Burlington Public Library MA

Secrets of the universe, how we discovered the cosmos, Paul Murdin

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

Secrets of the universe

bibliography

317922833

Paul Murdin

how we discovered the cosmos

Discoveries before the telescope. The seven planets : wandering stars -- Stars and constellations : our human link with the ice age -- The milky way : path of the gods, souls and pilgrims -- The shape of the Earth : our planet, a flattened sphere -- The southern constellations : hidden stars revealed by the tilting Earth -- The sun : at the centre of the solar system -- Discoveries in the solar system. Comets : disasters, sun-grazers and the 'lady's comet' -- The satellites of Jupiter : Galileo shatters the crystal spheres -- The phases of Venus : revealing the shape of the Copernican system -- Uranus : William Herschel discovers the first new planet -- Neptune : the planet discovered by the pen -- Asteroids : remnants of the early solar system -- Pluto : a planet deliberately sought, but not a planet and discovered by accident -- The Kuiper belt : the frontier of the solar system -- Meteors and meteorites : the sky is falling! -- Meteor showers : in the middle of the night, stars fell like rain -- The Earth's magnetosphere : our defence against the sun -- Comets : sandbanks or dirty snowballs? -- The Earth's climate, the seasons and the weather : astronomical cycles -- Asteroid impacts on the Earth : the true origin of craters on Earth -- The origin of the moon : neither daughter nor sister of the Earth -- Mercury : the late heavy bombardment -- The greenhouse effect : Venus and the Earth -- Mars : the dying planet -- Water on Mars and Europa : evidence for extraterrestrial life? -- Volcanoes on Io : Linda Morabito makes a chance discovery -- Saturn and the gas giant planets : lords of the rings -- Discoveries of the dynamic universe. Helium : the cosmic element -- Gravitation : determinism and chaos -- Relativity : the nature of space and time -- Radio waves : a new window on the universe -- X-rays from space : the energetic universe -- Variable stars : discovery of star systems -- Sirius B and white dwarfs : discovery of stellar cinders -- Neutron stars and pulsars : lighthouse stars -- Black holes : a solution looking for a problem -- Discoveries of our galaxy and its stars. Distances of the stars : the radiance of a star that was shining years ago -- The discovery of our galaxy : stars in an island universe -- Interstellar nebulae : stars, molecules, dust and gas -- Star clusters : nebulae resolved -- Supernovae : origins of the stardust from which we are made -- Supernova 1987a : the whisper and the vision -- Cepheid variable stars : stars' heartbeats that measure the universe -- Exoplanets : other worlds beyond ours -- The energy of the sun and stars : discovery of nuclear fusion -- The origin of the elements : making star stuff -- Inside the sun : whispers and rings -- The crab nebula : a supernova remnant -- Planetary nebulae : looking into secret places -- The origin of the stars and the planets : the solar nebula and proplyds -- Interstellar dust : curtains of diamonds and graphite -- Discoveries of the universe and its galaxies. Hydrogen : the most abundant element in the universe -- Galaxies : ellipticals, spirals and mergers -- Magellanic clouds : our neighbour galaxies -- Quasars : active galaxies -- Supermassive black holes : monsters at the centres of galaxies -- The black hole in our galaxy : a dormant monster -- Gamma-ray bursters : the biggest bangs since the Big Bang -- The evolving universe : the past, the present and the future -- The cosmic microwave background : the after-glow of the Big Bang -- Darkness at night : the missing galaxies -- Future discoveries. Dark matter : a dark secret to uncover -- Dark energy : on the threshold of a profound discovery -- Gravitational waves : whispers of neutron stars and the Big Bang -- Life in the universe : are we alone?