Understanding the Universe

In language that should be accessible to beginners and more experienced observers alike, this manual explains the broad concepts of astronomy and introduces readers to the workings of the universe, starting with the sun, Earth, and planets in the Solar System. The formation and composition of the wide variety of galaxies present in the universe is discussed in detail along with other topics, such as the creation and future of the universe itself and the possibility of life existing elsewhere. This introduction to the subject of astronomy is illustrated with images from the Hubble Space Telescope and other world-class telescopes, both from the ground and space. Several specially commissioned artworks depict what the Solar System may have looked like in the earliest stages of its formation; what planets in other solar systems might look like; and how the Earth and the sun might look in five billion years.