Showing titles in Astronomy

One of The Barnes and Noble Review Editors' Picks: Best Nonfiction of 2012 Selected by The Christian Science Monitor as one of "21 smart nonfiction titles we think you'll enjoy this summer" Selected by The New Scientist as one of 10 books to look out for in 2012 We've long understood black holes...

From one of our most acclaimed science writers: a dramatic narrative of the discovery of the true nature and startling size of the universe, delving back past the moment of revelation to trace the decades of work--by a select group of scientists--that made it possible.

A deeply panoramic tour of the night, from its brightest spots to the darkest skies we have left. A starry night is one of nature's most magical wonders. Yet in our artificially lit world, three-quarters of Americans' eyes never switch to night vision and most of us no longer experience true darkness. In The End of Night, Paul Bogard restores our awareness of the spectacularly primal, wildly dark night sky and how it has influenced the human experience across everything from science to art.

Mars has been a source of fascination and speculation ever since the ancient Egyptians observed its blood-red hue and named it for their god of war and plague. But it wasn't until the 19th century when "canals" were observed on the surface of the Red Planet, suggesting the presence of water, that scientists, novelists, filmmakers, and entrepreneurs became obsessed with the question of whether there's life on Mars. The Big Book of Mars is the most comprehensive look at our relationship with Mars - yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Everything we know about how planets form and how life arises suggests that human civilization on Earth should not be unique. We ought to see abundant evidence of extraterrestrial activity - but we don't. Where is everybody? In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, science and technology writer Wade Roush examines one of the great unsolved problems in science: Is there life, intelligent or otherwise, on other planets?

The second title in our series - Astronomy - looks skyward and explains a variety of universal phenomena and theories. Are you curious about how planets acquire rings or what creates those gorgeous spiral arms around galaxies? Or maybe you want to know why the Big Bang didn’t collapse into a black hole. Astrophysicists, professors, and scientists tackle questions about stars, planets, asteroids, galaxies, and nebulae, the expanding universe as well as the oddities - black holes, wormholes, and dark matter.

Four astronauts are about to break a fifty-year silence and become the first humans to leave low Earth orbit since Apollo 17. Felix Mercer takes you inside the emotional weight, technical struggles, and historic stakes of Artemis II — humanity's next giant leap, told as it unfolds. For more content like this, visit QuietPlease.ai This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.

The next space race has arrived—driven by rival nations, billionaire-funded ventures, and breakthrough technologies all vying to alter the balance of power on Earth and beyond. "This isn’t science fiction; it’s the blueprint for the world we’re about to inherit.” —Ali Velshi, NBC...

On February 20, 1962, John Glenn became a national star. That morning at Cape Canaveral, the small-town boy from Ohio took his place atop a rocket and soared into space. The Last American Hero is a stunning examination of the layers that formed the man: a hero of the Cold War, a two-time astronaut, a veteran senator, a devoted husband and father, and much more.  

Mars is back. Suddenly everyone - from Elon Musk to Ridley Scott to Donald Trump - is talking about going to the Red Planet. When the Apollo astronauts walked on the Moon in 1969, many people imagined Mars would be next. However NASA’s Viking 1, which landed in 1976, was just a robot. The much-anticipated crewed mission failed to materialise, defeated by a combination of technological and political challenges.

Griffin Rowe investigates Peru's Nazca Lines, examining how ancient peoples created massive geoglyphs with simple tools, why they served as sacred water ritual pathways, and how this fragile desert art survived two thousand years amid modern threats. For more content like this, visit QuietPlease.ai This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.

Felix Mercer examines thermodynamics as the fundamental framework governing reality, from entropy's arrow of time to efficiency limits constraining every engine. This series reveals why these laws shape physics, our universe, and civilization's ultimate fate. For more content like this, visit QuietPlease.ai This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.

Join host Jack Maddox as he unravels Egypt's pyramid mysteries—how ancient builders moved massive stones, why pharaohs built these monuments, and what their evolution reveals about human ambition. Discover the secrets locked in stone. For more content like this, visit QuietPlease.ai This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.

String Theory unravels physics' boldest gamble—a framework where vibrating strings in hidden dimensions promise to unite every force and particle. Join Felix Mercer as he explores the elegant mathematics, untestable predictions, and fierce controversies defining this ambitious quest for a theory of everything. For more content like this, visit QuietPlease.ai This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.

Join host Cosmo Ray on an exhilarating journey through the cosmos uncovering how scientists detect distant worlds and explore planetary diversity beyond our solar system. Discover groundbreaking findings revolutionizing our understanding of planetary formation and the search for another Earth. For more content like this, visit QuietPlease.ai This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.

Host Ava Grey dissects the Apollo Moon landing conspiracy theory claim by claim, examining photographic anomalies, lunar surface evidence, and the origins of persistent doubt. Through expert analysis and scientific verification, each episode separates misinformation from documented reality, exploring why millions still question one of humanity's greatest achievements. For more content like this, visit QuietPlease.ai This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.

Join host Ava Grey as she reconstructs the legendary 1947 Roswell incident using declassified military documents, eyewitness testimony, and official investigation records. Each episode examines a different dimension of the crash, separating documented facts from decades of speculation and conspiracy theories that have captivated believers and skeptics alike. For more content like this, visit QuietPlease.ai This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.

Meet the four extraordinary astronauts selected for Artemis II—humanity's first crewed journey to the Moon in over 50 years. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen bring unique expertise, groundbreaking firsts, and inspiring personal stories to this historic mission that redefines who explores space. For more content like this, visit QuietPlease.ai This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.

On July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the most powerful X-ray telescope ever built, was launched aboard the space shuttle Columbia. Since then, Chandra has given us a view of the universe that is largely hidden from telescopes sensitive only to visible light. In Chandra's Cosmos, Wallace H. Tucker uses a series of short, connected stories to describe the telescope's exploration of the hot, high-energy face of the universe.

Icy, rocky, sometimes dusty, always mysterious – comets and asteroids are among the Solar System's very oldest inhabitants, formed within a swirling cloud of gas and dust in the area of space that eventually hosted the Sun and its planets. Locked within each of these extra-terrestrial objects is the 4.6-billion-year wisdom of Solar System events, and by studying them at close quarters using spacecraft we can coerce them into revealing their closely-guarded secrets. This offers us the chance to answer some fundamental questions about our planet and its inhabitants.