Our Universe is amazing. This is its story, told in simple language. The story tells how the Universe came to be what it is today. It starts with the Big Bang and describes how stars, black holes, and our solar system developed. It explores the evolution of life on Earth and investigates the possibility of extra-terrestrial life. It peers into the future and wonders about the Universe's likely old age and death, or whatever else may be its end. The challenge the book takes up is to explain all of this, including some of the astonishing concepts we have in science, such as Einstein's theories of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, using virtually no mathematics and without dumbing-down. All are described narratively and explained using examples and anecdotes. The book is written for young people with a thirst for learning about the science of space, as well as for 'grown-ups' who want a better understanding of this fascinating subject.

Modern Cosmology begins with an introduction to the smooth, homogeneous universe described by a Friedman-Robertson-Walker metric, including careful treatments of dark energy, big bang nucleosynthesis, recombination, and dark matter. From this starting point, the reader is introduced to perturbations about an FRW universe: their evolution with the Einstein-Boltzmann equations, their generation by primordial inflation, and their observational consequences. These consequences include the anisotropy spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) featuring acoustic peaks and polarization, the matter power spectrum with baryonic wiggles, and their detection via photometric galaxy surveys, redshift distortions, cluster abundances, and weak lensing. The book concludes with a long chapter on data analysis.
Modern Cosmology is the first book to explain in detail the structure of the acoustic peaks in the CMB, the E/B decomposition in polarization which may allow for detection of primordial gravity waves, and the modern analysis techniques used on increasingly large cosmological data sets. Readers will gain the tools needed to work in cosmology and learn how modern observations are rapidly revolutionizing our picture of the universe.
* Provides foundations, calculations, and interpretations which illuminate current thinking in cosmology
* Covers the major advances in cosmology over the past decade
* Includes over 100 unique, pedagogical figures

After more than half a century since their unexpected discovery and identification as neutron stars, the observation and understanding of pulsars touches upon many areas of astronomy and astrophysics. The literature on pulsars is vast and the observational techniques used now cover the whole of the electromagnetic spectrum from radio to gamma-rays. Now in its fifth edition, this volume has been reorganised and features new material throughout. It provides an introduction in historical and physical terms to the many aspects of neutron stars, including condensed matter, physics of the magnetosphere, supernovae and the development of the pulsar population, propagation in the interstellar medium, binary stars, gravitation and general relativity. The current development of a new generation of powerful radio telescopes, designed with pulsar research in mind, makes this survey and guide essential reading for a growing body of students and astronomers.

Explore spectacular advances in cosmology, relativistic astrophysics, gravitational wave science, mathematics, computational science, and the interface of gravitation and quantum physics with this unique celebration of the centennial of Einstein's discovery of general relativity. Twelve comprehensive and in-depth reviews, written by a team of world-leading international experts, together present an up-to-date overview of key topics at the frontiers of these areas, with particular emphasis on the significant developments of the last three decades. Interconnections with other fields of research are also highlighted, making this an invaluable resource for both new and experienced researchers. Commissioned by the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation, and including accessible introductions to cutting-edge topics, ample references to original research papers, and informative colour figures, this is a definitive reference for researchers and graduate students in cosmology, relativity, and gravitational science.

The sequel to the bestselling Science of Discworld.
The acclaimed Science of Discworld centred around an original Pratchett story about the Wizards of Discworld. In it they accidentally witnessed the creation and evolution of our universe, a plot which was interleaved with a Cohen & Stewart non-fiction narrative about Big Science. In "The Science of Discworld II" our authors join forces again to see just what happens when the wizards meddle with history in a battle against the elves for the future of humanity on Earth. London is replaced by a dozy Neanderthal village. The Renaissance is given a push. The role of fat women in art is developed. And one very famous playwright gets born and writes The Play. Weaving together a fast-paced Discworld novelette with cutting-edge scientific commentary on the evolution and development of the human mind, culture, language, art, and science, "The Globe" presents a fascinating and brilliantly original view of the world we live in. The scene of the final epic battle is the first production of "A Midsummer's Night Dream" at the Globe Theatre.""

From the bestselling author of The Elegant Universe, Brian Greene's The Fabric of the Cosmos takes us on an irresistible and revelatory journey through the biggest of the big questions. What is reality? Could we exist without space and time? Can we travel to the past? What are the limits of the universe? Brian Greene has made the mysteries of space and time accessible to millions with his acclaimed writings and award-winning TV series. Now he reveals a world more beautiful and bizarre than we could have imagined, where 'dark matter' reigns, space warps and wiggles through eleven dimensions, minute particles dance, fizz and teleport across vast distances, everything is made of vibrating strings and, like an ant on a lily-pad, we may be floating on a sliver of spacetime. Revealing new layers of reality that lie just beneath the surface of our everyday lives, this grand tour of the universe will make you look at the world in a completely new way. 'A must-read' Sunday Times 'Greene takes us to the limits of space and time' Guardian 'Sends the reader's imagination hurtling through the universe on an astonishing ride' The New York Times Brian Greene is well known to many fans as a populariser of theoretical physics. He is the author of the bestselling books about string theory, The Elegant Universe, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction, The Fabric of the Cosmos, and The Hidden Reality. Educated at Harvard and Oxford, he has taught at both Harvard and Cornell and has been Professor of Physics and Mathematics at Columbia University since 1996.

This book collates papers presented at two international conferences (held at the Australian National University in 2018 and Birkbeck College London in 2019) exploring the relationships between big history and astrobiology and their wider implications for society. These two relatively new academic disciplines aim to integrate human history with the wider history of the universe and the search for life elsewhere. The book will show that, despite differences in emphasis, big history and astrobiology share much in common, especially their interdisciplinary approaches and the cosmic and evolutionary perspectives that they both engender. Specifically, the book addresses the unified, all-embracing, nature of knowledge, the impact of big history on humanity and the world at large, the possible impact of SETI on astrobiology and big history, the cultural signature of Earth's inhabitants beyond our own planet, and the political implications of a planetary worldview. The principal readership is envisaged to comprise scholars working in the fields of astrobiology, big history and space exploration interested in forging interdisciplinary links between these diverse topics, together with educators, and a wider public, interested in the societal implications of the cosmic and evolutionary perspectives engendered by research in these fields.