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summary
The universe is big. Really big. And it gets bigger every day. In Cosmological Enigmas, Mark Kidger weaves together history, science, and science fiction to consider questions about the bigness of space and the strange objects that lie trembling at the edge of infinity. What are quasars, blazars, and gamma-ray bursters? Could we ever travel to the stars? Can we really expect aliens to contact us? From the profound (what evidence do we have to support the big bang theory?) to the bizarre (can there be more than one universe and, if so, how many dimensions does it possess?) to the everyday-yet-profound (why is the sky dark at night?), Kidger explains not only what we know but how we came to know it. Reflecting on how stars shine and what may lie beyond the edge of the universe, Kidger takes us on the ultimate cosmic journey.

Table of Contents

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  1. Cover
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  1. Frontmatter
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  1. Contents
  2. pp. vii-viii
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  1. Acknowledgments
  2. p. ix
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  1. Introduction
  2. pp. 1-4
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  1. CHAPTER 1 How Are Stars Born and How Do They Die?
  2. pp. 5-23
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  1. CHAPTER 2 How Do We Know That Black Holes Exist?
  2. pp. 24-38
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  1. CHAPTER 3 Who Is the Strangest in the Cosmic Zoo?
  2. pp. 39-60
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  1. CHAPTER 4 How Far Is It to the Stars and Will We Ever Be Able to Travel to Them?
  2. pp. 61-79
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  1. CHAPTER 5 How Old Is the Universe?
  2. pp. 80-95
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  1. CHAPTER 6 Is Anybody There?
  2. pp. 96-116
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  1. CHAPTER 7 How Will the Universe End?
  2. pp. 117-135
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  1. CHAPTER 8 Why Is the Sky Dark at Night?
  2. pp. 136-153
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  1. CHAPTER 9 How Do We Know There Was a Big Bang?
  2. pp. 154-173
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  1. CHAPTER 10 What Is There Outside the Universe?
  2. pp. 174-192
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  1. Notes
  2. pp. 193-216
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  1. Index
  2. pp. 217-224
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  1. Credits
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  1. Color galleries
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