The Universe: From Flat Earth to Quasar by Isaac Asimov

Description

Asimov’s classic work on the cosmos surveys the history of astronomy, beginning with man’s vision of earth as being flat to recent observations of such phenomena as black holes and optical quasars.

Does the Universe extend forever or is there an end somewhere? Does it expand and contract like an accordion with each cosmic spasm lasting millions of years? Was there a time when it exploded and will the flying fragments separated until our own fragment is virtually alone? Does it renew itself and is it eternal, unborn and undying?

This is a complete scientific survey of all that is known about the Universe, presented with the clarity and precision so characteristic of the writing of Isaac Asimov. Beginning with chapters on the earth and our solar system, he guides the reader through exploration and discovery of the unimaginably distant reaches of outer space. Barely fifty years ago, their horizons of our known universe were pushed back. The Milky Way was recognized as only a drop in a huge black ocean; other galaxies were discovered; the Universe was found to be expanding – its rim many billions of light-years away. And as man daily probes further into the unknown, it is becoming clear that discoveries dwarfing all those of the past may actually be at hand.