Galactic Encounters : Our Majestic and Evolving Star-System, From the Big Bang to Time's End

Written by William Sheehan, a noted historian of astronomy, and Christopher J. Conselice, a professional astronomer specializing in galaxies in the early universe, this book tells the story of how astronomers have pieced together what is known about the vast and complicated systems of stars and dust known as galaxies. The first galaxies appeared as violently disturbed exotic objects when the Universe was only a few 100 million years old. From that tortured beginning, they have evolved though processes of accretion, merging and star formation into the majestic spirals and massive ellipticals that dominate our local part of the Universe. This of course includes the Milky Way, to which the Sun and Solar System belong; it is our galactic home, and the only galaxy we will ever know from the inside. Sheehan and Conselice show how astronomers’ understanding has grown from the early catalogs of Charles Messier and William Herschel; developed through the pioneering efforts of astronomers like E.E. Barnard, V.M. Slipher, Henrietta Leavitt, Edwin Hubble and W.W. Morgan; and finally is reaching fruition in cutting-edge research with state-of-the-art instruments such as the Hubble Space Telescope that can see back to nearly the beginning of the Universe. By combining archival research that reveals fascinating details about the personalities, rivalries and insights of the astronomers who created extragalactic astronomy with the latest data gleaned from a host of observa tions, the authors provide a view of galaxies – and their place in our understanding of the Universe – as they have never been seen before. "The first galaxies appeared as violently disturbed exotic objects when the Universe wa only a few [hundred] million years old. From taht tortured beginning, they have evolved through processes of accretion, merging and star formation into the majestic spirals and massive ellipticals that dominate our local part of the Universe. This of course includes the Milky way, to which the Sun and Solar System belong ... Sheehan and Conselice show how astronomers' understanding has grown from the early catalogs of Charles Messier and William Herschel; developed through the pioneering efforts of astronomers like E.E. Barnard, V.M. Slipher, Henrietta Leavitt, Edwin Hubble and W.W. Morgan; and finally reaching fruition in cutting-edge research with state-of-the-art equipment such as the Hubble Space Telescope that can see back to nearly the beginning of the Universe. ..."--Back cover Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Setting the Scene....Pages 1-13 Catchpole of the Nebulae....Pages 14-27 “I Have Looked Farther....”....Pages 28-53 Chimneys and Tubules of the Galaxy....Pages 54-78 Of Leviathans, Spirals, and Fire-Mists....Pages 79-98 The Various Twine of Light....Pages 99-113 Fields of Glory....Pages 114-144 What Stuff Stars Are Made Of....Pages 145-173 The Nebula Is Leaving the Solar System....Pages 174-204 The “Galactocentric” Revolution....Pages 205-232 From Olympus....Pages 233-263 W.W. Morgan and the Discovery of the Spiral Arms of the Milky Way....Pages 264-290 To Forge a Galaxy....Pages 291-325 Over to the Dark Side: Dark Matter, Black Holes, and the Origin of the Universe....Pages 326-353 Dark Energy....Pages 354-366 Afterglows....Pages 367-377 Back Matter....Pages 378-385 This book offers a rich introduction to the wonders of the Galaxy, in an up-to-date, scientifically informed style that appeals to both researchers and the general reader. Includes maps produced especially for this book by the master illustrator Julian Baum.