Universe - Hardcover

Using a wealth of high-resolution images collected by a fleet of telescopes, satellites and inter-planetary probes, UNIVERSE embarks on a voyage to the edge of the cosmos. After a fly past of our planetary neighbours we reach the edge of the solar system - a mere 15 light hours away - and emerge into interstellar space and head for the heart of our galaxy. The rhythms of stellar life unfold before our eyes: dark clouds of dust and gas blaze with clusters newly smelted stars, dying stars bloom and fade as planetary nebulae, or tear themselves apart as supernovae. Navigating through thick swarms of stars, we reach the galactic core, a gravitational maelstrom of exotic stars in the thrall of a supermassive black hole. Hundreds of thousands of light years must be covered to reach the Milky Way's companions, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, and millions more devoured before we cross true intergalactic space. Out here we watch the hidden lives of galaxies: we see them locked in gravitational combat, tearing each other apart or swallowing their companions whole. Now billions of light years from Earth, we can discern the large-scale structure of the universe: massive conglomerations of galaxies gather like grains of dust on a veil of cobwebs, warping space with their tremendous gravity. Having crossed an almost unimaginable 13.4 billion light years, we encounter a wall of radiation. Here our voyage into the cosmos must finally end, for we have reached the very edge of the visible universe: what stands before us is the afterglow of the Big Bang itself.

Take a journey into realms both stranger and more beautiful than you ever imagined: Universe embarks on a 13.7-billion-light-year journey from Earth to the edge of the cosmos and the beginning of time. Universe the book: Explore over 200 astonishing planets, stars, nebulae, white dwarfs, supernovae, black holes and galaxies; A wealth of cosmic facts of data; Fully up-to-date with the most dramatic astronomical images every captured; Images from Cassini, Chandra X-ray Observatory, Deep Space 1, Galileo, Hubble Space Telescope, Magellan, Mariner, Mars Express, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mercury MESSENGER, NEAR Shoemaker, Spitzer Space Telescope, Stardust, SOHO, TRACE, Venus Express, Viking and Voyagers I and II. Universe the DVD: Travel 13.7 billion light years from Earth to the very edge of the universe; Computer animation brings deep space to life; Bonus extra - A high-resolution gallery of 50 of the best-ever space images for your desktop or screensaver.