How It Ends: From You to the Universe

by Chris Impey

Overview

“Remarkably upbeat, and imbued with wit, wisdom and a palpable sense of awe over our universe.”—Tucson Weekly

Most of us are aware of our own mortality, but few among us know what science, with insights yielded from groundbreaking new research, has to say about endings on a larger scale. Enter astronomer Chris Impey, who chronicles the death of the whole shebang: individual, species, bio- sphere, Earth, Sun, Milky Way, and, finally, the entire universe.

With a healthy dose of humor, How It Ends illuminates everything from the technologies of human life extension and the evolutionary arms race between microbes and men to the inescapable dimming of the Sun and the ultimate “big rip,” giving us a rare glimpse into a universe without us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393079173
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	04/11/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Chris Impey is a distinguished professor in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona and the critically-acclaimed author of Beyond, How It Began, and How It Ends, and four other books, as well as two astronomy textbooks. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Table of Contents

Preface 11

Chapter 1 Endings are Personal 17

That's All Folks 18

Everything Has Its Time 25

End of the Line 33

Chapter 2 All Good Things Must Pass 41

The Reaper's Scythe 42

Beating the Odds 50

Dust to Dust 56

Chapter 3 The Future of Humanity 65

The Fate of Species 67

Our Own Worst Enemy 79

Chapter 4 Beyond Natural Selection 90

Endpoints of Evolution 91

Beyond Biology 102

Chapter 5 The Web of Life 110

The Restless Earth 112

Gaia 124

Chapter 6 Threats to the Biosphere 134

A Hard Rain 136

Saving the Planet 142

Life Is Viral 149

Chapter 7 Living in a Solar System 157

Pale Blue Dots 158

Life Beyond Earth 166

Threats from Beyond 172

Chapter 8 The Sun's Demise 181

Living with a Star 183

Moving Off-Earth 192

Chapter 9 Our Galactic Habitat 203

Once and Future Stars 205

Mergers and Acquisitions 218

Chapter 10 Aging of the Milky Way 227

Fade to Black 229

Childhood's End 238

Chapter 11 How the Universe Ends 248

Something from Nothing 249

How It All Ends 261

Chapter 12 Beyond Endings 271

Living in the Multiverse 273

From Endings to Meaning 280

Glossary 291

Notes 301

Reading List 325

Credits 329

Index 331

Editorial Reviews

"A scientific view of the apocalypse unfolds in this tour of terminations. . . . Impey entertains as he informs about the facts of life and death."

Booklist

A scientific view of the apocalypse unfolds in this tour of terminations. . . . Impey entertains as he informs about the facts of life and death.-- "Booklist"

Eminently readable. . . . Impey injects humor throughout.-- "Library Journal"

From the Publisher

Impey (astronomy, Univ. of Arizona), who previously wrote about the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe (The Living Cosmos), now addresses its demise. Opening chapters surveying biological termini, from individual human deaths to annihilation of the biosphere, feel disjointed and could easily be skipped. Fortunately, the author finds his groove when he turns to death of the astronomical variety, from the destruction of our home planet to the end of the entire universe. He concludes with a quick look at some philosophical debates about the nature of life and a brief but eminently readable discussion of string theory and the concept of a multiverse. The text is supplemented by notes and an idiosyncratic glossary that includes "actuary" but not "Doomsday Clock" or "K-T extinction." VERDICT Although the topic may sound depressing, Impey injects humor throughout. He is also clearly optimistic that astronomers, at least, will continue to survive well into the future. Recommended for astronomy enthusiasts and other science buffs.—Nancy R. Curtis, Univ. of Maine Lib., Orono

Library Journal