Ancient Light: Our Changing View of the Universe - Hardcover

Alan Lightman seeks to mediate between the worlds of modern cosmology and ordinary perception outside its strange precincts--explaining its major theories in simplified terms, introducing its cast...One senses in "Ancient Light" Alan Lightman's respect for the tiny wondering human mind, whatever its ability to grasp the conundrums of modern cosmology.--David Mehegan "Boston Sunday Globe " A charming, lucid, and accessible book that is the epitome of good popular science. I have read no finer introduction to cosmology.--David Hughes "New Scientist " Lyrical...With its reliance on plain English, metaphor, and creative analogy, "Ancient Light" brings cosmic abstractions down to Earth with nary a jolt. This little book is a must-read for anyone whose gaze extends beyond his or her own world into the one we--and our ancestors--share.--Thea Singer "Boston Phoenix Literary Section " A short, understandable account of our changing view of the universe and of the scientists who are behind that change...Lightman has done a good job of telling the story of an exciting science.--William Kolata "New York Times Book Review "

Cosmology - the study of the origin, structure, and continuing evolution of the universe - is the most speculative of all sciences and religion. In "Ancient Light" astrophysicist and science writer Alan Lightman takes the reader on a grand tour of cosmology, exploring its history, the theories and the evidence, the new discoveries, the outstanding questions, and the controversies that have revolutionized this field. Thoughout history, as far back as the early Babylonians and Greeks, each culture has crafted its own story of the beginning of the universe. The modern story of cosmology began with the big bang model, but recent observations of the location and motions of galaxies are challenging this conventional view. The "Great Attractor", the "Great Wall" and other unexpected findings have thrown into chaos the previous assumption of a smooth and homogeneous cosmos so critical to the big bang model. Aided by the application of particle physics to cosmology, a new generation of scientists have launched a host of elaborate hypotheses to grapple with the inconsistencies that threaten the standard model. But current explanations - ranging from the inflationary universe model to the cold dark matter model to the anthropic principle - have run into difficulties of their own. In "Ancient Light", the human story behind cosmology is enhanced with biographical sketches of the key figures, past and present, including Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Vera Rubin, Alan Guth, and Margaret Geller.