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From the beginning of time people have
looked to the heavens to find order in the universe, to
divine meaning and direction from celestial events. The
same skies that used to instill fear in our ancient prophets
today spawn a rich apocalyptic science for awestruck stargazers.
This remarkable book explores the shared
quest of prophets and astronomers to explain the strange
phenomena of our skies -- from the apocalypse foretold in
Revelations to modern science's ongoing identification of
multiple cataclysmic threats, including the impact of comets
and asteroids on earthly life, the likelihood of future
collisions, the meaning of solar eclipses and the death
of stars, the implications of black holes for time travel,
and the ultimate fate of the universe and time.
Marcelo Gleiser is the Appleton Professor
of Natural Philosophy and professor of physics and astronomy
at Dartmouth College and the author of The Dancing Universe:
From Creation Myths to the Big Bang.
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