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For the past twelve billion years, galaxies
have emblazoned the Universe, bringing form to the firmament,
light to the void. These gigantic realms, each one containing
millions to trillions of stars, delineate an expanding cosmos
of wondrous complexity and activity. Using ground-based
and spaceborne telescopes, astronomers have made tremendous
progress in understanding galaxies -- what they are made
of, how they formed, and how they have evolved. This book
acquaints readers with the nature of galaxies and of their
lives over cosmic time, from their emergence shortly after
the Hot Big Bang to their ongoing gyrations and transmutations.
Orienting us with an insider's tour of our
cosmic home, the Milky Way, William Waller and Paul Hodge
then take us on a spectacular journey, inviting us to probe
the exquisite structures and motions of giant spiral and
elliptical galaxies, to witness the transformative dramas
of colliding and erupting galaxies, and to pay our respects
to the most powerful galaxies of all -- the quasars. Along
the way, the authors elucidate the accumulating evidence
for dark matter in and among galaxies and for dark energy
as a critical arbiter of the expanding Universe. They then
guide us farther out in space and back in time to the cosmic
frontier, where incipient galaxies, the mysterious microwave
background radiation, and the cosmic expansion itself manifest
a primeval Universe that was radically different from what
we know today. Featuring the latest observations and most
compelling theories, this book provides a firm foundation
for exploring the more speculative reaches of our current
understanding.
William H. Waller is Research Associate
Professor of Astronomy at Tuft's University and cofounder
of NASA's New England Space Science Initiative in Education.
Paul W. Hodge is Professor Emeritus of
Astronomy at the University of Washington and editor-in-chief
of the Astronomical Journal.
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