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Secrets of the universe: how we discovered the cosmos
Author
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Publication Date
2009
Language
English
Description
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Table of Contents
From the Book
The seven planets : wandering stars
Stars and constellations : our human link with the ice age
The milky way : path of the gods, souls and pilgrims
The shape of the Earth : our planet, a flattened sphere
The southern constellations : hidden stars revealed by the tilting earth
The sun : at the centre of the solar system
Comets : disasters, sun-grazers and the 'lady's comet'
The satellites of Jupiter : Galileo shatters the crystal spheres
The phases of Venus : revealing the shape of the Copernican system
Uranus : William Herschel discovers the first new planet
Neptune : the planet discovered by the pen
Asteroids : remnants of the early solar system
Pluto : a planet deliberately sought, but not a planet and discovered by accident
The Kuiper belt : the frontier of the solar system
Meteors and meteorites : the sky is falling!
Meteor showers : in the middle of the night, stars fell like rain
The Earth's magnetosphere : our defence against the sun
Comets : sandbanks or dirty snowballs?
The Earth's climate, the seasons and the weather : astronomical cycles
Asteroid impacts on the Earth : the true origin of craters on Earth
Origin of the moon : neither daughter nor sister of the Earth
Mercury : the late heavy bombardment
The greenhouse effect : Venus and the Earth
Mars : the dying planet
Water on Mars and Europa : evidence for extraterrestrial life?
Volcanoes on Io : Linda Morabito makes a chance discovery
Saturn and the gas giant planets : lords of the rings
Helium : the cosmic element
Gravitation : determinism and chaos
Relativity : the nature of space and time
Radio waves : a new window on the universe
X-rays from space : the energetic universe
Variable stars : discovery of star systems
Sirius B and white dwarfs : discovery of stellar cinders
Neutron stars and pulsars : lighthouse stars
Black holes : a solution looking for a problem
Distances of the stars : the radiance of a star that was shining years ago
The discovery of our galaxy : stars in an island universe
Interstellar nebulae : stars, molecules, dust and gas
Star clusters : nebulae resolved
Supernovae : origins of the stardust from which we are made
Supernova 1987a : the whisper and the vision
Cepheid variable stars : stars' heartbeats that measure the universe
Exoplanets : other worlds beyond ours
The energy of the sun and stars : discovery of nuclear fusion
The origin of the elements : making star stuff
Inside the sun : whispers and rings
The crab nebula : a supernova remnant
Planetary nebulae : looking into secret places
The origin of the stars and the planets : the solar nebula and proplyds
Interstellar dust : curtains of diamonds and graphite
Hydrogen : the most abundant element in the universe
Galaxies : ellipticals, spirals and mergers
Magellanic clouds : our neighbour galaxies
Quasars : active galaxies
Supermassive black holes : monsters at the centres of galaxies
The black hole in our galaxy : a dormant monster
Gamma-ray bursters : the biggest bangs since the big bang
The evolving universe : the past, the present and the future
The cosmic microwave background : the after-glow of the big bang
Darkness at night : the missing galaxies
Dark matter : a dark secret to uncover
Dark energy : on the threshold of a profound discovery
Gravitational waves : whispers of neutron stars and the big bang
Life in the universe : are we alone?
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ISBN
9780226551432
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