dawn of time and 46–7
diffraction of 34
finding Andromeda 48–9
first sight 72–5
Hubble Telescope and see Hubble Telescope
infrared 68, 69
made up of a spectrum of colours 98–9
mapping the Milky Way galaxy 26–7
measuring/observing movement in, ancient 19–21
messengers from across the ocean of space 36–7
microwaves 68, 69, 70–1
galactic neighbourhood 24–5
our place in the universe 22–3
picturing the past 70–1
radio waves and 68–9, 84
rainbows 56–9
redshift see redshift
speed of 37, 38–43
story of 16–31
the shape of our galaxy 28
time travel 44–65
visible 68–9
what is? 32–44
Young’s double-slit experiment 34–5
Livingstone, David 56
Local Group 149
Lovell Telescope, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics 182, 183, 183
Lovell, Jim 8
Lucy (human ancestor) 47
Lüderitz, Namibia 216–19
Luna 3 162
Luna 15 96
M
M33 (Triangulum galaxy) 25, 25
M51 (Whirlpool galaxy) 25, 25
M87 (Virgo A galaxy) 24, 24, 149, 149
Maffei 1 and 2 13
Magellan, Ferdinand 209
Magellanic clouds 48
magnetic fields 36–7
magnetism 36–7 see also electromagnetism
Manhattan Project 115
mapping the night sky 82–3
Mars 45, 96, 153, 154, 155, 156–7
Mauna Kea, Hawaii 155
Maxwell, James Clerk 36–7, 43, 190, 215
Mayans 84
megaparsec 64, 65
Mendeleev, Dmitri 94–5, 97
Mercury 97, 175, 184, 184, 185, 190, 193
‘The Mercury Seven’ 142
messengers 14–75
microwaves 66, 68, 69, 70–1
Michelson, Albert 120
Milky Way 12, 25, 69, 70, 148, 225, 225
Andromeda collides with 169, 170, 171
birth of stars in 29–31
death of stars in 30–1
mapping the 20, 22–3, 24–5, 26–7
name of 24
Orion Spur 28, 71
shape of 28–9
spiral arms 28
Mir space station 11
Mira (star) 84, 84, 85
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 146
Moon:
creation of 161, 161
gravitational field 159, 160–3, 161, 162, 163
looking at 44, 45
spaceflight to 8, 96–7, 96, 97, 162
Mount Everest 153, 154
Mount Wilson Observatory, Pasadena, California 60, 120
mountains, surface gravity and 154
MSO735.6+7421 (galaxy cluster) 172, 173
Musgrave, Story 53
MyCnl18 (planetary nebula) 125, 125
Mz3 (planetary nebula) 125, 125
N
Namib Desert 68–9, 216–21, 236–7, 236, 237
Namibia 68–9, 68, 153, 216–21, 236–7, 239
NASA 11, 53, 84, 85, 132, 133, 142, 146, 159, 169, 176, 180, 190, 221, 231, 235, 240
Neptune 45, 97, 174
neutron 79, 106, 110, 111, 114, 115, 123, 130, 133, 181, 182, 194, 239
neutron degeneracy pressure 195
neutron stars 84, 180, 181, 182, 194
Newcomen, Sir Thomas 214, 215
Newton, Sir Isaac 32, 34, 41, 43, 56, 58, 98–9, 145, 150–1, 163, 184, 185, 190, 193
Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation 150–1, 163, 184, 185, 186, 190, 193
newtons 154, 155
NGC 1068 (galaxy) 239, 239
NGC 281 k (new star-forming region) 67, 67
NGC1300 (galaxy) 53, 53
nubecular minor 25
nuclear fusion/fission 115–17
O
OGLE2TRL9b (exoplanet) 174
Olympus Mons 153, 154, 155, 155, 156–7
Omega Nebula 84, 85, 85
origins of being 78–137
‘atomic hypothesis’ 79
Big Bang 106–11
chemical elements and 79
cycle of life 80–1
early universe 102–17
El Tatio Geysers, Chile 104–5
elements and 94–7, 126–7
exoplanets, how to find 88–9
first stars 118–19
mapping the night sky 82–3
matter by numbers 114
meteorites and 134–5
moon rocks, study of 96
origins of life 92–3
planetary nebulae 124–5
religion and 80–1
role of stars in building blocks of our existence 90–101
simplicity of the universe 112–13
star death 122–3
stellar nurseries 84–5
Sun, Venus transits 86–7
supernova: life cycle of a star 128–37
timeline of the universe 112–13
up and down quarks 79
what are stars made of? 98–101
Orion (constellation) 119, 133
Orion Molecular Cloud 132, 133
Orion Nebula 75, 82, 84, 85, 85, 132, 133, 134, 135
Ostional wildlife refuge, Costa Rica 208
P
‘Pale Blue Dot’ 240, 240, 241
Parkes Radio Telescope, Australia 182
Pashupatinath Temple, Nepal 80, 81
Pauli exclusion principle 130, 181, 194
Pease, Francis 120
Pegasus (constellation) 61, 61
Peirsec, Nicolas-Claude Fabri de 84
Penzias, Arno 69
Periodic Table, The 94–5
Perito Moreno glacier, Argentina 210–11, 210–11, 212–13, 212, 213
Permian mass extinction 73
Picard, Jean 40, 41
picturing the past 70–1
Pikaia 75
Pisces-Cetus Supercluster Complex 149
Pistol Star 27, 27
Planck Era 9, 10, 106
Planck’s constant 41
planetary nebulae 124, 124, 125, 125, 128, 133
Polaris (North Star) 48, 83, 100, 101
Primordial Era 224
Principia (Newton) 150–1
Project Mercury 142
protons 79, 106, 112, 113, 114, 115, 123, 130, 181, 239
Proxima Centauri 20, 98, 234, 234
pulsars 180, 182, 195
Q
Quantum Electrodynamics 12
quantum theory 9–10, 12, 34, 35, 93, 98, 99, 101, 116, 130, 181, 195, 202, 213, 215
quarks, up and down 79, 106, 110, 114, 181, 182, 194
quasars 177
Quintuplet Cluster 27, 27
R
radio astronomy 168
radio waves 68–9, 84
rainbows 56–9
RCW 86 (supernova) 83, 83
RCW 103 (supernova) 133, 133
red dwarf 84, 89, 128, 234
red giant 69, 84, 120, 121, 128, 230, 232
redshift 60, 60, 61, 62–5, 71
religion 8, 80–1
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 122, 122, 123
Romer, Ole 37, 39, 41
Royal Observatory, Greenwich 12, 41
Ryle, Martin 177
S
S2 (star) 26, 195
Sagan, Carl 177, 241, 242
Sagittarius A* (black hole) 26, 149, 149, 195, 195
Schwarzschild metric 194–5
Schwarzschild, Karl 194
Scott, Commander Dave 145
Shepherd, Alan 142
Sirius (dog star) 100, 100
Sirius A (star) 230, 231, 231
Sirius B (star) 230, 231, 231
&
nbsp; Skeleton Coast, Namibia 236–7, 239
sound barrier 42–3
Space Adaption Syndrome (space sickness) 142
Space Shuttle 142
Atlantis 11
Challenger 52
Endeavour 9, 50, 51
STS-31 (shuttle mission) 52, 53
STS-71 (shuttle mission) 11
STS-127 (shuttle mission) 11
spaceflight, human 8–9, 10–11, 138, 141–5, 142, 143, 144, 145
spacetime 43, 65, 66, 67, 189–90, 191, 193, 194–5
Special Theory of Relativity 43, 154, 185
speed of light 37, 38–43
spiral galaxies 25, 25, 28, 48, 49, 53, 55, 70, 169, 169
spiral nebulae 60, 70
Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA 133, 169
Standard Model of particle physics 12
stars 78–137
birth of 29–31, 84–5
black dwarf 129, 237, 239
dating 27
death of 30–1, 84, 122–3, 130–3, 141, 177, 179, 180–1, 227, 230, 231
destiny of 228–41
first 27, 118–19, 224, 225, 226, 227
life cycle of 128–9
main sequence 28, 128
mapping 82–3
neutron 84, 180, 181, 182, 194
nurseries 84–5
reading the history of 98–9
red dwarf 84, 89, 128, 234
red giant 69, 84, 120, 121, 128, 230, 232
role in/building block of our existence 8, 90–101
the last 234, 235
what are they made of? 98–9
white dwarf 128, 129, 181, 230, 233, 234, 235, 235
see also under individual star name
Stauch, August 216
steam engines 11, 214
Stelliferous Era 224–5, 229
Stephan’s Quintet (galaxy cluster) 61, 61
strong nuclear force 12, 106, 114, 115, 116, 140
STS-31 (shuttle mission) 52, 53
STS-71 (shuttle mission) 11
STS-127 (shuttle mission) 11
Sun 98, 164, 165
ancient measuring of movement 19
as a red giant 230, 232
death of 229, 229, 230, 232–3, 240
distance between outermost planet of our solar system and 26, 27
gravity 175
main sequence star 28
nuclear fusion 116–17
time it takes light to reach us 45
Venus transits 86–7, 87
white dwarf 230, 233
supernovas 12, 30, 31, 83, 84, 128–9, 131, 136–7, 180
Swift satellite, NASA 227
symmetry breaking 104–5, 106
T
Tanzania 46, 47, 48
Teller, Edward 115, 116
Terra satellite, NASA 146
Theia 161
thermodynamics 11
First Law of 214–15
Second Law of 215, 237, 240
Thirteen Towers of the temple, Chankillo, Peru 201–3, 201, 202, 203
time:
a very precious 240–1
ancient life and 208–9
ancient measuring of 201–3
arrow of 212–13, 219, 239, 240
clocks 209
controlling 210
cosmic clock 204–5
death of the sun 232–3
demise of our universe 230–1
destiny of stars and 228–41
galactic clock 206–7
glaciers and 210–11, 212–13
human measurement of 208–9, 210
life cycle of the universe 222–7
passage of 200
the beginning of the end 236–9
the last stars 234–5
time travel 44–65
Titov, Gherman 141, 142
Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit 194
trilobites 73, 75
turtles 208, 208
U
UDF-y-38135539 (galaxy) 227
universe:
age of 8, 65
beauty of 8
birth of 8, 9, 65, 66–75 see also Big Bang
clock, cosmic 11, 39, 40–1
demise of 230–9
earliest possible photograph of 70–1
early 70–1, 102–3
expanding 64–5, 68
four forces of nature shape 140
heat death of 239
inflation 71, 106
life cycle of 222–7
our place in the 22–3
recombination 69
simplicity of 112–13
size of 8
timeline of 110–11
what are the building blocks of? 11
why is there a? 10
Ulam, Stanislaw 115, 116
up and down quarks 79, 106, 110, 114, 181, 182, 194
Uraniborg Observatory, near Copenhagen 41, 42
Ursa Major (constellation) 48
V
Vega (star) 100, 101, 231
Venus 87, 96–7, 174
Very Large Array (VLA), New Mexico, U.S. 168, 168
Very Large Telescope (VLT), Paranal Observatory, Chile 27, 120
Victoria Falls, Africa 56, 57, 56–7, 58, 58
Virgo Cluster 24, 148, 149
‘Vomit Comet’ 142, 144–5, 155, 189, 193
Vostock 1 141, 142
Vostock 2 142
Voyager 1 45, 240, 241
Voyager 2 97
Vulcan (hypothetical planet) 186–7, 186–7
W
Watt, James 214
wave equations 36, 37, 37
weak nuclear force 12, 106, 110, 140, 181
weight and mass, differences between 154–5
weightlessness 141, 142, 144–5, 144, 145, 155
white dwarf star 128, 129, 181, 230, 233, 234, 235, 235
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) 70–1, 70
Wilson, Robert 69
Wolf-Rayet star 30–1, 227
wonder, the value of 10–11
X
XX-33 Romeo (hydrogen bomb) 115
Y
Young’s double-slit experiment 34–5
Z
Z Camelopardalis (binary star system) 234, 235, 235
‘ZAMS’ (zero ago main sequence) star 29
zodiacal light 164–5, 164–5
Zwicky 18 (dwarf galaxy) 25, 25
PICTURE CREDITS
The authors and publisher would like to thank Burrell Durrant Hifle for all the CGI images and for their help with the project as well as Jon Murray at UNIT for his help.
All pictures are copyright of the BBC except which credits moved to respective photos.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In writing this book we’d like to thank all of those who were involved in the BBC television production of Wonders of the Universe. We’d especially like to thank Jonathan Renouf and James van der Pool for their commitment and dedication to the series and Stephen Cooter, Michael Lachmann and Chris Holt for transforming such complex content into beautiful television.
We’d like to thank, Rebecca Edwards, Diana Ellis-Hill, Laura Mulholland, Ben Wilson, Kevin White, George McMillan, Chris Openshaw, Darren Jonusas, Peter Norrey, Simon Sykes, Suzie Brand, Louise Salkow, Laura Davey, Paul Appleton, Sheridan Tongue, Julie Wilkinson, Laetitia Ducom, Lydia Delmonte, Daisy Newman, Jane Rundle, Nicola Kingham and the team at BDH and Unit post production.
We’d like to thank Sue Ryder, Professor Jeff Forshaw, Myles Archibald and all the team at Harper Collins for their help and guidance.
We’d like to thank Kevin White for his outstanding photography on location.
Brian would like to thank The University of Manchester and The Royal Society for allowing him the time to make Wonders.
Andrew would like to thank Anna for her endless support in the writing of this book.
About the Author
Professor Brian Cox, OBE is a particle physicist, a Royal Society research fellow, and a professor at the University of Manch
ester as well as researcher on one of the most ambitious experiments on Earth, the ATLAS experiment on the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. He is best known to the public as a science broadcaster and presenter of the hugely popular BBC2 series Wonders of the Solar System and Stargazing Live. He was also the keyboard player in the UK pop band D:Ream in the 1990s.
Andrew Cohen is Head of the BBC Science Unit and the Executive Producer of the BBC2 series Wonders of the Solar System. He began his career in science broadcasting 15 years ago and has produced a wide range of science documentaries including Tomorrow’s World and Horizon. From 2005–10 he was Series Editor of the flagship BBC science strand Horizon. He lives in London with his wife and three children.
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