INDEX

Italic pages refer to figures and tables

 

Abbott, Edwin, 348

absorption spectra, 84, 87–89, 169, 176, 207–9, 250–51

acceleration: astronaut time (AT) and, 276–82; black holes and, 303–4, 309–10; calculus and, 45; centripetal, 292; as change of velocity/time, 44; Doppler shift and, 64–65, 97, 208–9, 212, 214, 225, 231–32, 235, 245–46, 262, 284–86, 331, 429; Earth and, 49–51, 116, 282; Einstein and, 294; Equivalence Principle and, 290, 292, 298, 310; expansion and, 392, 409; general relativity and, 289–94, 298; gravity and, 23, 47, 49, 52, 116, 158, 294; inflation and, 376–81, 386, 389–92, 398; Moon and, 47–48; Newton’s laws and, 44–52, 116, 259, 264, 289–90, 294; shape of universe and, 350–51; special relativity and, 280, 282; Sun and, 46–47, 116; supernovae and, 389; Twin Paradox and, 280–83

action at a distance, 295–96, 319–20

After Man (Dixon), 417

Albrecht, Andreas, 386

Alcubierre, Miguel, 345

Aldebaran, 120

Aldrin, Buzz, 424

Ali, Muhammad, 260

Alien (film), 165–66

Allen, Chuck, 413–14

Alpert, Mark, 365, 435n1

Alpha Centauri, 59, 94, 125, 280–83, 341–44, 355, 423

alpha particles, 384–85

Alpher, Ralph, 224–25, 228–30, 375, 415

AM Canum Venaticorum stars, 190

American Astronomical Society, 136

American Museum of Natural History, 126

Ampère’s law, 261

Andromeda Galaxy, 127, 195, 198–202, 204, 207–17, 232, 405

angular momentum, 39, 124, 204, 247–48, 314, 317, 319, 337

anisotropies, 235

antimatter, 99, 158–59, 286–87, 289, 319–20, 402, 404

Apache Point Telescope, 250–51

Apollo astronauts, 50, 302, 308, 422, 424

arc second, 58–59

Arcturus, 120

Aristarchus, 37, 59

Aristotle, 37, 50, 115, 269, 290

Armstrong, Neil, 424

asterisms, 30

asteroids, 111, 112, 127–28, 134, 140–44, 148, 164, 253, 355, 416, 423

astronaut time (AT), 276–82

Astronomical Units (AU), 40, 42, 54, 115, 213

Astrophysical Journal, 229, 354

atomic bomb, 103, 259, 269, 287, 413

atomic clocks, 269

atomic number, 103–4

atoms: binding energy and, 86, 103–4; Bohr and, 258; dark matter and, 196 (see also dark matter); density and, 21; early universe and, 222, 227–28, 232–34; electrons and, 81–82 (see also electrons); electron volt (eV) and, 85–86, 103–4; energy levels and, 82–90, 119, 179, 250, 258; fusion and, 99, 102–5, 111, 114–15, 117–18, 121, 158, 181, 222–23; ionization and, 86–88, 107, 113, 228, 233; lives of stars and, 98, 103, 113, 119, 122; neutrons and, 13 (see also neutrons); nuclei, 13, 21–22, 81–85, 98–100, 102–5, 113, 119, 122, 128, 181, 222–27, 234, 240, 287, 302, 327, 350–51, 355, 384–85; number of, 20; photons and, 179 (see also photons); protons and, 21 (see also protons); quantum theory and, 21, 258 (see also quantum theory); quasars and, 245; recombination and, 236–37, 403, 405; scale of universe and, 128; Schrödinger and, 258; size of, 22; spectra and, 81–92, 242, 245; strong nuclear force and, 24, 99, 351, 384–85, 402; weak nuclear force and, 351, 402–3

axions, 232

 

Baade, Walter, 243–44

bacteria, 147, 161, 164–65

Bahcall, John, 5, 245

Bahcall, Neta, 12, 425

Balmer series, 86, 88, 90–92, 179, 242, 258

Barrabès, Claude, 399

barred spiral galaxies, 191

Barrow, Isaac, 257

baryons, 390–91, 407

Bayesian statistics, 418, 421, 436n5

Bayeux Tapestry, 53

Bekenstein, Jacob, 12–13, 20, 314–16, 431

Bell, Jocelyn, 125

Bell Laboratories, 229

Berlin Wall, 411–13, 424

Bessel, Friedrich, 59

Bethe, Hans, 224

Bhagavad Gita, 287

BICEP2, 393

Bienen, Henry, 436n5

Big Bang: beginning of time and, 368–69; black holes and, 250, 312, 327; CMB and, 229 (see also cosmic microwave background (CMB)); early universe and, 222–37, 240; empirical evidence for, 226; energy radiation and, 71; expansion and, 218–21; Friedmann and, 367–73, 375–76; Hayden Planetarium and, 127; as Hoyle term, 218; inflation and, 374–78, 381, 393, 398; Lemaître and, 363, 393–94; origin of all elements and, 224; predictions of model, 226–27; quasars and, 250; relativity and, 415; scale of universe and, 19, 22, 24; shape of universe and, 367–73; spectra and, 81–82; timeline of, 19; uniformity of, 376

Big Crunch, 367–68, 372, 373, 384

Big Dipper, 30–31

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (film), 325

bimodal distribution, 61–62

binary stars, 97, 117, 157

binding energy, 86, 103–4

Binzel, Richard, 136

bismuth, 82

blackbodies, 72–74, 77, 113, 154, 222, 225, 228–31, 375

black holes: acceleration and, 303–4, 309–10; accretion disks and, 247, 249; action at a distance and, 295–96; Bekenstein and, 12–13, 20, 314–16, 431; Big Bang and, 250, 312, 327; Big Crunch and, 368; centers of galaxies and, 249; challenges in detecting, 249; circumferential radius and, 306; collapsing stars and, 100, 247, 302–3, 312–13, 316, 336–37, 398, 401, 432; computer simulations of, 314; cosmic microwave background (CMB) and, 318–19; as cosmic vacuum cleaners, 248; decay and, 314, 317, 407; Doppler shift and, 249; early universe and, 250; Einstein and, 300–303, 314, 317, 319–20; electromagnetism and, 317; electrons and, 317–20; energy density and, 318; entropy and, 315–16, 323, 431; evaporation of, 318–19; event horizons and, 305, 308–20, 337–38, 340, 344, 379–80, 386, 405–7, 431; firewalls and, 319; formation of, 252–53; future of universe and, 401, 403, 405, 407–8; general relativity and, 300–302, 314, 320; geometry and, 300, 306–11, 314, 316; gravity and, 13, 23, 122, 247, 249, 302–4, 314, 403; Hartle-Hawking vacuum and, 318–19, 344; Hawking and, 314–20; Hawking radiation and, 317–19, 340, 406–8; Hubble Space Telescope and, 247–48, 306; inflation and, 380, 398; jet streams of, 247–48; Karl Schwarzschild and, 300–302, 308; Kerr, 314–17, 337–39; lives of stars and, 123; lost information and, 316–17, 319, 431–32; Martin Schwarzschild and, 301–2; mass and, 121, 176, 196, 246–53, 300–311, 314–19, 338, 355, 403, 407–8; mass of, 121, 249–50, 252, 300–301, 303, 308; Mercury and, 300; Milky Way and, 247–49, 251; orbitals and, 314; Penrose and, 317; perturbations and, 300, 314; photons and, 310, 318; Planck length and, 302, 316, 407, 431; point-masses and, 300–301, 303, 309, 311; positrons and, 317–20; quantum theory and, 249, 302, 316–19; red giants and, 302–3; redshift and, 252–53, 318; Schwarzschild radius and, 301–10, 313–15, 318, 401; shape of universe and, 355, 362, 368; singularities and, 302, 305–6, 309–13; solar mass and, 247–49, 252, 303, 305–6, 314–16, 318–19, 338, 355, 403; spacetime and, 300–304, 309–17; spaghettification and, 305–6; speed of light and, 300, 302, 304–6, 309–12, 316; Sun and, 237–50, 300–303, 313; supermassive, 121, 249–50, 252, 303, 308; temperature and, 247, 316–19; thermal, 314, 317–19; tidal forces and, 304, 306; time travel and, 337–41, 344; uncertainty principle and, 316–17, 381, 385, 393, 401, 403, 407; virtual pairs and, 317–18; wavelength and, 318; Wheeler and, 314–15; white dwarfs and, 303; white holes and, 312, 338; worldlines and, 309–13; wormholes and, 311–12, 319–20

blink comparator, 130, 134

BL Lacertae stars, 190

blueshift, 209, 217, 231, 245, 339, 341, 429

blue stars, 90, 93, 96–98, 180, 194, 204

Blumenthal, George, 234

Bode, Johann, 139

Bohr, Neils, 82, 92, 258

Boltzmann, Ludwig, 75, 80

Boltzmann constant, 73

Boötes, 120

Borde, Arvin, 384

Bradley, James, 263

Brahe, Tycho, 35–37, 43, 258

brightness: apparent, 169; eclipses and, 141; energy radiation and, 78–80; inverse-square law and, 78–79, 184, 188; lives of stars and, 116; quasars and, 246 (see also quasars); radio, 168; spectra and, 92; variable stars and, 189–90, 198, 200, 209–11, 213–15

Brokaw, Tom, 413

Brown, Mike, 144

brown dwarfs, 68, 117

bubble universes, 381–88, 394, 396, 402, 408, 431nn1–3

Buller, A.H.R., 326

Burney, Venetia, 130

 

calcium, 88–89, 169, 207

calculus, 40–41, 45, 50, 62, 74–75, 257, 261

Caldwell, Robert, 409

California Institute of Technology (Caltech), 144, 196, 242–44, 320, 334

Callisto, 139, 142

Campbell, W. W., 299

carbon: abundance of, 81–82; early universe and, 224, 251; interstellar medium and, 181; lives of stars and, 99, 102, 105, 119–21; nucleus of, 99; search for life and, 147, 162–63, 169, 410; spectra and, 88

carbon dioxide, 132, 147, 163, 169, 422

Carnegie Observatories, 215–16

Carter, Brandon, 410, 418

Cartesian coordinate system, 278

Cassidy, Michael J., 345

Cassini, Giovanni, 115, 262

Catholic Church, 37

Cauchy horizon, 335–41, 345, 396

Cavendish, Henry, 116

Celsius temperature scale, 69

centripetal acceleration, 292

Cepheid variables, 198, 200, 209–10, 213–15, 392

Ceres, 134, 138–40, 143–44, 355

CERN particle accelerator, 351

Chang, Kenneth, 135–36

chaotic inflation, 387, 393

Charon, 13, 130–31, 137–38, 141–45

Christodoulou, Demetrios, 317

Chronology Protection Conjecture, 345

Circleland, 365, 367

circumferential radius, 306

circumpolar stars, 30

Clairaut, Alexis, 53

Coalsack Nebula, 176, 178

Coat of the Future, 321–22, 323

Cold War, 103, 411–13

Coleman, Sidney, 381–82, 435n2

Colley, Wes, 331

Collins, Michael, 424

colonization, 414, 420–24

color temperature, 68–70

Columbus, Christopher, 31–32

Coma Cluster, 196

comets, 48, 53, 127–28, 131–32, 134, 137, 139–42, 156, 163

computers: apps and, 35; black holes and, 314; blink comparators and, 130; first, 121; human, 93–94; megabytes and, 17; patterns and, 32; power of large, 238; simulations of early universe and, 238–40; supercomputers and, 314

Comte, Auguste, 92

conservation of angular momentum, 39

conservation of charge, 261

conservation of energy, 297, 334, 367, 380

conservation of momentum, 285, 429–30

constellations, 27–33, 57, 59, 92, 120, 123, 186, 189

Contact (film), 165–67

Contact (Sagan), 343

Copernican Principle: Drake equation and, 420; expansion and, 210; future of universe and, 411, 413, 415–16, 420, 422, 435n3; inflation and, 375; search for life and, 165; testing of, 436n5; shape of universe and, 370

Copernicus, Nicolaus, 165; Catholic church and, 37; De Revolutionibus orbium coelestium and, 36; Earth as planet and, 138; expansion and, 210; future of universe and, 411–22; heliocentric theory and, 36–37, 42, 139, 184–85; inflation and, 375; known universe in day of, 183–85; Newton’s laws and, 42–43; night sky and, 36–37; shape of universe and, 370

Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), 230–31, 234–35, 375–76

cosmic distance ladder, 215

cosmic microwave background (CMB): black holes and, 318–19; blueshift and, 231; cosmic strings and, 331; cosmological principle and, 230; dark matter and, 233–37; Doppler shift and, 232; early universe and, 71, 74, 216, 229, 235–40, 252, 318–19, 331, 352–55, 362, 373–76, 381, 386–93, 398, 403, 404–7, 415; expansion and, 216; future of universe and, 404–7, 415; Gibbons and Hawking radiation and, 406–7; Hubble’s law and, 236–37; inflation and, 298, 375–76, 381, 386–92; Lyman series and, 252; Map of the Universe and, 354, 362; Penzias and, 71, 229–30, 373, 375, 415; redshift and, 252; shape of universe and, 352–55, 362, 373; undulations in, 232–36; uniformity of, 230–31, 252–53; Wilson and, 71, 229–30, 373, 375, 415; WMAP and, 235–40

cosmic strings: cosmic microwave background (CMB) and, 331; Cutler and, 334–35, 339; Einstein and, 327, 331; Flatland and, 340, 435n1; general relativity and, 327, 331; gravity and, 331; length of, 328–29; mass of, 330; oscillation of, 331; quasars and, 330; shape of universe and, 351; shortcuts and, 327, 330–32; spacelike separation and, 332; speed of light and, 331; tension of, 331; time travel and, 327–37, 340

cosmic web, 404

Cosmic Web, The (Gott), 381

cosmological constant: as big blunder, 369; as correct, 391; Einstein and, 363–70, 377–78, 380, 389, 391, 393–94, 409–10; future of universe and, 409–10; inflation and, 377–78, 380, 389, 391, 393–94; phantom energy and, 409–10; shape of universe and, 363–70

cosmological models: all possible, 389; closed, 365; Einstein and, 364–65; expansion and, 221; gravity and, 364–65; inflation and, 388–92; parameters of, 388–89; standard, 13, 391

cosmological principle, 225–26, 230, 237–38, 248

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (film), 33

Cosmos (TV series), 165

Cotham, Frank, 164

Coulomb’s law, 261

Crab Nebula, 123–25

Crick, Francis, 352

Curie, Marie, 288

Curtis, Heber, 198, 201

Cutler, Curt, 334–35, 339

cyanobacteria, 147, 161–62

Cygnus X-1, 355

 

dark energy: decay and, 402; early universe and, 236; future of universe and, 402, 405, 408–10; inflation and, 236, 389–92, 398; shape of universe and, 364–65, 370; slow-roll, 409; standard cosmological model and, 13

dark matter: amount of, 13, 195; axions and, 232; composition of, 222, 232–34; cosmic microwave background (CMB) and, 233–37; early universe and, 222, 232–34, 236–37; gravitational lensing and, 253; gravitinos and, 234; inferred existence of, 243; inflation and, 388, 390–91; Milky Way and, 195–96; photinos and, 232; selectrons and, 232; shape of universe and, 351; standard cosmological model and, 13; supersymmetry and, 232; Zwicky and, 196, 243–44

d’Arrest, Heinrich Louis, 53

Davis, Marc, 230

decay: asymmetric, 402, 404; beryllium to lithium, 224; black holes, 314, 317, 407; dark energy, 402; fission and, 287; gravitinos, 234; Hawking radiation and, 407; muons, 268–69; neutrons, 223; protons, 223, 403, 407; quantum theory and, 403; radioactivity and, 103, 114, 218, 226, 351, 384; timescale for, 407; uranium, 114, 384–85; vacuum energy, 328, 381–82, 403

density wave, 194

deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), 22, 66, 161, 213, 352

De Revolutionibus orbium coelestium (Copernicus), 36

de Sitter, Willem, 378, 380, 382–85, 393–99, 405–6

deuterium, 99, 117, 158, 223–25, 227, 233, 240, 375, 404

deuterons, 223–24

Deutsch, David, 326

Dewdney, A., 435n2

Dewynne, J. N., 436n5

Dicke, Robert, 228–29, 375, 410

differential calculus, 45

distance: action at, 295–96, 319–20; arc second and, 58–59; Astronomical Unit (AU), 40, 42, 54, 115, 213; Cepheid variables and, 198, 200, 209–10, 213–15, 392; co-moving, 250; Copernican Principle and, 165, 210, 370, 375, 411, 413, 415–16, 420, 422, 435n3, 436nn3,4; cosmic distance ladder and, 215; geometry and, 39, 58; Hubble’s law and, 210–17, 220, 236–37; light-year and, 54, 58–59; parallax and, 55–60, 115, 213–14, 262, 434n1; parsec and, 58–59, 159, 215, 218; redshift and, 208 (see also redshift)

distribution functions, 60–62, 67, 73

Dixon, Dougal, 417

Dog Star (Sirius), 29

Doppler, Christian, 208

Doppler shift, 97, 331; black holes and, 249; derivation of E = mc2 and, 428–29; early universe and, 225, 231–32, 235; energy radiation and, 64–65; expansion and, 208–9, 212, 214; quasars and, 245–46; relativity and, 262, 284–86; speed of sound and, 208

Drake equation, 147–49, 157–60, 162, 165–69, 193, 420

Druyan, Ann, 165, 166

Dumbbell Nebula, 119, 120

dwarf planet, 144

Dysnomia, 144

Dyson, Freeman, 406

 

E = hν, 67, 83, 84, 259–60, 284, 286, 401, 427, 429

E = mc2: conservation of momentum and, 429–30; derivation of, 427–30; Doppler shift and, 428–29; future of universe and, 401–2; mass-energy relationship and, 9, 99, 101–2, 115, 158, 223, 259–60, 269, 284–86, 318, 401–2, 427–30

early universe: Alpher and, 224–25, 228–30; atoms and, 222, 227–28, 232–34; Big Bang and, 222–37, 240; blackbodies and, 222, 225, 228–31; black holes and, 250; carbon and, 224, 251; computer simulations of, 238–40; cosmic microwave background (CMB) and, 71, 74, 216, 229, 235–40, 252, 318–19, 331, 352–55, 362, 373–76, 381, 386–93, 398, 403, 404–7, 415; cosmological principle and, 225–26, 230, 237–38, 248; dark energy and, 236; dark matter and, 222, 232–34, 236–37; deuterium and, 223–25, 227, 233, 240; deuterons and, 223–24; Dicke and, 228–29; Doppler shift and, 225, 231–32, 235; electrons and, 222–23, 227–28, 233–34; formation of structure in, 232–33; fusion and, 222–23; future of universe and, 404–5; Gamow and, 224–25, 228, 374–75; gravity and, 232–34, 238, 240; helium and, 223–27, 233, 240; Herman and, 225, 228–30; Hoyle and, 224, 226–27, 230; hydrogen and, 11, 223–25, 227–28, 232, 240, 403, 404–5; iron and, 224; mass and, 223, 226, 232, 234; microwaves and, 229; Milky Way and, 232–39; neutrons and, 222–24, 227, 233–34; oxygen and, 224; Peebles and, 228–30, 232–35, 243, 409; Penzias and, 71, 229–30, 373, 375, 415; photons and, 222, 225, 227–28, 233–34, 236; plasma and, 227; positrons and, 222–23, 227; protons and, 222–24, 227–28, 233–34; quantum theory and, 403–4; quark soup and, 403; quasars and, 245–46, 250; recombination and, 236–37, 403, 405; redshift and, 225, 228, 231, 237–38; Roll and, 228–29; scattering and, 227–28, 233–34, 236; silicon and, 224; spectra and, 238; speed of light and, 231; Sun and, 222–23, 226–27, 231–32; temperature and, 24, 219–20, 222–31, 235, 237, 240; thermal radiation and, 228, 231; water and, 222; wavelength and, 225, 228–29, 231, 250–53; Wilkinson and, 228–32, 235; Wilson and, 71, 229–30, 373, 375, 415

Earth: acceleration and, 49–51, 116, 282; age of, 95, 114–15, 227; angular momentum of, 248; asteroid hitting, 148; Astronomical Unit (AU) and, 40, 42, 115, 213; atmosphere of, 90, 112–13, 147, 152, 154, 176; axis of, 11, 26–27, 30; center of, 47, 51, 116, 294, 355; as center of universe, 184, 210; circumference of, 115; Copernican Principle and, 165, 210, 370, 375, 411, 413, 415–16, 420, 422, 435n3, 436nn4,5; crust of, 137; diameter of, 135, 140, 151, 186; distance to Mars, 115; distance to Sun, 21, 115–16; end of life on, 118; energy radiation and, 54–62, 77, 80; equator of, 238, 291–95, 308, 352–55, 365; equilibrium temperature and, 153–54; equinox and, 30; formation of, 146–47; gravity and, 23, 46, 49, 51–52, 111, 192; great circle and, 18, 291–94; half-illumination from Sun and, 33; heat from Sun, 29, 153; iron and, 181; Kepler’s laws and, 37–41; life on, 146–65, 169, 403, 416–17, 419–23; major elements of, 82, 224; mantle of, 355; Map of the Universe and, 355; mass of, 48–49, 116, 135, 137–38, 194, 302, 392, 432; Moon and, 131 (see also Moon); Newton’s laws and, 42–52, 130; night sky and, 26–40; Northern Hemisphere and, 28–31, 173, 186, 308; official IAU listing of planets and, 144; orbit of, 11, 26–27, 34, 37, 42–46, 51, 55, 57–58, 80, 115, 128, 137–38, 153, 156, 193, 210, 213, 218, 232, 248, 262, 270–72, 283; planetary family of, 132, 141; polar caps of, 27–28, 30; radius of, 115–16, 388; relativity and, 262–66, 269–83, 289–98; Rose Center display and, 129, 135; rotation of, 32; scale of universe and, 18–25, 110; size of, 133, 185; solstice and, 28; Southern Hemisphere of, 28, 30, 173, 186; speed of sound on, 208; surface of, 21, 23, 28–29, 47, 51, 113–16, 153–54, 158, 161, 169, 270, 290, 295, 327, 355, 394; temperature of, 78, 135; time travel and, 324, 327–31, 341–43; wobble of, 32–33, 137–38

eccentricity, 38, 134, 156–57

eclipses, 34–35, 92, 115, 130, 141, 260, 262, 298–99

Eddington, Arthur, 260, 299

Efron, Bradley, 257

Einstein, Albert, 12; action at a distance and, 295–96, 319–20; anecdotes about, 259–60; atomic bombs and, 259; black holes and, 300–303, 314, 317, 319–20; cosmic strings and, 327, 331; cosmological constant and, 363–70, 377–78, 380, 389, 391, 393–94, 409–10; cosmological principle and, 225–26, 230, 237–38, 248; curved spacetime and, 260 (see also spacetime); deflection prediction of, 260; E = hν and, 67, 83, 84, 259–60, 284, 286, 401, 427, 429; E = mc2 and, 9, 99, 101–2, 115, 158, 223, 259–60, 269, 284–86, 318, 401–2, 427–30; eclipse of 1919 and, 298–99; education of, 260–61; electromagnetism and, 261; Equivalence Principle and, 290, 292, 298, 310; expansion and, 220; field equations of, 296–98, 300–301, 314, 323, 327, 331, 337, 367, 369, 375, 378, 402; Flatland and, 365; future of universe and, 402–3, 405, 409–10, 417; general relativity and, 11 (see also general relativity); genius of, 257–60, 289; gravitational waves and, 402–3; inflation and, 375–78, 383, 389, 391–95; influence of, 258, 288, 299; Kerr and, 314; lasers and, 259, 317, 403; Maxwell and, 261, 349; Michelson-Morley experiment and, 265–66; Minkowski and, 270; Newton and, 257–60, 296–98; Nobel Prize in Physics and, 260; photoelectric effect and, 260; photon energy and, 67; pressure/energy density ratio and, 391; Riemann curvature tensors and, 2, 295–96, 301, 434nn1,2; Roosevelt letter of, 259, 287; shape of universe and, 347–52, 355, 362–70; special relativity and, 101, 260, 264, 270–87, 300–301, 326, 347, 371, 377, 380; speed of light and, 263–64; static model of, 362–65, 369, 393; thought experiments of, 263–65, 273, 275, 280, 285–86; 3-sphere geometry and, 365–67; time travel and, 323, 326–27, 331, 337, 339, 341, 345–46; uniform motion and, 264, 280

Einstein-Rosen bridge, 320

electric fields, 261–62, 290, 320, 350

electromagnetism: black holes and, 317; Einstein and, 261; energy radiation and, 66, 406; fields and, 290; Hertz and, 263; inflation and, 375, 377, 381, 399; lives of stars and, 125; Maxwell and, 11, 261–65, 290, 296–97, 349–50, 402; photons and, 402–3 (see also photons); radio telescopes and, 241; relativity and, 290, 294, 297; shape of universe and, 348–52; time travel and, 330

electrons: binding energy and, 86, 103–4; black holes and, 317–20; early universe and, 222–23, 227–28, 233–34; energy levels and, 82–90, 119, 179, 250, 258; ground state and, 82–84, 86, 91, 250; inflation and, 402; interstellar medium and, 179; ionization and, 86–88, 107, 113, 228, 233; lives of stars and, 98–99, 103, 107, 113, 119, 122; orbitals and, 21, 82–85, 92, 162; positrons and, 99, 222–23, 227, 317–20, 402, 403, 407; quantum theory and, 83–84; recombination and, 236–37, 403, 405; relativity and, 266, 268, 299; selectrons and, 232; shape of universe and, 350–51; spectra and, 81–92; time travel and, 324; weak force and, 402–3

electron shell, 81

electron volt (eV), 85–86, 103–4

electrostatic forces, 24, 98–99, 261, 385

Elements in the Theory of Astronomy, The (textbook), 139–40

eleven dimensions, 351–52, 397–98

elliptical galaxies, 202, 204, 248–49, 303

elliptical orbits: Kepler and, 37–42, 53, 156, 196, 297; planetary motion and, 37–42, 53, 131, 134, 156, 196, 271, 297

emission lines, 90, 179, 242, 245–46, 250–51

emission nebulae, 90, 179–80

e (natural logarithm), 73

endothermic process, 103–4

energy density: as attractive force, 364; black holes and, 318; future of universe and, 405, 408–9; inflation and, 377–81, 384, 386–91, 394; radiation and, 76; relativity and, 434n2; shape of universe and, 362–64; slow-roll dark energy and, 409; spacetime and, 76, 318, 327, 340, 344, 362–64, 377–81, 384–91, 394, 405, 408–9, 434n2; time travel and, 327, 340, 344

energy levels, 119, 179; equilibrium and, 85, 89, 153; excited electrons and, 81–92; ground state and, 82–84, 86, 91, 250; ionization and, 86–88, 107, 113, 228, 233; Paschen series and, 86, 90–92; relativity and, 258

Englert, François, 327–28

entropy, 315–16, 323, 431

equator, Earth’s, 238, 291–95, 308, 352–55, 365

equilibrium, 407; energy levels and, 85, 89, 153; gravity and, 112–13, 122, 189; internal stellar pressure and, 112–13, 122, 189; static, 144; thermal, 376, 380

Equivalence Principle, 290, 292, 298, 310

Eratosthenes, 115

Eris, 141, 144, 355

ET (film), 165–66

Euclidean geometry, 58, 278, 290–92, 330, 365–66, 371, 387

Europa, 139–40, 142–43, 160

event horizon: firewalls and, 319; future of universe and, 405–7; Hawking radiation and, 406; inflation and, 379–80, 386; Planck length and, 431; spacetime and, 305, 308–20, 337–38, 340, 344, 379–80, 386, 405–7, 431; time travel and, 337–38, 340, 344

exoplanets, 149–51, 362

exothermic process, 102–4

expansion: acceleration and, 392, 409; Big Bang and, 218–21; Big Crunch and, 367–68, 372, 373, 384; Copernican Principle and, 210; cosmic distance ladder and, 215; cosmological constant and, 362–70, 377–78, 380, 389, 391, 393–94, 409–10; cosmological models and, 221; cosmological principle and, 225–26, 230, 237–38, 248; decreasing density and, 219–20; Doppler effect and, 208–9, 212, 214; general relativity and, 212, 220–21; geometry and, 216, 221; gravity and, 217, 232–34, 238; Hubble and, 207–20, 363, 367, 369–70, 373; isotropy and, 367, 375, 380, 415; luminosity and, 213–14; main sequence stars and, 214, 219; mass and, 207, 219; Milky Way and, 209–12, 217, 221; nebulae and, 207, 209; photons and, 221; recombination and, 236–37, 403, 405; redshift and, 207–11, 213, 215, 225, 228, 231, 237–38, 242–53, 284, 318, 353, 375, 379, 389, 393, 405, 428; Slipher and, 209; spectra and, 208–9; speed of light and, 208–9, 212, 408; temperature and, 207, 214, 219–20; variable stars and, 209–11, 213–15; wavelength and, 208–9, 250; white dwarfs and, 242

exponential measurement, 17, 74, 379, 381, 394, 406, 408

extraterrestrials, 148, 156, 161, 165, 167–68, 185, 212, 312, 405, 419–20, 433n1

 

Fan, Xiaohui, 250

Faraday’s law, 261

Feynman, Richard, 326

firewall, 319

first-quarter Moon, 34–35

fission, 103–4, 287

Flatland: Circleland and, 365, 367; cosmic strings and, 340, 435n1; Einstein and, 365; inflation and, 398; Lineland and, 348–49, 351, 365; shape of universe and, 347–49, 365, 371; Sphereland and, 365; time travel and, 340

Flatland (Abbott), 348

Foreman, George, 260

Foster, Jodie, 166–67, 433n1

four-dimensional universe: Euclidean geometry and, 366; inflation and, 394–95; Kaluza-Klein dimensions and, 349–50, 352, 397; relativity and, 270–76, 290, 296, 324, 326, 349, 366, 394–95, 434n1; time travel and, 324, 326

Freedman, Wendy, 215–16

frequency, 65–67, 84, 208, 259, 284–85, 400–401, 427–29

friction, 44, 51, 65, 247, 308

Friedmann, Alexander: Big Bang and, 367–76; Einstein and, 369, 375; football spacetime of, 367–70, 376–77, 381; inflation and, 374–78, 381–83, 386, 388–89, 393; shape of universe and, 367–73; 3-sphere geometry and, 365–67, 370, 373, 374–75, 378–79, 382–83, 388–89, 394

Frolov, Valeri, 399

full Moon, 30, 34–35, 109

FU Orionis stars, 190

fusion: early universe and, 222–24; as energy source, 121; future of universe and, 403–4; heavy elements and, 181; helium and, 158; hydrogen and, 118, 158, 287; lives of stars and, 99, 102–5, 111, 114–15, 117–18, 121, 123; strong nuclear force and, 99

future of universe: black holes and, 401, 403, 405, 407–8; colonization and, 414, 420–24; Copernican Principle and, 411, 413, 415–16, 420, 422; cosmic microwave background (CMB) and, 404–7, 415; cosmological constant and, 409–10; dark energy and, 402, 405, 408–10; Drake equation and, 420; E = mc2 and, 401–2; early universe and, 404–5; Einstein and, 402–3, 405, 409–10, 417; energy density and, 405, 408–9; event horizon and, 405–7; general relativity and, 402, 415; gravitational waves and, 402–3, 406; Hawking on, 423; helium and, 403, 404; inflation and, 402, 404, 408–9; intelligent lineage and, 417, 436n4; longevity measurement and, 411–24; phantom energy and, 409–10; photons and, 400–406; Planck density and, 401; Planck mass and, 401; Planck time and, 401, 403; recombination and, 403, 405; singularities and, 401, 409; spacetime and, 401–2, 405, 418, 428–29; temperature and, 403, 405–7; thermal radiation and, 402–3, 406; timeline for, 400, 403, 413, 420; vacuum energy and, 408–9; white dwarfs and, 403, 405, 407

 

Gaia spacecraft, 434n1

galactic equator, 173, 236

galactic plane, 185–86, 313

galaxies: Andromeda, 127, 195, 198–202, 204, 207–17, 232, 405; barred spiral, 191; Big Crunch and, 367–68, 372, 373, 384; blueshift and, 209, 217, 231, 245, 339, 341, 429; Cepheid variables and, 198, 200, 209–10, 213–15, 392; Coma Cluster and, 196; cosmological principle and, 225–26, 230, 237–38, 248; dark matter and, 243 (see also dark matter); distances between, 202, 204; dust and, 197, 201–2, 204; early universe and, 222–40; elliptical, 202, 204, 248–49, 303; expansion and, 207–21; future of universe and, 400–424; galactic plane and, 185–86, 313; Geller-Huchra Great Wall and, 355, 362; gravitational lensing and, 244, 253, 313, 330–31, 391; halos of, 192; Hubble and, 198, 200–202, 207; intergalactic space and, 21, 204, 227; irregular, 202; as island universes, 198, 200; Local Group and, 127; luminosity and, 200; M31, 355; M51, 105–6; M81, 355; M87, 248, 306–8, 355; Magellanic Clouds and, 125, 137, 187, 188, 202; Map of the Universe and, 354–62; Milky Way, 127 (see also Milky Way); nebulae and, 197–201; Pinwheel, 198, 199, 201–2; quasars and, 244–46 (see also quasars); red giants and, 197; redshift and, 207–11, 213, 215, 225, 228, 231, 237–38, 242–53, 284, 318, 353, 375, 379, 389, 393, 405, 428; RR Lyraes and, 189–90, 198; Sloan Great Wall and, 238, 353, 362; spectra and, 207–8, 238, 244; spiral, 105–6, 111, 190–92, 194, 197–201, 204, 214, 245, 249; static model of, 362–65, 369, 393; Sombrero, 202, 203, Subaru, 362; Sun and, 204, 210, 213, 217–19; Tadpole, 204–5; temperature and, 201; variable stars and, 189–90, 198, 200, 209–11, 213–15

Galileo, 44, 46, 50, 125, 137, 140, 175, 183, 198, 232

Galle, Johann Gottfried, 53

gamma rays, 63, 66–67, 73, 125, 222, 263, 319, 339, 362

Gamow, George: cosmological constant and, 369; early universe and, 224–25, 228; future of universe and, 404, 415; inflation and, 374–75, 384–85, 391; quantum tunneling and, 392–95

Ganymede, 139–40, 142

gas clouds, 24, 82, 85, 89–91, 96, 105, 107, 163, 179

Gauss, Carl Friedrich, 296, 371

Geller, Margaret J., 355, 362

Geller-Huchra Great Wall, 355, 362

general relativity: acceleration and, 289–94, 298; action at a distance and, 295–96; black holes and, 300–302, 314, 320; cosmic strings and, 327, 331; cosmology and, 362–63; eclipse of 1919 and, 298–99; Equivalence Principle and, 290, 292, 298, 310; expansion and, 212, 220–21; four-dimensional universe and, 290, 296, 324, 326, 347, 349, 366, 394–95, 434n1; future of universe and, 402, 415; GPS and, 11; gravity and, 244, 260, 289–90, 292, 294–99, 402–3; great circle and, 291–94; inflation and, 380, 386, 396–99; interstellar medium and, 182; mass and, 289, 294–98; quantum theory and, 339; Riemann curvature tensors and, 295–96; shape of universe and, 349–50, 362–63, 367, 369–70, 435n1; spacetime and, 289–98; speed of light and, 296; time travel and, 283, 321, 323, 327, 331, 334, 339, 341, 345–46; verification of, 11; Wheeler and, 314; worldlines and, 294–95, 297

geometry: arc second and, 58–59; black holes and, 300, 306–11, 314, 316; cosmic strings and, 327–33, 336–37, 340, 351, 435n1; distance and, 39, 58; DNA and, 352; Euclidean, 58, 278, 290–92, 330, 365–66, 371, 387; expansion and, 216, 221; four-dimensional universe and, 270–76, 290, 296, 324, 326, 347, 349, 366, 394–95, 434n1; great circle and, 18, 291–94; inflation and, 383, 386–87, 393–94; Kepler and, 39; relativity and, 270, 278, 290–92, 294, 296; shape of universe and, 362, 364–65, 367, 371, 405, 435n1; spacetime and, 260, 270–76, 280–81, 285–86, 289–98, 401 (see also spacetime); 3-sphere geometry and, 365–70, 373, 374, 378–79, 382–83, 388–89, 394; time travel and, 327, 329–30, 332–33, 343

George III, king of England, 138–39

Gibbons, Gary, 403, 405–7

Glashow, Sheldon, 351

Gliese 581, 100

globular clusters, 96–97, 127, 168, 184–91, 214, 219

Gödel, Kurt, 341

Google, 20, 354

googol, 20

googolplex, 20

Gott, J. Richard, 11, 12, 13, 122, 411; Berlin Wall and, 411–13, 424; black holes and, 300–320; Coat of the Future of, 321–22, 323; cosmic strings and, 327–341; future of universe and, 400–424; Guinness Book of Records and, 362; Hubble constant and, 216; inflation and, 374–99; Map of the Universe and, 354–62; relativity and, 257–99; shape of universe and, 347–73; time travel and, 321–46; undergraduate course of, 12; Zwicky and, 244

Gott-Li model, 396–98

Gould, Stephen Jay, 417

grandmother paradox, 324–26

gravitational instability, 232, 238, 240

gravitational lens, 244, 253, 313, 330–31, 391

gravitational mass, 289

gravitational waves: black holes and, 13, 314, 403; cosmic strings and, 331; Einstein and, 402–3; existence of, 403; future of universe and, 402–3, 406; inflation and, 393; interstellar medium and, 182; LIGO and, 13, 314–15, 331, 402–3, 406; Maxwell and, 402; pulsars and, 355

gravitinos, 232

gravity, 13; acceleration and, 23, 47, 49, 52, 116, 158, 294; black holes and, 23, 122, 247, 249, 302–4; cosmic strings and, 331; cosmological constant and, 363–70, 377–78, 380, 389, 391, 393–94, 409–10; cosmological models and, 364–65; curved spacetime and, 260 (see also spacetime); dark matter and, 234 (see also dark matter); early universe and, 232–34, 238; Earth and, 23, 46, 49, 51–52, 111, 192; equilibrium and, 112–13, 122, 189; Equivalence Principle and, 290, 292, 298, 310; expansion and, 217, 232–34, 238; general relativity and, 260, 289–90, 292, 294–99; great circle and, 291–94; inflation and, 376, 392, 398; interstellar medium and, 180; inverse-square law and, 47, 49, 79, 116, 125, 168, 188, 213, 243; Kepler’s law and, 37–39; Lagrange points and, 144; lives of stars and, 104, 107, 111–19, 122, 156, 197; Mars and, 422; measuring, 3; Milky Way and, 189, 192–95, 204; Newton’s laws and, 41–45, 79, 82, 97, 192–93, 195, 246, 259, 264, 302; perturbations and, 53, 131, 160, 300, 314; Planet X and, 130–31; Pluto and, 134, 144; quantum, 339, 341, 345, 398, 402; Schwarzschild radius and, 301–10, 313, 315, 318, 401; self-gravitating objects and, 111–12; shape of universe and, 349–52, 363; singularities and, 302, 305–6, 309–13, 337–40, 344, 368, 381, 396, 399, 401, 409; spaghettification and, 305–6, 339; special relativity and, 282–83; static model and, 362–65, 369, 393; Sun and, 32, 111, 114–15; supernovae and, 100, 106–7, 121–25, 181, 216, 219, 243–44, 247, 252–53, 362, 389–92; temperature and, 134; tidal forces and, 118, 151, 160, 192, 204, 304, 306, 337, 339; time travel and, 339, 341, 345; universal law of, 40–41, 48–49; Uranus and, 53

great circle, 18, 291–94

Great Dark Spot, 133

Great Red Spot, 133

Great Wall of China, 413

Greeks, 37, 39, 59–60

greenhouse effect, 132, 147, 154–57, 169

Greenstein, Jesse, 243

Greenwich Mean Time, 355, 367

G stars, 100, 151–52, 155, 156

guest star, 123–24

Guinness Book of Records, 362

Gunn, Jim, 244, 252

Guth, Alan, 376–82, 388

 

Hale-Bopp, 433n1

half-Moon, 34–35

Halley, Edmund, 48, 53

H-alpha protons, 87, 90, 179

Hamlet (Shakespeare), 287–88

Hartle, James, 319, 394

Hartle-Hawking vacuum, 318–19, 344

Harvard College Observatory, 93

Hawking, Stephen: Bekenstein and, 12–13; black holes and, 314–20; bubble universes and, 386; Cauchy horizon and, 340; Chronology Protection Conjecture and, 345; on future of universe, 423; inflation and, 386, 394; intelligence of, 107; no boundary condition and, 394–95; Planck length and, 431; The Theory of Everything and, 12, 320; time travel and, 336, 340, 344–45

Hawking radiation, 317–19, 340, 406–8

Hawking temperature, 403, 406–7

Hayden Planetarium, 11

heavy elements, 105, 123, 181, 219, 224

Heisenberg, Werner, 316–17, 381, 385, 393

heliocentric theory, 36–37, 42, 139, 184–85

helium, 24; alpha particles and, 384–85; early universe and, 223–27, 233, 240; fusion and, 158; HR diagram and, 189; interstellar medium and, 181; Jupiter and, 133; lives of stars and, 99–105, 118–21; ppn nucleus, 99–100, 105; spectra and, 81–82, 99; Sun and, 121, 134, 181, 287; timeline of universe and, 403, 404

Helmholtz, Hermann von, 114, 117

Herman, Robert, 225, 228–30, 375, 415

Herschel, William, 62–63, 138, 140, 183–84

Hertz, Heinrich, 263

Hertzsprung, Ejnar, 93–94, 184

Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram, 93–96, 98, 100, 121, 160, 189, 207, 219

Hewish, Antony, 125

Higgs, Peter, 327–28

Higgs boson, 13, 327, 351, 402

Higgs field, 327, 351, 377, 384, 402

Higgs vacuum, 408

Hiscock, William, 327

Hitler, Adolf, 287

Holst, Sören, 340

Homo sapiens, 410, 413, 416–17, 420, 436n4

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming (Brown), 144

Hoyle, Fred, 218, 224, 226–27, 230, 248

Hubble, Edwin, 92; Andromeda and, 214; Cepheid variables and, 198–99, 210, 214; death of, 215; early universe and, 226; expansion and, 207–20, 363, 367, 369–70, 373; galaxies and, 198, 200–202, 207; isotropy and, 367, 375, 380, 415; Leavitt and, 200; redshift and, 209–10, 250, 393; scale of universe and, 226; shape of universe and, 367; universal uniformity and, 226

Hubble constant, 210, 215–16, 218, 227, 242–43, 388, 390, 392

Hubble expansion, 217, 363, 369–70, 373

Hubble’s law, 210–17, 220, 236–37

Hubble Space Telescope, 13; black holes and, 247–48, 306; clarity of, 59, 215; distance of galaxies and, 210; Freedman and, 215–16; long exposures of galaxies and, 206; Map of the Universe and, 352, 355; Neptune’s Great Dark Spot and, 133; orbit of, 51; Pluto and, 130; quasars and, 244–45, 253; as reflecting telescope, 259; resolution of, 159; Sandage and, 215–16; scale of universe and, 108–9; Spitzer and, 121

Hubble Ultra-Deep Field, 108–9

Huchra, John, 355, 362

Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar, 182, 355, 402

Humason, Milton, 210

Huygens, Christiaan, 262–63

hydrogen: abundance of, 81; Balmer lines and, 86, 88, 90–92, 179, 242, 258; Cavendish and, 116; cosmic clouds and, 82; deuterium, 99, 117, 158, 223–25, 227, 233, 240, 375, 404; early universe and, 11, 223–25, 227–28, 232, 240, 403, 404–5; fusion and, 158, 287; HR diagram and, 189; in human body, 11; interstellar medium and, 176, 179, 181; Jupiter and, 133; lives of stars and, 94, 98–107, 116–18, 121, 407; Lyman series and, 86, 91–92, 250, 252; periodic table and, 24; quantum understanding of, 258; quasars and, 250–52; scale of universe and, 128; as simplest atom, 21; spectra and, 81–92, 250; structure of, 21; Sun and, 94, 134, 217, 223, 227, 287

hyperbolic universe, 371–73, 382–83

 

inertia, 43–44, 289

inflation: acceleration and, 376–81, 386, 389–92, 398; Big Bang and, 374–78, 381, 393, 398; Big Crunch and, 384; black holes and, 380, 398; bubble universes and, 381–88, 394, 396, 402, 408, 431nn1–3; chaotic, 387, 393; cosmic microwave background (CMB) and, 298, 375–76, 381, 386–92; cosmological constant and, 377–78, 380, 389, 391, 393–94; cosmological models and, 388–92; dark energy and, 236, 389–92, 398; dark matter and, 388, 390–91; de Sitter spacetime and, 378, 380, 382–85, 393–99, 405–6; Einstein and, 375–78, 383, 389, 391–95; electromagnetism and, 375, 377, 381, 399; electrons and, 402; energy density and, 377–81, 384, 386–91, 394; event horizon and, 379–80, 386; Flatland and, 398; four-dimensional universe and, 394–95; Friedmann and, 374–78, 381–83, 386, 388–89, 393; future of universe and, 402, 404, 408–9; general relativity and, 380, 386, 396–99; geometry and, 383, 386–87, 393–94; Gott-Li model and, 396–98; gravity and, 376, 392–93, 398; Guth and, 376–82, 388; Hawking and, 386, 394; Higgs field and, 377, 384; high-density vacuum state and, 380–82, 399; Kaluza-Klein dimensions and, 397; mass and, 302, 390; mechanisms for beginning, 398–99; M-theory and, 397–98; multiverse and, 382–84, 386–87, 397–99, 402, 409; neutrons and, 384, 390; no boundary condition and, 394–95; photons and, 374–75; pressure/energy density ratio and, 391; quantum theory and, 381, 384–87, 393–96, 398–99; redshift and, 375, 379, 389, 393; singularities and, 381, 384, 396, 399; spacetime and, 376–83, 388, 393–98; speed of light and, 374–75, 378–80, 382, 386, 393; surface of constant epoch and, 382; temperature and, 375–77, 387; thermal radiation and, 374–75; 3-sphere geometry and, 374–75, 378–79, 382–83, 388–89, 394; vacuum energy and, 377–92; wavelength and, 375; worldlines and, 378, 379–81

information: Bekenstein limit and, 13; black holes and, 316–17, 319, 431–32; Planck length and, 431; time travel and, 323

infrared (IR) light: greenhouse effect and, 154; interstellar medium and, 176–77; mapping Milky Way and, 186–88, 196; quasars and, 250, 252–53; radiation and, 29, 62–70, 75, 77–78, 86, 90, 117, 153–54, 161, 176–77, 186–88, 196, 250, 252–53, 263, 406; search for life and, 161; thermal radiation and, 153–54

integral calculus, 50, 62, 257, 261

internal pressure, 112–13, 115, 189

International Astronomical Union (IAU), 13, 137, 144

International Space Station (ISS), 52, 283, 355

Interstellar (film), 342

interstellar medium: carbon and, 181; dust and, 176–81; electrons and, 179; gravity and, 180, 182; helium and, 181; hydrogen and, 176, 179, 181; lives of stars and, 105; mass and, 176, 180–82; Milky Way and, 173–82; nebulae and, 176–81; neutrons and, 181; opaqueness of, 176; oxygen and, 176, 179, 181; photons and, 179; red giants and, 181; silicon and, 181; Sun and, 180–96; telescopes and, 174, 180; 2MASS and, 176, 188; visible light and, 176; wavelength and, 176–79

inverse-square law: brightness and, 78–79, 184, 188; distance and, 116, 125, 188, 213, 243; gravity and, 79; luminosity and, 116, 125, 168, 213, 243; Newton and, 47, 49, 79, 116, 125, 168, 188, 213, 243

Io, 139

ionization, 86–88, 107, 113, 228, 233

iron: early universe and, 224; Earth and, 181; lives of stars and, 102–5, 107, 120, 123; nuclear energy and, 287; Sun’s core and, 132; Vesta and, 141

Iron Maiden, 305, 337

irregular galaxies, 202

isotopes, 82, 102–4, 114

isotropy, 367, 375, 380, 415

 

Jeans, James, 74

Jet Propulsion Labs, 131

jinn particles, 322–24

Juno, 139–40

Jupiter: Callisto and, 139, 142; eclipses and, 262; Europa and, 139–40, 142–43, 160; fusion and, 117; Ganymede and, 139–40, 142; as gas planet, 131; Great Red Spot of, 133; helium and, 133; historical perspective on, 138–39; hydrogen and, 133; Io and, 262; Jupiter/Mars gap and, 138; Kepler satellite and, 150; Kepler’s time and, 39; Map of the Universe and, 355; mass of, 131; moons of, 139–43, 160, 262; Newton’s laws and, 53, 130; official IAU listing of planets and, 144; radius of, 149; rapid spin of, 111; relative size of, 133, 143; rings of, 133; Rose Center display and, 19, 128, 129–30, 135; Shoemaker-Levy 9 and, 137; Standish and, 131; statistics of, 135; Trojan asteroids of, 144

Jurić, Mario, 354, 362

 

Kaluza, Theodor, 349

Kaluza-Klein dimensions, 349–50, 352, 397

Kamionkowski, Mark, 409

Kant, Immanuel, 198

Kapteyn, Jacobus, 183–85, 210

Keck Telescope, 259, 393

Kelly, Mark, 283

Kelvin temperature scale, 69

Kennedy Space Flight Center, 422

Kepler, Johannes: Brahe data and, 36–37, 43, 258; Copernicus and, 37; elliptical orbits and, 37–42, 53, 156, 196, 297; first law of, 38, 41; geometrical approach of, 39; Newton’s laws and, 40–41, 43, 46–47, 49, 52–53; night sky and, 33, 36–42; planetary motion and, 36–43, 46–47, 49, 52–53, 157, 196, 258, 297; second law of, 38, 39, 41; solar system model and, 115; third law of, 38, 39–41, 43, 46–47, 49, 52, 157, 258

Kepler satellite, 149–51, 155–57, 160

Kepler 62e, 151, 152

Kerr, Roy, 314–17, 337–39

Kierland, Brian, 436n5

Kirhakos, Sofia, 245

Kirshner, Robert, 321

Klaproth, Martin, 139

Klein, Oskar, 349–50, 352, 397

Kruskal, Martin, 308–9, 314–15

Kruskal diagram, 309–12, 314, 320

K stars, 69, 85, 87–88, 151, 155, 156

Kuiper, Gerard, 134

Kuiper Belt, 134–36, 140–44, 253, 355, 362

Kundić, Tomislav, 331

 

ladder diagram, 85, 88–89

Lagrange points, 144

LaLande, Jérôme, 53

lambda, 63, 73

Landsberg, P. T., 436n5

Large Hadron Collider, 13, 234, 327, 351

Large Magellanic Cloud, 125, 202

Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, 253

Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), 13, 314–15, 331, 402–3, 406

lasers, 259, 266, 274–77, 314, 317, 402–3

LAWKI, 162

law of charge conservation, 261

Leavitt, Henrietta, 93, 200

Leibnitz, Gottfried Wilhelm, 257–58

Lemaître, Georges, 363, 393–94

Lemonick, Michael, 138

Lepaute, Nicole-Reine, 53

Leslie, John, 418

Le Verrier, Urbain, 53

Levy, David, 137

Li, Li-Xin, 345, 396–98, 401

Lick Observatory, 198

light elements, 102–3, 105, 123, 134, 222, 224, 287, 403–4

light-year, 54, 58–59

Linde, Andrei, 384, 386–87, 395–96, 398, 408

Lineland, 348–49, 351, 365

lithium, 81, 224, 227, 404

lives of stars: atoms and, 98, 103, 113, 119, 122; birth and, 180–81; black holes and, 123; blue stars and, 90, 93, 96–98; brightness and, 116; carbon and, 99, 102, 105, 119–21; death of, 106, 117, 117–19; electromagnetism and, 125; electrons and, 98–99, 103, 107, 113, 119, 122; endothermic process and, 103–4; equilibrium and, 112–13, 122, 189; exothermic process and, 102–4; fission and, 103–4; fusion and, 99, 102–5, 111, 114–15, 117–18, 121; globular clusters and, 96–97, 127, 168, 184–91, 214, 219; gravity and, 104, 107, 111–19, 122, 156, 197; helium and, 99–105, 118–21; Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram and, 93–96, 98, 100, 121, 160, 189, 207, 219; hydrogen and, 94, 98–107, 116–18, 121, 407; internal pressure and, 112–13, 115, 189; interstellar medium and, 105; iron and, 102–5, 107, 120, 123; luminosity and, 93–101, 107, 114–20, 125, 151; main sequence stars and, 94, 95–104, 115–23; mass and, 97–104, 107, 111, 115–23, 147; Milky Way and, 106, 125; nebulae and, 107–8, 119–20, 123–25; neutrons and, 99–105, 122; neutron stars and, 100, 105, 107, 122–25; O B A F G K M L T Y scheme and, 100–101; oxygen and, 99, 102, 105, 107, 119–21; Pauli exclusion principle and, 119, 122; photons and, 99, 107, 113–14; positrons and, 99; protons and, 98–105, 122; quantum theory and, 100, 119; red giants and, 95–97, 100, 102, 118, 120–21, 123; red stars and, 93, 96, 98, 120; self-gravitating objects and, 111–12; silicon and, 107, 120; speed of light and, 123; star cluster and, 95–97, 137, 180; strong nuclear force and, 99; Sun and, 94–105, 111–21, 125, 146–61, 168–69; supernovae and, 100, 106–7, 121–25, 181, 216, 219, 243–44, 247, 252–53, 362, 389–92; temperature and, 93–100, 105, 113–14, 117–18; visible light and, 114, 117, 125; white dwarfs and, 94, 95, 100, 119–23

Local Group, 127

logarithms, 73, 101, 155, 231, 431

London Times, 299

Los Angeles Times, 354

Lowell, Percival, 129–30

Lowell Observatory, 130, 209

luminosity: energy radiation and, 60, 76–80; expansion and, 213–14; galaxies and, 200; Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram and, 93–96, 98, 100, 121, 160, 189, 207, 219; inverse-square law and, 116, 125, 168, 213, 243; lives of stars and, 93–101, 107, 114–20, 125, 151; Milky Way and, 184, 188–90, 252; O B A F G K M L T Y scheme and, 100–101; quasars and, 244–52; search for life and, 146–47, 151, 153, 168; spectra and, 251–52 (see also spectra); temperature and, 214; Zipf’s law and, 168

lunar eclipse, 34, 92, 115, 298

Lyman series, 86, 91–92, 250, 252

Lyra, 27, 57, 189–90, 198

 

M13 globular cluster, 96–97, 168, 184

M31 galaxy, 355

M51 galaxy, 105–6

M81 galaxy, 355

M87 galaxy, 248, 306–8, 355

M101 nebula, 198, 199

Magellanic Clouds, 125, 137, 187, 188, 202

magnesium, 181, 207

main sequence stars: death of, 403, 405, 418; expansion and, 214, 219; lives of stars and, 94, 95–104, 115–23; Milky Way and, 188–89, 192; search for life and, 151, 160, 169

Maldacena, Juan, 319–20

Manhattan Project, 259, 287

many-worlds theory, 325–26

Map of the Universe, 354–62

Mars: asteroids and, 140; atmosphere of, 422; canals of, 129–30; colonization of, 421–23; distance to, 115, 213, 262; gravity of, 422; historical perspective on, 138–39; Jupiter/Mars gap and, 138; Kepler’s time and, 39; life on, 65, 129–30, 422; Lowell and, 129–30; Map of the Universe and, 355; Newton’s laws and, 130; official IAU listing of planets and, 144; oxygen and, 422; parallax and, 115; planetary motion and, 36; as the red planet, 133; relative size of, 132; Rose Center display and, 129, 135; statistics of, 135; terrestrial family and, 132, 141; water and, 129, 133, 422; worldline of, 271, 272

Mars One group, 421–22

mass: acceleration and, 44; black holes and, 121, 176, 196, 246–53, 300–311, 314–19, 338, 355, 403, 407–8; brain to body, 163; center of, 49, 137; cosmic strings and, 330; Doppler shifts and, 97–98; E = mc2 and, 9, 99, 101–2, 115, 158, 223, 259–60, 269, 284–86, 318, 401–2, 427–30; early universe and, 223, 226, 232, 234; Earth and, 49, 116; expansion and, 207, 219; gas giants and, 134; Higgs boson and, 351; inertial, 43–44, 289; inflation and, 302, 390; Jupiter and, 131; law of universal gravitation and, 49; lives of stars and, 97–104, 107, 111, 115–23, 147; of local planets, 135; methods for figuring, 97–98; Milky Way and, 192–96; Neptune and, 131; neutron stars and, 303; Newton’s laws and, 41, 44, 48–52, 49, 97–98, 196, 259, 289; Planet X and, 131; Pluto and, 131, 138, 144; point, 300–301, 303, 309, 311, 365, 435n1; quasars and, 245–47, 252; relativity and, 158, 259, 284, 286–89, 294–98; Saturn and, 131; shape of universe and, 300–301, 303, 309, 311, 351, 355, 365, 368, 435n1; solar, 102, 121–23, 176, 181–82, 247–49, 252, 303, 305–6, 314–16, 318–19, 338, 344, 355, 403; spectra and, 97–98; Sun and, 49; time travel and, 323–24, 329–30, 334–38, 341–44; Uranus and, 131

Mather, John, 375

Matschull, Hans-Jürgen, 340

Maxwell’s equations, 11, 261–65, 290, 296–97, 349–50, 402

McConaughey, Matthew, 166–67

McNeil/Lehrer Newshour (TV show), 306

megaparsec, 215, 218

Mercator maps, 354

Mercury, 25; black holes and, 300; clocks on, 283; historical perspective on, 138–39; iron core of, 132; Kepler’s time and, 39; Lowell’s time and, 130; Map of the Universe and, 355; as nearest planet to Sun, 132; Newton’s laws and, 130, 350; official IAU listing of planets and, 144; planetary motion and, 39; relative size of, 132; relativity and, 271–72, 283, 297–98, 350; Rose Center display and, 129, 135; statistics of, 135; terrestrial family and, 141; worldline of, 271–72

meteorites, 218

Michelson, Albert, 265–66

microwaves, 64–67, 263. See also cosmic microwave background (CMB)

Milky Way: Andromeda nebula and, 200–201; average distance between stars in, 185–86; black holes and, 247–49, 251; brightness and, 184, 188; Cepheid variables and, 198, 200, 209–10, 213–15, 392; dark matter and, 195–96; dark regions of, 175–76; density wave and, 194; Drake’s equation and, 193; dust and, 184–90, 196, 238; early universe and, 232–39; exoplanets and, 149–51, 362; expansion and, 209–12, 217, 221; fuzzy appearance of, 197; galactic plane and, 185–86, 313; Galileo and, 183; globular clusters and, 184–91; gravity and, 189, 192–95, 204; halo of, 192; Herschel and, 183; Hubble and, 92; infrared light view of, 186–88, 196; interstellar medium and, 173–82; inverse-square law and, 184, 188; as island universe, 198, 200; Kapteyn and, 183–85, 210; lives of stars and, 106, 125; as living ecosystem, 181–82; Local Group and, 127; luminosity and, 184, 188–90, 252; main sequence stars and, 188–89, 192; Map of the Universe and, 353–55; mass and, 192–96; number of stars in, 18, 149, 193; orbit of, 232; quasars and, 245–46; red giants and, 189; Rose Center display and, 127; RR Lyraes and, 189–90; search for life and, 149, 151–52, 159, 166, 168; shape of universe and, 363; Shapley and, 184–85, 187, 189–90; size of, 185–86, 197, 212; spiral arms of, 106, 190–92, 194; star orbits in, 193–94; stars beyond, 92; structure of, 174–76, 190–91; Sun’s location in, 184–86, 194–95; supernovae and, 100, 106–7, 121–25, 181, 216, 219, 243–44, 247, 252–53, 362, 389–92; 2MASS telescopes and, 176, 188; visible light and, 186

Minkowski, Hermann, 270

Miranda, 139

Misner, Charles W., 314

Mitochondrial Eve, 413

mobile phones, 11, 64–65

molecules: atmospheric, 20–21, 25, 156; complex, 161, 163; DNA, 22, 352; energy levels and, 84, 89; formation of, 161, 163, 222; water, 65, 81–82, 161

Montond, Bradley, 436n5

Moon, 131; acceleration and, 47–48; age of, 218; atmosphere of, 50, 156, 422; center of mass of, 137; distance to, 54, 283; Earth’s wobble and, 32; half-illumination from Sun and, 33; landing on, 158, 326, 423–24; lunar eclipse and, 34, 92, 115, 298; Map of the Universe and, 355; Newton’s laws and, 47–51, 290; night sky and, 32–36, 40, 137–39, 241, 355; phases of, 30, 33–35, 109; relative size of, 132; tides and, 151

Mordor, 145

Morley, Edward, 265–66

Morris, Mike, 341

Mount Wilson Observatory, 198, 201

M-theory, 351–52, 397–98

multiverse, 382–84, 386–87, 397–99, 402, 409

muon, 22, 269, 402

Musk, Elon, 422–23

mythology, 130, 138–39

 

NASA, 137, 144, 159, 164, 230, 235, 282, 422

nebulae: emission, 90, 179–80; expansion and, 207, 209; galaxies and, 197–201; interstellar medium and, 176–81; lives of stars and, 107–8, 119–20, 123–25; reflection, 180; spectra and, 90–91; spiral, 197–98, 200

Neptune: distance to, 80; as gas planet, 131; Great Dark Spot and, 133; historical perspective on, 139; Hubble Space Telescope and, 133; Kepler satellite and, 150; Kuiper Belt and, 136; Lowell’s time and, 130; Map of the Universe and, 355; mass of, 131; moons of, 140, 142; Newton’s laws and, 53, 130; official IAU listing of planets and, 144; Planet X and, 131; Pluto’s orbit across, 134; relative size of, 133; Rose Center display and, 129, 135; Standish and, 131; statistics of, 135; variant orbit of, 131

neutrinos, 99, 122, 222–23, 227, 351, 402–3

neutrons: atomic nucleus and, 13, 82, 99–104, 122, 181, 222–24, 227, 233–34, 349, 384, 390, 403, 404; decay and, 223; early universe and, 222–24, 227, 233–34; fusion and, 99, 102–5, 111, 114–15, 117–18, 121, 158, 181, 222–23; interstellar medium and, 181; lives of stars and, 99–105, 122; quantum tunneling and, 384–85; quarks and, 403, 404

neutron stars, 22–24, 100, 105, 107, 122–25, 181–82, 243, 303, 355, 402, 403, 407

New Horizons spacecraft, 13, 144, 145

new Moon, 34–35

New Scientist journal, 354

Newton, Isaac: calculus and, 40–41, 45, 50, 75; Cambridge University and, 47–48; corpuscles of light and, 62; deflection prediction of, 260; Einstein and, 257–60; genius of, 257–60; home of, 33; influence of, 43, 52–53, 258; Leibniz and, 257–58; reflecting telescope and, 259; Royal Mint and, 259

Newton’s laws, 12; acceleration and, 44–52, 116, 259, 264, 289–90, 294; action at a distance and, 295–96; calculus and, 40–41; Cavendish and, 116; Earth and, 42–52, 130; eclipse of 1915 and, 298–99; Einstein and, 296–98; first law of motion, 43–44; force and, 44, 49, 259, 289; friction and, 44, 51; genius of, 257; gravity and, 41–45, 79, 82, 97, 192–93, 195, 246, 259, 264, 302; Halley’s comet and, 53; inertia and, 43–44; inverse-square law and, 47, 49, 79, 116, 125, 168, 188, 213, 243; Jupiter and, 53, 130; Kepler and, 40–41, 43, 46–47, 49, 52–53; Mars and, 130; mass and, 41, 44, 48–52, 97–98, 196, 259, 289; Mercury and, 130, 350; Moon and, 47–51, 290, 302; Neptune and, 130; planetary motion and, 42–43, 46–47, 52–53; Planet X and, 130; quasars and, 246; Saturn and, 53, 130; second law of motion, 44, 52; shape of universe and, 352; Sun and, 42–53; third law of motion, 44, 49; time travel and, 283–84, 286, 345; uniform velocity and, 43–45; universal law of gravitation and, 40–41, 48, 48–49; Uranus and, 53, 130; Venus and, 130

New Yorker, 164, 354

New York Times, 129, 135–36, 299, 354

nickel, 224

Nielson, Holgar, 418–19

night sky: arc second and, 58–59; constellations, 27–33, 57, 59, 92, 120, 123, 186, 189; Hayden Planetarium and, 11; Kepler and, 33, 36–42; Moon and, 32–36, 40, 137–39, 241, 355; visible light and, 29

nitrogen, 21, 81–82, 140, 181, 224

Nobel Prize, 125, 182, 230, 260, 299, 318, 328, 350–51, 355, 375, 385, 389

no boundary condition, 394–95

North Celestial Pole, 30

Northern Cross, 27–28

Northern Hemisphere, 28, 30–31, 173, 186, 308

North Star (Polaris), 28–32, 214

nuclear bomb, 101

nuclear energy, 92, 115, 287

nuclei, 327, 355; early universe and, 222–27, 234, 240; electron volt (eV) and, 85–86, 103–4; fusion and, 99, 102–5, 111, 114–15, 117–18, 121, 158, 181, 222–23; interstellar medium and, 181; lives of stars and, 98–100, 102–5, 113, 119, 122; neutrons and, 13, 82, 99–104, 122, 181, 222–24, 227, 233–34, 349, 384, 390, 403, 404; Planck length and, 302; protons and, 13, 21–24, 62, 82, 85–88, 98–105, 122, 222–24, 227–28, 233–34, 266, 282, 350, 384, 390, 402–7; quantum tunneling and, 384–85, 394–95, 398, 408, 435n2; relativity and, 287; scale of the universe and, 128; spectra and, 81–85; strong nuclear force and, 24, 99, 351, 384–85, 402; weak nuclear force and, 351, 402–3

null separation, 277

 

O B A F G K M L T Y (star classification scheme), 100, 117

Of Time and Power (Bienen and van de Walle), 436n5

O’Neill, Gerard, 422

Oort Cloud, 127, 141

open clusters, 96

Oppenheimer, Robert, 287

orbits: black holes and, 314; Earth and, 232; eccentric, 38, 134, 156–57; eclipses and, 34–35, 92, 115, 130, 141, 260, 262, 298–99; electrons and, 21, 82–85, 92, 162; elliptical, 37–42, 53, 131, 134, 156, 196, 271, 297; Kepler’s laws and, 36–43, 46–47, 49, 52–53, 157, 196, 258, 297; lives of stars and, 146, 151, 156–57; major axis and, 40; minor axis and, 40; Moon and, 51; planets and, 39–40, 46, 131, 134, 135, 144, 193, 263, 272, 428; Planet X and, 130–31; solar system and, 39; stars and, 193–95; Sun and, 232; transit and, 130, 149–51, 213

Ori, Amos, 345

Orion Nebula, 27, 107–8, 120, 178, 179, 197

osmium, 113

Ostriker, Jeremiah P., 243

Ouranos, 139

Owens, Jesse, 260

oxygen: abundance of, 81–82; atmospheric, 20–21, 65; interstellar medium and, 176, 179, 181; lives of stars and, 99, 102, 105, 107, 119–21; Mars and, 422; ozone, 65, 147; search for life and, 147, 159, 169; spectra and, 88

ozone, 65, 147

 

Paczyński, Bohdan, 5

Padalka, Gennady, 283

Page, Don, 317, 319, 435n1

Pagels, Heinz, 234

Pale Blue Dot (Sagan), 110

Pallas, 139–40

Palomar Observatory, 215, 241–42, 244

parallax, 55–60, 115, 213–14, 262, 434n1

parsec, 58–59, 159, 215, 218

Paschen series, 86, 90–92

Pauli, Wolfgang, 119

Pauli exclusion principle, 119, 122

Payne, Cecilia, 93–94, 224, 227

Peebles, Jim, 228–30, 232–35, 243, 409

Penrose, Roger, 317

Penzias, Arno, 71, 229–30, 373, 375, 415

perfect cosmological principle, 226, 248

periodic table, 24, 81, 102, 120, 162

Perseus cluster, 202, 203

perturbations, 53, 131, 160, 300, 314, 341

phantom energy, 409–10

Philosophical Monthly, The, 436n5

photinos, 232

photoelectric effect, 260

photons: black holes and, 310, 318; blueshift and, 209, 217, 231, 245, 339, 341, 429; color and, 62; deflection and, 260; derivation of E = mc2 and, 427–30; E = hν and, 67, 83, 84, 259–60, 284, 286, 401, 427, 429; early universe and, 222, 225, 227–28, 233–34, 236; Einstein and, 62, 67; energy levels and, 82–90, 119, 179, 250, 258; expansion and, 221; frequency and, 67; future issues and, 400–406; H-alpha, 87, 90, 179; inflation and, 374–75; infrared (IR) light and, 29, 62–65, 67–70, 75, 77–78, 86, 90, 117, 153–54, 161, 176–77, 186–88, 196, 250, 252–53, 263, 406; interstellar medium and, 179; lives of stars and, 99, 107, 113–14; Newton and, 62; as particles, 63; Paschen series and, 86, 90–92; Planck’s constant and, 67; proportionality constant and, 67; radiation and, 62–67, 75, 80; rainbow and, 41, 62, 67–68, 71; redshift and, 207–11, 213, 215, 225, 228, 231, 237–38, 242–53, 284, 318, 353, 375, 379, 389, 393, 405, 428; relativity and, 259, 284–86, 427–30; scattering and, 227–28, 233–34, 236; spectra and, 81, 90; speed of, 66; Sun and, 67–68; time travel and, 284–86, 327, 338–39, 341; ultraviolet (UV) light and, 62–63, 65, 69, 74, 86, 91, 107, 119–20, 179, 263; wavelength and, 66; as waves, 63; X-rays and, 63, 65–68, 113–14, 263

Physical Review, 315, 337

Piazzi, Giuseppe, 138

Pinwheel galaxy, 198, 199, 201–2

Planck, Max, 67, 73–75, 80, 92, 288

Planck curve, 87, 153, 231

Planck density, 401

Planck function, 73, 75, 92, 95

Planck length, 302, 316, 401, 431

Planck mass, 401

Planck satellite, 13, 216, 218, 236, 240, 373, 387, 391–93, 409

Planck’s constant, 67, 73, 84, 92, 259, 284, 316, 401

Planck spectrum, 87, 225, 231, 407

Planck time, 401, 403

planetary motion: Brahe and, 35–37, 43, 258; changing speed of, 37–38; Copernicus and, 36–37, 42–43, 138–39, 165, 183–85, 210, 370, 375, 411–18, 420–22; elliptical orbits and, 37–42, 53, 131, 134, 156, 196, 271, 297; gravity and, 130 (see also gravity); Kepler and, 36–43, 46–47, 49, 52–53, 157, 196, 258, 297; Newton’s laws and, 42–43, 46–47, 52–53; parallax and, 55–60, 115, 213–14, 262, 434n1; retrograde, 36; transit and, 130, 149–51, 213

planetary nebulae, 119–20, 123, 181, 197

planetos (wanderer), 39–40

Planet X, 130–31

Planiverse (Dewdney), 435n2

plasma, 113, 121, 227, 405

Please, C. P., 436n5

Pleiades, 96, 180

plutinos, 135

Pluto: Charon and, 13, 130–31, 137–38, 141–45; controversy over, 129, 135–37, 141–45; defining planet and, 139–40; discovery of, 130, 138; downgrading of, 39, 126–45; gravity and, 134, 144; Hubble Space Telescope and, 130; Kuiper Belt and, 134–36, 140–44; Lowell and, 129–30, 209; Map of the Universe and, 355; mass and, 131, 138, 144; moons of, 130–31; naming of, 130; New York Times article and, 129, 135–36; official IAU listing of planets and, 144; orbit of, 40, 134–36, 144; relative size of, 131–32, 140; Rose Center display and, 126–28, 132, 135, 141, 144; Sun and, 128–34, 139–44; Tombaugh and, 130, 138, 144–45; uniqueness of, 132, 134

Pluto (Disney character), 138

Pluto Files, The: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet (Tyson), 144

Poldowski, Boris, 320

Polshek, Jim, 126

Popper, Karl, 434n1

Positive Philosophy, The (Comte), 92

positrons: black holes and, 317–20; early universe and, 222–23, 227; formation of, 99; future of universe and, 402, 403, 407; lives of stars and, 99

precession, 33, 297–98

President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching, 12

Primack, Joel, 234

prime meridian, 367

Procyon, 100

Project Daedalus, 158

proportionality constant, 49, 67, 210, 213

protons: alpha particles and, 384; atomic nuclei and, 13, 21–24, 62, 82, 85–88, 98–105, 122, 222–24, 227–28, 233–34, 266, 282, 350, 384, 390, 402–7; as baryon, 390; decay and, 223, 403, 407; density of in Sun, 21; early universe and, 222–24, 227–28, 233–34; fusion and, 99, 102–5, 111, 114–15, 117–18, 121, 158, 181, 222–23; lives of stars and, 98–105, 122; proton-proton collisions and, 223; quantum tunneling and, 384–85; quarks and, 403, 404–5; relativity and, 266, 282; spectra and, 85–86, 88; strong force and, 24, 351, 384

Proxima Centauri, 59, 94, 355

Ptolemy, Claudius, 33, 37, 210

public policy prior, 436n5

pulsars, 22, 59, 125, 182, 244, 355, 382, 402

Pythagorean theorem, 268, 278, 434n2

 

QSO 0957+561, 331

quantum theory: atomic nuclei and, 21; Bekenstein formula and, 20; black holes and, 249, 302, 316–19; Bohr and, 258; decay and, 403; early universe and, 403–4; electrons and, 83–84; energy levels and, 82–90, 119, 179, 250, 258; entanglement and, 319, 344; fuzziness and, 73; general relativity and, 339; gravity and, 339, 341, 345, 398, 402; Hartle-Hawking vacuum and, 318–19, 344; Hawking mechanism and, 406; HR diagram and, 100; inflation and, 381, 384–87, 393–96, 398–99; lives of stars and, 100, 119; many-worlds theory and, 325–26; no boundary condition and, 394–95; Pauli exclusion principle and, 119, 122; Planck length and, 302, 316, 401, 431; Planck’s constant and, 67, 73, 84, 259, 284, 316, 401; radiation and, 73–74; relativity and, 258–59, 345–46, 402; Schrödinger and, 258; supersymmetry and, 234, 402; time travel and, 322, 325–27, 337, 339–41, 344–46 (see also time travel); tunneling and, 384–85, 394–95, 398, 408, 435n2; uncertainty principle and, 316–17, 381, 385, 393, 401, 403, 407; vacuum energy and, 327–28, 364, 377–78, 381–82, 408–9; vacuum state and, 318–19, 327, 340, 344–45, 396, 398, 403; virtual pairs and, 317–18; wormholes and, 311–12, 319–21, 327, 336, 341–44

Quaoar, 355

quarks, 351, 402–5

quasars: atoms and, 245; Big Bang and, 250; as black holes, 247; centers of galaxies and, 244–46; cosmic strings and, 330; cosmological principle and, 248; Doppler shift and, 245–46; early universe and, 250; gas speeds in, 246; Hubble Space Telescope and, 244–45, 253; hydrogen and, 250–52; luminosity and, 244–52; Map of the Universe and, 354–55; mass of, 245–47, 252; Milky Way and, 245–46; Newton’s laws and, 246; rarity of, 248; redshift and, 250–53; Schmidt and, 242–44; spectra and, 242–43, 245–46, 249–53; speed of light and, 245–47; Strauss’s discovery and, 12; Sun and, 246; 3C 273, 238, 241–45, 362; variable brightness of, 246; wavelength and, 241–42, 245, 253; Zwicky and, 243–44

 

radar, 64–65, 132

radiation: Big Bang and, 71; binding energy and, 86, 103–4; blackbody, 72–74, 77, 113, 154, 222, 225, 228–31, 375; brightness and, 78–80; distance to stars and, 54–59; Earth and, 54–62, 77, 80; Einstein’s mass-energy equation and, 99, 101, 104, 115, 158, 223, 259–60, 269, 284–86, 318, 401–2, 427–30; electromagnetism and, 66, 406; excited electrons and, 81–92; frequency and, 65–67, 84, 208, 259, 284–85, 400–401, 427–29; fusion and, 99, 102–5, 111, 114–15, 117–18, 121, 158, 181, 222–23; gamma rays and, 63, 66–67, 73, 125, 222, 263, 319, 339, 362; infrared (IR) light and, 29, 62–70, 75, 77–78, 86, 90, 117, 153–54, 161, 176–77, 186–88, 196, 250, 252–53, 263, 406; ladder diagrams and, 85, 88–89; luminosity and, 60, 76–80; photons and, 62–67, 75, 80; Planck functions and, 73; proportionality constant and, 67; quantum theory and, 73–74; radar and, 64–65, 132; radio waves and, 63, 65–67, 73, 125, 229, 263, 310, 318; Raleigh-Jeans Law and, 74; red giants and, 74; speed of light and, 54–55, 66–67, 73; Sun and, 54–81, 424; temperature and, 67–78; thermal, 71, 74–76, 87, 89, 153, 228, 231, 314, 317–19, 374–75, 402–3, 406; ultraviolet (UV) light and, 62–63, 65, 69, 74, 86, 91, 107, 119–20, 179, 263; visible light and, 65–71, 77–78; wavelength and, 64–68, 71–75 (see also wavelength); X-rays and, 63, 65–68, 113–14, 263

radioactivity, 103, 114, 218, 226, 351, 384

radio telescopes, 71, 158, 168, 229–30, 241

radio waves, 63, 65–67, 73, 125, 229, 263, 310, 318

Raleigh-Jeans Law, 74

Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico, 182

Randall, Lisa, 352

Ratra, Bharat, 409

recombination, 236–37, 403, 405

red giants: black holes and, 302–3; energy radiation and, 74; galaxies and, 197; interstellar medium and, 181; lives of stars and, 95–97, 100, 102, 118, 120–21, 123; Milky Way and, 189; scale of universe and, 22; search for life and, 157; Sun becoming a, 217

Redmayne, Eddie, 12, 320

redshift: black holes and, 252–53, 318; early universe and, 225, 228, 231, 237–38; expansion and, 207–11, 213, 215, 225, 228, 231, 237–38, 242–53, 284, 318, 353, 375, 379, 389, 393, 405, 428; galaxies and, 207–11, 213, 215, 225, 228, 231, 237–38, 242–53, 284, 318, 353, 375, 379, 389, 393, 405, 428; Hubble and, 209–10, 250; inflation and, 375, 379, 389, 393; Lemaître and, 393–94; quasars and, 242–45, 248–53, 405; relativity and, 284

red stars, 22, 59, 93, 96, 98, 120

red supergiants, 95, 120

Rees, Martin, 384, 398

reflecting telescopes, 41, 259

reflection nebulae, 180

relativity, 232; action at a distance and, 295–96, 319–20; Big Bang and, 415; cosmic strings and, 327–33, 336–37, 340, 351, 435n1; E = mc2 and, 9, 99, 101–2, 115, 158, 223, 259–60, 269, 284–86, 318, 401, 427–30; Earth and, 262–66, 269–83, 289–98; electromagnetism and, 290, 294, 297; electrons and, 266, 268, 299; energy density and, 434n2; event horizons and, 305, 308–20, 337–38, 340, 344, 379–80, 386, 405–7, 431; expansion and, 220, 220–21; field equations and, 296–98, 300–301, 314, 323, 327, 331, 337, 367, 369, 375, 378, 402; four-dimensional universe and, 270–76, 290, 296, 324, 326, 347, 349, 366, 394–95, 434n1; general, 11, 182 (see also general relativity); geometry and, 270, 278, 290–92, 294, 296; gravity and, 257–58, 260, 264, 282, 289–90, 292, 294, 298; importance of, 213; lensing and, 244, 253, 313, 330–31, 391; mass and, 158, 259, 284, 286–89, 294–98; Maxwell and, 261–65, 290, 296–97; Mercury and, 271–72, 283, 297–98, 350; photons and, 259, 284–86, 427–30; protons and, 266, 282; quantum theory and, 258–59, 345–46, 402; redshift and, 284; Riemann curvature tensors and, 2, 295–96, 301, 434nn1,2; solar system and, 367; spacetime and, 2, 260, 270–76, 280–81, 285–86, 289–304, 309–17, 428–29, 434nn1,2; special, 101, 260, 264, 270–87, 300–301, 326, 347, 371, 377, 380; speed of light and, 101, 260, 263–69, 274–80, 282, 284, 288, 296, 402, 427; Sun and, 259–65, 270–72, 283, 287, 294, 297–99, 428; time travel and, 345–46 (see also time travel); uniform motion and, 264, 280; wavelength and, 285; worldlines and, 271–74, 278–79, 281–82, 284–86, 294–95, 297, 309–13, 322–27, 334–35, 364, 365, 367–69, 378, 379–81, 427; wormholes and, 311–12, 319–21, 327, 336, 341–44

retrograde motion, 36

Riemann curvature tensors, 2, 295–96, 301, 434nn1,2

ring singularity, 337–38

Roberts, Morton, 243

Robertson, Howard, 372

Roll, Peter, 228–29

Rømer, Ole, 262

Roosevelt, Franklin D., 259, 287

Rose Center for Earth and Space, 19, 39, 126–29, 132, 135, 141, 144

Rosen, Nathan, 320

Rosette Nebula, 90

Royal Astronomical Society, 299

Royal Society, 299

Roy G Biv (colors of rainbow), 62

RR Lyrae variable star, 189–90, 198

Rubbia, Carlo, 351

Rubin, Vera, 243

Rumsfeld, Donald, 253

Russell, Henry Norris, 93–94, 121, 182, 184

 

saddle, 301, 371–72, 389

Sagan, Carl, 18, 110, 165–67, 193, 218, 343–44

Salam, Abdus, 351

Sandage, Allan, 215–16, 243–44

Saturn: ancient Greece and, 40; as gas planet, 131; historical perspective on, 138–39; Kepler’s time and, 39; Map of the Universe and, 355; mass of, 131; moons of, 141, 142, 160; Newton’s laws and, 53, 130; official IAU listing of planets and, 144; relative size of, 133; Rose Center display and, 128–29, 135; Standish and, 131; statistics of, 135

Saturn V rocket, 158, 422, 424

scalar fields, 350–51

scale of universe: atoms and, 128; Big Bang and, 19, 22, 24; cosmological principle and, 225–26, 230, 237–38, 248; Earth and, 18–25, 110, 153; Hubble and, 226; Hubble Space Telescope and, 108–9; hydrogen and, 128; Milky Way and, 185–86; red giants and, 22; Rose Center display and, 126–29; static model of, 362–65, 369, 393; temperatures and, 23–24, 67–69; trying to comprehend, 17–25; white dwarfs and, 22, 24

scattering, 227–28, 233–34, 236

Schiaparelli, Giovanni, 129

Schmidt, Brian, 389

Schmidt, Maarten, 242–44

Schneider, Don, 245

Schrödinger, Edwin, 258

Schwarzschild, Karl, 121, 300–302, 308

Schwarzschild, Martin, 5, 121, 122, 301–2

Schwarzschild radius, 301–10, 313–15, 318, 401

Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), 148, 165

search for life: bacteria and, 147, 161, 164–65; carbon and, 147, 162–63, 169, 410; communication attempts and, 148–49, 159–60, 163–68; conditions needed for life and, 146–52, 155–69, 193, 420; cyanobacteria and, 147, 161–62; Drake equation and, 147–49, 157–60, 162, 165–69, 193, 420; Dyson and, 406; Earth’s diversity and, 160–62; exoplanets and, 149–51, 362; extraterrestrials and, 148, 156, 161, 165, 167, 168, 185, 212, 312, 405, 419–20, 433n1; Gibbons and Hawking radiation and, 406–7; habitable zone and, 146–47, 149, 151–52, 155–60, 162–63, 169; intelligent lineage and, 417, 436n4; LAWKI and, 162; luminosity and, 146–47, 151, 153, 168; main sequence stars and, 151, 160, 169; measuring intelligence and, 163–64; Milky Way and, 149, 151–52, 159, 166, 168; motivation for, 146–47; oxygen and, 147, 159, 169; picturing aliens and, 165–66; Project Daedalus and, 158; red giants and, 157; silicon and, 162–63; speed of light and, 158; technology and, 165; telescopes and, 158–59, 166, 168; temperature and, 151–56, 169; thermal radiation and, 153; visible light and, 406; water and, 146, 149, 154–61; Weak Anthropic Principle and, 410; Zipf’s law and, 168–69

Secretariat, 260

selectrons, 232

self-gravitating objects, 111–12

Shakespeare, 139, 257–58

shape of universe: acceleration and, 350–51; Big Bang and, 367–73; Big Crunch and, 367–68, 372, 373, 384; black holes and, 355, 362, 368; cosmic microwave background (CMB) and, 352–55, 362, 373; cosmic strings and, 351; cosmological constant and, 363–70; dark energy and, 364–65, 370; dark matter and, 351; Einstein and, 347–52, 355, 362–70; electromagnetism and, 348–52; electrons and, 350–51; energy density and, 362–64; Flatland and, 347–49, 365, 371; four-dimensional universe and, 270–76, 290, 296, 324, 326, 347, 349, 366, 394–95, 434n1; Friedmann football space and, 367–70, 376–77, 381; general relativity and, 349–50, 362–63, 367, 369–70, 435n1; geometry and, 362, 364–65, 367, 371, 405, 435n1; gravity and, 349–52, 355, 363; Hubble Space Telescope and, 352, 355; hyperbolic, 371–73, 382–83; Kaluza-Klein dimensions and, 349–50, 352, 397; map of visible universe and, 352–62; mass and, 351, 355, 365, 368; Maxwell’s equations and, 349–50; Milky Way and, 353, 363; M-theory and, 351–52, 397–98; Newton’s laws and, 352; photons and, 351, 363; point-masses and, 300–301, 303, 309, 311, 365, 435n1; saddle, 301, 371–72, 389; scalar fields and, 350–51; singularities and, 368; spacetime and, 347–51, 362–64, 367–72, 376–77, 381; speed of light and, 363; Standard Model and, 351; static model of, 362–65, 369, 393; stress energy tensor and, 364, 434n2; Sun and, 352, 355, 363; superstring theory and, 22, 351, 397; 3-sphere, 365–67, 370, 373, 374, 378–79, 382–83, 388–89, 394; vacuum energy and, 364; vector fields and, 350

Shapley, Harlow, 94, 184–85, 187, 189–90, 197–98, 201, 210

Shoemaker-Levy 9, 137

silicon, 107, 120, 162–63, 181, 224

Simpson, Fergus, 419

singularities: black holes and, 302, 305–6, 309–13; future of universe and, 401, 409; inflation and, 381, 384, 396, 399; ring, 337–38; shape of universe and, 368; spacetime and, 302, 305–6, 309–13, 337–40, 344, 368, 381, 396, 399, 401, 409; time travel and, 337–40, 344

Sirius, 415

Skewe’s number, 21

Slepian, Zack, 409

Slipher, Vesto, 209, 393

Sloan Digital Sky Survey, 13, 216, 237–40, 249–53, 353, 355, 391–92, 409

Sloan Great Wall, 238, 353, 362

slow-roll dark energy, 409

Small Magellanic Cloud, 187–88

Smolin, Lee, 398–99

Smoot, George, 375

sodium, 207

solar eclipse, 35, 260, 298–99

solar mass: black holes and, 247–49, 252, 303, 305–6, 314–16, 318–19, 338, 355, 403; interstellar medium and, 176, 182; lives of stars and, 102, 121–23; wormholes and, 344

solar system, 32; age of, 218; Astronomical Unit (AU) and, 213; Brahe and, 35; comparative size of, 352; early, 161; families of, 141; heliocentric theory and, 36–37, 42, 139, 184–85; increasing knowledge of, 183; inner, 127, 134, 272; mass of, 226; movement of, 264; new solar systems and, 107; outer, 33, 126–27, 134, 195; planetary motion and, 40 (see also planetary motion); relative size of, 415; relativity and, 367; scale model and, 115. See also specific object

solar wind, 21, 180

solstice, 28

Sombrero galaxy, 202, 203

Soter, Steven, 165

Southern Cross, 28–29

Southern Hemisphere, 28, 30, 173, 186

Space Age, 229

Space Chronicles (Tyson), 423

spacelike separation, 277, 332

spacetime: action at a distance and, 295–96, 319–20; astronaut time (AT) and, 276–82; black holes and, 300–304, 309–17; bubble universes and, 381–88, 394, 396, 402, 408, 431nn1–3; Cauchy horizon and, 335–41, 345, 396; cosmic strings and, 327–33, 336–37, 340, 351, 435n1; cosmological constant and, 369 (see also cosmological constant); curvature and, 2, 291–93, 306, 313, 337, 339, 366–73, 377, 379, 382, 387–88, 396, 434nn1,2; derivation of E = mc2 and, 427–30; de Sitter, 378, 380, 382–85, 393–99, 405–6; diagrams of, 270–73, 281, 285, 286, 294, 309, 322–23, 325, 334, 335, 338, 364, 367, 368, 376, 378, 393–96, 428–29; Einstein-Rosen bridge and, 320; energy density and, 76, 318, 327, 340, 344, 362–64, 377–81, 384–91, 394, 405, 408–9, 434n2; entropy and, 315–16, 323, 431; Equivalence Principle and, 290, 292, 298, 310; event horizons and, 305, 308–20, 337–38, 340, 344, 379–80, 386, 405–7, 431; four-dimensional universe and, 270–76, 290, 296, 324, 326, 347, 349, 366, 394–95, 434n1; Friedmann football, 367–70, 376–77, 381; future of universe and, 400–424, 428–29; Gaussian curvature and, 371; gravitational waves and, 402–3, 406 (see also gravitational waves); great circle and, 18, 291–94; hyperbolic, 371–73, 382–83; inflation and, 376–83, 388, 393–98; jinn particles and, 322–24; Kruskal diagram and, 309–12, 314; Minkowski and, 270; M-theory and, 351–52, 397–98; multiverse and, 382–84, 386–87, 397–99, 402, 409; no boundary condition and, 394–95; null separation and, 277; Planck time and, 401, 403; quantum entanglement and, 319, 344; relativity and, 2, 260, 270–76, 280–81, 285–86, 289–304, 309–17, 428–29, 434nn1,2; Riemann curvature tensors and, 2, 295–96, 301, 434nn1,2; saddle shape and, 301, 371–72, 389; Schwarzschild radius and, 301–10, 313, 315, 318, 401; shape of universe and, 347–51, 362–64, 367–72, 376–77, 381; singularities and, 302, 305–6, 309–13, 337–40, 344, 368, 381, 396, 399, 401, 409; spacelike separation and, 277, 332; spaghettification and, 305–6, 339; stress energy tensor and, 364, 434n2; superstring theory and, 22, 351, 397; 3-sphere geometry and, 365–67, 370, 373, 374–75, 378–79, 382–83, 388–89, 394; time travel and, 300–304, 309–17, 322–28, 331–45; Twin Paradox and, 280–83; uncertainty principle and, 401; virtual pairs and, 317–18; warp drives and, 185, 336, 342, 344–45; white holes and, 312, 338; worldlines and, 271–74, 278–86, 294–95, 297, 309–13, 322–27, 334–35, 364, 365, 367–69, 378, 379–81, 427; wormholes and, 311–12, 319–20, 327, 336, 341–44

Space X, 422

spaghettification, 305–6, 339

special relativity, 101, 260; acceleration and, 280, 282; astronaut time (AT) and, 276–82; atomic clocks and, 269; black holes and, 300–301; four-dimensional universe and, 270–76; gravity and, 282–83; implications of, 270–88; inflation and, 377, 380; light clock experiment and, 266–69; mass and, 284, 286–88; Michelson-Morley experiment and, 265–66; “motion is relative” postulate and, 264, 290; null separation and, 277; second postulate of, 265–69; shape of universe and, 347, 371; spacelike separation and, 277; spacetime and, 270–76, 280–81, 285–86; speed of light and, 265–69, 274–80, 282, 284, 288; time travel and, 276–84, 326; trusting, 269; Twin Paradox and, 280–83; uniform motion and, 264, 280; worldlines and, 271–74, 278–79, 281–86

spectra: absorption, 84, 87–89, 169, 176, 207–9, 250–51; atoms and, 81–92, 242, 245; Balmer lines and, 86, 88, 90–92, 179, 242, 258; Big Bang and, 81–82; blackbody, 72–74, 77, 113, 154, 222, 225, 228–31, 375; blueshift and, 209, 217, 231, 245, 339, 341, 429; brightness and, 92; carbon and, 88; computers and, 93–94; Doppler shift and, 97 (see also Doppler shift); early universe and, 238; electrons and, 81–92; elements and, 81–82; emission lines, 90, 179, 242, 245–46, 250–51; energy levels and, 82–90, 119, 179, 250, 258; excited electrons and, 81–92; expansion and, 208–9; galaxies and, 207–8, 238, 244; gamma rays and, 63, 66–67, 73, 125, 222, 263, 319, 339, 362; helium and, 81–82, 99; Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram and, 93–96, 98, 100, 121, 160, 189, 207, 219; hydrogen and, 81–92, 250; infrared (IR) light and, 29, 62–70, 75, 77–78, 86, 90, 117, 153–54, 161, 176–77, 186–88, 196, 250, 252–53, 263, 406; interstellar medium and, 176–79; Lyman series and, 86, 91–92, 250, 252; mass and, 97–98; microwaves and, 63–67, 216, 229, 235, 263, 318, 352, 373, 375, 387, 393, 403, 407; nebulae and, 90–91; neutrons and, 82; nitrogen and, 81–82; O B A F G K M L T Y scheme and, 100–101; oxygen and, 88; Paschen series and, 86, 90–92; Payne and, 94; photons and, 81, 90; Planck, 87, 225, 231, 407; protons and, 82, 85–86, 88; quasars and, 242–43, 245–46, 249–53; radar and, 64–65, 132; radio waves and, 63, 65–67, 73, 125, 229, 263, 310, 318; red objects and, 250–52; redshift and, 207–11, 213, 215, 225, 228, 231, 237–38, 242–53, 284, 318, 353, 375, 379, 389, 393, 405, 428; speed of light and, 81; star classification and, 100–101; star measurements and, 60; temperature and, 68–70, 84–85, 87; thermal emission and, 68–72, 87, 89; ultraviolet (UV) light and, 62–69, 74, 86, 91, 107, 119–20, 179, 263; visible light and, 84, 86, 90; wavelength and, 87–90, 113, 125; white dwarfs and, 242; white light and, 41, 62, 68; X-rays and, 63, 65–68, 113–14, 263

speed of light: Astronomical Unit (AU) and, 54; black holes and, 300, 302, 304–6, 309–12, 316; Bradley and, 263; Buller and, 326; as constant, 264; as cosmic speed limit, 54; cosmic strings and, 331; Doppler effect and, 208; E = mc2 and, 9, 99, 101–2, 115, 158, 223, 259–60, 269, 284–86, 318, 401–2, 427, 429–30; early universe and, 231; eclipses of Jupiter and, 262; Einstein and, 263–64; energy radiation and, 54–55, 66–67, 73; expansion and, 208–9, 212, 408; gravitational waves and, 403; gravitons and, 403; inflation and, 374–75, 378–80, 382, 386, 393; light clock experiment and, 266–69; light-year and, 54, 58–59; lives of stars and, 123; Maxwell’s equations and, 11, 261–65, 290, 296–97, 349–50, 402; Michelson-Morley experiment and, 265–66; photons and, 66; Planck time and, 401; quasars and, 245–47; relativity and, 101, 260, 263–69, 274–80, 282, 284, 288, 296, 402, 427; search for life and, 158; shape of universe and, 363; spectra and, 81; stellar aberration and, 263; time delay from, 55; time travel and, 276–86, 324, 326–27, 330–33, 336, 342–43; Twin Paradox and, 280–83; wormholes and, 341–43

speed of sound, 208

Sphereland, 365

Spica, 100

spiral galaxies, 105–6, 111, 190–92, 194, 198, 201, 204, 214, 245, 249

spiral nebulae, 197–98, 200

Spitzer, Lyman, 5, 121, 122

standard candles, 60, 190, 213–15, 389

standard cosmological model, 13, 351, 391

Standish, Myles, 131

star clusters, 95–97, 137, 180

stars: black holes and, 100, 247 (see also black holes); formation of, 180–81; heavy elements and, 105, 123, 181, 219, 224; Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram and, 93–96, 98, 100, 121, 160, 189, 207, 219; lives of, 93–125; Map of the Universe and, 355; Milky Way and, 183–96; spectra and, 100. See also specific type

Star Trek series, 58, 158, 162, 185, 344

Star Wars IV (film), 157

static model, 362–65, 369, 393

Stefan, Josef, 75

Stefan-Boltzmann law, 75, 78, 95

Steinberg, Saul, 354

Steinhardt, Paul, 386

stellar aberration, 263, 265

stereoscopic art, 56, 272

Stonehenge, 424

Strauss, Michael A., 12; black holes and, 247–53; early universe and, 222–40; expansion and, 207–21; galaxies and, 197–206; interstellar medium and, 173–82; Milky Way and, 183–96; Newton’s laws and, 42–53; quasars and, 241–53

stress energy tensor, 364, 434n2

strong nuclear force, 24, 99, 351, 384–85, 402

Subaru galaxy: 362

Subaru Telescope, 253

Sun: acceleration and, 46–47, 116; angular size of, 116; Astronomical Unit (AU) and, 40, 42, 115–16, 213; becoming white dwarf, 403, 405; becoming red giant, 217; black holes and, 237–50, 300–303, 313; Catholic Church and, 37; color of, 68; Copernicus and, 36–37; core of, 113; death of, 24–25, 403, 405; density of, 22; distance to Earth, 115–16; early universe and, 222–23, 226–27, 231–32; Earth’s orbit around, 11, 26–27, 34, 37, 42–46, 51, 55, 57–58, 80, 115, 128, 137–38, 153, 156, 193, 210, 213, 218, 232, 248, 262, 270–72, 283; energy radiation and, 54–81, 424; equinox and, 30; fusion and, 103, 105, 111, 114–15, 117–18, 181, 222–23; galaxies and, 204, 210, 213, 217–19; gravity and, 32, 111, 114–15; heat from, 29–30; heliocentric theory and, 36–37, 42, 139, 184–85; helium and, 121, 134, 181, 287; hydrogen and, 94, 134, 217, 223, 227, 287; interstellar medium and, 180–96; Kepler’s laws and, 37–41; lives of stars and, 94–105, 111–21, 125; location in Milky Way, 184–86, 194–95; as main sequence star, 403; Map of the Universe and, 355; Newton’s laws and, 42–53; orbit of, 232; as ordinary star, 415; phases of Moon and, 33–36; photons and, 67–68; Pluto and, 128–34, 139–44; quasars and, 246; relativity and, 259–65, 270–72, 283, 287, 294, 297–99, 428; search for life and, 146–61, 168–69; size of, 185; solar eclipse and, 35, 260, 298–99; solar mass and, 49, 117, 102, 121–23, 176, 181–82, 247–49, 252, 303, 305–6, 314–16, 318–19, 338, 344, 355, 403; solar wind and, 21, 180; solstice of, 28; temperatures of, 23–24, 69, 78; as white star, 68–69; worldline of, 271–72

Sundrum, Raman, 352

supernovae: acceleration and, 389; Baade and, 244; heavy elements and, 105, 123, 181, 219, 224; lives of stars and, 100, 106–7, 121–25, 181, 216, 219, 243–44, 247, 252–53, 362, 389–92; Zwicky and, 244

superstring theory, 22, 351, 397

supersymmetry, 234, 402

surface of constant epoch, 382

Susskind, Leonard, 319–20

Sykes, Mark, 136

symmetry, 184, 234, 279, 284, 301, 402, 404, 427

Szekeres, George, 308–9

 

Tadpole galaxy, 204–5

Taurus, 120, 123–24

Taylor, Joe, 182, 355, 402

telescopes: Apache Point, 250; arc second and, 58–59; balloon, 389; black holes and, 306; brightness and, 78; early universe and, 229–30, 236–37; galaxies and, 197–98, 201, 205–6; Galileo and, 140; Herschel and, 139; Hubble, 13 (see also Hubble Space Telescope); interstellar medium and, 174, 180; invention of, 13, 60; Keck, 259, 393; lives of stars and, 108–9, 117, 119, 121, 124–25; Lowell and, 129–30; microwave, 229; Milky Way and, 183, 186–87, 189; Palomar Mountain, 215, 241, 244; quasars and, 242–47; radio, 71, 158, 168, 229–30, 241; reflecting, 41, 259; relativity and, 259, 263; remote control of, 251; resolution of, 246; search for life and, 158–59, 166, 168; Sloan Digital Sky Survey, 13, 216, 237–40, 249–53, 353, 355, 391–92, 409; Subaru, 253; as time machines, 205, 249; 2MASS, 176, 188; universal expansion and, 207, 209–10, 215

temperature: black holes and, 247, 316–19; Celsius scale, 69; CMB and, 229 (see also cosmic microwave background (CMB)); early universe and, 24, 219–20, 222–31, 235, 237, 240; Earth’s surface and, 78; equilibrium, 153–54; expansion and, 207, 214, 219–20; future of universe and, 403, 405–7; galaxies and, 201; Gibbons-Hawking, 403, 405–7; gravity and, 134; Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram and, 93–96, 98, 100, 121, 160, 189, 207, 219; human body, 69–70, 77–78; inflation and, 375–77, 387; Jupiter and, 135; Kelvin scale, 69; lives of stars and, 93–100, 105, 113–14, 117–18; of local planets, 135; luminosity and, 214; Mars and, 135; Mercury and, 135; Neptune and, 135; radiation and, 67–78; red objects and, 251–52; red stars and, 251; Saturn and, 135; scale of universe and, 23–24; search for life and, 151–56, 169; spectra and, 84–85, 87; Stefan-Boltzmann constant and, 75, 78, 95; Sun and, 23, 67–69, 78; terrestrial planets and, 134; Uranus and, 135; Venus and, 132, 135; wavelength and, 74–75; of whole universe, 71; Wien’s Law and, 75

theory of everything, 13, 320, 399

Theory of Everything, The (film), 12, 320

thermal emission, 68–72

thermal radiation: black holes and, 314, 317–19; early universe and, 223, 228, 231; Earth’s, 153; future of universe and, 402–3, 406; Hawking radiation and, 317–19, 340, 406–8, 435n1; inflation and, 374–75; radiation and, 71, 74–76; spectra and, 87, 89

thermodynamics, 75, 315–16, 323, 431

3C 48, 243

3C 273, 238, 241–45, 362

3-sphere geometry, 365–67, 370, 373, 374–75, 378–79, 382–83, 388–89, 394

third-quarter Moon, 34–35

Thisted, Ronald, 257

Thorne, Kip, 306, 314, 320, 325, 341–44

thought experiments, 263–65, 273, 275, 280, 285, 316, 325, 386, 429, 431

tidal forces, 118, 151, 160, 192, 204, 304, 306, 337, 339

Time Machine, The (Wells), 283, 345–46

Time magazine, 12, 258

time travel: black holes and, 337–41, 344; Cauchy horizon and, 335–41, 345, 396; Coat of the Future and, 321–22; cosmic strings and, 327–37, 340; Earth and, 324, 327–31, 341–43; Einstein and, 323, 326–27, 331, 337, 339, 341, 345–46; electromagnetism and, 330; electrons and, 324; energy density and, 327, 340, 344; event horizon and, 337–38, 340, 344; Flatland and, 340; four-dimensional universe and, 324, 326; general relativity and, 283, 321, 323, 327, 331, 334, 339, 341, 345–46; geometry and, 327, 329–30, 332–33, 343; grandmother paradox and, 324–26; gravity and, 331, 339, 341, 345; Hawking and, 336, 340, 344–45; inflation and, 396–97; information and, 323; jinn particles and, 322–24; mass and, 323–24, 329–30, 334, 336–38, 341–44; Newton’s laws and, 283–84, 286, 345; Padalka and, 283; photons and, 284–86, 327, 338–39, 341; quantum theory and, 322, 325–27, 337, 339–41, 344–46; shortcuts and, 327, 330–32, 342, 344–45; singularities and, 337–40, 344; spacelike separation and, 332; spacetime and, 300–304, 309–17, 322–28, 331–45; spaghettification and, 339; special relativity and, 276–84, 326; speed of light and, 276–86, 324, 326–27, 330–33, 336, 342–43; Sun and, 324, 330; tidal forces and, 337, 339; time machines and, 205, 249, 321–46, 396–97; vacuum energy and, 327–28; warp drives and, 185, 336, 342, 344–45; worldlines and, 322–27, 334–35, 364–69; wormholes and, 327, 336, 341–44

Time Travel in Einstein’s Universe (Gott), 346

Tipler, Frank, 341

Tombaugh, Clyde, 130, 138, 144

Tombaugh Regio, 145

transit, 130, 149–51, 213

Trifid Nebula, 179, 180

Triton, 140, 142

Truman, Harry S., 287–88

Trumpler, R., 299

Turner, Ed, 331

Twin Paradox, 280–83

Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS), 176, 188

Tyson, Neil de Grasse, 12; Hayden Planetarium and, 11; Levy on, 137; lives of stars and, 93–110; Newton’s laws and, 26–41; Pluto and, 126–45; The Pluto Files: the Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet and, 144; radiation and, 54–80; scale of universe and, 17–25; search for life and, 146–69; signature sayings of, 11; Space Chronicles and, 423; spectra and, 81–92; Sykes debate and, 136; undergraduate course of, 12

 

ultraviolet catastrophe, 74

ultraviolet (UV) light, 62–69, 74, 86, 91, 107, 119–20, 179, 263

uncertainty principle, 316–17, 381, 385, 393, 401, 403, 407

uniform velocity, 43–45

United Nations, 436n5

universal law of gravitation, 40–41, 48–49

University of California, Santa Cruz, 182

uranium, 102–3, 114, 139, 181, 287, 384–85

Uranus: as gas planet, 131; gravity and, 53; Herschel and, 138, 183; historical perspective on, 138–39; Lowell’s time and, 130; Map of the Universe and, 355; mass of, 131; moons of, 139, 142; Newton’s laws and, 53, 130; official IAU listing of planets and, 144; Planet X and, 131; relative size of, 133; rings of, 133; Rose Center display and, 129, 135; Standish and, 131; statistics of, 135

Urtsever, Ulvi, 341

U.S. Declaration of Independence, 138

U.S. Naval Observatory, 131

 

vacuum energy: future of universe and, 408–9; inflation and, 377–92; phantom energy and, 409–10; quantum theory and, 327–28, 364, 377–78, 381–82, 408–9; shape of universe and, 364; time travel and, 327–28

vague (Jeffreys) Bayesian prior, 436n5

Vanderbei, Bob, 354

van der Meer, Simon, 351

van de Walle, Nicholas, 436n5

variable stars, 189–90, 198, 200, 209–11, 213–15

vector fields, 350

Vega, 56–58, 343

Venus, 25; atmosphere of, 132; AU measurement and, 213; clouds of, 132; Frigga and, 40; historical perspective on, 138–39; Kepler’s time and, 39–40; Map of the Universe and, 355; Newton’s laws and, 130; official IAU listing of planets and, 144; relative size of, 132; Rose Center display and, 129; statistics of, 135; temperature of, 132, 135; terrestrial family and, 132, 141; worldline of, 271–72

Vesta, 139–41, 143

Vilenkin, Alex, 327, 384, 394, 408

Virgo Supercluster, 127

virtual pairs, 317–18

visible light: interstellar medium and, 176; lives of stars and, 114, 117, 125; Maxwell and, 263; Milky Way and, 186; night sky and, 29; radiation and, 65–71, 77–78; search for life and, 406; spectra and, 84, 86, 90; telescopes and, 241 (see also telescopes); wavelength and, 263

Voyager spacecraft, 131, 133

 

warp drives, 185, 336, 342, 344–45

water: abundance of, 81–82; boiling point of, 69, 154–155; density of, 22, 113, 141; early universe and, 222; entropy and, 315–16; Europa and, 140; freezing point of, 69, 154–155; Mars and, 129, 133, 422; microwaves and, 65; nonuniform distribution in boiling, 382; search for life and, 146, 149, 154–61

Watson, James, 352

wattage, 78

wavelength: black holes and, 318; blueshift and, 209, 217, 231, 245, 339, 341, 429; color and, 208–9; early universe and, 225, 228–29, 231, 250–53; expansion and, 250; frequency and, 65–67, 84, 208, 259, 284–85, 400–401, 427–29; Gibbons and Hawking radiation and, 406; inflation and, 375; Kaluza–Klein dimension and, 350; Maxwell and, 263; Milky Way observations and, 188; photons and, 66; Planck and, 73–74; quasars and, 241–42, 245, 253; radiation and, 64–68, 71–75, 87–90, 113, 125, 176–79, 188, 207–9, 225, 228–29, 231, 241–42, 245, 250–53, 258, 263, 285, 318, 350, 375, 400, 406, 428; radio and, 67; redshift and, 207–11, 213, 215, 225, 228, 231, 237–38, 242–53, 284, 318, 353, 375, 379, 389, 393, 405, 428; relativity and, 285; spectra and, 87–90, 113, 125; temperature and, 74–75; thermal emission and, 68–72; ultraviolet catastrophe and, 74; visible light and, 263; Wien’s Law and, 75

wavicles, 63

waxing gibbous Moon, 35

Weak Anthropic Principle, 410

weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), 234

weak nuclear force, 351, 402–3

Weinberg, Nevin, 409

Weinberg, Steven, 351, 398, 408

Wells, H. G., 283, 345–46

Wheeler, John Archibald, 314–15, 317

white dwarfs: black holes and, 303; expansion and, 242; future of universe and, 403, 405, 407; HR diagram and, 94; lives of stars and, 94, 95, 100, 119–23; Milky Way and, 189; scale of universe and, 22, 24; spectra and, 242; Sun becoming a, 403, 405

white holes, 312, 338

white light, 41, 62, 68

white stars, 22, 68

Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, 117

Wien, Wilhelm, 74–75

Wilkinson, Dave, 228–32, 235

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), 13, 235–38, 240, 353, 373, 387, 391–92

Wilson, E. O., 19

Wilson, Robert, 71, 229–30, 373, 375, 415

Witten, Ed, 351

Wordsworth, William, 258

worldlines: astronaut time (AT) and, 276–82; black holes and, 309–13; depiction of, 272, 273, 281, 309, 323, 325, 328, 335, 368, 377, 378, 383; de Sitter space and, 378, 380, 382–85, 393–99, 405–6; inflation and, 378, 379–81; personal, 272–73; relativity and, 271–74, 278–86, 294–95, 297, 309–13, 322–27, 334–35, 364, 365, 367–69, 378, 379–81, 427; symmetry and, 427; time travel and, 322–27, 334–35, 364–69

wormholes: black holes and, 311–12, 319–20; speed of light and, 341–43; time travel and, 327, 336, 341–44; traversable, 341

 

X-bosons, 402, 404

X-rays, 63, 65–68, 113–14, 263

 

Yahil, Amos, 243

 

Zeldovich, Hakov, 317

Zipf’s law, 168–69

zodiac constellations, 32–33

Zubrin, Robert, 422–23

Zwicky, Fritz, 196, 243–44, 244

ZZ Ceti stars, 190