How did a single "genesis event" create billions of galaxies, black holes, stars and planets? How did atoms assemble -- here on earth, and perhaps on other worlds -- into living beings intricate enough to ponder their origins? What fundamental laws govern our universe?This book describes new discoveries and offers remarkable insights into these fundamental questions. There are deep connections between stars and atoms, between the cosmos and the microworld....

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...

"We've long understood black holes to be the points at which the universe as we know it comes to an end. Often billions of times more massive than the Sun, they lurk in the inner sanctum of almost every galaxy of stars in the universe. They're mysterious chasms so destructive and unforgiving that not even light can escape their deadly wrath. Recent research, however, has led to a cascade of new discoveries that have revealed an entirely different...

"An exploration of some of the deepest questions about our place in the universe"--

Stephen Hawking’s worldwide bestseller A Brief History of Time remains a landmark volume in scientific writing. But for readers who have asked for a more accessible formulation of its key concepts—the nature of space and time, the role of God in creation, and the history and future of the universe—A Briefer History of Time is Professor Hawking’s response. Although “briefer,” this book is much more than a mere explanation of Hawking’s...

A groundbreaking guide to the universe and how our latest deep-space discoveries are forcing us to revisit what we know―and what we don't. On March 21, 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...

"What lies at the heart of physical inquiry? What are the foundational ideas and working assumptions that inform the enterprise of natural science? What principles guide research? How do scientists decide whether they are building theories in the right direction? Is there a right direction? Do physical theories actually approximate an objective reality, or are they simply useful summaries, mnemonics for experimental results? This book is Nobel Prize...

Humanity's understanding of the physical world is full of gaps. Not tiny little gaps you can safely ignore--there are huge yawning voids in our basic notions of how the world works. Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson team up to explore everything we don't know about the universe, and while introducing the biggest mysteries in physics, they also helpfully demystify many complicated things we do know. And although the universe is full of weird things that...

"J. Richard Gott was among the first cosmologists to propose that the structure of our universe is like a sponge made up of clusters of galaxies intricately connected by filaments of galaxies--a magnificent structure now called the "cosmic web" and mapped extensively by teams of astronomers. Here is his gripping insider's account of how a generation of undaunted theorists and observers solved the mystery of the architecture of our cosmos"--

From planetary movements and the exploration of our solar system to black holes and dark matter, this comprehensive reference simplifies all aspects of astronomy with an approachable question-and-answer format. With chapters broken into various astronomical studies--including the universe, galaxies, planets, and space exploration--this fully updated resource is an ideal companion for students, teachers, and amateur astronomers, answering more than...