Seven Wonders of the Cosmos

by Jayant Vishnu Narlikar

Overview

Our cosmic tour begins here. As we leave the secure confines of the Earth and journey into space, we find a plethora of strange and unexpected phenomena. Little can we anticipate from the quiet, star-studded sky the violent events in the cosmos. Stars explode. Powerful radio sources eject matter in jets. The ever-changing Universe grows more beautiful and more complex the deeper into it we go. Professor Narlikar skillfully 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. Using simple analogies, humorous anecdotes, and a wealth of illustrations, he conveys the thrill of observing strange and surprising features 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 defied 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, 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521638982
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/15/1999
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.71(d)

Table of Contents

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.

Editorial Reviews

"Seven Wonders is a superbly lucid state-of-the-art account of the most important freatures of modern astronomy and cosmology...Ideal for students and as an introduction to the subject for educated non-scientists." Science

"...does a good job...manages to cram a lot of the universe into a little more than 300 pages, and the book would serve a beginning cosmologist or someone wanting to brush up on the topic equally well." Sky & Telescope

"Jayant Vishnu Narlikar is India's most outstanding living scientist." Science

From the Publisher