A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 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, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott taught together at Princeton, this book covers it all--from planets, stars, and galaxies to black holes, wormholes, and time travel. Describing the latest discoveries in astrophysics, the informative and entertaining narrative propels you from our home solar system to the outermost frontiers of space. How do stars live and die? Why did Pluto lose its planetary status? What are the prospects of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? How did the universe begin? Why is it expanding and why is its expansion accelerating? Is our universe alone or part of an infinite multiverse? Answering these and many other questions, the authors open your eyes to the wonders of the cosmos, sharing their knowledge of how the universe works. Breathtaking in scope and stunningly illustrated throughout, Welcome to the Universe is for those who hunger for insights into our evolving universe that only world-class astrophysicists can provide.

On 21 March 2013, the European Space Agency released a map of the afterglow of the Big Bang. Taking in 440 sextillion kilometres of space and 13.8 billion years of time, it is physically impossible to make a better map: we will never see the early Universe in more detail. On the one hand, such a view is the apotheosis of modern cosmology, on the other, it threatens to undermine almost everything we hold cosmologically sacrosanct. The map contains anomalies that challenge our understanding of the Universe. It will force us to revisit what is known and what is unknown, to construct a new model of our Universe. This is the first book to address what will be an epoch-defining scientific paradigm shift. Stuart Clark will ask if Newton's famous laws of gravity need to be rewritten, if dark matter and dark energy are just celestial phantoms? Can we ever know what happened before the Big Bang? What's at the bottom of a black hole? Are there Universes beyond our own? Does time exist? Are the once immutable laws of physics changing?

A total eclipse of the Sun is the most awesome sight in the heavens. Totality takes you to eclipses of the past, present, and future, and lets you see--and feel--why people travel to the ends of the Earth to observe them.
An absolutely indispensable resource for anyone who plans to observe an eclipse, and a must read for all astronomy buffs, this superb new edition brims with the anecdotes, experiences, and advice of many veteran eclipse observers. Indeed, it is the best guide and reference book on solar eclipses ever written, packed with information on how to observe them; how to photograph and videotape them; why they occur; their history and mythology; how eclipses revealed the workings of the Sun and made Einstein famous; and when and where to see future eclipses. Totality once again features the spectacular photography of Fred Espenak, who runs the NASA Eclipse Home Page and is the best-known and respected of all eclipse calculators and information sources. His many stunning color photographs illuminate this unparalleled exploration of eclipses. The volume has been updated to include current information on upcoming eclipses, with new chapters on the total eclipses due in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2017, plus all new chapters on how to photograph, video record, and process your eclipse images, with emphasis on the new generation of digital cameras.
Strikingly illustrated with stunning photographs and more than a hundred maps and diagrams, here is everything you need to know about eclipses of the sun, in an accurate, clearly written, and entertaining volume that can be read by lay people and astronomers with ease and enjoyment.

Simone Marchi presents the emerging story of how cosmic collisions shaped both the solar system and our own planet, from the creation of the Moon to influencing the evolution of life on Earth. The Earth emerged out of the upheaval and chaos of massive collisions in the infancy of the Solar System, more than four billion years ago. The largest of these events sent into orbit a spray of molten rocks out of which the Moon coalesced. As in ancient mythological tales, this giant catastrophe marks the birth of our planet as we know it. Space exploration has shown that signs of ancient collisions are widespread in the Solar System, from the barren and once-habitable Mars to the rugged asteroids. On Earth these signs are more subtle, but still cataclysmic, such as the massive asteroid strike which likely sparked the demise of the dinosaurs and many other forms of life some 66 million years ago. Signatures of even more dramatic catastrophes are concealed in ancient rocks. These events wreaked havoc on our planet's surface, influencing global climate and topography, while also enriching the Earth with gold and other rare elements. And recently, modern science is finding that they could even have contributed to developing the conditions conducive to life. In Colliding Worlds, Simone Marchi explores the key role that collisions in space have played in the formation and evolution of our solar system, the development of planets, and possibly even the origin of life on Earth. Analysing our latest understanding of the surfaces of Mars and Venus, gleaned from recent space missions, Marchi presents the dramatic story of cosmic collisions and their legacies.

This classic star atlas is ideal for both beginning astronomers and more experienced observers worldwide. The clear, full-color maps show stars, clusters and galaxies visible with binoculars or a small telescope. The atlas also features constellation boundaries and the Milky Way, and lists objects that are interesting to observe. This new edition features a clearer map of the Moon's surface, showing craters and features; a second Moon map, mirror reversed for users of telescopes with star diagonals; enhanced index charts showing the constellations more clearly; and a new data table listing stars hosting planetary systems. It is now spiral bound, making it ideal for use at the telescope.

Follow an epic animal race, a quest for a disembodied hand, and an emu egg hunt in constellation stories from diverse cultures "Aveni skillfully guides us around the awesome night sky through the imagination of different peoples around the world, past and present. A wonderful treasury of cultural astronomy."-Jacqueline Mitton, author of Zoo in the Sky We can see love, betrayal, and friendship in the heavens, if we know where to look. A world expert on cultural understandings of cosmology, Anthony Aveni provides an unconventional atlas of the night sky, introducing readers to tales beloved for generations. The constellations included are not only your typical Greek and Roman myths, but star patterns conceived by a host of cultures, non-Western and indigenous, ancient and contemporary. The sky has long served as a template for telling stories about the meaning of life. People have looked for likenesses between the domains of heaven and earth to help marry the unfamiliar above to the quotidian below. Perfect reading for all sky watchers and storytellers, this book is an essential complement to Western mythologies, showing how the confluence of the natural world and culture of heavenly observers can produce a variety of tales about the shapes in the sky.

With a foreword by Maggie Aderin-Pocock, budding astronomers will love this stunning, new approach to stargazing, featuring step-by-step guides to identifying the key constellations across the northern hemisphere, StarFinder for Beginners makes the night sky easier to navigate than ever before.

From discovering the constellations of the Zodiac to learning about the real-life milky way, StarFinder for Beginners will take kids on an exciting journey through the night star. This simplest-ever guide to star hopping uses easy-to-spot stars to create a route around the night sky's most famous constellations.

With four paths across the sky, StarFinder for Beginners gradually builds up your knowledge of more than 20 northern-hemisphere constellations. Hunt for the starts that will lead you from one constellation to the next and see the patterns in the sky unfold before your eyes. Discover the fascinating stories behind each constellation and learn to spot some of the stunning planets, galaxies, and nebulas in our Universe.

StarFinder for Beginners comes complete with a glow-in-the-dark night-sky viewer, perfect for any budding stargazers to practice their new knowledge of the stars.

Imagining Outer Space makes a captivating advance into the cultural history of outer space and extraterrestrial life in the European imagination. How was outer space conceived and communicated? What promises of interplanetary expansion and cosmic colonization propelled the project of human spaceflight to the forefront of twentieth-century modernity? In what way has West-European astroculture been affected by the continuous exploration of outer space? Tracing the thriving interest in spatiality to early attempts at exploring imaginary worlds beyond our own, the book analyzes contact points between science and fiction from a transdisciplinary perspective and examines sites and situations where utopian images and futuristic technologies contributed to the omnipresence of fantasmatic thought. Bringing together state-of-the-art work in this emerging field of historical research, the volume breaks new ground in the historicization of the Space Age.

This book journeys into one of the most fascinating intellectual adventures of recent decades - understanding and exploring the final fate of massive collapsing stars in the universe. The issue is of great interest in fundamental physics and cosmology today, from both the perspective of gravitation theory and of modern astrophysical observations. This is a revolution in the making and may be intimately connected to our search for a unified understanding of the basic forces of nature, namely gravity that governs the cosmological universe, and the microscopic forces that include quantum phenomena. According to the general theory of relativity, a massive star that collapses catastrophically under its own gravity when it runs out of its internal nuclear fuel must give rise to a space-time singularity. Such singularities are regions in the universe where all physical quantities take their extreme values and become arbitrarily large. The singularities may be covered within a black hole, or visible to faraway observers in the universe. Thus, the final fate of a collapsing massive star is either a black hole or a visible naked singularity. We discuss here recent results and developments on the gravitational collapse of massive stars and possible observational implications when naked singularities happen in the universe. Large collapsing massive stars and the resulting space-time singularities may even provide a laboratory in the cosmos where one could test the unification possibilities of basic forces of nature.

Boldly go where no man has gone before and discover the real science behind the cyborgs, starships, aliens, and antimatter of the Star Trek galaxy. Star Trek is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. It has changed our cultural landscape in so many ways since it first aired in 1966. The franchise has generated billions of dollars in revenue, leading to a wide range of spin-off games, novels, toys, and comics. Star Trek is noted for its social science, too, with its progressive civil rights stances and its celebration of future diversity that began with The Original Series, one of television's first multiracial casts. The Science of Star Trek explores one of the greatest science-fiction universes ever created and showcases the visionary tech that inspired and influenced the real-world science of today. The perfect Star Trek gift for fans of the franchise, this book addresses many unanswered, burning questions, including: What can Star Trek tell us about aliens in our Milky Way? How has Star Trek influenced space culture? What can Star Trek tell us about planet hunting? What Star Trek machines came true? When will we boldly go? Learn more about one of our favorite modern epics with The Science of Star Trek!

One of the most powerful questions we ask about the cosmos is: Are we alone? The Possibility of Life traces the history of our understanding of what and where life in the universe could be, from Galileo and Copernicus through to our current tracking of exoplanets in the Goldilocks zone, where life akin to ours on Earth might exist. Along the way, Jaime Green studies insights from a long tradition of science fiction that uses imagination to extrapolate and construct worlds, in turn inspiring scientists and their research. Bringing together expert interviews, cutting-edge astronomy, philosophical inquiry and pop culture touchstones ranging from A Wrinkle in Time to Star Trek, The Possibility of Life delves into our evolving conception of the cosmos to pose an even deeper question: what does it mean to be human?

Has anyone ever seen with their own eyes that the Earth goes around the sun? Even to this day, no one has. However, 500 and even 2000 years ago, some astronomers managed to point out that this is the case. At that time, people's range of activities was strictly confined, the technology and tools used were extremely primitive, and many of the mathematical methods used today had not been developed. How did those astronomers make and verify this discovery? This book explains this exciting demonstration process. It enables anyone with a basic junior-high-school knowledge of geometry and a certain degree of spatial imagination to understand this and other interesting discoveries in the solar system. By demonstrating this interesting process, the book not only satisfies readers' curiosity using the simplest mathematics, but also inspires them to explore the new and unknown world.

An encapsulation in nine numbers of all that modern astronomy has learnt about the universe. These cosmic numbers appear to be independent characteristics of our universe and include its age, the Hubble constant (a measure of its rate of expression), and the density of matter in the universe. Only one of the nine numbers is known with real precision, and four of them only poorly known. Difficult ideas like the origin of the elements, the General Theory of Relativity, quantum theory, and the standard model of particle physics, ideas which underpin modern cosmology, are explained in a simple way. While most of what we know has been learnt during the 20th century, Rowan-Robinson provides a historical perspective, paying homage to the achievements of the Greeks, Renaissance astronomers, and the age of Newton. The book ends with predictions of when all nine numbers will be accurately known.

-Reissue of an important work written by the father of Canadian astronomy -Astronomy is popular! The constant stream of incredible pictures from Hubble telescope has inspired people around the world to look up at the night sky -Beautifully packaged - ideal for gift book market Astronomy is one of the oldest branches of science. It has fascinated humanity from the earliest times. Huge advances have been made since Clarence Augustus Chant's acclaimed work, Our Wonderful Universe, was first published in 1928. We have sent humans into space and walked on the Moon. Spacecraft have landed on Mars, and the International Space Station, a joint project among five space agencies, has been continuously occupied by humans since November 2000. We are using telescopes and satellites to observe the skies, studying planets, moons, stars, galaxies, and comets, as well as supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts, and cosmic microwave background radiation. Today's and tomorrow's challenges reach ever further, with key questions such as 'is there other life in the Universe?', and 'what is the nature of dark matter?', and 'what is the ultimate fate of the Universe?' at the forefront of modern consciousness. Astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs can still play an important active role, especially in the discovery and observation of variable stars, tracking asteroids and discovering transient objects, such as comets and novae. Written in a clear and charming style, Our Wonderful Universe is developed in the form of a talk, presenting the fundamental facts of astronomy in a simple and logical progression. It is illustrated with the complete set of drawings and plates that accompanied the original edition. Its purpose and approach is just as relevant today, and we hope that readers will enjoy the way in which Chant leads us on his journey of discoveries of the Universe.

In The Rocket Men authors Rex Hall and Dave Shayler review this Soviet demonstration of technological progress from both the developmental and operational aspects which were clouded in secrecy and in direct contrast to the high profile American programme.As the one-man Mercury spacecraft gave way to the two-man series on the American road to the Moon with Apollo, the multi-crewed Voskhod series which followed the single-seat Vostok was expected to compete with the Gemini programme. By developing the experience and techniques required to send cosmonauts to the Moon the series was planned as a stepping stone to the Soyuz and Zond lunar programmes then under development which would race Apollo to the Moon.

Binoculars have, for many, long been regarded as an entry level observational tool, and relatively few have used them as a serious observing instrument. This is changing Many people appreciate the relative comfort of two-eyed observing, but those who use binoculars come to realize that they offer more than comfort. The view of the stars is more aesthetically pleasing and therefore binocular observers tend to observe more frequently and for longer periods.
Binocular Astronomy, 2nd edition, extends its coverage of small and medium binoculars to large and giant (i.e., up to 300mm aperture) binoculars and also binoviewers, which brings the work into the realm of serious observing instruments. Additionally, it goes far deeper into the varying optical characteristics of binoculars, giving newcomers and advanced astronomers the information needed to make informed choices on purchasing a pair. It also covers relevant aspects of the physiology of binocular (as in both eyes ) observation.
The first edition of this title was praised for its suggested objects for observation and especially for the finder charts for each object. In this second edition, this section is expanded in three ways. There are new objects, with more information on each object, and a re-organization of the objects for binoculars for easier selection for readers.

Binocular Astronomy 2nd Edition puts an emphasis on understanding binoculars and their use. The additional content in this second edition reflects the latest developments in technology, available testing techniques, and practical ideas for binocular use. It also responds to the substantially positive reviews of the first edition, and is now even better suited to its target readership."

Extensively revised and updated, this new edition of David A. Rothery's acclaimed geological guide to the outer solar system includes results and close-up color and black and white images from the 1995-1999 Galileo mission to Jupiter and from the Voyager space probe. Rothery, a noted planetary scientist, explains the geological aspects of the major satellites of the outer bodies, from Jupiter and Neptune to the Pluto-Charon system. Rothery discusses their similarities and differences, and reveals how they resemble Earth-like planets. This fascinating book is written in an introductory style ideal for first or second year degree courses. Amateur geologists and astronomers will also find its insights rewarding.

Reviews of the First Edition: 'The depth and authority of the treatment of physical geological processes makes this a good introduction to the outer satellites for undergraduate students, while the clarity of the text ensures that things do not become too complicated for less expert readers.' Lionel Wilson, Times Higher Education Supplement

'Rothery brings these satellites to life.' David Hughes, New Scientist

It was all part of man's greatest adventure--landing men on the Moon and sending a rover to Mars, finally seeing the edge of the universe and the birth of stars, and launching planetary explorers across the solar system to Neptune and beyond.
        
The ancient dream of breaking gravity's hold and taking to space became a reality only because of the intense cold-war rivalry between the superpowers, with towering geniuses like Wernher von Braun and Sergei Korolyov shelving dreams of space travel and instead developing rockets for ballistic missiles and space spectaculars. Now that Russian archives are open and thousands of formerly top-secret U.S. documents are declassified, an often startling new picture of the space age emerges:

the frantic effort by the Soviet Union to beat the United States to the Moon was doomed from the beginning by gross inefficiency and by infighting so treacherous that Winston Churchill likened it to "dogs fighting under a carpet";

there was more than science behind the United States' suggestion that satellites be launched during the International Geophysical Year, and in one crucial respect, Sputnik was a godsend to Washington;

the hundred-odd German V-2s that provided the vital start to the U.S. missile and space programs legally belonged to the Soviet Union and were spirited to the United States in a derring-do operation worthy of a spy thriller;

despite NASA's claim that it was a civilian agency, it had an intimate relationship with the military at the outset and still does--a distinction the Soviet Union never pretended to make;

constant efforts to portray astronauts and cosmonauts as "Boy Scouts" were often contradicted by reality;

the Apollo missions to the Moon may have been an unexcelled political triumph and feat of exploration, but they also created a headache for the space agency that lingers to this day.

        
This New Ocean is based on 175 interviews with Russian and American scientists and engineers; on archival documents, including formerly top-secret National Intelligence Estimates and spy satellite pictures; and on nearly three decades of reporting. The impressive result is this fascinating story--the first comprehensive account--of the space age. Here are the strategists and war planners; engineers and scientists; politicians and industrialists; astronauts and cosmonauts; science fiction writers and journalists; and plain, ordinary, unabashed dreamers who wanted to transcend gravity's shackles for the ultimate ride. The story is written from the perspective of a witness who was present at the beginning and who has seen the conclusion of the first space age and the start of the second.


From the Hardcover edition.

Starting out from humankind's earliest ideas about the cosmos, this book gives the reader a clear overview of our current understanding of the universe, including big bang theories and the formation of stars and galaxies, as well as addressing open questions. The author shows how our present view gradually developed from observations, and also how the outcome of ongoing research may still change this view. The book brings together concepts in physics and astronomy, including some history in both cases. The text is descriptive rather than technical: the goal is to present things rigorously and without oversimplification, by highlighting the crucial physical concepts. The only prerequisite is a qualitative knowledge of basic physics concepts at high-school level.

A special new edition of Apollo 13 Manual, published to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the Moon mission launched in April 1970, which very nearly turned into a catastrophe. New content includes an expanded look at what was learned from the analysis of the problems that precipitated the crisis, and how these lessons affected the future space programme, and also a look at the worldwide reaction to the crisis, as the the international community held its breath. This Haynes Manual tells the story of the complex technical challenges involved in returning the crippled spacecraft safely to Earth, explained in detail by an expert author who was there through it all in Mission Control during the six-day flight. It is also the story of three very special heroes, the crew members of Apollo 13: Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise.

'IMPRESSIVE AND ILLUMINATING' TOM HANKS This is the definitive account of the heroic Apollo programme. When astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their 'giant leap for mankind' across a ghostly lunar landscape, they were watched by some 600 million people on Earth 240,000 miles away. Drawing on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with the astronauts and mission personnel, this is the story of the twentieth century's greatest human achievement, minute-by-minute, through the eyes of those who were there. From the tragedy of the fire in Apollo 1 during a simulated launch, Apollo 8's bold pioneering flight around the moon, through to the euphoria of the first moonwalk, and to the discoveries made by the first scientist on the moon aboard Apollo 17, this book covers it all. 'An extraordinary book . . . Space, with its limitless boundaries, has the power to inspire, to change lives, to make the impossible happen. Chaikin's superb book demonstrates how' Sunday Times 'A superb account . . . Apollo may be the only achievement by which our age is remembered a thousand years from now' Arthur C. Clarke 'The authoritative masterpiece' Los Angeles Times

A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR The No.1 bestselling author of The Future of the Mind brings us a stunning new vision of our future in space Human civilization is on the verge of living beyond Earth. But how will it happen? World-renowned physicist Michio Kaku takes us on a journey to the future, introducing the mind-boggling developments in robotics, nanotechnology and biotechnology that will one day enable us to make our homes among the stars. 'With admirable clarity and ease, Kaku explains how we might colonize not only Mars but some of the rocky moons of the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn . . . The book has an infectious, can-do enthusiasm' Steven Poole, The Wall Street Journal 'Kaku grounds his readers in science happening right now, while throwing open the windows to imagine where it might lead in a thousand years' Adam Frank, The New York Times Book Review 'Kaku is an international treasure and a man of infectious enthusiasm' The Times

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 deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott taught together at Princeton. This problem book features more than one hundred problems and exercises used in the original course--ideal for anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of the original material and to learn to think like an astrophysicist. Whether you're a student or teacher, citizen scientist or science enthusiast, your guided tour of the cosmos just got even more hands-on with Welcome to the Universe: The Problem Book. * The essential companion book to the acclaimed bestseller* Features the problems used in the original introductory astronomy course for non-science majors at Princeton University* Organized according to the structure of Welcome to the Universe, empowering readers to explore real astrophysical problems that are conceptually introduced in each chapter* Problems are designed to stimulate physical insight into the frontier of astrophysics* Problems develop quantitative skills, yet use math no more advanced than high school algebra* Problems are often multipart, building critical thinking and quantitative skills and developing readers' insight into what astrophysicists do* Ideal for course use--either in tandem with Welcome to the Universe or as a supplement to courses using standard astronomy textbooks--or self-study* Tested in the classroom over numerous semesters for more than a decade* Prefaced with a review of relevant concepts and equations* Full solutions and explanations are provided, allowing students and other readers to check their own understanding

This book is a distinctively original biography of Galileo Galilei, probably the last eclectic genius of the Italian Renaissance, who was not only one of the greatest scientists ever, but also a philosopher, a theologian, and a man of great literary, musical, and artistic talent - "The Tuscan Artist", as the poet John Milton referred to him. Galileo was exceptional in simultaneously excelling in the Arts, Science, Philosophy, and Theology. These diverse aspects of his life were closely intertwined; indeed, it may be said that he personally demonstrated that human culture is not divisible, but rather one, with a thousand shades. Galileo also represented the bridge between two historical epochs. As the philosopher Tommaso Campanella, a contemporary of Galileo, recognized at the time, Galileo was responsible for ushering in a new age, the Modern Age. This book, which is exceptional in the completeness of its coverage, explores all aspects of the life of Galileo, as a Tuscan artist and giant of the Renaissance, in a stimulating and reader-friendly way.

Starting from Newton's times this follow-up to the author's Springer book "Our Place in the Universe - Understanding Fundamental Astronomy from Ancient Discoveries" addresses the question of "our place in the Universe" from astronomical, physical, chemical, biological, philosophical and social perspectives. Using the history of astronomy to illustrate the process of discovery, the emphasis is on the description of the process of how we learned and on the exploration of the impacts of discoveries rather than on the presentation of facts. Thus readers are informed of the influence of science on a broad scale. Unlike the traditional way of teaching science, in this book, the author begins by describing the observations and then discusses various attempts to find answers (including unsuccessful ones). The goal is to help students develop a better appreciation of the scientific process and learn from this process to tackle real-life problems.