Once we thought the universe was filled with shining stars, dust, planets, and galaxies.

We now know that more than 98 percent of all matter in the universe is dark.

It emits absolutely nothing yet bends space and time; keeps stars speeding around galaxies; and determines the fate of the universe.

But dark matter is only part of the story.

Scientists have recently discovered that the expansion of the universe is speeding up, driven by a mysterious commodity called dark energy.

Depending on what dark matter and energy happen to be, our seemingly quiet universe could end its days in a Big Rip, tearing itself apart, or a Big Crunch, collapsing down to a universe the size of nothing, ready to be reincarnated in a Big Bang once again.For the general reader and armchair astronomer alike, Iain Nicolson's fascinating account shows how our ideas about the nature and the content of the universe have developed.

He highlights key discoveries, explains underlying concepts, and examines current thinking on dark matter and dark energy.

For more information about the title Dark Side of the Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Cosmos, read the full description at Amazon.com, or see the following related books:

Galaxies in the Universe: An Introduction — This extensively illustrated book presents the astrophysics of galaxies since their beginnings in the early Universe. It has been thoroughly revised ...  > read more

In Search of Dark Matter (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) — The dark matter problem is one of the most fundamental and profoundly difficult problems in the history of science. Not knowing what makes up most of ...  > read more

The Extravagant Universe: Exploding Stars, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating Cosmos (Princeton Science Library) — One of the world's leading astronomers, Robert Kirshner, takes readers inside a lively research team on the quest that led them to an extraordinary ...  > read more

Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang — Two world-renowned scientists present an audacious new vision of the cosmos that “steals the thunder from the Big Bang theory.” ...  > read more

Author: Iain Nicolson

Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press

Date: Mar. 19, 2007

List Price:

$35.00

Discount Price:

$20.15

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