Origins : fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution / by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith.
Material type:
TextSeries: Norton paperbackPublisher: New York : W.W. Norton & Company, 2014Copyright date: ©2004Description: 345 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 21 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9780393350395
- 0393350398
- 113 23
- QB981 .T96 2014
Includes bibliographical references (pages 323-325) and index.
Our true origins are not just human, or even terrestrial, but in fact cosmic. Drawing on recent scientific breakthroughs and the current cross-pollination among geology, biology, astrophysics, and cosmology, Origins explains the soul-stirring leaps in our understanding of the cosmos. From the first image of a galaxy birth to Spirit Rover's exploration of Mars, to the discovery of water on one of Jupiter's moons, coauthors Neil deGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith conduct a galvanizing tour of the cosmos with clarity and exuberance.
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.