From the big bang to black holes, from dark matter to dark energy, from the origins of the universe to its ultimate destiny, The Edge of the Sky tells the story of the most important discoveries and mysteries in modern cosmology -- with a twist. The book's lexicon is limited to the thousand most common words in the English language, excluding physics, energy, galaxy, or even universe. Through the eyes of a fictional scientist (Student-People) hu...

An astronomer "who writes like a poet" (Wall Street Journal) gives a sweeping, "beautifully written" (Nature) inquiry into how the night sky has shaped human historyFor as long as humans have lived, we have lived beneath the stars. But under the glow of today’s artificial lighting, we have lost the intimacy our ancestors once shared with the cosmos.In Starborn, cosmologist Roberto Trotta reveals how stargazing has shaped the cours...

From the big bang to black holes, from dark matter to dark energy, from the origins of the universe to its ultimate destiny, The Edge of the Sky tells the story of the most important discoveries and mysteries in modern cosmology—with a twist. The book's lexicon is limited to the thousand most common words in the English language, even excluding physics, energy, galaxy, and universe. Through the eyes of a fictional scientist (Student-People) hunt...

A sweeping inquiry into how the night sky has shaped human historyFor as long as humans have lived, we have lived beneath the stars. But under the glow of today’s artificial lighting, we have lost the intimacy our ancestors once shared with the cosmos.In Starborn, cosmologist Roberto Trotta reveals how stargazing has shaped the course of human civilization. The stars have served as our timekeepers, our navigators, our muses—they were once even our ...

WINNER OF THE LIBRIS AWARD–FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARIn the wilds of seventeenth-century North America, the lives of a Jesuit missionary, a young Iroquois girl, and a great warrior and elder statesman of the Huron Nation become entwined.The Huron have battled the Iroquois for generations, but now both tribes face a new, more dangerous threat from another land. Uneasy alliances are made and unmade, cultures and beliefs clash in the face of precipitous change, ...

May I introduce: the universe. Born 13.75 billion years ago. Constantly growing. Nearly empty. Electrically neutral. Poor in antimatter. Populated by 100 billion galaxies, including 130 sextillion stars with approximately just as many planets.Consisting of only 4 percent known forms of matter. The other 96 percent is made up of 23 percent dark matter and 73 percent dark energy. The home of black holes, giant stars, pulsars, quasars, galaxy clusters, and nebulas - as well as lifeform...

TV and movies will have you believing that black holes are huge holes in space and anything that falls into them is lost for all time – possibly falling into another universe or another time, or even falling forever.You may think that black holes run around in space like huge vacuum cleaners sucking up everything in their path. This is not true.But what actually is a black hole and what do they do? This book will help you find out.LearningIsland.com believes in the v...

You may think the Solar System consists of the sun and the eight planets that orbit around it. However, there are other things out there. There are comets, moons, asteroids, meteors, dust, ice, rock and much more. Plus there is a whole lot of man made junk. How much do you know about the solar system?Which planet had the potential to become a star?How many asteroids are there in the asteroid belt?How average is our sun?How far does the sun's gravity extend?

The dynamics of the universe are explained in this easy-to-understand book that looks beyond Earth and our solar system to ask and answer lifes essential questions. Key topics include the following: How Albert Einstein, Albert Michelson, Edward Morley, Nicolaus Copernicus, and other important thinkers contributed to our understanding of the universe Various conundrums, such as how the principles of refraction explain why the bottom edge of the sun appears to just touch the horizon even tho...

We see stars in the night sky as pretty, twinkling objects, but what exactly are they?A lot of the information we find out about stars, helps us understand other objects; pulsars, quasars, galaxies – even the origin of our universe. Here are some fun facts about stars.Do stars twinkle?What are stars made of?Do we know more about the inside of stars or the inside of Earth?Do stars have a life cycle?Is a dead star still a star?How do we measu...

The most comprehensive guide to the known universe. Great reference for classes including earth science and physical science as well as astronomy. Includes guide includes information including: history, the sun, the planets, starlight and galaxies, and cosmological concepts.

Our sun is an average star in our galaxy. It is a sphere of burning gas that provides light and heat. It makes our plants grow and allows them to turn carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen.If our sun were to shine a little less or a little more brightly, life as we knew it would not exist. A drop of less than 2% of the sun's energy output would turn Earth into an ice-covered planet.So how much do you know about this glowing sphere that controls our world. Can you answer these...