Published by Avon Books, 1983, this First Paperback Edition has 253 pages. Isaac Asimov was considered to be one of the big three authors who brought science fiction into the American households.

Astronomy is a fortunate science; it needs no embellishments, said the French savant Arago. So fascinating are its achievements that no special effort is needed to attract attention. Nonetheless, the science of the heavens is not only a collection of astonishing revelations and daring theories. Ordinary facts, things that happen, day by day, are its substance. Most laymen have, generally speaking, a rather hazy notion of this prosaic aspect of astronomy. They find it of little interest, for it is indeed hard to concentrate on what is always before the eye.Everyday happenings in the sky are the contents of this book, free from professional terminology with easy reading. Its purpose is to initiate the reader into the basic facts of astronomy. Ordinary facts with which you may be acquainted are couched here in unexpected paradoxes, or slanted from an odd and unexpected angle solely to excite the imagination and quicken your interest. The daily aspect of the science of the skies, its beginnings, not later findings that mainly form the contents of Astronomy for Entertainment. The purpose of the book is to initiate the reader into the basic facts of astronomy. Ordinary facts with which you may be acquainted are couched here in unexpected paradoxes, or slanted from an odd and unexpected angle. The theme is, as far as possible, free from "terminology" and technical paraphernalia that so often make the reader shy of books on astronomy.Books on popular science are often rebuked for not being sufficiently serious. In a way the rebuke is just, and support for it can be found (if one has in mind the exact natural sciences) in the tendency to avoid calculations in any shape or form. And yet the reader can really master his subject only by learning how to reckon, even though in a rudimentary fashion. True, he has taken care to present them in an easy form, well within the reach of all who have studied mathematics at school. It is his conviction that these exercises help not only retain the knowledge acquired; they are also a useful introduction to more serious reading.This book contains chapters relating to the Earth, the Moon, planets, stars and gravitation. The author has concentrated in the main on materials not usually discussed in works of this nature. Subjects omitted in the present book, will, he hopes, be treated in a second volume. The book, it should be said, makes no attempt to analyze in detail the rich content of modern astronomy.Unfortunately Y. Perelman never wrote the continuation he had planned for this book, as untimely death in war bound Leningrad in 1942 interrupted his labours.

Two world-renowned scientists present an audacious new vision of the cosmos that “steals the thunder from the Big Bang theory.” — Wall Street JournalThe Big Bang theory—widely regarded as the leading explanation for the origin of the universe—posits that space and time sprang into being about 14 billion years ago in a hot, expanding fireball of nearly infinite density. Over the last three decades the theory has been repeatedly revised to address such issues as how galaxies and stars first formed and why the expansion of the universe is speeding up today. Furthermore, an explanation has yet to be found for what caused the Big Bang in the first place.In Endless Universe , Paul J. Steinhardt and Neil Turok, both distinguished theoretical physicists, present a bold new cosmology. Steinhardt and Turok “contend that what we think of as the moment of creation was simply part of an infinite cycle of titanic collisions between our universe and a parallel world” ( Discover ). They recount the remarkable developments in astronomy, particle physics, and superstring theory that form the basis for their groundbreaking “Cyclic Universe” theory. According to this theory, the Big Bang was not the beginning of time but the bridge to a past filled with endlessly repeating cycles of evolution, each accompanied by the creation of new matter and the formation of new galaxies, stars, and planets.Endless Universe provides answers to longstanding problems with the Big Bang model, while offering a provocative new view of both the past and the future of the cosmos. It is a “theory that could solve the cosmic mystery” ( USA Today ).

The exploration of the first billion years of the history of the Universe represents one of the great challenges of contemporary astrophysics. This book contains the worked out lectures given at the 36th Saas-Fee Advanced Course "First Light in the Universe" by three eminent scientists in the field: Abraham Loeb, Andrea Ferrara, and Richard Ellis. The formation of the first stars and black holes, the initial mass function, feedback effects, early dust formation, the cosmic star formation history, distant galaxies, cosmic reionisation and the cosmic infrared background are the main topics treated. This book contains an accessible and up-to-date review of the field and will be useful to graduate students of astronomy, cosmologists, physicists and researchers. The topic of this book is particularly timely, as many new important observational facilities are being built, for which "first light in the universe" is one of the main science drivers.

The Universe in which we live is unimaginably vast and ancient, with countless star systems, galaxies, and extraordinary phenomena such as black holes, dark matter, and gamma ray bursts. What phenomena remain mysteries, even to seasoned scientists? Our Universe is a fascinating collection of essays by some of the world's foremost astrophysicists. Some are theorists, some computational modelers, some observers, but all offer their insights into the most cutting-edge, difficult, and curious aspects of astrophysics. Compiled, the essays describe more than the latest techniques and findings. Each of the ten contributors offers a more personal perspective on their work, revealing what motivates them and how their careers and lives have been shaped by their desire to understand our universe. S. Alan Stern is Director of the Department of Space Studies at Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. He is a planetary scientist and astrophysicist with both observational and theoretical interests. Stern is an avid pilot and a principal investigator in NASA's planetary research program, and he was selected to be a NASA space shuttle mission specialist finalist. He is the author of more than 100 papers and popular articles. His most recent book is Pluto & Charon (Wiley, 1997). Contributors: Dr. John Huchra, Harvard University Dr. Esther Hu, University of Hawaii, Honolulu Dr. John Mather, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Dr. Nick Gnedin, University of Colorado, Boulder Dr. Doug Richstone, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Dr. Bohdan Paczynski, Princeton University, NJ Dr. Megan Donahue, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD Dr. Jerry Ostriker, Princeton University, New Jersey G.Bothun, University of Oregon, Eugene

In a unique effort, this book brings together, for the first time, scholarly analyses by eminent researchers of the historical, social, legal, and cultural influences on the young newcomers' lives as well as reports by practitioners in major aid organizations about the concrete work that their organizations have been carrying out.

"Ever since Homo sapiens first looked up at the stars, we as a species have been looking for meaning in the mysteries of the night sky. Over the millennia, as our knowledge, science, and technology developed, the stories we told ourselves about the universe and our place in it developed as well. In The Night Sky, Richard Grossinger traces those developments, covering multiple aspects of humanity's complex relationship to the cosmos. Covering not only astronomy but also cosmology, cosmogony, astrology, and science fiction, he offers us a revelatory look at the firmament through his own telescope, fitted with an anthropological lens. Throughout his explorations, Grossinger continually reflects on the deeper meaning of our changing concepts about the universe and creation, offering insight into how each new discovery causes us to redefine the values, moralities, and aesthetics by which we live. He also calls into question the self-aggrandizing notion that humanity can and will conquer all, and injects our strident confidence in science with a healthy dose of humility and wonder. Filled with poetic observation and profound questions, The Night Sky is a brilliant reflection of humanity's relationship with the cosmos--a relationship fed by longing, doubt, and awe"--

This book is a comprehensive and coherent introduction to the role of cosmic strings and other topological defects in the universe. After an introduction to standard cosmological theory and the theory of phase transitions in the early universe, the book then describes, in turn, the properties, formation, and cosmological implications of cosmic strings, monopoles, domain walls and textures. It concludes with a chapter considering the role of topological defects in inflationary universe models. Ample introductory material is included to make the book readily accessible. It will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology.

Astronomy is the oldest and most fundamental of the natural sciences. From the early beginnings of civilization astronomers have attempted to explain not only what the Universe is and how it works, but also how it started, how it evolved to the present day, and how it will develop in the future. The author, a well-known astronomer himself, describes the evolution of astronomical ideas, briefly discussing most of the instrumental developments. Using numerous figures to elucidate the mechanisms involved, the book starts with the astronomical ideas of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian philosophers, moves on to the Greek period, and then to the golden age of astronomy, i.e. to Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton, and ends with modern theories of cosmology. Written with undergraduate students in mind, this book gives a fascinating survey of astronomical thinking.

Astronomy is the oldest and most fundamental of the natural sciences. From the early beginnings of civilization astronomers have attempted to explain not only what the Universe is and how it works, but also how it started, how it evolved to the present day, and how it will develop in the future. The author, a well-known astronomer himself, describes the evolution of astronomical ideas, briefly discussing most of the instrumental developments. Using numerous figures to elucidate the mechanisms involved, the book starts with the astronomical ideas of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian philosophers, moves on to the Greek period, and then to the golden age of astronomy, i.e. to Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton, and ends with modern theories of cosmology. Written with undergraduate students in mind, this book gives a fascinating survey of astronomical thinking.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

"From Aristotle to Newton, Einstein and quantum mechanics, Introducing the Universe recounts the revolutions in physics and astronomy that underlie the present-day scientific picture of the Universe. It describes the scale of things, from atoms to galactic superclusters, and sketches the cosmological theories, based on Einstein's general relativity, used to describe the Universe's expansion. The book also discusses the significance of the cosmic background satellite observations, and explains why current theories have nothing reliable to say about whether the Universe had a 'beginning'."--BOOK JACKET.

"This book contains an edition--with an extensive introduction, translation and commentary--of The Light of the World, a text on theoretical astronomy by Joseph Ibn Naḥmias, composed in Judeo-Arabic around 1400 C.E. in the Iberian Peninsula. As the only text on theoretical astronomy written by a Jew in any variety of Arabic, this work is evidence for a continuing relationship between Jewish and Islamic thought in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. The text's most lasting effect may have been exerted via its passage to Renaissance Italy, where it influenced scholars at the University of Padua in the early sixteenth century. With its crucial role in the development of European astronomy, as well as the physical sciences under Islam and in Jewish culture, The Light of the World is an important episode in Islamic intellectual history, Jewish civilization, and the history of astronomy."--

Text: English, German (translation)

This book grew out of the need to provide students with a solid introduction to modern fluid dynamics. It offers a broad grounding in the underlying principles and techniques used, with some emphasis on applications in astrophysics and planetary science. The book comprehensively covers recent developments, methods and techniques, including, for example, new ideas on transitions to turbulence (via transiently growing stable linear modes), new approaches to turbulence (which remains the enigma of fluid dynamics), and the use of asymptotic approximation methods, which can give analytical or semi-analytical results and complement fully numerical treatments. The authors also briefly discuss some important considerations to be taken into account when developing a numerical code for computer simulation of fluid flows. Although the text is populated throughout with examples and problems from the field of astrophysics and planetary science, the text is eminently suitable as a general introduction to fluid dynamics. It is assumed that the readers are mathematically equipped with a reasonable knowledge in analysis, including basics of ordinary and partial differential equations and a good command of vector calculus and linear algebra. Each chapter concludes with bibliographical notes in which the authors briefly discuss the chapter's essential literature and give recommendations for further, deeper reading. Included in each chapter are a number of problems, some of them relevant to astrophysics and planetary science. The book is written for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, but will also prove a valuable source of reference for established researchers.

Socrates knew all that was known by his contemporaries. But already in the Middle Ages it was becoming difficult for a single man to have a truly encyclopedic view of all human knowledge. It is true that Pico della Mirandola, Pius II, Leonardo da Vinci, and several other great minds were thoroughly in possession of considerable know ledge, and knew all that one could know, except no doubt for some techniques. The encyclopedists of the 18th century had to be content with an admirable survey: they could not go into details, and their work is a collective one, the specialized science of each collaborator compensating for the insufficiencies of the others. We know very well that our science of today is a science of specialists. Not only is it impossible for anyone person to assimilate the totality of human knowledge, it is impossible even to know ones own discipline perfectly thoroughly. Each year the presses of science pro duce a frightening quantity of printed paper. Even in very limited fields, new journals are created every day, devoted to extremely specialized, often very narrowly defined subjects. It is indeed evident that in a field whose scope extends well beyond astronomical or astrophysical research, it is materially impossible to be informed of everything, even with the richest of libraries at hand.