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Zusatztext " How Old is the Universe? walks general readers gently through each step of discovery, with Professor Weintraub—whose previous, equally inquisitive book was Is Pluto a Planet? —proving an able guide. . . . With simple, straightforward descriptions, Weintraub gives readers the equivalent of an enjoyable college astronomy course, as well as teaching the half-dozen or so ways by which we know, with great precision if not the exact time of day, the moment of the big bang." ---Michael Ray Taylor, Chapter 16 Informationen zum Autor David A. Weintraub Klappentext How a great enigma of astronomy was solvedAstronomers have determined that our universe is 13.7 billion years old. How exactly did they come to this precise conclusion? How Old Is the Universe? tells the incredible story of how astronomers solved one of the most compelling mysteries in science and, along the way, introduces readers to fundamental concepts and cutting-edge advances in modern astronomy.The age of our universe poses a deceptively simple question, and its answer carries profound implications for science, religion, and philosophy. David Weintraub traces the centuries-old quest by astronomers to fathom the secrets of the nighttime sky. Describing the achievements of the visionaries whose discoveries collectively unveiled a fundamental mystery, he shows how many independent lines of inquiry and much painstakingly gathered evidence, when fitted together like pieces in a cosmic puzzle, led to the long-sought answer. Astronomers don't believe the universe is 13.7 billion years old-they know it. You will too after reading this book. By focusing on one of the most crucial questions about the universe and challenging readers to understand the answer, Weintraub familiarizes readers with the ideas and phenomena at the heart of modern astronomy, including red giants and white dwarfs, cepheid variable stars and supernovae, clusters of galaxies, gravitational lensing, dark matter, dark energy and the accelerating universe-and much more. Offering a unique historical approach to astronomy, How Old Is the Universe? sheds light on the inner workings of scientific inquiry and reveals how astronomers grapple with deep questions about the physical nature of our universe. Zusammenfassung Tells the incredible story of how astronomers solved one of the most compelling mysteries in science and, along the way, introduces readers to fundamental concepts and cutting-edge advances in modern astronomy.--From publisher description. Inhaltsverzeichnis Chapter 1 Introduction: 13.7 Billion Years 1 PART I. The Age of Objects in Our Solar System Chapter 2 4004 bce 9 Chapter 3 Moon Rocks and Meteorites 16 Chapter 4 Defying Gravity 27 PART II. The Ages of the Oldest Stars Chapter 5 Stepping Out 43 Chapter 6 Distances and Light 55 Chapter 7 All Stars Are Not the Same 61 Chapter 8 Giant and Dwarf Stars 78 Chapter 9 Reading a Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) Diagram 94 Chapter 10 Mass 101 Chapter 11 Star Clusters 111 Chapter 12 Mass Matters 126 Chapter 13 White Dwarfs and the Age of the Universe 133 Chapter 14 Ages of Globular Clusters and the Age of the Universe 159 PART III. The Age of the Universe Chapter 15 Cepheids 175 Chapter 16 An Irregular System of Globular Clusters 191 Chapter 17 The Milky Way Demoted 202 Chapter 18 The Trouble with Gravity 209 Chapter 19 The Expanding Universe 217 Chapter 20 The Hubble Age of the Universe 235 Chapter 21 The Accelerating Universe 245 Chapter 22 Dark Matter 261 Chapter 23 Exotic Dark Matter 282 Chapter 24 Hot Stuff 301 Chapter 25 Two Kinds of Trouble 319 Chapter 26 The WMAP Map of the CMB and the Age of the Universe 333 Chapter 27 A Consistent Answer 360 Index 365 ...
