Galaxies: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) 1st Edition by John Gribbin (PDF)

Description

Galaxies are the building blocks of the Universe: standing like islands in space, each is made up of many hundreds of millions of stars in which the chemical elements are made, around which planets form, and where on at least one of those planets intelligent life has emerged.Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is just one of several hundred million other galaxies that we can now observe through our telescopes. Yet it was only in the 1920s that we realised that there is more to the Universe than the Milky Way, and that there were in fact other ‘islands’ out there. In many ways, modern astronomy began with this discovery, and the story of galaxies is therefore the story of modern astronomy. Since then, many exciting discoveries have been made about our own galaxy andabout those beyond: how a supermassive black hole lurks at the centre of every galaxy, for example, how enormous forces are released when galaxies collide, how distant galaxies provide a window on the early Universe, and what the formation of young galaxies can tell us about the mysteries of Cold DarkMatter.In this Very Short Introduction, renowned science writer John Gribbin describes the extraordinary things that astronomers are learning about galaxies, and explains how this can shed light on the origins and structure of the Universe.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐A concise review of the subject. This volume is organized in the main around tracing the evolution in astronomy first toward the concept of ‘galaxy’ and then along the main thread of research done by the big names (Shapley, Curtis, Hubble) that refined our understanding of galaxies through various innovations in measurement techniques (parallax, Cepheids, novae, supernovae, etc.), arriving at the state of the art view of galaxies as of 2008 when this introduction was written. The author at times refers to VSI:Cosmology and these two works, while not technically companion volumes, might fruitfully be read together.For one well-versed in Astronomy and Astrophysics there is not much new here, though the review of the historical progress of thinking about galaxies is on the whole well done and gives the reader a solid frame of reference for the direction of astronomical research today and the strands of the main issues and the complexities and complications with which researchers have to contend. I, as an amateur astronomer, would have preferred a more systematic approach in some areas. For example, short shrift is given to types of galaxies; we learn there are spirals, ellipticals, and irregular galaxies, but there is nothing on the classification systems that have grown up over time (e.g. Hubble’s—S0, S1, …). Nor is there much of any discussion of or attempt to organize the multifarious cavalcade of terms describing galaxies the casual astronomy fan will have heard over the years (e.g. Seyfert galaxy, de Sitter, etc.).I also found the [almost utter] lack of math somewhat irritating. Given that this is an introduction to the subject this perhaps should be rated an advantage for most readers. A survey must necessarily skate along the surface. Yet I found myself wondering, “Well how is that calculated?” or “What are the units of this quantity?” more than once. And with what math there is, it’s sometimes hard to tell where all the numbers are coming from. (Such as when we are told that a region of space 200 Mpc across yields a volume of 4 million cubic Mpc—but obviously 200*200*200 = 8 million. Did the author intend to refer to a rectangular volume with one side of 100 Mpc? With no additional details or diagram or reference, it’s impossible to say.)I would have liked a bit more on competing ideas and theories (such as alternatives to lambda-CDM). The book is really designed around working the reader up through history to arrive at the best current understanding. Anything considered speculative or cutting edge isn’t really covered.Sometimes the organization of the argument is poor and could have used some additional editing—for example the term cosmological redshift is used multiple times before it is explained in a later chapter. A little more care in explaining emission and absorption spectra and star Populations and star types (though I assume these may be treated more rigorously in VSI:Stars) would have been helpful. More tables or diagrams would have better delivered the crucial points along the way—such as a chart or graphic relating the assorted techniques to calculate distance and their strengths and weaknesses, or one showing the redshift curve (Z vs distance vs % light speed) or redshift horizons associated with different object types and observational techniques, or a graphic showing when and how early pre-galactic accumulations developed into proto-galaxies, then early galaxies, and so on. In fact there is not a single graphic showing the types of galaxies—what exactly is meant by a spiral galaxy? I also would have liked better references to the standard catalogues (such as RC3) that astronomers use.But on the whole this introduction gives the reader a good background of the controversies and open questions, and a coherent picture of what galaxies are, how they form, and how they vary. This book is not targeted at the specialist. But even so there are some good tidbits skimmed from modern advances sprinkled throughout, and some were news to me, such as the finding that the galactic core supermassive black holes are always 0.2% the mass of the matter in the surrounding spheroid (the galactic bulge). Overall good, not great: 4 stars.

⭐I really enjoyed this book, and it was a great companion to “Stars: A Very Short Introduction.” Though I’m an engineer, I tend to favor popular science books that are lighter on math and that fascinate and offer more a intuitive treatment into a particular subject. There are plenty of other sources if one wants to dig further. “Galaxies” did not disappoint, and Gribbin’s style is very friendly and engaging. Thank you, Dr. Gribbin. I highly recommend your book!

⭐I guess I really am a planet guy because I liked the Very Short Intro to Planets better than this book on Galaxies. Planets are objects, therefore I can grasp them better than seas of stars, planets, cosmic dust & debris, and whatever. This is a good little reference book, don’t get me wrong, I like it; just not as much as I expected to.

⭐Quick and easy read. One of the best introductions to galaxies written by a master science writer for the lay audience. The discussion of galaxies shoehorned into a book about Cosmology. Not sure if this was the author’s intent. The book was a bit sparse on how galaxies formed out of the dust and gases in the interstellar medium. A topic of particular interest to me.

⭐This is a good introduction, by one of the originators, to the application of galactic studies to other areas such as stellar evolution and cosmology. Many of the current (2014) new works on cosmology focus solely on the cosmic background radiation. This book provides a link between that work and the broad area stellar evolution and galactic studies.

⭐The Galaxies which deals with a subject that is usually beyond my ability to grasp is written clearly for the non-physicist. In addition for the casual reader who is not about to sit for his doctorate the length was appropriate. I highly recommend the book to those who wish to be informed about what is going on in the world of astrophysics but who like myself are casual readers of the same.

⭐Book took me through a long journey through history from a time where it was thought that our galaxy was the extent of the universe to a time where almost any possibility can be considered. I recommend the “A Very Short Introduction” books to everyone.

⭐It may be a bit heavy for a pre-teen but it will raise some questions for my grandson to pursue.

⭐Very Short Introduction Series – Galaxies.In purchasing this book, I was unaware of (and dislike) the “pocket-sized” format. Also disappointed by the very small font size. The physical dimensions of the “book” have no tactile comfort and font size exacerbates my slight reading difficulties.It is not a total loss. The intellectual content is excellent, as I would expect from the author John Gribbin,I will not consider buying any further titles in the “Very Short” series.

⭐‘Galaxies’ is a natural progression from ‘Stars’ in the VSI series but is much more reader-friendly in that it deals with the subject without recourse to equations and exotic maths. This said, the reader must be prepared for some very large numbers in terms of distances and if nothing else these demonstrate how inconsequential the Earth and the solar system are in the known Universe. Also how ridiculous it is to talk realistically about interstellar travel.The content covers both factual knowledge and those aspects of galaxies that are speculative or theoretical however all these are described in non-academic terms suitable for the general reader. The format is similar to ‘Stars’ in that it includes sections on the origins, formation, evolution, measurement of and the probable future scenarios for galaxies, plus an interesting account of how mankind has developed techniques and equipment to investigate these stellar bodies. Whilst there are a few concepts that may be difficult to grasp, the book is certainly written in the spirit of Very Short Introductions and worth reading.

⭐A must-read for all those interested in the evolution of the universe and in finding out just how un-special we truly are in the grand scheme of things. A splendid light read that even a child could understand quite well, inasmuch as it can be understood. It doesn’t go into specifics. It’s mostly simple prose with basic explanations for some of the accepted hypotheses and theories of the day. Got it for an exam. Learnt a few cool things in it that I didn’t find in my textbooks.

⭐The author writes in a very lucid, fluent style. Very accessible. I am enjoying it immensely.

⭐Amazing vht

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