The Universe and Beyond

by Dickinson, Terence

• ISBN13: 9781552093771
• ISBN10: 1552093778
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-10-01
• Publisher: Firefly Books Ltd

Summary

Award-winning astronomy writer Terence Dickinson takes readers on a factual journey in space and time from the Earth's surface to the most remote boundaries of the universe - and beyond. This major revision of an astronomy classic features 50 new photographs and illustrations, including the latest images from the Hubble space telescope, the Galileo spacecraft and other NASA missions. Additional imagery of the universe is from recently completed giant telescopes situated at remote mountaintops in Hawaii and Chile. This edition also includes extensively updated information on Mars and Jupiter; a completely new section on comets; full coverage of the latest evidence for the existence of black holes; an expanded section on galaxies and the mysterious "dark matter"; a fully updated section on the size, age and destiny of the universe; and expanded data tables using information released in 1998 from the Hipparchos satellite, which achieved a tenfold increase in the accuracy of celestial distance determination.

Author Biography

Terence Dickinson is a prolific science writer specializing in astronomy. More than one million copies of his books are in print. He is the recipient of many national and international science awards, including the New York Academy of Sciences Book of the Year Award and the Royal Canadian Institute's Sandford Fleming Medal. He live near Kingston, Ontario. Dickinson's new edition of Nightwatch has already sold over 75,000 copies.

Table of Contents

Foreword	7	(2)
Preface	9	(2)
Chapter One: A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME AND SPACE Introduction; Cosmic Dimensions; Overview of the Universe	11	(10)
Chapter Two: NEARBY WORLDS Origin of the Planets; Why Mars and Venus Are Different From Earth; Problems With the Ecosphere; Mercury	21	(18)
Chapter Three: REALM OF THE GIANTS Jupiter the Colossus; Life in a Hydrogen Atmosphere; Saturn and Its Rings; Uranus and Neptune	39	(14)
Chapter Four: ICE WORLDS Callisto's Ice Craters; Ganymede's Grooves; Europa's Ocean; Io's Volcanoes; Titan's Glaciers; Triton, Pluto and Comets	53	(16)
Chapter Five: COSMIC FURNACES Nearby Stars; Planets of Other Stars; Red Dwarfs, Brown Dwarfs; Death of a Star; Supernovas; Black Holes	69	(24)
Chapter Six: GALAXIES Origin of Galaxies; Galactic Collisions; Quasars and Giant Black Holes	93	(20)
Chapter Seven: INTO THE ABYSS The Expanding Universe; The Enigma of the Dark Matter; Origin of the Universe; Cosmic Inflation; Other Universes	113	(12)
Chapter Eight: IN SEARCH OF EXTRATERRESTRIALS Assessing the Possibilities; The Search for Signals; Do They Know About Us? What About UFOs? Will We Make Contact?	125	(12)
Chapter Nine: HOW THE UNIVERSE WILL END Fire or Ice? Asimov's Last Question; Contemplating the Cosmos	137	(6)
Chapter Ten: TELESCOPES FOR THE 21st CENTURY	143	(8)
Chapter Eleven: REFLECTIONS ON ASTRONOMICAL ILLUSTRATION	151	(3)
Astronomical Data	154	(10)
Further Reading	164	(2)
Index	166