CosmosRenowned astronomer Carl Sagan’s classic bestseller that “dives into the past, present, and future of science, dealing with the mind-staggering enormity of the cosmos in which we exist” (Associated Press)—with an Introduction by Ann Druyan and a Foreword by Neil deGrasse Tyson “Sagan dazzles the mind with the miracle of our survival, framed by the stately galaxies of space.”—Cosmopolitan THE INSPIRATION FOR THE FOX MINISERIES COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS, HOSTED BY NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON AND STARRING SETH MACFARLANE AND SIR PATRICK STEWART In clear-eyed prose, Carl Sagan reveals a jewel-like blue world inhabited by a life form that is just beginning to discover its own identity and to venture into the vast ocean of space. Featuring full-color illustrations, Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped shape modern science. |
Contents
The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean | 1 |
One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue | 17 |
The Harmony of Worlds | 41 |
Heaven and Hell | 76 |
Blues for a Red Planet | 108 |
Travelers Tales | 142 |
The Backbone of Night | 171 |
Travels in Space and Time | 207 |
The Lives of the Stars | 229 |
The Edge of Forever | 256 |
The Persistence of Memory | 284 |
Encyclopaedia Galactica | 307 |
Who Speaks for Earth? | 336 |
and the Square Root of Two | 369 |
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Common terms and phrases
Alexandria ancestors ancient animals Aristarchus astronomical atmosphere atoms Big Bang billion black hole brain called canals carbon cell century Christiaan Huygens clouds comet constellation Copernicus cosmic Cosmos craters Democritus discovered distant Earth electrons Eratosthenes evolution evolved exploration extraterrestrial flame galactic gas and dust gravity Greek heavens helium human hundred Huygens hydrogen idea imagine impact impact craters inhabited intelligent interstellar Ionian Johannes Kepler Jupiter Kepler kilometers land light-years live look Mars Martian matter Milky Way Galaxy Moon motion nature nearby neutrinos neutrons Newton night nuclear observations ocean orbit particles perhaps physical planet protons Ptolemy Pythagoreans quasars radiation radio telescope red shift Saturn scientists solar system space spacecraft species speed of light spiral stars stellar sunlight supernova surface survive television temperatures things thought thousand tiny tion ultraviolet universe Venus Viking Voyager waves whales wonder