An astrophysicist presents an in-depth yet accessible tour of the universe for lay readers, while conveying the excitement of astronomy--

"After a few billion years of bearing witness to life on Earth, of watching one hundred billion humans go about their day-to-day lives, of feeling unbelievably lonely, and of hearing its own story told by others, the Milky Way would like a chance to speak for itself. All one hundred billion stars and fifty undecillion tons of gas of it. It all began some thirteen billion years ago, when clouds of gas scattered through the universe's primordial plasma...

In this journey of scientific exploration, the authors consider some of the most fundamental questions about our Earth, Sun, and solar system--and the star-filled galaxies beyond. How big is our solar system? How quickly is space expanding? How big is the universe? What is it made of? Some of these questions can be answered on the basis of observations you can make in your own backyard. Other answers draw on the astonishing information now being gathered...

Clear introductions to essential principles of physics support these lectures, including density, quantum theory, gravity, and the General Theory of Relativity. Also includes forays into disciplines such as chemistry and biology as needed to explain events in astronomy.

"Everything we now know about the universe--from the behavior of quarks to the birth of entire galaxies--has stemmed from scientists who've been willing to ponder the unanswerable. And with the advent of modern science, great minds have turned to testing and experimentation rather than mere thought as a way of approaching and grappling with some of the universe's most pressing and vexing dilemmas. So what is our latest picture of some of the most...

"Let us journey, with beloved physicist Carlo Rovelli, into the heart of a black hole. We slip beyond its horizon and tumble down this crack in the universe. As we plunge, we see geometry fold. Time and space pull and stretch. And finally, at the black hole's core, space and time dissolve, and a white hole is born. Rovelli has dedicated his career to uniting the time-warping ideas of general relativity and the perplexing uncertainties of quantum mechanics....

What will it take to colonize Mars? Can we reverse climate change? Why do we fall in love? And will we ever capture Bigfoot? StarTalk is both a podcast and a National Geographic television program where host Neil deGrasse Tyson and his celebrity guests wrestle with these pressing questions and many more in an attempt to reveal the secrets of the universe and beyond. Filled with cool photos, smart scientific facts, and witty commentary on everything...

A heart-pumping exploration of the biggest explosions in history, from the Big Bang to mysterious activity on Earth and everything in between The overwhelming majority of celestial space is inactive, and will remain forever unruffled. Similarly, more than 90% of the universe's 70 billion trillion suns had non-attention-getting births and are living out their existences in a steady predictable fashion. But when cosmic violence does unfold, it changes...