Additional information
by Steve Eales (Author)
In the last decade, there has been a revolution in observational astronomy, which has meant that we are very close to answering three of the four big 'origin questions', of how the planets, stars, galaxies, and the universe itself were formed. This book, written in an accessible way by a scientist working in this field, describes this revolution. The one question for which we still do not have an answer is the question of the origin of the universe. Within the last four years, astronomers have discovered that the universe is geometrically flat and that its expansion is accelerating, fuelled by a mysterious dark energy. In the final chapter, the author looks at the connection between science and philosophy and shows how new scientific results have laid the groundwork for the first serious scientific studies of the origin of the universe. This book will be easily understood by anyone with an amateur astronomer's level of understanding of the subject - no math needed!
Back Jacket
The biggest questions in astronomy are those of how the planets, stars, galaxies, and the Universe were formed. ORIGINS describes how over the last decade, astronomers have discovered the probable answers to three of these fundamental questions.
Starting with the space missions that have uncovered the haphazard history of our own planetary system, this book travels into space and backwards in time, describing the discovery of other planetary systems and their connection to extraterrestrial life. The first moments in the life of a star are covered, along with the birth of galaxies, and the biggest question of all - the origin of the Universe itself.
ORIGINS also tells the human stories behind the discoveries: the astronomers who searched for Planet X but lost a planet, the cosmic archaeologists who deciphered the history of galaxies, and of boomerang, the telescope that came back and showed that space is flat.
Author Biography
As an astronomer, Stephen Eales has travelled around the world, working in Cambridge, Honolulu, Toronto, and at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. He is currently a professor of Astrophysics and Cosmology at Cardiff University, where he carries out research into the origin of galaxies.
