Dennett explores every aspect of evolutionary thinking to show why it is so fundamental to our existence, and why it affirms - not threatens - our convictions about the meaning of life. Finding meaning in our lives in this topsy-turvy world could not be more in vogue at the moment, but with light-hearted metaphors, a large dollop of fun and some gentle hand-holding, Sutter guides us through some of the enigmatic mysteries of the Universe. From an astronaut's memoir to understanding the physics of the Universe, here are great books that each open up a new window into space.

the best space and astronomy books 2023 15 of the best space and astronomy books 2023

Kellie Gerardi has worked with NASA, tested technology that would be sent to the International Space Station, and helped develop programmes for future space exploration. Stories in the Starsis both an imaginative and in-depth collection of human's encounters with the night sky. It is a weighty subject, incorporating everything from cosmology and atomic physics to quantum physics and philosophy, but astrophysicists Geraint Lewis and Luke Barnes have done a stellar job in explaining some extremely challenging concepts with style and panache. Katie Mack, an astrophysicist at North Carolina State University, has devoted much of her career to exploring this topic in detail, and in The End of Everything she outlines a half-dozen kinds of fate that may befall our cosmos. There are a few tricks and techniques that Beall shares, but ultimately, she advocates for the simple power – and wonder – in looking up.Time is spent examining how the Steady State theory fought for supremacy with the theory of the Big Bang and the expanding Universe. The obvious choices are the Moon or Mars, but there are lots of other places in the Solar System we could try, each with their own problems and opportunities. Thanks to Rovelli’s easy-going style, after a few pages you’ll forget that you’re even reading a physics book. Stargazing does not have to be complicated, reveals Abigail Beall in this beautifully compact guide.

best books about the universe for people who want the - Shepherd The best books about the universe for people who want the -

The world is always more complicated than the maps you make of it, and in a lot of situations, it turns out that complexity matters . At the bottom of our understanding of the universe is quantum mechanics, perhaps the most astonishing theory ever devised my humankind.Until the End of Time is Brian Greene's breathtaking new exploration of the cosmos and our quest to understand it. The book is driven by the fascinating narrative of humanity’s developing cosmologies, from the religious philosophies of Mesopotamia to the latest scientific discoveries. Part one describes the quest for ‘The Laws of the Cosmos’, while part two focuses on the history and structure of the cosmos, covering the Big Bang and stellar evolution, as well as gravitational waves and, at the time of publication, the expected first image of a supermassive black hole, and includes stories and anecdotes of the often colourful characters who contributed to our current understanding, such as Georges Lemaître, Fritz Zwicky and Fred Hoyle. In this short and highly accessible book, Levin, an astrophysicist at Barnard College of Columbia University, brings her unique poetic style to the puzzles found at the frontiers of physics. The Universe really will come to an end one way or another, and we have an idea how – five ideas, actually.

The Universe: The book of the BBC TV series presented by Professor The Universe: The book of the BBC TV series presented by

This book, by former Astronomy Now editor Paul Parsons, begins with an observation by Belgian cosmologist Georges Lemaître that “the Big Bang was a day without a yesterday”. He leaves us therefore eagerly anticipating further exploration of the very large, via gravitational wave detectors and the James Webb Space Telescope, and future revelations of those first few moments after the Big Bang through the subatomic physics of particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider. Taking the growing body of information about other planets, applying the laws of biology, principles of chemistry, and his knowledge of Earth's history, Kershenbaum presents the possibilities for alien creatures with confidence. But now, we sit at the precipice of a new way of observing the stars – through robots, instead of our own eyes – and that has consequences across the sciences. Were the gravitational constant, or the strength of the weak and strong forces, or any other of the myriad properties that have gone into defining our Universe, even just slightly different, then our Universe would likely be empty, sterile and possibly very short-lived.

This is by no means a frivolous book, but importantly, you don’t need a degree or to be an astronomy nerd to enjoy it or to wonder at the audacity of life. This enjoyable book delivers a solid background in cosmology and current thinking and is heartily recommended.

The Universe by Andrew Cohen, Professor Brian Cox - Waterstones The Universe by Andrew Cohen, Professor Brian Cox - Waterstones

From the moment it first appeared, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection has been controversial: misrepresented, abused, denied and fiercely debated. As the concept of an accelerating expansion itself becomes accepted, there has never been a better time to get to grips with this brave new world of cosmology. Astronomer Emily Levesque charts the history of the profession, following her colleagues across the globe and back in time. Evidence eventually favoured the latter, but even that camp did not suspect that this expansion is accelerating. Rovelli, an Italian physicist, manages to take the most difficult concepts in physics, from relativity and quantum mechanics to the nature of space and time, and explain them in straightforward, everyday language.From pin-pointing the Earth’s place in an infinite Universe to black holes and dark energy, Sutter is our cheerful fact-filled guide.