About the Book

The Runaway Universe

The Runaway Universe

The Race To Discover the Future of the Cosmos
Donald Goldsmith (Author)
December 2000
Trade Paperback · 256 Pages
$16.00 U.S. · $19.50 CAN · £10.99 U.K. · €11.99 E.U.
ISBN 9780738204291
Basic Books
 

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Description

For decades, astronomers have sought to discover the ultimate fate of the universe. Will the cosmos continue forever in its expansion, which began billions of years ago with the big bang? Or will gravity someday reverse the process, producing a big crunch? Two groups of astronomers have recently announced a discovery that seems to resolve the issue but that also shakes the science of cosmology to its very foundation: the expansion of the universe appears to be accelerating. The Runaway Universe is the story of these astronomers who have stood the world of cosmology on its ear-and of their competitive race to discover the future of the universe.

About the Author

Donald Goldsmith received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California at Berkeley in 1969. The author or co-author of more than a dozen books on astronomy and astrophysics, he has received lifetime achievement awards for astronomy popularization from the American Astronomical Society and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.