Our Universe: An Astronomer's Guide

by Jo Dunkley

Overview

Jo Dunkley combines her expertise as an astrophysicist with her talents as a teacher and writer in this lively and exceptionally clear introduction to the structure and history of the universe and its enduring mysteries.

Most of us have heard of black holes and supernovas, galaxies and the Big Bang. But few of us understand more than the bare facts about the universe we call home. What is really out there? How did it all begin? Where are we going?

Jo Dunkley begins in Earth’s neighborhood, explaining the nature of the Solar System, the stars in our night sky, and the Milky Way. She then moves out past nearby galaxies—and back in time—to the horizon of the observable universe, which contains over a hundred billion galaxies, each with billions of stars, many orbited by planets, some of which may host life. These visible objects in space sit in a web of dark matter, mysterious stuff we cannot see or yet understand. Dunkley traces the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang fourteen billion years ago, past the birth of the Sun and our planets, to today and beyond. She explains cutting-edge debates about such perplexing phenomena as the accelerating expansion of the universe and the possibility that our universe is only one of many.

Our Universe conveys with authority and grace the thrill of scientific discovery and a contagious enthusiasm for the endless wonders of space-time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674984288
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	04/08/2019
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	312
Sales rank:	684,594
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Jo Dunkley is Professor of Physics and Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University. She has won awards from the Royal Astronomical Society, the Institute of Physics, and the Royal Society for her work on the origins and evolution of the universe.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Our Place in Space 19

Chapter 2 We Are Made of Stars 77

Chapter 3 Seeing the Invisible 137

Chapter 4 The Nature of Space 179

Chapter 5 From Start to Finish 231

Epilogue: Looking Forward 273

Educational Resources and Further Reading 279

Index 289

Editorial Reviews

02/25/2019

Science journalist Dunkley offers a fascinating, accessible introduction to the universe, covering topics ranging from the Big Bang and the “cosmic dawn” of the first stars to the ongoing search for exoplanets and for dark matter and energy. Dunkley begins close to home, with the Earth and Moon, before moving outward from the solar system to the Milky Way, to the edge of the known universe. Along the way, she explains how stars fuse atoms to create energy, and how white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes form. The topic of black holes introduces a discussion of how scientists can search for—and find—things humans cannot see, by observing how their gravity affects the light around them. Similarly, a précis on Einstein’s theory of general relativity leads into how the universe began and evolved into an ever-expanding, varied space, and not simply a “monotonously regular sea of atoms and dark matter.” In a cosmos-spanning work that also offers a tantalizing glimpse of the possibility of realities beyond this one, Dunkley gives readers a commanding view onto the universe and the wonders to be found in it. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

This luminous guide to the cosmos encapsulates myriad discoveries. Astrophysicist Jo Dunkley swoops from Earth to the observable limits, then explores stellar life cycles, dark matter, cosmic evolution, and the soup-to-nuts history of the Universe. No less a thrill are her accounts of tenth-century Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, twentieth- and twenty-first-century researchers Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Vera Rubin, and many more.

Nature Lib

This luminous guide to the cosmos encapsulates myriad discoveries. Astrophysicist Jo Dunkley swoops from Earth to the observable limits, then explores stellar life cycles, dark matter, cosmic evolution and the soup-to-nuts history of the Universe. No less a thrill are her accounts of tenth-century Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, twentieth- and twenty-first-century researchers Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Vera Rubin, and many more.

Nature

This book is simply superb—beautifully written and very clear. It incorporates all the major recent results, and indicates what might come from telescopes now being built.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell

What with all the commonly appearing stories about space making their way into both the old and new news media these days, an understanding of just what we presently know about what’s ‘out there,’ how we presently think it formed, how it all works together, and where it’s all going is not only fascinating, it also helps to keep things in perspective.

Well-Read Naturalist - Johannes E. Riutta

Combining observational cosmology with a solid theoretical framework, Dunkley’s Our Universe takes us on a cosmic tour…This is a book any future observational or theoretical astrophysicist would love to have.

Forbes - Ethan Siegel

Combining observational cosmology with a solid theoretical framework, Dunkley’s Our Universe takes us on a cosmic tour…This is a book any future observational or theoretical astrophysicist would love to have.

Ethan Siegel

Jo Dunkley takes us on a fantastic journey through our universe—elegantly weaving together history and the latest scientific discoveries. On her way, she subtly restores all the forgotten women scientists to their rightful places in what has been a male-dominated story until now.

Andrea Wulf

Jo Dunkley is an internationally acclaimed cosmologist. She is also a fine expositor, and this book splendidly conveys what we’ve learnt about the universe, and the exhilarating progress we can expect in coming decades.

Martin Rees

Provides a high-level overview of our understanding of the universe that is a good introduction for those unfamiliar with astrophysics.

Space Review - Jeff Foust

Dunkley takes her readers on a grand tour of space and time, from our nearest planetary neighbors to the edge of the observable Universe…If you feel like refreshing your background knowledge, or are looking for a present for your curious niece or nephew, this little gem certainly won’t disappoint.

BBC Sky at Night - Govert Schilling

Jo Dunkley is an amiable guide to the universe, but there's no dawdling in this fast-paced tour. This slender volume whisks you from our own blue marble out to the edge of the universe and the beginning of time. Dunkley is especially good at explaining how the whispers from the Big Bang itself tell us about dark matter and dark energy and hint at its explosive origin in cosmic inflation.

Robert P. Kirshner

A grand overview of modern cosmology from one of the leaders in the field. Dunkley guides us through astronomical history, at every stage explaining the twists and turns and surprises, right up to the most recent discoveries. Readers will have a real appreciation of the most exciting developments in astrophysics of the last millennium, the last century, and the last year.

Michael Strauss