The universe is truly an impressive, confusing, and complicated place. We live within it, trying to understand it using a variety of theories, concepts, and mathematical models. In this book, three distinguished scientists attempt to explain the mysteries of the universe in a way that nonscientists will be able to understand. Based on a course taught at Princeton University, the authors present the latest thinking on topics such as stars and planets (including why Pluto is not a planet); the evolution of galaxies; black holes; general and special relativity; string theory; time travel; and the future of everything. The text is written in an informal and approachable style, referencing many popular-culture icons. Although it presents some complex mathematical concepts, very little math is required by the reader. This book will open up some of the newest and most sophisticated concepts in astrophysics to a general audience, helping all of us better understand the universe we live in.

An accessible and comprehensive overview of our universe by three eminent astrophysicists, based on an introductory course they have taught at Princeton University.Tyson (Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier, 2012 etc.), the director of the Hayden Planetarium, Strauss (Astrophysics/Princeton Univ.), and Gott (Astrophysics/Princeton Univ.; The Cosmic Web: Mysterious Architecture of the Universe, 2016, etc.) have teamed up to introduce the latest discoveries by modern astrophysicists and the questions currently on their scientific agenda. The 24 chapters of the book are cleanly divided among the three authors. The first section, written primarily by Tyson, takes a big-picture look at the awesome "size and scale of the universe" and what we can now surmise about it from our vantage point here on Earth, based on man's 3,000-year quest to understand it. In the remainder of the book, the authors broaden the focus to consider the origin and subsequent history of the expanding universe. In part two, Strauss looks at how our vision of the universe has been changed by the development of modern radio telescopes and computers powerful enough to analyze the data they collect. "A century ago," he writes, "[astronomers were] determining the dimensions of the Milky Way and our place in it." Copernicus taught us that we are not at the center of the solar system, and today, astronomers are teaching us to accept that our galaxy is not the center of the universe. Strauss notes that with next-generation telescopes, astronomers will be making unanticipated discoveries while revealing the properties of faint galaxies and quasars and mapping the distribution of matter. In the third section, Gott reviews Einstein's theory of relativity and its implications for our potential to become galactic citizens and colonize space. Whatever the future holds, he concludes, our increasing understanding of the universe is in itself "a stunning accomplishment." An entertaining introduction to astronomy.