CosmosThis book is about science in its broadest human context, how science and civilization grew up together. It is the story of our long journey of discovery and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science, including Democritus, Hypatia, Kepler, Newton, Huygens, Champollion, Lowell and Humason. The book also explores spacecraft missions of discovery of the nearby planets, the research in the Library of ancient Alexandria, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, the origin of life, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies and the origins of matter, suns and worlds. The author retraces the fifteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into life and consciousness, enabling the cosmos to wonder about itself. He considers the latest findings on life elsewhere and how we might communicate with the beings of other worlds. |
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ancient astronomical atmosphere atoms billion years ago black hole brain called canals carbon cell century Christiaan Huygens civilization clouds comet constellation cosmic Cosmos Courtesy NASA craters Democritus distant Earth Eratosthenes evolution evolved exploration extraterrestrial galactic gas and dust gravity Greek Hale Observatories human hundred Huygens hydrogen idea imagine impact impact craters inhabited intelligent interstellar Ionian Johannes Kepler Jon Lomberg Jupiter Kepler kilometers land Library light-years live Mariner 9 Mars Martian matter Milky Way Galaxy molecules Moon motion NASA nature nearby Nebula neutrons nuclear observations ocean orbit organic Painting particles perhaps planet planetary protons Ptolemy quasars radio red giant red shift Rick Sternbach Saturn solar system space spacecraft species speed of light spiral arms stars stellar supernova surface survive telescope temperatures thought thousand tion universe Venus Viking visible Voyager waves whales York