Modern science has evolved a unified scenario of the cosmos, based on the concept of change, in which humans are connected to distant space and time. This book explores this common heritage, depicting the origin and evolution of all material structures, from quark to quasar, from microbe to mind.
In The Life Era, Eric Chaisson continues telling the scenario of cosmic evolution begun with his award winning Cosmic Dawn. Stressing the time-honored concept of change, he articulates three grand eras in universal the radiation era, starting with the big bang; the matter era, when organized structures emerged; and the life era, when technologically sentient beings take control of their destiny.
Cosmic Dawn describes a highly interdisciplinary tour of billions of years of cosmic history, an epochal saga drawing on every field of modern science — astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, geology and anthropology — to address the two most fundamental problems of all: the origins of matter and life. Winner of the Phi Beta Kappa Award, the American Institute of Physics Award, and a National Book Award Nomination.
The Hubble Space Telescope is the largest, most complex, and most powerful observatory ever deployed in space. Now Eric Chaisson, the senior scientist on the HST project, tells the inside story of the much heralded mission to fix the telescope. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.
1 Radiation Visible and Invisible: Keys to the Universe.- 2 Interstellar Space: Dark Realms of the Nighttime Sky.- 3 Sun and Stars: Sites of Invisible Activity.- 4 Planets, Life, and Intelligence: Are We Alone ?.- 5 Galaxies: Nature's Grand Structures.- 6 Cosmic Violence: Black Holes, Quasars, and Beyond.- 7 Universe: Its Large-Scale Structure.- 8 Forces of Nature: The Limits of Knowledge.- Epilogue.- Appendices.- Suggestions for Further Reading.