The essential universe, from our most celebrated and beloved astrophysicist.

The moments of grandeur and weakness, the aspirations, and the problems of America's test pilots and first astronauts are revealed in an exploration of the dimensions of their inner lives in space and on the earth. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.

Recounts the story of the fifty-year-search by top scientists for the "missing" planet Vulcan and Albert Einstein's remarkable proof of the Theory of Relativity, a theory that ended the search for the hypothetical planet.

In this fascinating foray into the millennia-long relationship between science and military power, acclaimed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and writer Avis Lang examine how the methods and tools of astrophysics have been enlisted in the service of war. “The overlap is strong, and it’s a two- way street,

The Quantum Universe brings together two authors on a brilliantly ambitious mission to show that everyone can understand the deepest questions of science. But just what is quantum physics? How does it help us understand the universe? Where does it leave Newton and Einstein? And how - for all its apparently counter-intuitive ideas - can we be sure that the theory is good? The bizarre behaviour of the atoms and energy that make up the universe has lead to some woolly pronouncements on the nature of all interconnectedness - but Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw reveal the simple and understandable theories that allow for concrete, yet astonishing, predictions about the world around us. From entangled twins to the incredible double-slit experiment, The Quantum Universe will give every reader the most up-to-date picture of that amazing subatomic world, where thousands of years of physics must be rewritten completely.

From the record-breaking astronaut, national hero, and best-selling author of Endurance, a breathtaking collection of photos documenting his journey on the International Space Station, the vastness of space, and the unparalleled beauty of our own home planet. One's perspective shifts when one lives for an entire year--as Commander Scott Kelly, and no other American astronaut in history, has--in the isolating, grueling, and utterly unforgiving vacuum of space. Kelly's photos prove that this perspective--from 250 miles above earth--while hard-won, is also almost unspeakably beautiful. He mastered the rare art of microgravity photography. Using a Nikon D4 with a long 800mm lens and a 1.4x magnifying zoom lens, he panned the camera as the shutter released in order to compensate for the space station's velocity: 17,500 mph relative to the earth. Kelly's artist's eye helped make him a social media sensation, and here his photos are collected alongside his own commentary, which sets the images in their proper contexts, human and cosmic. Kelly captures sunsets, moonrises, the aurora borealis, and the luminous, hazy tapestry of the Milky Way. He presents snapshots of life and work on the International Space Station, from spacewalks to selfies. But above all--or floating amid all--he takes the earth itself as his celestial muse. Here are hurricanes, wrinkled mountains, New York City shining like a galaxy--glorious photographs that are, in themselves, a passionate argument for the preservation of our planet in the face of climate change and environmental destruction.

A renowned particle physicist draws on original research into dark matter to illuminate the surprising connections between deep space and life on Earth.

Describes the weirdness of space travel, answers questions about the long-term effects of living in zero gravity on the human body, and explains how space simulations on Earth can provide a preview to life in space.

Recreates the story of the Apollo 11 moon mission through interviews, NASA oral histories, and declassified CIA documents.

“Alan Lightman brings a light touch to heavy questions. Here is a book about nesting ospreys, multiple universes, atheism, spiritualism, and the arrow of time. Throughout, Lightman takes us back and forth between ordinary occurrences—old shoes and entropy, sailing far out at sea and the infinite expanse of space. “In this slight volume, Lightman looks toward the universe and captures aspects of it in a series of beautifully written essays, each offering a glimpse at the whole from a different perspective: here time, there symmetry, not least God. It is a meditation by a remarkable humanist-physicist, a book worth reading by anyone entranced by big ideas grounded in the physical world.