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Check for Availabilityout of stock. Click on the button below to search for this title in other formats.  This title in other formats:Archives of the Universe: A Treasury of Astronomy's Historic Works of Discovery
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Award-winning science writer Marcia Bartusiak is a wonderfully compelling guide in this uncommon history of our understanding of the universe. Her authoritative, accessible commentaries on each document provide historical context and illuminate the more intriguing and revolutionary aspects of the discoveries. Here are records of the earliest naked-eye celestial observations and cosmic mappings; the discovery of planets; the first attempts to measure the speed of light and the distance of stars; the classification of stars; the introduction of radio and X-ray astronomy; the discovery of black holes, quasars, dark matter, the big bang, and much more. Here is the work of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Halley, Hubble, and Einstein, as well as that of dozens of relatively unknown scientists who have significantly contributed to our picture of the universe. An enthralling, comprehensive history that spans more than two millennia, Archives of the Universe is essential reading for professional astronomers, science history buffs, and backyard stargazers. Review:"Though Bartusiak prefaces this anthology of astronomy-related documents by lamenting the fact that astronomy books often leave out 'the voices of the scientists themselves,' it soon becomes clear why such voices are regularly silenced. Among the many famous authors presented here-Galileo, Einstein, Kepler, Newton, Copernicus, etc.-no voice shines through as accessibly as that of Bartusiak herself. The author of Thursday's Universe and Through a Universe Darkly has sewn together this collection of historical reprints with an admirable number of original, explanatory essays that situate each document within a larger scientific history, clarifying each paper's importance and showing how each discovery set the foundation for the next. For serious astronomy enthusiasts, this book will surely become a well-loved resource. But many of the original documents are dense and dry, and casual readers will prefer to turn to one of Bartusiak's previous books to learn more about the workings of the stars and planets." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Book News Annotation:From Mayan tables of the appearances of the planet Venus in the sky
to investigations of the accelerating nature of the expansion of the
Universe, science writer Bartusiak (Massachusetts Institute of
Technology) presents excerpts of 100 scientific documents recording
the development of human astronomical knowledge. She provides
introductory commentary for roughly chronological sections dealing
with cosmological revolutions of Copernicus, Newton, and the like;
astronomical measurement; the development extra-solar explorations;
Einsteinian cosmology; galactic knowledge; advances made possible by
radio astronomy and other recent technological advances in
astronomical observation and measurement; and recent understandings
that visible matter is only a small fraction of the expanding
universe.
Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Review:“Archives of the Universe is a stunning compendium of scientific thought through the centuries, in the original words of the thinkers themselves, with masterful introductions by Bartusiak. This is a treasure I will keep on my own shelf forever.” --Alan Lightman, author of Einstein’s Dreams “Astronomy is one of the most vibrant and fast-advancing of modern sciences, but it is also a science with ancient roots. This book offers a unique chance to follow, with an expert guide, the key steps that have led to our current understanding of the cosmos. Marcia Bartusiak offers general readers a lucid commentary on a comprehensive and well-chosen anthology of scientific highlights.” --Martin Rees, professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Cambridge University, and author of Our Final Hour "From the mouths of those who made it happen, Archives of the Universe takes the reader to the front lines of discovery-spinning the story of the evolution of the universe, and also the evolution of scientific styles. From Plato to the present day, scientists share their earliest insights into black holes and the big bang, gravity waves and curved space-time, how stars shine and the universe expands. Don't take my word for it: Take it from Brahe and Bethe, Eddington and Oppenheimer, Geller and Guth. Marcia Bartusiak is the perfect guide to this series of seminal papers, giving us a library-in-a-book that belongs on every astronomy-buff's bookshelf." — K.C. Cole, author of Mind Over Matter: Conversations with the Cosmos About the AuthorMarcia Bartusiak is the author of Thursday’s Universe, Through a Universe Darkly, and Einstein’s Unfinished Symphony. Her work has appeared in many magazines, including Astronomy, Discover, Science, and Smithsonian. A two-time winner of the American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award, she teaches in the graduate program in science writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and lives in Sudbury, Massachusetts, with her husband. Table of ContentsPreface I. The Ancient Sky 1 Mayan Venus Tables 2 Proof That the Earth Is a Sphere 3 Celestial Surveying 4 Measuring the Earth’s Circumference 5 Precession of the Equinoxes 6 Ptolemy’s Almagest II. Revolutions 7 Copernicus and the Sun-Centered Universe 8 Tycho Brahe and the Changing Heavens 9 Johannes Kepler and Planetary Motion 10 Galileo Initiates the Telescopic Era 11 Newton’s Universal Law of Gravity 12 Halley’s Comet 13 Binary Stars III. Taking Measure 14 The Speed of Light 15 The Solar System’s Origin 16 Discovery of Uranus 17 Stars Moving and Changing 18 The First Asteroid 19 Distance to a Star 20 Discovery of Neptune 21 The Shape of the Milky Way 22 Spiraling Nebulae IV. Touching the Heavens 23 Spectral Lines 24 Deciphering the Solar Spectrum 25 Gaseous Nebulae 26 Doppler Shifts and Spectroscopic Binaries 27 Classification of the Stars 28 Giant Stars and Dwarf Stars 29 Hydrogen: The Prime Element 30 Stellar Mass, Luminosity, and Stability 31 Sunspot Cycle, Sun/Earth Connection, and Helium 32 Origin of Meteors and Shooting Stars 33 Cosmic Rays 34 Discovery of Pluto V. Einsteinian Cosmos 35 Special Relativity and E = mc2 36 General Relativity and the Solar Eclipse Test 37 Relativistic Models of the Universe 38 Big Bang Versus Steady State 39 White Dwarf Stars 40 Beyond the White Dwarf 41 Supernovae and Neutron Stars 42 Black Holes 43 Source of Stellar Power 44 Creating Elements in the Big Bang 45 Cosmic Microwave Background Predicted 46 Creating Elements in the Stars 47 A Star’s Life Cycle VI. The Milky Way and Beyond 48 Cepheids: The Cosmic Standard Candles 49 Sun’s Place in the Milky Way 50 Dark Nebulae and Interstellar Matter 51 Discovery of Other Galaxies 52 Expansion of the Universe 53 Stellar Populations and Resizing the Universe 54 Mapping the Milky Way’s Spiral Arms 55 Source and Composition of Comets VII. New Eyes, New Universe 56 Radio Astronomy 57 Interstellar Hydrogen 58 Molecules in Space 59 Van Allen Radiation Belts 60 Geology of Mars 61 Extrasolar X-Ray Sources 62 Quasars 63 Evidence for the Big Bang 64 Pulsars 65 The Infrared Sky and the Galactic Center 66 Neutrino Astronomy 67 Gamma-Ray Bursts 68 Binary Pulsar and Gravity Waves VIII. Accelerating Outward 69 Dark Matter 70 Gravitational Lensing 71 Inflation 72 The Bubbly Universe 73 Galaxy Evolution and the Hubble Deep Field 74 Extrasolar Planets 75 The Accelerating Universe Notes Bibliography Acknowledgments Index What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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