On the Edge of the Cosmos : A Century of Revolution in Astronomy / Alain Omont.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Omont, Alain, author.

Series:

Current Natural Sciences

Current Natural Sciences Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Astronomy.

Astrophysics.

Universe.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 231 pages).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Les Ulis, France : EDP Sciences, [2022]

Summary:

In a world where intergalactic wars are a common topic for movies, it is hard to imagine that the discovery of galaxies was made less than a century ago. In fact, it was one of the key astrophysical milestones of the first half of the 20th century, along with the revelation of the expansion of the Universe and the understanding of the source of the stars' energy.The second half of last century saw the unexpected discovery of fantastic objects and extreme events in the Universe including neutron stars, black holes, radio galaxies, quasars, exoplanets, or stellar explosions. Modern cosmology was simultaneously established with the Big Bang model, leading to an astonishingly precise determination of the parameters of the Universe.The author here retraces the adventure of twentieth-century astronomy and describes how it has changed our vision of the cosmos. By assessing the major successes of this undertaking and highlighting the fundamental questions that still remain, he puts into perspective the recent progress at the dawn of the new millennium including the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe and dark energy, dark matter, exoplanets, black hole mergers and gravitational waves, to name only the most spectacular discoveries. This book thus offers, in a concise and accessible form, a synthesis of our current knowledge of astrophysics, including many beautiful images from leading observatories.

Contents:

Frontmatter

General Summary

Acknowledgments

Contents

Part I A Century of Revolution in Our Vision of the Universe

Chapter 1 General View of 20th Century Astronomy and Its Starting Point

Chapter 2 Scientific and Technical Revolutions, Drivers of 20th Century Astronomy

Part II Stars are Well Understood

Chapter 3 How does a Star Work?

Chapter 4 Complexities of Star Birth and Physics

Part III The New World of Galaxies

Chapter 5 Discovery of Galaxies

Chapter 6 Our Galaxy and Its Interstellar Medium

Chapter 7 Hundreds Billions of Galaxies

Part IV Cosmology, the Science of the Universe as a Whole

Chapter 8 Birth of Cosmology

Chapter 9 Content of the Universe and Structure Formation

Part V Singular Stars and Cataclysms in Extreme Physical Conditions

Chapter 10 Explosions of Stars and Their Singular Residues

Chapter 11 Black Holes and Their Power

Part VI Planets, in the Solar System and Outside

Chapter 12 Direct Exploration of the Planets

Chapter 13 Entering the Dream World of Exoplanets

Conclusion

Chapter 14 A New Cosmos in the 21st Century?

Glossary

Acronyms and Space Missions

References

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on: online resource; title from PDF information screen (De Gruyter, viewed November 20, 2022).

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9782759827077

2759827070

OCLC:

1343103815