Research Catalog

Title

Through a universe darkly : a cosmic tale of ancient ethers, dark matter, and the fate of the universe / Marcia Bartusiak.

Author

Bartusiak, Marcia, 1950-

Publication

New York : HarperCollins, ©1993.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xvi, 383 pages : illustrations; 25 cm

Summary

A compelling adventure and an engrossing history, Through a Universe Darkly introduces the men and women who are peering into the celestial darkness, hoping to uncover the invisible substance whose discovery will unlock the secrets of the universe's composition and finally tell us how galaxies were born, how stars live and die, and whether our universe will end in a conflagration or limp outward to icy nothingness. Faced with the unknown, the world's first philosopher, the ancient Greek Thales, asked, "What is the universe composed of?" And thus started a centuries-long search that has led to the quarks and grand unified theories of modern-day physics. As celestial explorers have relentlessly stretched the boundaries of the star-spangled roof above us, this simple, rudimentary question of what it all is made of continues to perplex astronomers.

Subject

• Dark matter (Astronomy) > Popular works
• Astronomy > Popular works
• Cosmology > Popular works
• Astronomy
• Cosmology
• Dark matter (Astronomy)
• Kosmologie
• Interstellaire materie
• Matière sombre (astronomie) > Histoire

Genre/Form

Popular works.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Earth, Air, Fire, Water -- The Rise and Fall of the Great Ether -- Touching the Heavens -- The Prime Element -- Celestial Alchemy -- It's Raining in Orion -- A Ride into Darkness -- Extraterrestrial Matters -- WIMPs, a Laundry Whitener, and Other Ghostly Visitors -- The Bubbling Universe -- To Catch a Ghost -- Copernicus Revisited.

ISBN

• 0060183101
• 9780060183103

LCCN

92054731

OCLC

• ocm27265728
• 27265728
• SCSB-2001150

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library