Searching For The Oldest Stars

A leading astronomer takes readers behind the scenes of the thrilling science of stellar archaeology and explains how sections of the night sky are "excavated" in the hunt for extremely rare, 13-billion-year-old relic stars and how this quest reveals tantalizing new details about the origins and evolution of the cosmos.

The book attempts to present a new perspective to its readers for looking self and surrounding world. It tries to tell that we humans, all living beings and all non living things, moon, planets, stars, galaxies are made of the same matter particles. How everything is cosmically connected? How all matter, all space, all energy has been formed during the cosmic evolution? What are different ways to decipher such understanding? What are the scientific principles, laws and theories which help in explaining and understanding them? What are the tools and techniques which enable us to look, to experience and to test them? How vast is the universe and how small and insignificant we are? In short, the book provides a cosmic perspective for self realization to mankind. The Bhagavad Gita mentions one of the paths for salvation as Gyan Yoga (the path of knowledge for self realization). This book is a step forward in that direction. While giving brief account of cosmos, the book tries to soften human ego and expects its readers to keep our earthly differences aside and realize our cosmic connection.

Astrophysics is often –with some justification – regarded as incomprehensible without the use of higher mathematics. Consequently, many amateur astronomers miss out on some of the most fascinating aspects of the subject. Astrophysics Is Easy! cuts through the difficult mathematics and explains the basics of astrophysics in accessible terms. Using nothing more than plain arithmetic and simple examples, the workings of the universe are outlined in a straightforward yet detailed and easy-to-grasp manner. The original edition of the book was written over eight years ago, and in that time, advances in observational astronomy have led to new and significant changes to the theories of astrophysics. The new theories will be reflected in both the new and expanded chapters. A unique aspect of this book is that, for each topic under discussion, an observing list is included so that observers can actually see for themselves the concepts presented –stars of the spectral sequence, nebulae, galaxies, even black holes. The observing list has been revised and brought up-to-date in the Second Edition.

Uses discussion and examination of 60 cases--typical reference questions asked in various types of libraries, presented as dialogues between the answer-seeker and the reference librarian--to introduce the fundamental issues involved in online search strategy. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

As the twentieth century closed, Fred Adams and Greg Laughlin captured the attention of the world by identifying the five ages of time. In The Five Ages of the Universe, Adams and Laughlin demonstrate that we can now understand the complete life story of the cosmos from beginning to end. Adams and Laughlin have been hailed as the creators of the definitive long-term projection of the evolution of the universe. Their achievement is awesome in its scale and profound in its scientific breadth. But The Five Ages of the Universe is more than a handbook of the physical processes that guided our past and will shape our future; it is a truly epic story. Without leaving earth, here is a fantastic voyage to the physics of eternity. It is the only biography of the universe you will ever need.

In this radically revised and updated edition incorporating the latest scientific findings, acclaimed science writer and cosmologist John Gribbin explores the origins of the Universe and considers its ultimate fate.