The Universe

Giles Sparrow studied Astronomy at University College London, and works as an editor specializing in popular science. He is the author of - amongst other books - The Genius Test, The Universe and How To See It, The Stargazer's Handbook and Hubble: Window on the Universe and was a major contributor to Dorling Kindersley's Universe.

Introduction. Uncentering Earth. Elliptical orbits. Measuring stellar distances. The invisible Universe. The chemistry of the cosmos. Our galaxy and others. The structure of matter. Quantum theory. The speed of light. Spacetime. The expanding cosmos. Cosmic microwave background radiation. The Big Bang. Before the Big Bang. Matter and antimatter. The first stars. Primeval galaxies. The birth of the Sun. Powering the Sun. Helioseismology. Neutrinos. The solar cycle. The formation of the planets. Planetary migration. The Late Heavy Bombardment. The composition of meteorites. Water on the rocky planets. The origin of life. The birth of the Moon. The remnants of Theia. Ice on the Moon. The dynamic Moon. Mercury's complex past. The volcanoes of Venus. The Venusian hothouse. Impacts from space. Periodic bombardments. The active history of Mars. Martian climate change. The waters of Mars. The possibility of life on Mars. The origin of the Martian moons. Ceres. Vesta's volcanic surface. The evolution of asteroids. Jupiter's interior. Red spots of Jupiter. The Jovian gravity shield. The volcanoes of Io. Europa's icy ocean. The seas of Ganymede and Callisto. Saturn's complex weather. The secrets of Saturn's rings. The origin of the ring systems. The icy plumes of Enceladus. The lakes of Titan. The contrasting surface of Iapetus. The strange tilt of Uranus. Neptune's extreme interior. Triton's orbit and activity. Distant Pluto. The Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud. Complex comets. The edge of the solar system. Stellar evolution. The Eagle Nebula. Infant stars. The smallest stars. Flare stars. Extrasolar planets. The variety of extrasolar planets. The Fomalhaut system. Earth-like worlds. Epsilon Aurigae. Betelgeuse. Runaway stars. Contact binaries. Mira. Complex planetary nebulae. V838 Monocerotis. Eta Carinae. Supernovae. Exotic stellar remnants. SS 433. The shape of our galaxy. The Milky Way's central black hole. Our nearest galactic neighbours. Supernovae 1987A. Monster stars of the Tarantula Nebula. Galaxy classification. Active galaxies. Cosmic rays. Gamma-ray burst. Interacting galaxies. Mapping the Universe. Galaxy evolution. Gravitational lensing. Dark matter. Dark energy. The fate of the Universe. Glossary. Index.