All Stories

Out of the fabric

Are space and time fundamental?

Strung together

Is there a theory of everything?

In the dark

What is the universe made of?

Pre-Bang branes and bubbles

What happened before the big bang?

Cosmic questions, answers pending

Special section

Book Review: The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos by Brian Greene

Review by Tom Siegfried.

Book Review: The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement by David Brooks

Review by Bruce Bower.

Cosmic Challenge: The Ultimate Observing List for Amateurs by Philip S. Harrington

This guide to observing the heavens beckons backyard astronomers to find 187 targets using instruments ranging from bi­noculars to monster scopes. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011, 469 p., $45.    

Discoverers of the Universe: William and Caroline Herschel by Michael Hoskin

An in-depth account of the lives of sibling astronomers William and Caroline Herschel, who discovered Uranus, comets galore and much more. Princeton Univ. Press, 2011, 237 p., $29.95.        

How Old is the Universe? by David A. Weintraub

An astronomer outlines the research showing that the universe is 13.7 billion years old. Princeton Univ. Press, 2011, 370 p., $29.95.           

Seven Wonders of the Universe That You Probably Took for Granted by C. Renée James

A lighthearted tour of everyday phenomena like light, time and gravity that also explores what makes Earth special and the evolution of life. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2011, 240 p., $25.    

Meteorites by Caroline Smith, Sara Russell and Gretchen Benedix

A well-illustrated overview of the science and (literal) impacts of these space rocks. Firefly Books, 2011, 112 p., $19.95.