Product Description The largest ever (42 cm x 35 cm) fully illustrated guide to the universe from our home planet to the edge of space and time. Our view of the universe covers at least 130 billion trillion kilometers (80 billion trillion miles) in every direction around us. We know that the magnificent vault of stars emblazoning Earth's night skies are an infinitesimal fraction of the hundreds of billions that inhabit our galaxy, and we know there are at least as many galaxies in the universe as there are stars in the Milky Way. "Cosmos" makes sense of this dizzying celestial panorama by exploring it one step at a time and by illustrating the planets, moons, stars, nebulae, white dwarfs, black holes and other exotica that populate the heavens with over 450 of the most spectacular and up-to-date photographs and illustrations. We begin at home, with an orbital survey of planet Earth, before venturing deeper into the solar system via the Moon, Venus, Mercury, the Sun and Mars. Crossing the asteroid belt takes us into the outer solar system and the realm of the gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Beyond Neptune's orbit we encounter a graveyard of icy debris left over from the solar system's formation that marks the outer limits of the Sun's sphere of influence. Emerging in interstellar space, we head for the heart of our galaxy as the rhythms of stellar life unfold before our eyes: we pass through dark clouds of dust and gas ablaze with clusters of newly smelted stars, we watch dying stars bloom and fade as planetary nebulae, or tear themselves apart as supernovae. Navigating through thick swarms of stars, we reach the galactic core, a gravitational maelstrom of exotic stars in the thrall of a supermassive black hole. Having crossed the Milky Way, we enter intergalactic space. Out here we watch the hidden lives of galaxies: we see them tear their companions apart or devour them whole, we see them flock and cluster, forming massive conglomerations that span millions of light years and warp space with their tremendous gravity. As we press ever deeper into the cosmos, so we travel further back in time. After covering an almost unimaginable 13.4 billion light years, we approach the edge of space and the dawn of time where our voyage must end, but not before we consider how our universe was born, and how it might die.
startling, unbelievable, etc, etc, etc December 7, 2008 Half a century ago, LIFE published some of the first color photographs taken through astronomical telescopes. It was a revelation.
This book goes several orders of magnitude beyond "revelation". You just sit there gasping at the incredible beauty of the universe.
This is not just another huge coffee-table book. You are likely to return to it over and over, until you've studied the details of every photograph and read every word of text.
A Good Reason To Buy A Coffee Table September 27, 2008 Wow. This book is the best of its kind, by a wide margin, and it would be bargain at 3 times the price. If you don't yet have a coffee table, this is a reason to buy one. The photos are perfect. Ideal. Platonic.
And it's not just a photobook. The information is accurate, current, and well-selected. Astonishingly (for a pop science book), the author acknowledges where there are gaps in the current knowledge. This is the sort of book I wish I had in 6th Grade, but I am happy to have it now.
Epic to the Point of Tears August 22, 2008 The subject of this book is so gargantuan and the sheer size of the book itself reflects that. When LOOKING at this book, one will become completely overwhelmed by the incomprehensible magnitude of the known universe and the absolute specs of dust (even less!) that we are as humans inhabiting it. The pictures in this book bring tears to my eyes often upon viewing. If anything came close to being able to fathom the unfathomable power, scope, size and beauty of known life, this book is it. I cannot believe I bought it for $29.95 when it should have costed at least $100. Its worth is priceless when you consider that its actually a book that can impact you so heavily with thoughts about life, the meaning of existence, god, time, eternity, etc. to such a degree that no other book I've read can come close to.
Phenomenal July 16, 2008 An absolute marvel, by the shear beauty of the images of our lovely cosmos, it puts the universe in its most eloquent perspective from inter-planetary to inter-galactic scales... It's virtue I think is it's bulk, the largest book I have ever purchased, it is a front-piece in my home and a source of joy to reference and glow over its imagery and well delivered descriptions and narrative. As a citizen of the cosmos I recommend those with even a tacit interest in space exploration to grab this bargain.
phenomenal photography..LARGE BOOK!!! February 28, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this at a Borders Bookstore for $19.95 while on a road trip. It was a steal! This book has phenomenal photography, is up-to-date even including the latest from MARS Rover and Spirit, explains the mysteries of the universe in an easy to understand way, just an incredible book. It is bigger then your normal coffee table book, it is quite big but the pictures are simply amazing!
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