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The cover of Coming of Age in the Milky Way

Coming of Age in the Milky Way

Timothy Ferris

How did humanity come to understand the nature of space and time, and what is the picture of the universe today?

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At a glance

Author
Timothy Ferris

Why read it

  • You will see how astronomers moved from a heavenly dome to island universes and finally an expanding cosmos
  • You will question newspaper talk of constant scientific revolutions, since the author says established sciences rarely overturn their basic notions
  • You will understand how scientists worked out the age of the earth and traced the evolution of atoms and stars

Who it is for

  • Curious reader who never learned how we measured the stars
  • Astronomy student wanting the historical story
  • Parent answering a child's questions about the universe

Contents

  1. PREFACE TO THE PERENNIAL EDITION
  2. PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  3. PART ONE
  4. SPACE
  5. 1 THE DOME OF HEAVEN
  6. 2 RAISING (AND LOWERING) THE ROOF
  7. 3 THE DISCOVERY OF THE EARTH
  8. 4 THE SUN WORSHIPERS
  9. 5 THE WORLD IN RETROGRADE
  10. 6 NEWTON’S REACH
  11. 7 A PLUMB LINE TO THE SUN
  12. 8 DEEP SPACE
  13. 9 ISLAND UNIVERSES
  14. 10 EINSTEIN’S SKY
  15. 11 THE EXPANSION OF THE UNIVERSE
  16. PART TWO
  17. TIME
  18. 12 SERMONS IN STONES
  19. 13 THE AGE OF THE EARTH
  20. 14 THE EVOLUTION OF ATOMS AND STARS
  21. PART THREE
  22. CREATION
  23. 15 THE QUANTUM AND ITS DISCONTENTS
  24. 16 RUMORS OF PERFECTION
  25. 17 THE AXIS OF HISTORY
  26. 18 THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE
  27. 19 MIND AND MATTER
  28. 20 THE PERSISTENCE OF MYSTERY
  29. ADDENDUM TO THE PERENNIAL EDITION
  30. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE

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