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Overview
In this new edition, Terence Dickinson and his longtime editorial partner Susan Dickinson joined forces to return to these earlier tours armed with exciting new information on the origin and evolution of the universe, the birth of planets, life on our solar system's outer moons, runaway black holes, the first gravitational waves, an enigmatic interstellar visitor and more. These recent discoveries have spawned a host of questions about the universe that couldn't even be imagined a decade ago.
Illustrating this voyage are breathtaking photos captured by the groundbreaking Hubble Space Telescope during the later phase of its mission and by the newly launched James Webb Space Telescope, which has already allowed us to observe first stars and the formation of first galaxies and has provided information about potentially habitable exoplanets.
The fully updated content showcases late-breaking science that has emerged since the last edition. Key topics include:
- The search for and discovery of thousands of new exoplanets
- New ideas on the origin and evolution of the universe
- The evolving distant universe as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope
- New theories about life on Mars, Jupiter's moon Europa and the outer moons in our solar system
- New results from the Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter
- The first direct image of a monstrous black hole
- New telescopes and missions for the 2020s and 2030s.
The sixth edition of The Universe and Beyond is completely redesigned, and the photos and illustrations have been updated with awe-inspiring new images of the cosmos.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780228104926 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Firefly Books, Limited |
| Publication date: | 09/01/2024 |
| Edition description: | Sixth Edition |
| Pages: | 224 |
| Sales rank: | 834,415 |
| Product dimensions: | 10.50(w) x 10.50(h) x (d) |
About the Author
Susan Dickinson has been Terry's lifelong editorial partner and advisor. During the latter stages of Terry's illness, Susan oversaw the production of new editions of two of Terry's bestsellers, The Backyard Astronomer's Guide and NightWatch. After his death, she turned her focus on The Universe and Beyond (6th edition), a book that reflects Terry's appreciation of a universe that captivated him for a lifetime.
Read an Excerpt
Preface
About this book
If you are looking for a factual, up-to-date guide to the universe, written in an accessible language and illustrated with the latest images from space probes and the largest observatories on Earth, then this is the book for you. At least, that's my not so humble opinion! But it's backed up by the fact that this is the Third Edition, a rare honor for most books.
I have attempted to cover all major topics in modern astronomy without delving into them at textbook depth. But I didn't skimp on detail either. Rather, I made many hard decisions about what to put in, and especially, what to leave out. In doing so, I tried to focus on areas that people most often ask questions about. In my astronomy classes and when I am a "guest expert" on radio call-in shows and even in everyday conversation, I have noticed the same questions coming up again and again. I have included answers to as many of them as possible. But beyond that, this book is a celebration of our majestic and, in many ways, still, mysterious cosmos.
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but astronomical pictures often require some explanation before they mean much to the observer. Therefore, many of the photograph and illustration captions in this book are full descriptive -- long and meaty to provide proper background and to augment the main text, rather than merely extract tidbits from it. Peruse the captions either as appetizers or during the reading of the main text.
The first edition of The Universe and Beyond was published in 1986, midway through what many regard as the golden age of astronomy -- roughly the last third of the 20th century -- a period when our knowledge of the universe, both nearby and at its farthest reaches, expanded enormously. Although no one expects the pace of discovery to slow anytime soon, the beginning of the 21st century is an ideal time to take an inventory of what we know and would like to learn about nature on its largest scale.
This completely revised Third Edition has been totally redesigned and contains 25 percent more information and 50 percent more images than the previous editions. Even so, in a book of this size, there are inevitably some topics that we can only wave at on the way by. For those who are inspired to dig deeper a guide to further reading is offered on page 164. But I hope you will find The Universe and Beyond on its own a worthy celestial feast for both eye and mind.
Terence Dickinson
NightWatch Observatory
June 1999
Table of Contents
Foreword / PrefaceChapter One: A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME AND SPACE
- Introduction
- Cosmic Dimensions
- Overview of the Universe
- Origin of the Planets
- Why Mars and Venus Are Different From Earth
- Problems With the Ecosphere
- Mercury
- Jupiter the Colossus
- Life in a Hydrogen Atmosphere
- Saturn and Its Rings
- Uranus and Neptune
- Callisto's Ice Craters
- Ganymede's Grooves
- Europa's Ocean
- Io's Volcanoes
- Titan's Glaciers
- Triton, Pluto and Comets
- Nearby Stars
- Planets of Other Stars
- Red Dwarfs, Brown Dwarfs
- Death of a Star
- Supernovas
- Black Holes
- Origin of Galaxies
- Galactic Collisions
- Quasars and Giant Black Holes
- The Expanding Universe
- The Enigma of the Dark Matter
- Origin of the Universe
- Cosmic Inflation
- Other Universes
- Assessing the Possibilities
- The Search for Signals
- Do They Know About Us?
- What About UFOs?
- Will We Make Contact?
- Fire or Ice? Asimov's Last Question
- Contemplating the Cosmos
Chapter Eleven: REFLECTIONS ON ASTRONOMICAL ILLUSTRATION
Astronomical Data / Further Reading / Index
What People are Saying About This
The explanations that help the average person comprehend the scale of the universe, combined with the wonderful illustrations, make this book a must-have for anyone interested in astronomy.
—(Thomas A. Lesser, Science Books and Film, January/February 2000)
Interviews
Exclusive Author Essay
I remember reading my first astronomy book in my school library at age eight. I had been fascinated by the stars ever since I had seen a bright meteor as a preschooler. But now I could read well enough to begin to discover the wonders of the universe for myself.
I recall eagerly turning the book's pages and coming upon a section that told me that stars are really suns, just like our sun, but at colossal distances. I found this fact so mind-blowing that I ran around the neighborhood telling everyone this amazing thing I had just learned. My enthusiasm was met with polite disinterest by adults and impolite ridicule by my school chums, who wondered why I was telling them something so boring. But for me it set alight a fire in the mind.
I pestered my parents for years until they bought me a small telescope for Christmas. I almost wore it out observing the heavens, summer and winter, from our suburban backyard. Later, I bought a better scope, then built an even bigger one. I was thoroughly hooked. There was no doubt in my mind that astronomy was my calling, and I was ready to answer the call!
The call came in 1966, 15 years after I read that first astronomy book in the school library. I was hired as staff astronomer and lecturer at Toronto's new state-of-the-art McLaughlin Planetarium. It was the perfect job for an astronomy addict. Every day under the planetarium's great projection star dome I extolled the wonder and beauty of the stars and constellations to audiences of up to 350 visitors. In the planetarium classroom I taught courses on astronomy and backyard stargazing to both adults and children. For me it was a dream come true.
But one thing puzzled me. When I looked around for a stargazing guidebook that I could recommend to beginners, everything I found was either too superficial or else overly technical. I wondered why the authors weren't using plain language and uncluttered illustrations to focus on what those people in my classes, and others like them, really wanted to know. Subjects such as the easiest way to find celestial objects, and how to select and use binoculars and small telescopes to observe them, seemed to be begging for improved treatment. This bothered me to the point that I decided to do something about it.
In the late 1970s, after working for more than a decade at two planetariums and as editor of Astronomy magazine, I decided to devote myself full time to astronomy writing -- including the development of the definitive beginner's stargazing guidebook. By a stroke of good timing, a publisher who had seen my work in a nature magazine approached me about writing such a book. Thus, NightWatch was born in 1983.
As I had hoped, NightWatch immediately filled a gap in the literature. It has become my flagship book, and one of the bestselling stargazing guides in the world. For the Third Edition, I updated every page and included more than 100 new photos and illustrations. My other major stargazer's "bible" is The Backyard Astronomer's Guide, a more in-depth treatment than NightWatch that I coauthored with Alan Dyer of the Calgary Planetarium. Another book I am particularly proud of is The Universe and Beyond, which is more an illustrated tour of the universe rather than a stargazing guide, making it a good companion to NightWatch.
Over the years I have been a professional astronomy communicator, interest in the subject has exploded. A once-obscure hobby interest two generations ago, astronomy today appeals to a broad cross section of the population. It has been an honor to be a part of that revolution. (Terence Dickinson)
Introduction
Preface
About This Book
If you are looking for a factual, up-to-date guide to the universe, written in accessible language and illustrated with the latest images from space probes and the largest observatories on Earth, then this is the book for you. At least, that's my not-so-humble opinion! But it's backed up by the fact that this is the Fourth Edition, a rare honor for most books.
I have attempted to cover most major topics in modern astronomy without delving into them at textbook depth, but I didn't skimp on detail. Rather, I made many hard decisions about what to put in and, especially, what to leave out. In doing so, I tried to focus on areas about which people most often ask questions. In my astronomy classes and when I am a "guest expert" on radio call-in shows and even in everyday conversation, I have noticed the same questions coming up again and again. I have included answers to as many of these as possible. But beyond that, this book is a celebration of our magnificent and, in many ways, still mysterious cosmos.
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but astronomical pictures often require some explanation before they can be fully appreciated. Therefore, many of the photograph and illustration captions in this book are fully descriptive -- long and meaty to provide proper background and to augment the main text, rather than merely extract tidbits from it. Peruse the captions either as appetizers or during the reading of the main text.
The first edition of The Universe and Beyond was published in 1986, midway through what many regard as the golden age of astronomy -- roughly the last third of the 20th century -- aperiod during which our knowledge of the universe, both nearby and at its farthest reaches, expanded enormously. Although no one expects the pace of discovery to slow anytime soon, the beginning of the 21st century is an ideal opportunity to take an inventory of what we know and would like to learn about nature on its largest scale.
This completely revised and enlarged Fourth Edition contains significantly more illustrative material than previous editions. I am especially pleased that we were able to include four full pages of high-resolution reproductions from the 2004 Hubble Ultra Deep Field. This astonishing image is best appreciated in print, with your nose close to all those galaxies!
In a book of this size, there are inevitably some topics that we can only wave at on the way by. For those who are inspired to dig deeper, an annotated guide to further reading is offered. But I hope you will find The Universe and Beyond on its own a worthy celestial feast for both eye and mind.
Terence Dickinson
NightWatch Observatory
June 2004