Origins : fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution /
Tyson, Neil deGrasse.
Goldsmith, Donald.
New York ; London : W.W. Norton & Co.,
c2004.
Origins explores cosmic science's stunning new insights into the formation and evolution of our universe--of the cosmos, of galaxies and galaxy clusters, of stars within galaxies, of planets that orbit those stars, and of different forms of life that take us back to the first three seconds and forward through three billion years of life on Earth to today's search for life on other planets. Drawing on the current cross-pollination of geology, biology, and astrophysics, Origins explains the thrilling daily breakthroughs in our knowledge of the universe from dark energy to life on Mars to the mysteries of space and time. Distilling complex science in clear and lively prose, coauthors Neil deGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith conduct a galvanizing tour of the cosmos revealing what the universe has been up to while turning part of itself into us.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 323-325) and index.
Preface : A meditation on the origins of science and the science of origins -- Overture : The greatest story ever told -- pt. 1. The origin of the universe. In the beginning -- Antimatter matters -- Let there be light -- Let there be dark -- Let there be more dark -- One universe or many? -- pt. 2. The origin of galaxies and cosmic structure. Discovering galaxies -- The origin of structure -- pt. 3. The origin of the stars. Dust to dust -- The elemental zoo -- pt. 4. The origin of planets. When worlds were young -- Between the planets -- Worlds unnumbered : planets beyond the solar system --pt. 5. The origin of life. Life in the universe -- The origin of life on Earth -- Searching for life in the solar system -- Searching for life in the Milky Way galaxy -- Coda : The search for ourselves in the cosmos.
Origins explores cosmic science's stunning new insights into the formation and evolution of our universe--of the cosmos, of galaxies and galaxy clusters, of stars within galaxies, of planets that orbit those stars, and of different forms of life that take us back to the first three seconds and forward through three billion years of life on Earth to today's search for life on other planets. Drawing on the current cross-pollination of geology, biology, and astrophysics, Origins explains the thrilling daily breakthroughs in our knowledge of the universe from dark energy to life on Mars to the mysteries of space and time. Distilling complex science in clear and lively prose, coauthors Neil deGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith conduct a galvanizing tour of the cosmos revealing what the universe has been up to while turning part of itself into us.
Cosmology.
Evolution.
Life