Seven Wonders of the Cosmos

A well-illustrated, lucid and humorous tour of strange and surprising features of the Universe.

Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (Author)

9780521638982, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 15 April 1999

336 pages, 215 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.56 kg

'The strengths of this book are many. The text is generally clear and entertaining and many good analogies are used to aid understanding … the greatest strength of the book is the way in which fundamental physical concepts are introduced and explained. the basic ideas of electromagnetic radiation, quantum theory, spectroscopy, nucleosynthesis, special and general relativity and many other concepts are presented to the reader in 'friendly' and non-mathematical ways. other good points - I liked the use of historical and mythological 'asides' to introduce more recent ideas, and the 'behind the scenes' stories of how many of the recent discoveries came about … All in all, the book is a nice mixture and very readable.' David Kilkenny, Monthly Notices of the Astronomical Society of South Africa

This book conveys the thrill of observing strange and surprising features of the Universe, and the satisfaction gained by understanding them through modern science. Using simple analogies and a wealth of illustrations, Professor Narlikar skilfully steers us through a cosmic journey of discovery, starting from the Earth and Solar System and stepping out to the farthest reaches of the Universe. The seven wonders represent a range of mysterious phenomena, a class of spectacular events, or remarkable cosmic objects that have challenged human curiosity and explanation. They concern the giants and dwarfs of the stellar world, the catastrophic explosion of massive stars, pulsars - the ultimate timekeepers of the cosmos, the strange effects of gravity, illusions of space, and the majestic expansion of the Universe as a whole. With lucid prose and humorous anecdotes, the author weaves together a host of exciting recent discoveries in astronomy and shows us how these motivate astronomers to unravel the wonders of tomorrow.

Prologue
1. Leaving the terra firma
2. Giants and dwarfs of the stellar world
3. When stars explode …
4. Pulsars: the timekeepers of the cosmos
5. Gravity: the great dictator
6. Illusions in space
7. The expanding universe
Epilogue.

Subject Areas: Astronomy, space & time [PG], Science: general issues [PD]