Constructing The Expanding Universe

Constructing the Expanding Universe provides students with a comprehensive exploration of the history of the evolving cosmos. In the text, the universe is seen as both physically and intellectually expanding as its physical characteristics evolve and our knowledge of the cosmos grows. It introduces students to fundamental scientific concepts that nurture the scientist in each and every reader. Chapter 1 helps students understand how astronomical objects are observed and identified. The focus is on the basic patterns in nature, such as daily and seasonal motion of celestial bodies visible to the naked eye. Chapter 2 explores the history of astronomy up to the scientific revolution, including laws and theories developed by the ancient Greeks, Copernicus, and Newton. Chapter 3 follows the development of the modern sciences in the centuries between Newton and Einstein. Chapter 4 examines the structure of the solar system and explains the physical properties of planets, moons, rings, asteroids, and comets. The chronology of astronomy and scientific thinking continues in Chapter 5 with a short description of the insights of modern physics which lead to a decoding of the stellar lifecycle. The last chapter looks at the cosmos at the grandest scales. From our own Milky Way, the exploration continues to other galaxies, clusters and superclusters of galaxies, and finally to the cosmos as a whole. The book closes with a section on cosmology and the latest experimental results and speculations about how the universe began and how it will develop in the future. Constructing the Expanding Universe is suitable for introductory courses in astronomy and cosmology. It can also be used for courses with an emphasis on the expansion of the universe, the development of scientific thought and methodology, or the history of science and astronomy. Uwe Trittmann earned his Ph.D. in theoretical particle physics from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany. He is an associate professor of physics at Otterbein University, where he teaches the full gamut of courses in physics, from introductory classes to quantum mechanics and astronomy. As the resident astronomer at Otterbein University, he is the director of the Weitkamp Observatory.

Constructing the Expanding Universe provides students with a comprehensive exploration of the history of the evolving cosmos. In the text, the universe is seen as both physically and intellectually expanding as its physical characteristics evolve and our knowledge of the cosmos grows. It introduces students to fundamental scientific concepts that nurture the scientist in each and every reader. Chapter 1 helps students understand how astronomical objects are observed and identified. The focus is on the basic patterns in nature, such as daily and seasonal motion of celestial bodies visible to the naked eye. Chapter 2 explores the history of astronomy up to the scientific revolution, including laws and theories developed by the ancient Greeks, Copernicus, and Newton. Chapter 3 follows the development of the modern sciences in the centuries between Newton and Einstein. Chapter 4 examines the structure of the solar system and explains the physical properties of planets, moons, rings, asteroids, and comets. The chronology of astronomy and scientific thinking continues in Chapter 5 with a short description of the insights of modern physics which lead to a decoding of the stellar lifecycle. The last chapter looks at the cosmos at the grandest scales. From our own Milky Way, the exploration continues to other galaxies, clusters and superclusters of galaxies, and finally to the cosmos as a whole. The book closes with a section on cosmology and the latest experimental results and speculations about how the universe began and how it will develop in the future. Constructing the Expanding Universe is suitable for introductory courses in astronomy and cosmology. It can also be used for courses with an emphasis on the expansion of the universe, the development of scientific thought and methodology, or the history of science and astronomy.

In this fascinating Very Short Introduction, popular science writer John Gribben tells the story of our growing understanding of galaxies, from the days before Galileo to our present-day observations of our many hundreds of millions of galactic neighbors. Not only are galaxies fascinating astronomical structures in themselves, but their study has revealed much of what we know today about the cosmos, providing a window on the Big Bang and the origins of the Universe. Gribben looks at our own "Milky Way" Galaxy in detail, from the different kinds of stars that are born within it, to the origins of its magnificent spiral structure. Perhaps most interesting, Gribben describes the many exciting discoveries have been made about our own galaxy and about those beyond: how a supermassive black hole lurks at the center of every galaxy, how enormous forces are released when galaxies collide, how distant galaxies provide a window on the early Universe, and how the formation of young galaxies shed needed light on the mysteries of Cold Dark Matter. John Gribbin is one of the best-known current popular science writers. His many books include the acclaimed The Universe: A Biography, In Search of Schrodinger's Cat, and Science: A History. He has written for many newspapers and regularly contributes to radio and television documentaries and debates, and also writes science fiction novels. He formerly worked for Nature and New Scientist and is presently a Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex. 1. A Very Short Introduction 2. The Great Debate 3. Our Island 4. The Expanding Universe 5. Across the Universe 6. The Origin of Galaxies 7. The Universe at Large References & Further Reading Index

This book explores the history of the discovery of the expanding universe, one of the most exciting exploits in astronomy.

Traces the history of theories about the nature of the universe, looks at the contributions of scientists from Copernicus to Einstein, and summarizes current theories of cosmic evolution

Discover how mathematical sequences abound in our natural world in this definitive exploration of the geography of the cosmos You need not be a philosopher or a botanist, and certainly not a mathematician, to enjoy the bounty of the world around us. But is there some sort of order, a pattern, to the things that we see in the sky, on the ground, at the beach? In A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe, Michael Schneider, an education writer and computer consultant, combines science, philosophy, art, and common sense to reaffirm what the ancients observed: that a consistent language of geometric design underpins every level of the universe, from atoms to galaxies, cucumbers to cathedrals. Schneider also discusses numerical and geometric symbolism through the ages, and concepts such as periodic renewal and resonance. This book is an education in the world and everything we can't see within it. Contains numerous b&w photos and illustrations.