The main part of the book consists of 10 chapters; each chapter has a Quiz section (containing multiple-choice questions with four options); a Solutions section (giving the correct answer to each of the questions); and a Guide section (providing, for each answer, a paragraph of text; collectively, the paragraphs combine to form a coherent history of astronomy at a level suitable for the lay person). Chapter 1. A journey around our cosmic neighbourhood: the solar system and its secrets Following a look at the Sun, and Earth''s relationship to its life-sustaining star, we embark on a tour of the solar system - and along the way we delve into the fascinating story of planets, asteroids, and comets. We follow in the footsteps of the great Greek astronomers such as Aristarchus, Eratosthenes, and Hipparchus; take in the arguments of scientists such as Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton; and end with the cutting-edge space-based observations that continue to reveal new wonders in our cosmic backyard. Chapter 2. The birth, life, and secrets of stars: unravelling the mysteries of cosmic beacons "Twinkle, twinkle, little star; How I wonder what you are". When that lullaby was written, no one knew what a star was. Now we do know: a star is a hot, luminous ball of gas that shines by fusing hydrogen in its core.

In this chapter we unravel the complex story of how astronomers estimated the distances to these cosmic beacons, and discuss the spectroscopic techniques that led to an understanding of how stars shine. We explore how stars form and the details of their life on the main sequence. Chapter 3. Peering into the cosmos: a timeline of astronomical tools and techniques Early astronomers studied the cosmos using a variety of instruments, from the ancient Antikythera mechanism through to Brahe''s extraordinary Uraniborg observatory. Then came the telescope, and a revolution in how we see the universe. The revolution continues. In this chapter we discover how modern telescopes peer through windows across the spectrum, from radio to gamma. And we learn how more exotic telescopes can detect cosmic rays, neutrinos, and gravitational waves.

Chapter 4. The final frontier: the dramatic death of stars and the birth of black holes We look at the fate of a star once it has burned through its store of nuclear fuel. A low-mass star maintains a miserly existence for hundreds of billions of years, before fading. A mid-mass star such as our Sun spends about ten billion years on the main sequence before eventually settling down for life as a white dwarf. It is the destiny of a high-mass star to meet with a dramatic end. A high-mass star shines bright and dies young, before disappearing behind the event horizon of a black hole. Chapter 5. The search for exoplanets: alien worlds and the quest for life beyond Earth In this chapter we dive into one of the most exciting developments in astronomy: the discovery of exoplanets.

Now that thousands of exoplanets have been identified, and we know that planetary formation is a natural concomitant of star formation, we explore the tantalising question: might life exist beyond Earth? Many exoplanets seem to be utterly bizarre, but perhaps it''s Earth that is the bizarre world? Might we be alone in the universe? We look at how SETI scientists hope to answer this question. Chapter 6. Island universes: the marvels and wonders of galaxies We now take the next step on the cosmic distance ladder and learn how the stars in the night sky weave together to form the breathtaking structure that is our Milky Way galaxy. And we investigate the role played by variable stars in revealing a profound fact about the universe: our galaxy is just one of billions. We then peer into the galactic cores, the realm of supermassive black holes. When these beasts feed they generate active galactic nuclei; this is the unimaginably violent domain of quasars and blazars. Chapter 7. Stretching the cosmos: a universal expansion When we extend the distance ladder to the extragalactic scale, we encounter one of the most astounding discoveries in all of astronomy: the farther away a galaxy is from Earth, the greater its light is redshifted.

The conclusion from this observation? The universe is expanding! We dive into Einstein''s general relativity, a theory that can describe the universe on large-scales, and explore the mind-bending implications of an expanding universe. Chapter 8. Rewinding time: the Big Bang, inflation, and the birth of a universe What if we could run time in reverse? In this chapter we''ll see how the universe was hotter, smaller and denser at earlier times. We''ll explore the microwave background radiation that fills today''s cosmos, a relic from when the universe was just 380,000 years old. We''ll venture back to the Big Bang. And then we''ll head back even further, to a period of exponential expansion known as inflation. We''ll learn how cosmologists believe inflation is the ''container'' in which the Big Bang happened. Chapter 9.

The invisible universe: unveiling the enigmas of dark matter and dark energy There''s more to the universe than meets the eye: the standard model of cosmology suggests 95% of the universe exists in some invisible form. Mysterious dark matter appears to exert a gravitational force on galactic distance scales; even more mysterious dark energy appears to be accelerating the universal expansion. The standard model thus invokes a trinity of concepts - inflation, dark matter, dark energy - that are poorly understood. The journey doesn''t end here, however: there''s so much left for us to discover. Chapter 10. New eyes on the universe: pioneering observatories and the future of astronomy We are witnessing the dawn of a new era in astronomy and cosmology. In this final chapter we look at the slew of revolutionary observatories that are poised to transform our understanding of the universe and of our place within it. These pioneering observatories range from remarkable ground-based telescopes to cutting-edge space-based instruments.

They will extend our reach out to the farthest depths of the universe. So prepare to enter a new golden age of astronomy - the best is yet to come. References The final chapter contains a full bibliography along with suggestions for further reading.