The New York Times bestselling tour of the cosmos from three of today's leading astrophysicistsWelcome to the Universe is a personal guided tour of the cosmos by three of today's leading astrophysicists. Inspired by the enormously popular introductory astronomy course that Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott taught together at Princeton, this book covers it all-from planets, stars, and galaxies to black holes, wormholes, and time travel.Describing the latest discoveries in astrophysics, the informative and entertaining narrative propels you from our home solar system to the outermost frontiers of space. How do stars live and die? Why did Pluto lose its planetary status? What are the prospects of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? How did the universe begin? Why is it expanding and why is its expansion accelerating? Is our universe alone or part of an infinite multiverse? Answering these and many other questions, the authors open your eyes to the wonders of the cosmos, sharing their knowledge of how the universe works.Breathtaking in scope and stunningly illustrated throughout, Welcome to the Universe is for those who hunger for insights into our evolving universe that only world-class astrophysicists can provide.

Preface 11Part I Stars, Planets, and Life 151 The Size and Scale of the Universe 17Neil deGrasse Tyson2 From the Day and Night Sk y to Planetary Orbits 26Neil deGrasse Tyson3 Newton's Laws 42Michael A. Strauss4 How Stars Radiate Energy (I) 54Neil deGrasse Tyson5 How Stars Radiate Energy (II ) 71Neil deGrasse Tyson6 Stellar Spectra 81Neil deGrasse Tyson7 The Lives and Deaths of Stars (I) 93Neil deGrasse Tyson8 The Lives and Deaths of Stars (II ) 111Michael A. Strauss9 Why Pluto Is Not a Planet 126Neil deGrasse Tyson10 The Search for Life in the Galaxy 146Neil deGrasse TysonPart II Galaxies 17111 The Interstellar Medium 173Michael A. Strauss12 Our Milk y Way 183Michael A. Strauss13 The Universe of Galaxies 197Michael A. Strauss14 The Expansion of the Universe 207Michael A. Strauss15 The Early Universe 222Michael A. Strauss16 Quasars and Supermassive Black Holes 241Michael A. StraussPart III Einstein and the Universe 25517 Einstein's Road to Relativity 257J. Richard Gott18 Implications of Special Relativity 270J. Richard Gott19 Einstein's General Theory of Relativity 289J. Richard Gott20 Black Holes 300J. Richard Gott21 Cosmic Strings, Wormholes, and Time Travel 321J. Richard Gott22 The Shape of the Universe and the Big Bang 347J. Richard Gott23 Inflation and Recent Developments in Cosmology 374J. Richard Gott24 Our Future in the Universe 400J. Richard GottAcknowledgments 425Appendix 1 Derivation of E = mc 2 427Appendix 2 Bekenstein, Entropy of Black Holes, and Information 431Notes 433Suggested Reading 439Index 441