The Story of Astrophysics in Five Revolutions

Ersilia Vaudo, Vanessa Di Stefano

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Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

WW Norton & Co
29 April 2025

History of science; Astrophysics

When Neil Armstrong first set foot in the lunar dust, the Earth held its breath. That one small step forever changed our view of what was possible, sparking a dramatic expansion of humankind's cosmic awareness. When we gain a new perspective, a transformation begins, profoundly altering the understanding of the world our human experience had previously granted us.

In The Story of Astrophysics in Five Revolutions, astrophysicist Ersilia Vaudo explores five such turning points in the history of cosmology: Newton's realization that gravity governs the celestial world; Einstein's dual theories of relativity, linking space with time and gravity with acceleration; Hubble's revelation of an expanding, rather than static, universe; and the emergence of antiparticles from a mathematical equation and their implications for our cosmic evolution.

In poetic prose, Vaudo illuminates the key insights that have led us to where we stand now. At the same time, she urges us to look beyond-to be open to the transformative realizations yet to come in our ongoing quest to understand the extraordinary, and still largely mysterious, universe to which we belong

By: Ersilia Vaudo
Translated by: Vanessa Di Stefano
Imprint: WW Norton & Co
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 196mm, Width: 122mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 255g
ISBN: 9781324089278
ISBN 10: 132408927X
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 29 April 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Ersilia Vaudo has a degree in astrophysics and a thirty-year career at the European Space Agency. She has written and presented widely on science and space topics for a general audience. She lives in Paris. Vanessa Di Stefano is a translator and editor whose translation projects include The Revolutionary Genius of Plants by Stefano Mancuso, as well as numerous works of history, philosophy, and reportage. She lives in Brighton, England.

Reviews for The Story of Astrophysics in Five Revolutions

The revolutionary ideas discussed in this book have reshaped our conception of the universe. But Ersilia Vaudo doesn't only rehearse them; she brings them up to date, filling us in on the most recent discoveries in astrophysics and cosmology, all conveyed in a style that will grab you and keep you reading. This is a great way to prepare yourself for the next astrophysical revolution, whenever it comes along.--Sean Carroll, author of Quanta and Fields: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe In lyrical prose, The Story of Astrophysics recounts the efforts of generations of scientists to comprehend the cosmos. Their accounts, both tentative and audacious, have transformed our understanding of the universe and our place within it.--David Kaiser, author of How the Hippies Saved Physics