There's a whole universe out there...
Imagine you had a spacecraft capable of travelling through interstellar space. You climb in, blast into orbit, fly out of the solar system and keep going. Where do you end up, and what do you see along the way?
The answer is: mostly nothing. Space is astonishingly, mind-blowingly empty. As you travel through the void between galaxies your spaceship encounters nothing more exciting than the odd hydrogen molecule. But when it does come across something more exotic: wow!
First and most obviously, stars and planets. Some are familiar from our own backyard: yellow suns, rocky planets like Mars, gas and ice giants like Jupiter and Neptune. But there are many more: giant stars, red and white dwarfs, super-earths and hot Jupiters. Elsewhere are swirling clouds of dust giving birth to stars, and infinitely dense regions of space-time called black holes. These clump together in the star clusters we call galaxies, and the clusters of galaxies we call... galaxy clusters.
And that is just the start. As we travel further we encounter ever more weird, wonderful and dangerous entities: supernovas, supermassive black holes, quasars, pulsars, neutron stars, black dwarfs, quark stars, gamma ray bursts and cosmic strings.
A Journey Through The Universe is a grand tour of the most amazing celestial objects and how they fit together to build the cosmos. As for the end of the journey - nobody knows. But getting there will be fun.
ABOUT THE SERIES
New Scientist Instant Expert books are definitive and accessible entry points to the most important subjects in science; subjects that challenge, attract debate, invite controversy and engage the most enquiring minds. Designed for curious readers who want to know how things work and why, the Instant Expert series explores the topics that really matter and their impact on individuals, society, and the planet, translating the scientific complexities around us into language that's open to everyone, and putting new ideas and discoveries into perspective and context.
Michio Kaku
Steven Pinker
John Ghey
Emma Chapman
Professor Michael Banissy
Adam Rutherford
J. Craig Venter
Rebecca Boyle
Tim Spector
Roberto Trotta
Alom Shaha
Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock
Dr Darragh Ennis
Professor Tim Rocktäschel
Keith Mansfield
Maria Popova
Sara Imari Walker
Marcia Bjornerud
Chelsea Conaboy
Tom Ireland
Peter J. Bentley
Ben Miller
Ernesto Londoño
Joe Miller
Dr Caroline Harper
Tim James
David Miles
Michael Easter
Justin Gregg
Ashley Ward
Sanjay Sarma
Daniel Whiteson
David Ewing Duncan
Robert Levine
Colin Stuart
Sophie Scott
Gemma Lavender
Anna Lembke
Marc Dingman
Joanne Baker
Rhys Charles
Arthur Turrell
Carole Hooven
Emily Mayhew
Heino Falcke
Sarah Gilbert
Emma Young
New Scientist
Guido Tonelli
Stephen M. Fleming
Marco Tedesco
Anna Buckley
Carole Hooven
New Scientist
James Felton
Debora MacKenzie
Gavin Francis
Paul Halpern
Michael Marshall
Kat Arney
Bruce Goldfarb
Carole Hooven
Carole Hooven
Polly Hope
Lytton Smith
Callum Roberts
Fraser MacDonald
Suzi Gage
Gary Small
Emily Johnson
Kit Eaton
Kit Eaton
Kit Eaton
Bradley Mckay
Anna Buckley
Ronald Giphart
New Scientist
Jeff Hawkins
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Helen Gordon
Hannah Critchlow
Katharina Vestre
Scott Grafton
Tom Oliver
Tom Chivers
Josh Clark
Stephen Hawking
Mike Berners Lee
Michael Marshall
Debora MacKenzie
Anja Royne
Eugenia Cheng
Steve Jones
Vybarr Cregan-Reid
New Scientist
Ken Okona-Mensah
Cody Cassidy
Paolo Giordano
Gemma Milne
Emily Oster
Gareth Williams
Carl Safina
Adam Kucharski
Hida Viloria
Catherine Blackledge
Rupert Sheldrake
Elaine Kasket
Angela Gallop
Jon Evans
Theodore Gray
Jonathan Copley
Michael Wall
Catherine Whitlock
Rebecca Smethurst
Stephen Hawking
Zack Scott
New Scientist
James Lovelock
Linda Geddes
Tim James
David Whitehouse
Charles Seife
Eugenia Cheng
Ken Thompson
Iain Sinclair
Richard Wiseman
Adam Becker
Tim Radford
Govert Schilling
Adam Rutherford
Rowan Hooper
Alok Jha
David Edgerton
Cassell
Catherine Whitlock
Newt Gingrich
Edward Bullmore
Nicky Hayes
Paul Parsons
Arnold van de Laar
New Scientist
Rebecca Mileham
Jon Turney
Lia Leendertz
John Clancy
Simon Pulleyn
Kathryn Bruton
Ian Stewart
Emma Byrne
Jonathan Tustain
Joel Levy
Laurel Alexandre
Tim James
Kaja Nordengen
Ben Ambridge
Geoffrey West
Alister McGrath
Rowan Hooper
New Scientist
Beau Lotto
New Scientist
Marcus Chown
James Kakalios
Tom Whipple
New Scientist
Ben Bennett Ikenson
Stewart Ross
Henry Nicholls
Bella Bathurst
Mark Stevenson
Helen Arney
Clegg Brian
Still Ben
Bertil Marklund
Michael D. Gordin
John Wright
Brian Clegg
Paul Halpern
Jim Al-Khalili
Giles Sparrow
Leo Grasset
Andy Brunning
Lliana Bird
Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart
Carin Bondar
David Spiegelhalter
James Kingsland
Matthew Cobb
Chris Goodall
Wallace J. Nichols
Andrea Wulf
Alister McGrath
Steven Hatch
David Whitehouse
Gavin Francis
Ben Miller
Steven Kotler
Richard Elwes
Jon Butterworth
Ken Thompson
Albert Jack
Richard P. Feynman
Tony Juniper
Trevor Norton
Sharon Moalem
Mary Dobson
Michael Brooks
Alan Lightman
Paul Parsons
Mary Dobson
Giles Sparrow
Carlo Massarella
Kevin Fong
Brian Cox
Nick Papadimitriou
Tom Chatfield
Matt Kaplan
Bruce Hood
Richard P. Feynman
Michael Brooks
Richard Restak
Julian Baggini
John Naughton
Paul Parsons
Bryan Appleyard
Alok Jha
Francisco Ayala
Michael Shermer
Hazel Muir
Christopher Barnatt
Alok Jha
Peter Aughton
Leah Kaminsky
Paul Parsons
Douglas Palmer
Henry Hemming
Justin Pollard
Dr Daniel Freeman
Richard P. Feynman
Joanne Baker
Murray Mann-Gell
Christopher Sykes
Steve Mesure
Steve Mesure
Steve Mesure
Sean B. Carroll
Giles Sparrow
Piers Bizony
Paul Parsons
Rita Carter
John J. Ratey
J.P. McEvoy
Charles Foster
Sean B. Carroll
Reto Schneider
Manjit Kumar
Bruce Hood
Sean B. Carroll
Sharon Begley
Robert Crease
Reto Schneider
Nancy Etcoff
J.C. Herz
J.C. Herz
Michio Kaku
Steven Pinker
John Ghey
Emma Chapman
Professor Michael Banissy
Adam Rutherford
J. Craig Venter
Rebecca Boyle
Tim Spector
Roberto Trotta
Alom Shaha
Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock
Dr Darragh Ennis
Professor Tim Rocktäschel
Keith Mansfield
Maria Popova
Sara Imari Walker
Marcia Bjornerud
Chelsea Conaboy
Tom Ireland
Peter J. Bentley
Ben Miller
Ernesto Londoño
Joe Miller
Dr Caroline Harper
Tim James
David Miles
Michael Easter
Justin Gregg
Ashley Ward
Sanjay Sarma
Daniel Whiteson
David Ewing Duncan
Robert Levine
Colin Stuart
Sophie Scott
Gemma Lavender
Anna Lembke
Marc Dingman
Joanne Baker
Rhys Charles
Arthur Turrell
Carole Hooven
Emily Mayhew
Heino Falcke
Sarah Gilbert
Emma Young
New Scientist
Guido Tonelli
Stephen M. Fleming
Marco Tedesco
Anna Buckley
Carole Hooven
New Scientist
James Felton
Debora MacKenzie
Gavin Francis
Paul Halpern
Michael Marshall
Kat Arney
Bruce Goldfarb
Carole Hooven
Carole Hooven
Polly Hope
Lytton Smith
Callum Roberts
Fraser MacDonald
Suzi Gage
Gary Small
Emily Johnson
Kit Eaton
Kit Eaton
Kit Eaton
Bradley Mckay
Anna Buckley
Ronald Giphart
New Scientist
Jeff Hawkins
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Helen Gordon
Hannah Critchlow
Katharina Vestre
Scott Grafton
Tom Oliver
Tom Chivers
Josh Clark
Stephen Hawking
Mike Berners Lee
Michael Marshall
Debora MacKenzie
Anja Royne
Eugenia Cheng
Steve Jones
Vybarr Cregan-Reid
New Scientist
Ken Okona-Mensah
Cody Cassidy
Paolo Giordano
Gemma Milne
Emily Oster
Gareth Williams
Carl Safina
Adam Kucharski
Hida Viloria
Catherine Blackledge
Rupert Sheldrake
Elaine Kasket
Angela Gallop
Jon Evans
Theodore Gray
Jonathan Copley
Michael Wall
Catherine Whitlock
Rebecca Smethurst
Stephen Hawking
Zack Scott
New Scientist
James Lovelock
Linda Geddes
Tim James
David Whitehouse
Charles Seife
Eugenia Cheng
Ken Thompson
Iain Sinclair
Richard Wiseman
Adam Becker
Tim Radford
Govert Schilling
Adam Rutherford
Rowan Hooper
Alok Jha
David Edgerton
Cassell
Catherine Whitlock
Newt Gingrich
Edward Bullmore
Nicky Hayes
Paul Parsons
Arnold van de Laar
New Scientist
Rebecca Mileham
Jon Turney
Lia Leendertz
John Clancy
Simon Pulleyn
Kathryn Bruton
Ian Stewart
Emma Byrne
Jonathan Tustain
Joel Levy
Laurel Alexandre
Tim James
Kaja Nordengen
Ben Ambridge
Geoffrey West
Alister McGrath
Rowan Hooper
New Scientist
Beau Lotto
New Scientist
Marcus Chown
James Kakalios
Tom Whipple
New Scientist
Ben Bennett Ikenson
Stewart Ross
Henry Nicholls
Bella Bathurst
Mark Stevenson
Helen Arney
Clegg Brian
Still Ben
Bertil Marklund
Michael D. Gordin
John Wright
Brian Clegg
Paul Halpern
Jim Al-Khalili
Giles Sparrow
Leo Grasset
Andy Brunning
Lliana Bird
Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart
Carin Bondar
David Spiegelhalter
James Kingsland
Matthew Cobb
Chris Goodall
Wallace J. Nichols
Andrea Wulf
Alister McGrath
Steven Hatch
David Whitehouse
Gavin Francis
Ben Miller
Steven Kotler
Richard Elwes
Jon Butterworth
Ken Thompson
Albert Jack
Richard P. Feynman
Tony Juniper
Trevor Norton
Sharon Moalem
Mary Dobson
Michael Brooks
Alan Lightman
Paul Parsons
Mary Dobson
Giles Sparrow
Carlo Massarella
Kevin Fong
Brian Cox
Nick Papadimitriou
Tom Chatfield
Matt Kaplan
Bruce Hood
Richard P. Feynman
Michael Brooks
Richard Restak
Julian Baggini
John Naughton
Paul Parsons
Bryan Appleyard
Alok Jha
Francisco Ayala
Michael Shermer
Hazel Muir
Christopher Barnatt
Alok Jha
Peter Aughton
Leah Kaminsky
Paul Parsons
Douglas Palmer
Henry Hemming
Justin Pollard
Dr Daniel Freeman
Richard P. Feynman
Joanne Baker
Murray Mann-Gell
Christopher Sykes
Steve Mesure
Steve Mesure
Steve Mesure
Sean B. Carroll
Giles Sparrow
Piers Bizony
Paul Parsons
Rita Carter
John J. Ratey
J.P. McEvoy
Charles Foster
Sean B. Carroll
Reto Schneider
Manjit Kumar
Bruce Hood
Sean B. Carroll
Sharon Begley
Robert Crease
Reto Schneider
Nancy Etcoff
J.C. Herz
J.C. Herz
Michio Kaku
Steven Pinker
John Ghey