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In tracing this story of discovery, astronomer and physicist Harrison explores the concept of infinite space, the structure and age of the universe, the nature of light, and other subjects that once were so perplexing.
List of contents
Prologue 1. Why Is the Sky Dark at Night? I The Riddle Begins 2. Three Rival Systems 3. Celestial Light 4. The Starry Message II The Riddle Develops 5. The Cartesian System 6. Newton's Needles and Halley's Shells 7. A Forest of Stars 8. The Misty Forest 9. Worlds on Worlds 10. Revelations of Chaos III The Riddle Continues 11. The Fractal Universe 12. The Visible Universe 13. The Golden Walls of Edgar Allan Poe 14. Lord Kelvin Sees the Light 15. Ether Voids, Curved Space, and a Midnight Sun 16. The Expanding Universe 17. The Cosmic Redshift 18. Energy in the Universe Epilogue Proposed Solutions to the Riddle of Darkness at Night Appendixes 1. Digges on the Infinity of the Universe 2. Halley on the Infinity of the Sphere of Stars 3. Chéseaux Explains the Riddle of Darkness 4. Olbers Revives the Riddle of Darkness 5. Kelvin on an Old and Celebrated Hypothesis Notes Bibliography Index
About the author
Edward Harrison was Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Summary
In tracing this story of discovery, astronomer and physicist Harrison explores the concept of infinite space, the structure and age of the universe, the nature of light, and other subjects that once were so perplexing.
