Everyone knows astronomers use telescopes to peer into distant space.
But did you know that they also use them as time machines to look back
into the past? In this fascinating and original book, world-renowned
astronomer Paul Murdin lays out the entire history of the Universe from
here on Earth into the distance, leading us step by step through the
history of time and space.
Our knowledge of the Universe is greater than ever thanks to cutting-
edge scientific research, as well as a new age of space exploration and
discovery, and Murdin has been at the forefront of this inquiry--he was
the first person to identify a black hole. In The Universe, Murdin
draws on his expertise in the field to explain difficult concepts such
as black holes, nebulae, and dark matter and relates them to the most
important characters and events in the history of our Universe: powerful
explosions, the largest planets, galaxies, and celestial bodies.
Structured in a clear, accessible fashion as a "biography" of our
Universe, this history begins at the Big Bang and proceeds stage by
stage through the story of our cosmos.
Full of fascinating details about our own existence, for instance that
two-thirds of the atoms in our body are hydrogen atoms formed in the
first few minutes of the Big Bang, and that we are a by-product of the
manufacture of galaxies and stars, this volume offers a glimpse into the
future of our Universe and what it means to us all.
