1. The grand design. 1.1. The unfolding Universe. 1.2. Sizes and distances in the Universe. 1.3. The nature of light and the electromagnetic spectrum. 1.4. Observing the sky through the Earth's atmosphere. 1.5. The temperatures of celestial objects. 1.6. The Universe as observed in different wavebands. 1.7. The multi-wavelength Universe -- 2. The birth of the stars and the great cosmic cycle. 2.1. Powering the Sun and the stars. 2.2. The Sun - a testbed for the physics of the stars. 2.3. The evolution of stars and the great cosmic cycle. 2.4. How to observe stars forming. 2.5. The problems of star formation. 2.6. Interstellar chemistry and the origin of life -- 3. The origin of quasars. 3.1. The origins of high energy astrophysics. 3.2. The radio galaxies and the discovery of quasars. 3.3. The discovery of pulsars. 3.4. The supernova SN1987A. 3.5. The discovery of X-ray binary sources. 3.6. General relativity and black holes. 3.7. The astrophysics of black holes
3.8. Observational evidence for black holes. 3.9. The big problems -- 4. The origin of galaxies. 4.1. The evolution of galaxies oversimplified. 4.2. Hubble's law and the expansion of the Universe. 4.3. The dynamics of the expanding Universe. 4.4. The measurement of cosmological parameters. 4.5. The dark matter problem. 4.6. Gravitational lenses and dark matter. 4.7. The basic problems of galaxy formation. 4.8. Radiation in the expanding Universe. 4.9. Dark matter and galaxy formation. 4.10. Making real galaxies -- 5. The origin of the Universe. 5.1. Towards the Big Bang. 5.2. The thermal history of the Universe. 5.3. The synthesis of the light elements. 5.4. Nine facts about the Universe. 5.5. The four fundamental problems. 5.6. Solutions to the great problems. 5.7. The anthropic cosmological principle. 5.8. The inflationary Universe and clues from particle physics. 5.9. Final things
Analysis
Cosmology (Astronomy)
Cosmology (Astronomy)
Notes
Includes index
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages [160]-161) and index
