"How did the Earth get to be the way it is? Just like all of us, it's a product of its ancestors. In this enthralling cosmic journey through space and time, astrophysicist Jillian Scudder locates our home planet within its own 'family tree'. Our parent the Earth and its sibling planets in our solar system formed within the same gas cloud. Without our grandparent the Sun, we would not exist, and the Sun in turn relies on the Milky Way as its home....

"Our universe might appear chaotic, but deep down it's simply a myriad of rules working independently to create patterns of action, force, and consequence. In Ten Patterns That Explain the Universe, Brian Clegg explores the phenomena that make up the very fabric of our world by examining ten essential sequenced systems. From diagrams that show the deep relationships between space and time to the quantum behaviors that rule the way that matter and...

"This book brings together the many fascinating theories of our universe, from the earliest philosophies to today's cutting-edge scientific discoveries. Collectively it aims to explain the origin and evolution of the universe at large, the processes by which planetary systems form, and the chances of life being ubiquitous beyond our own planet. Disputes and fierce competition between eminent scientific figures is discussed, and developments in optical...