Visual Galaxy: The Ultimate Guide to the Milky Way and BeyondThis compelling visual journey through our galaxy combines more than 350 photographs, illustrations, and graphics to present the universe as you've never seen it before. Visual Galaxy is a deep dive into the past, present, and future of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. In this mind-expanding visual tour through the cosmos, spectacular photographs are converted into interpretive graphics, starting with the sun and moving outward into space where stars are born, black holes lurk, and planets of diverse size and anatomy spin through their orbit. The final chapters locate our galaxy within the known universe and add a scintillating peek of other exoplanets in the cosmos. Detailed maps and fascinating imagery from recent space missions are paired with clear, authoritative scientific information. |
Contents
CONTENTS Foreword | 14 |
A GREAT SPIRAL IN SPACE 18 How Was the Milky Way Created? | 18 |
The Structure of the Galaxy | 20 |
Types of Galaxies | 22 |
Movements in the Milky | 24 |
Interstellar Gas and Dust | 26 |
The Galaxy in the Night | 28 |
The Invisible Milky | 30 |
The Size of the Solar System | 170 |
Distances in the Solar System | 172 |
Lasting Bonds | 174 |
Orbital Inclination | 178 |
Other Constants in the Solar System | 180 |
What Is a Planet? | 182 |
Planetary Compositions | 184 |
Observing the Solar System | 188 |
The Parts of Our Galaxy | 33 |
The Galactic Halo | 34 |
The Galaxys Disc | 38 |
The Spiral Arms | 40 |
A Barred Spiral | 42 |
The Center of the Milky | 44 |
Sagittarius | 46 |
WHERE STARS LIVE AND DIE 52 The Stars Sources of Matter | 52 |
Stellar Nurseries | 54 |
Stars in Our Galaxy | 58 |
Classification of Stars | 60 |
Temperature and Spectral Type | 62 |
Brilliance and Distance | 64 |
Size and Scale | 66 |
The Energy of Stars | 68 |
The Evolution of Stars | 71 |
The Life Cycle of Stars | 72 |
Nebulae | 74 |
Emission Nebulae | 76 |
Star Formation | 78 |
Young Stars | 80 |
Star Clusters | 84 |
Red Giants | 86 |
Planetary Nebulae | 90 |
White Dwarfs | 92 |
Massive Stars and Star Systems | 95 |
The Short Life of a Massive Star | 96 |
Supernovae | 98 |
Remnants of Supernovae | 101 |
Neutron Stars | 102 |
Black Holes | 104 |
Binary Stars | 106 |
Novae | 110 |
Our Current View of the Stars | 112 |
AN ORDINARY STAR CALLED THE SUN 116 The Sun the First Observed Star | 116 |
The Sun in the Milky | 118 |
Our Galactic | 120 |
The Suns Neighborhood | 122 |
The Sunss Size | 124 |
A Powerhouse of Energy | 126 |
The Solar Cycle | 128 |
The Suns Atmosphere | 130 |
Solar Light | 132 |
The Creation of the | 134 |
Maturation of the | 138 |
The Sun as a Red Giant | 140 |
Death of the | 142 |
The Sun and Its Influence on Earth | 147 |
The Suns Magnetic Field | 148 |
Solar Wind | 150 |
Aurorae | 152 |
Solar Eruptions | 154 |
The Dangers of Solar Storms | 158 |
The Solar Constant | 160 |
Missions to the | 164 |
A HOME FOR LIFE 168 The Formation of the Solar System | 168 |
Missions in the Solar System | 190 |
The Science of Interplanetary Flight | 192 |
Gas Planets Rocky Planets | 196 |
The Earth and Other Rocky Planets | 201 |
Worlds of Rock | 202 |
Light Atmospheres | 204 |
Mercury the Closest Planet to the | 206 |
Venus the Hottest Planet | 208 |
Earth the Blue Planet | 210 |
The Earth and the Moon | 212 |
Mars the Last Rocky Planet | 214 |
Mars and Earth | 216 |
Map of Mars | 218 |
Volcanoes in the Solar System | 222 |
The Gas Planets Giants of the Solar System | 227 |
Worlds of | 228 |
Dense Atmospheres | 230 |
Jupiter the Giant of the Solar System | 232 |
Jupiter and Earth | 234 |
Mapping a Giant | 236 |
Saturn the Lord of the Rings | 238 |
Saturn and Earth | 240 |
The Ring Structure | 242 |
Life in the Outer Solar System | 246 |
Uranus an Icy Giant | 248 |
Neptune in the Systems Outer Reaches | 250 |
The Minor Bodies and Interplanetary Space | 253 |
The Asteroid Belt | 254 |
The Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud | 256 |
Dwarf Planets | 258 |
Comets | 260 |
The Heliosphere | 262 |
OTHER EARTHS OTHER SUNS 266 Planetary Systems | 266 |
Circumstellar Habitable Zone | 270 |
Galactic Habitable Zone | 272 |
Indirect Methods of Detection | 274 |
Stars with Exoplanets | 276 |
Types of Exoplanets | 278 |
Potentially Habitable Planets | 280 |
The Search for Life | 282 |
The Search for a New Earth | 284 |
The First Exoplanet Orbiting a Star | 286 |
HD 189733b a Blue Giant | 288 |
THE MILKY WAY IN THE COSMOS 292 Cosmic Distances | 292 |
The Milky Way in the Known Universe | 294 |
The Virgo Supercluster | 296 |
The Local Group | 298 |
The Discovery of Neighboring Galaxies | 300 |
The Magellanic Clouds | 302 |
Other Nearby Galaxies | 305 |
The Collision with Andromeda | 306 |
GLOSSARY | 310 |
AND INDEX | 311 |
Glossary | 312 |
| 318 | |
Common terms and phrases
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