Showing titles in Astronomy & Space Science

DOES ANYTHING EAT WASPS meets INFORMATION IS BEAUTIFUL: A journey through life, the universe and everything. From what actually happened in the Big Bang to the accidental discovery of post-it notes, science is packed with surprising discoveries. Did you know, for instance, that if you were to...

Is our universe dying? Could there be other universes? In Parallel Worlds, world-renowned physicist and bestselling author Michio Kaku—an author who “has a knack for bringing the most ethereal ideas down to earth” (Wall Street Journal)—takes readers on a fascinating tour of cosmology...

*NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* America's favorite astrophysicist has written the most entertaining and universally appealing book of his stellar career: a practical guide for dealing with Alien visitors, an exploration of how it might happen, and a cultural history of our fascination with...

Scientists in the past few decades have made crucial discoveries about how our cosmos evolved over the past 13.8 billion years. But there remains a critical gap in our knowledge: We still know very little about what happened in the first seconds after the Big Bang. At the Edge of Time focuses on what we have recently learned and are still striving to understand about this most essential and mysterious period of time at the beginning of cosmic history. 

"It doesn't take an Einstein to understand modern physics," says Professor Wolfson at the outset of these 24 lectures on what may be the most important subjects in the universe: relativity and quantum physics. Both have reputations for complexity. But the basic ideas behind them are, in fact, simple and comprehensible by anyone. These dynamic and illuminating lectures begin with a brief overview of theories of physical reality starting with Aristotle and culminating in Newtonian or "classical" physics. After that, you'll follow along as Professor Wolfson outlines the logic that led to Einstein's profound theory of special relativity and the simple yet far-reaching insight on which it rests. With that insight in mind, you'll move on to consider Einstein's theory of general relativity and its interpretation of gravitation in terms of the curvature of space and time.From there, you'll embark on a dazzling exploration of how inquiry into matter at the atomic and subatomic scales led to quandaries that are resolved-or at least clarified-by quantum mechanics, a vision of physical reality so profound and so at odds with our experience that it nearly defies language.By bringing relativity and quantum mechanics into the same picture, you'll chart the development of fascinating hypotheses about the origin, development, and possible futures of the entire universe, as well as the possibility that physics can produce a "theory of everything" to account for all aspects of the physical world. But the goal throughout these lectures remains the same: to present the key ideas of modern physics in a way that makes them clear to the interested layperson.

All the matter and light we can see in the universe makes up a trivial five per cent of everything. The rest is hidden. This could be the biggest puzzle that science has ever faced. Since the 1970s, astronomers have been aware that galaxies have far too little matter in them to account for the way they spin around: they should fly apart, but something concealed holds them together. That ’something' is dark matter - invisible material in five times the quantity of the familiar stuff of stars and planets.

We have always looked up at the sky and wondered. The desire to explore and understand what lies beyond us is at the heart of scientific discovery. Ever since the ancient Babylonians tracked celestial objects on clay tablets, the search for meaning in an infinitely vast universe has been a...

From launchpad explosions to a pernicious cricket infestation to the demanding management style of Musk himself, the rise of SpaceX was beset with challenges and far from inevitable. Find out how the startup beat the odds and flew high enough to outpace their rivals... and where they're going next.

Here are two stores starring the always unconventional Terrestrial Diplomat, Retief. As a diplomat, Retief does not always follow procedure. Well the truth is that he almost never follows procedure but somehow his wit and strength manage to salvage most situations from the bumbling of the other diplomats. His sardonic approach to inter galactic negotiations in these two stories is a delight to hear.

A rip-roaring, pulpy and quirky space odyssey for your listening pleasure. Follow earth man Allen Green as his space ship fails and leaves him on a barbaric planet filled with other human descendants who have reverted to pre-technology existence. Naturally he is made a slave and must connive, plan, love and fight his way across 10,000 miles of danger to freedom. Full of strange beings, this planet highlights the amazing imagination of Philip Jose Farmer and his ability to make it scary and fun at the same time. Oh, and he has a wife who is his match in everything and even better in some so ...

Bratton, a humble old janitor at a Hollywood film studio, has a secret passion... Mad Science! He has made it his life's ambition to create life from nothing but thus far has not succeeded in animating dead tissue and robotic automatons. When a star ventriloquist discards his dummy after a failed wedding proposal, Bratton believes that he has found the perfect vessel for his experiment. Unfortunately Tom-Tom, the dummy, awakens with a lust for murder! (Summary by Ben Tucker)

This is the original ‘Buck Rogers’ SF classic. Thrill to the adventures of Anthony "Buck" Rogers, one of the most celebrated characters in the history of science fiction. Famed in comic strips, television, in movies, and even radio, this is the first novel to introduce Buck Rogers to the reading public. In Armageddon – 2419 A.D., Buck, a victim of accidental suspended animation, awakens five hundred years later to discover America groaning under the tyranny of the villainous Han, ruling from the safety of their armored machine-cities. Falling in love with one of America's new ...

Gregg Haljan was aware that there was a certain danger in having the giant spaceship Planetara stop off at the moon to pick up Grantline's special cargo of moon ore. For that rare metal--invaluable in keeping Earth's technology running--was the target of many greedy eyes. But nevertheless he hadn't figured on the special twist the clever Martian brigands would use. So when he found both the ship and himself suddenly in their hands, he knew that there was only one way in which he could hope to save that cargo and his own secret--that would be by turning space-pirate himself and paying the ...

Earth is threatened with destruction by a deadly alien plague. The planet’s only hope: Get help from the long-lost Omega Colony, somewhere in space. The fate of the Earth is in the hands of Lieutenant Commander Greylorn in charge of the search for Omega, and every decision he will make during Man’s first contact with an alien race... (Summary by Mark Nelson)

Is the entire universe just one of the atoms of some even greater cosmos? Such was the conception of one scientist — and his effort to prove this theory was to take a party of Americans on an expedition to a place that was literally BEYOND THE STARS. - Summary by original book cover

Published in Planet Stories in 1946, this story is a great mix of Golden Age Sci Fi and Swords & Sorcery. The first half was written by Brackett and when she was pulled away by other commitments the publisher gave it to a new writer, Ray Bradbury, to finish. It is a sort of prequel to the Stark character developed by Brackett where a weak puny man is transferred into the body of a Conan like superman and then cruses through adventure after adventure, always rescuing damsels who are tough and feisty. The publisher blurb says "He died—and then awakened in a new body. He found himself on a ...

Contents of this issue :-MONSTERS OF MARS EDMOND HAMILTON - Three Martian-Duped Earth-Men Swing Open the Gates of Space That for So Long Had Barred the Greedy Hordes of the Red Planet. (A Complete Novelette.) THE EXILE OF TIME RAY CUMMINGS - From Somewhere Out of Time Come a Swarm of Robots Who Inflict on New York the Awful Vengeance of the Diabolical Cripple Tugh. (Beginning a Four-Part Novel.) HELL'S DIMENSION TOM CURRY - Professor Lambert Deliberately Ventures into a Vibrational Dimension to Join His Fiancée in Its Magnetic Torture-Fields. THE WORLD BEHIND THE MOON PAUL ERNST - Two ...

Retief of the Red-Tape Mountain' Retief knew the importance of sealed orders—and the need to keep them that way! 'The Desert and the Stars' The Aga Kaga wanted peace—a piece of everything in sight! A difficult situation for Retief, a powerful people claiming land that isn't theirs. 'Cultural Exchange' The finest wine in the galaxy on a distant corner of the galaxy. But why are there so many students on exchange at their little community college? 'The Governor of Glave' A worker's rebellion! But a brain drain has consequences... 'The Madman From Earth' When the proper etiquette of diplomacy...

Alan Green is a space traveler stranded on a barbaric planet who has been taken slave and made a consort to an insipid and smelly queen. His slave-wife, though beautiful and smart, nags him constantly. He’s given up hope of ever returning to Earth when he hears of two astronauts who have been captured in a kingdom on the other side of the planet, and sets out on an action-packed journey on a ship sailing across vast grasslands on rolling pin-like wheels in a desperate scheme to save them and return home. Due to the non-renewal of its copyright, this book is in the public domain.(Summary by ...

The human race was expanding through the galaxy ... and so, they knew, were the Aliens. Who were these beings? Traces of them could be found scattered on planets everywhere, some very recent, but the aliens themselves were never encountered. They were obviously just as advanced technologically as humans and obviously looking for planets to expand to, just like humans. But what would happen when the two races, human and alien met? From history it was obvious that a war should be planned for, two expanding empires cannot tolerate rivals and they would clash and it could happen at any time. Would...