Text for back cover page. Bright Hole Cosmos invites you to replace the Big Bang paradigm of a unique cosmic origin and expansion by multi-bang expansions followed by contractions within a permanent cosmic recycling of all electronuclear material. The progenitors of stars and galaxies are found in expanding shells colliding with their neighbours along dynamic common walls which are home to groups of galaxies that will in turn migrate to clusters. Large clusters end up in the crushing gravitational claws of giant black holes whose final compacted destiny is a maxi-bang event, the birth of a new expanding bubble. A new method is presented to compute galactic rotation velocities from Doppler shift field data whereby Newtonian dynamics is adapted and applied to point-like corrections on a disk. The Standard Model of electronuclear particles is introduced with a questioning on the speed of gravity and the Planck units where a mare incognitum is found.

Text for back cover page. Bright Hole Cosmos invites you to replace the Big Bang paradigm of a unique cosmic origin and expansion by multi-bang expansions followed by contractions within a permanent cosmic recycling of all electronuclear material. The progenitors of stars and galaxies are found in expanding shells colliding with their neighbours along dynamic common walls which are home to groups of galaxies that will in turn migrate to clusters. Large clusters end up in the crushing gravitational claws of giant black holes whose final compacted destiny is a maxi-bang event, the birth of a new expanding bubble. A new method is presented to compute galactic rotation velocities from Doppler shift field data whereby Newtonian dynamics is adapted and applied to point-like corrections on a disk. The Standard Model of electronuclear particles is introduced with a questioning on the speed of gravity and the Planck units where a mare incognitum is found.

This spectacularly illustrated book is a comprehensive exploration of astronomy through the eyes of the world's observatories and spacecraft missions. Featuring the latest and most stunning images, it provides a magnificent picture of the beauty of the cosmos. The accompanying text is an accessible guide to the science behind the wonders and includes clear explanations of all the major themes in astronomy. An essential guide to understanding and appreciating the Universe, Visions of the Cosmos builds on the success of the authors' previous book, Hubble Vision, which became an international best-seller and won world-wide acclaim. Carolyn Collins Petersen is a science journalist and creator of educational materials for astronomy. She is the former Editor of Books & Products at Sky Publishing Corporation, and served as Editor of SkyWatch and Associate Editor of Sky & Telescope magazines. Petersen is the lead author of the book Hubble Vision, first published in 1995 by Cambridge University Press, and co-written with Dr. John C. Brandt. She is also co-editor (with J. Kelly Beatty and Andrew Chaikin) of The New Solar System, fourth edition, co-published by Sky Publishing Corporation and Cambridge University Press. John C. Brandt has held positions as a research scientist, teacher, and administrator, and is currently an adjunct professor of physics and astronomy at the University of New Mexico. He served for 20 years as Chief of a major NASA scientific laboratory and was the Principal Inverstigator for the Goddard High Resolution Spectograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. John received the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement in 1978 and 1992, and has had a minor planet formally named after him (3503 Brandt) for his fundamental contributions to understanding of solar system astrophysics.

In the past, they were recognized as the most destructive force in nature. Now, following a cascade of astonishing discoveries, supermassive black holes have undergone a dramatic shift in paradigm. Astronomers are finding out that these objects may have been critical to the formation of structure in the early universe, spawning bursts of star formation, planets, and even life itself. They may have contributed as much as half of all the radiation produced after the Big Bang, and as many as 200 million of them may now be lurking through the vast expanses of the observable cosmos. In this elegant, non-technical account, Melia conveys for the general reader the excitement generated by the quest to expose what these giant distortions in the fabric of space and time have to say about our origin and ultimate destiny.

On July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the most powerful X-ray telescope ever built, was launched aboard the space shuttle Columbia. Since then, Chandra has given us a view of the universe that is largely hidden from telescopes sensitive only to visible light. In Chandra's Cosmos, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra science spokesperson Wallace H. Tucker uses a series of short, connected stories to describe the telescope's exploration of the hot, high-energy face of the universe. The book is organized in three parts: "The Big," covering the cosmic web, dark energy, dark matter, and massive clusters of galaxies; "The Bad," exploring neutron stars, stellar black holes, and supermassive black holes; and "The Beautiful," discussing stars, exoplanets, and life. Chandra has imaged the spectacular, glowing remains of exploded stars and taken spectra showing the dispersal of their elements. Chandra has observed the region around the supermassive black hole in the center of our Milky Way and traced the separation of dark matter from normal matter in the collision of galaxies, contributing to both dark matter and dark energy studies. Tucker explores the implications of these observations in an entertaining, informative narrative aimed at space buffs and general readers alike.

A top astronomer explores the universe through the lens of its most jaw-dropping extremes. The universe is all about extremes, and in this engaging and thought-provoking book, astronomer Bryan Gaensler gives a whirlwind tour of the galaxies, with an emphasis on its fastest, hottest, heaviest, brightest, oldest, densest, and even loudest elements. From supernova explosions a billion times brighter than the sun to an asteroid the size of a beach ball, Extreme Cosmos offers a fascinating, fresh, and informed perspective of the remarkable richness of the universe, and the incredible physics that modern astronomy has revealed.