In this brilliant exploration of our cosmic environment, the renowned
particle physicist and New York Times bestselling author of Warped
Passages and Knocking on Heaven's Door uses her research into dark
matter to illuminate the startling connections between the furthest
reaches of space and life here on Earth.
Sixty-six million years ago, an object the size of a city descended from
space to crash into Earth, creating a devastating cataclysm that killed
off the dinosaurs, along with three-quarters of the other species on the
planet. What was its origin? In Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Lisa
Randall proposes it was a comet that was dislodged from its orbit as the
Solar System passed through a disk of dark matter embedded in the Milky
Way. In a sense, it might have been dark matter that killed the
dinosaurs.
Working through the background and consequences of this proposal,
Randall shares with us the latest findings--established and
speculative--regarding the nature and role of dark matter and the origin
of the Universe, our galaxy, our Solar System, and life, along with the
process by which scientists explore new concepts. In Dark Matter and
the Dinosaurs, Randall tells a breathtaking story that weaves together
the cosmos' history and our own, illuminating the deep relationships
that are critical to our world and the astonishing beauty inherent in
the most familiar things.
