodrell Bank Observatory and the Lovell Telescope have held their place at the frontier of research for fifty five years. This book seeks to explore succinctly and accessibly Lovell's life and achievements in the scientific and political context of the time. His legacy remains great, as can be seen from the extensive media coverage and personal tributes that his death in 2012 attracted all over the world. With the seventieth anniversaries of many wartime events in which he played a crucial role, as well as the recent declassification of information relating to his activities as an agent in the Cold War, this biography is sure to have a broad and timely interest.

An adventure in scientific discovery Pluto, the farthermost planet in the solar system, some 3,673 million mites from the Sun, was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in 1930. The fiftieth anniversary of Pluto's discovery will be celebrated in 1980 and OUT OF THE DARKNESS: THE PLANET PLUTO tells the exciting scientific story of the twenty-five year search for a planet X beyond Neptune, and its discovery-the only planet found in the twentieth century. The planets Mercury, Venus. Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were all known since antiquity. Then Sir William Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781, and 65 years later, in 1846, Johann Calle and Urbain le Verner discovered Neptune. Variations in orbital perturbations of the planets and theoretical astronomy were responsible for predicting and discovering the three outermost planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) and so Pluto's story is also, to some extent, the story of its planetary neighbors. What kind of world is Pluto? Much is still a mystery (its

This is the ideal resource for beginners and experienced stargazers in the United States and Canada, and has been updated to include new and practical information covering events occurring in North America's night sky throughout 2021. This practical guide is both an easy introduction to astronomy and a useful reference for seasoned stargazers. Now includes a section on comets and a map of the moon. Designed specifically for North America. Written and illustrated by astronomical experts, Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion, and approved by the astronomers of the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Content includes: * Advice on where to start looking. * Easy-to-use star maps for each month with descriptions of what to see. * Positions of the moon and visible planets. * Details of objects and events in 2021. * Now in three editions: Britain and Ireland; North America; Southern Hemisphere.

This book discusses analogies between relativistic cosmology and various physical systems or phenomena, mostly in the earth sciences, that are described formally by the same equations. Of the two independent equations describing the universe as a whole, one (the Friedmann equation) has the form of an energy conservation equation for one-dimensional motion. The second equation is fairly easy to satisfy (although not automatic): as a result, cosmology lends itself to analogies with several systems. Given that a variety of universes are mathematically possible, several analogies exist. Analogies discussed in this book include equilibrium beach profiles, glacial valleys, the shapes of glaciers, heating/cooling models, freezing bodies of water, capillary fluids, Omori's law for earthquake aftershocks, lava flows, and a few mathematical analogies (Fibonacci's sequence, logistic equation, geodesics of various spaces, and classic variational problems). A century of research in cosmology can solve problems on the other side of an analogy, which in turn can suggest ideas in gravity. Finding a cosmic analogy solves the inverse variational problem of finding a Lagrangian and a Hamiltonian for that system, when nobody thought one exists. Often, the symmetries of the cosmological equations translate in new symmetries of the analogous system. The book surprises the reader with analogies between natural systems and exotic systems such as possible universes.

Today we know much about the sky: how stars are born, how they live and die, and how the universe as a whole evolves. We have learned of the existence of another type of matter, indifferent to light and yet decisive for the formation of galaxies, and we have a hint of a dark energy that since the last 4.5 billion years has taken over the control of the cosmos. We postulated and then discovered and even photographed black holes and listened to the faint rustle of the space-time ripple produced when these monsters devour each other. We reached these astonishing results (recognized by a bunch of Nobel Prizes and filling every day the media with wonders for the eyes and the mind) by the marriage of physics and astronomy that unified the Earth with the sky and then by the leap forward of science and technology in the Twentieth Century. This rich heritage has ancient roots. It was built by accumulating discoveries with errors, observations with fantasies, myths, and superstitions with flashes of genius, over a span of millennia, since Homo sapiens, turning his eyes to the immutable and perfect sky, began to ask questions.The book is a narration of the answers to these questions that had evolved over time: a progressive path, inserted in the general history, with some second thoughts and many obstacles. This is a saga of men and machines where greatness sometimes mixes with misery and passion often borders on sacrifice and even martyrdom. Why should we know it? Because our current knowledge is the result of these efforts and of the preconceptions that accompanied them.The challenge has been to present this complex and intricate subject without resorting to any formulas, so that it can be accessible to a wide audience of curious people, including high school and university students and in general all those who normally keep themselves informed of scientific things. A rich bibliography has also been added in the appendix for those wishing to learn more on one or more topics.

The sun is essential for human life. This book introduces students to the concept of the sun and discusses its importance. With images that are easy to identify and clear, simple sentence structures, this science reader simplifies scientific concepts for young students as they improve their reading skills. A fun and easy science experiment and Your Turn! activity provide more in-depth opportunities for additional learning. Nonfiction text features include a glossary and an index. Engage students in learning with this dynamic text!