Our Universe
Our Universe
The Universe in which we live is unimaginably vast and ancient, with countless star-systems, galaxies and extraordinary phenomena as different and strange as blackholes, dark-matter, gamma-ray bursts and nearly-invisible galaxies. From our earliest days humankind has looked to these heavens in awe. Our Universe is a fascinating collection of articles on extra-galactic astronomy and cosmology at the dawn of the 21st century. This accessible, wonderfully illustrated book has been written by some of the world's foremost astrophysicists. Some are theorists, some computational modellers, some observers, but all provide deep insight into the most cutting-edge, difficult, and bizarre topics of astrophysics. These highly personal perspectives, however, reveal more than the wonders and achievements of modern astronomy, more than its techniques and state of knowledge. Our Universe also describes what drives these extraordinary scientists and how their careers and very lives have been shaped by a burning desire to understand our Universe.
- Accessible contributions by leading world experts
- Personal stories and unique insight into what drives world-class astrophysicists
- Reveals the wonders and achievements of cutting-edge astronomy and cosmology
Reviews & endorsements
'Encompassing subjects as diverse as the frothy distribution of galaxies, dark matter and those ever-popular black holes, the well-illustrated text is kept very readable. An easier book to pick up than put down.' Steve Ringwood, Astronomy Now
'I can recommend it as a source of material for anyone who is interested in how modern astronomy is carried out and, of course, it makes valuable reading for anyone interested in galactic astronomy and cosmology.' Steven J. Hynes, The Webb Society Deep Sky Observer
Product details
March 2001Paperback
9780521789073
160 pages
247 × 175 × 12 mm
0.363kg
16 b/w illus. 18 colour illus.
Unavailable - out of print
Table of Contents
- Introduction A. Stern
- The frontier universe: at the edge of night A. Stern
- Part I. Revealing A Universe: Mapmaker, mapmaker make me a map: probing the universe's large scale structure John Huchra
- Looking back in time: searching for the highest redshift galaxies Esther Hu
- COBE probes the cosmic microwave background John Mather
- Computational adventures in large scale structure Nick Gnedin
- Part II. Denizens of the Deep: The discovery of massive black holes Doug Richstone
- Gamma ray bursters revealed Bohdan Paczynski
- Galaxy clusters, cathedrals, and the fate of the universe Megan Donahue
- Courier new, courier: dark matter and the discovery of galactic halos Jerry Ostriker
- Galaxy hunting: discovering low surface brightness galaxies Gregory Botham.
