Science

Cosmic Queries: StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going

Cosmic Queries: StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going

  • Downloads：6507
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-29 12:12:10
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Neil deGrasse Tyson
  • ISBN：1426221770
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Summary

In this thought-provoking follow-up to his acclaimed StarTalk book， uber astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson tackles the world''s most important philosophical questions about the universe with wit， wisdom， and cutting-edge science。


For science geeks， space and physics nerds， and all who want to understand their place in the universe， this enlightening new book from Neil deGrasse Tyson offers a unique take on the mysteries and curiosities of the cosmos， building on rich material from his beloved StarTalk podcast。


In these illuminating pages， illustrated with dazzling photos and revealing graphics， Tyson and co-author James Trefil， a renowned physicist and science popularizer， take on the big questions that humanity has been posing for millennia--How did life begin？ What is our place in the universe？ Are we alone？--and provide answers based on the most current data， observations， and theories。


Populated with paradigm-shifting discoveries that help explain the building blocks of astrophysics， this relatable and entertaining book will engage and inspire readers of all ages， bring sophisticated concepts within reach， and offer a window into the complexities of the cosmos。


For all who loved National Geographic''s StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson， Cosmos: Possible Worlds， and Space Atlas， this new book will take them on more journeys into the wonders of the universe and beyond。

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Reviews

Richard P ，

What is not to love about another Neil deGrasse Tyson book？ The understanding we have and seek in the universe always keeps me reading。 Until the next one 🌌

Amy ，

Science does not come naturally to me。 I'd joked before that not a person alive could explain to me in a way that I could understand what neutrinos are。 But this book did it！ However， neutrinos have now been replaced by the quantum vacuum。The audiobook narration by Lauren Fortgang was good but also。。。 bad？ For me， hearing Neil deGrasse Tyson geek out about science is engrossing and contagious， but hearing Tyson's words read by someone else just isn't the same。 Science does not come naturally to me。 I'd joked before that not a person alive could explain to me in a way that I could understand what neutrinos are。 But this book did it！ However， neutrinos have now been replaced by the quantum vacuum。The audiobook narration by Lauren Fortgang was good but also。。。 bad？ For me， hearing Neil deGrasse Tyson geek out about science is engrossing and contagious， but hearing Tyson's words read by someone else just isn't the same。 。。。more

Gofita ，

Another fantastically fun and informative book from the great Neil deGrasse Tyson！

Matt Mansfield ，

To the Ends of the Universe and BackPondering our place and fate midway between the micro and macro scales of the quantum and astronomical worlds has been a popular topic in recent publishing。During the past few years several well-known science theorists have written extensively about this area and been featured on several television shows: •tDavid Christian （2018 “Origin: A Big History of Everything”） •tSean Carroll （2019 “Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime”• To the Ends of the Universe and BackPondering our place and fate midway between the micro and macro scales of the quantum and astronomical worlds has been a popular topic in recent publishing。During the past few years several well-known science theorists have written extensively about this area and been featured on several television shows: •tDavid Christian （2018 “Origin: A Big History of Everything”） •tSean Carroll （2019 “Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime”•tBrian Greene’s 2020 （“Until the End of Time: Mind， Matter and the Search for Meaning in the Evolving Universe”）。These contributions also just happen to coincide with the unrelated political assault on the credibility of science relating to the pandemic response。 And they remind us how important science is and how much we have yet to learn。The latest entry is an excellent addition from Neil deGrasse Tyson and James Trefil with their 2021 collaboration， “Cosmic Queries: Star Talk’s Guide to Who We Are， How We Got Here， and Where We’re Going” published with the National Geographic。Written and presented in a straightforward style for a broad audience with scientific curiosity， the work is beautifully illustrated with colorful photographs， classic illustrations， renderings and charts that support a trim text。 The book is intended to provide a perspective about historical and current findings without intimidation。 These ten chapters are presented from a humanist point of view to address familiar questions as well as current topics such as the Dark Matter， Dark Energy mysteries， the antimatter problem， and “The Multiverse” theory:•tWhat is Our Place？•t How Do We Know What We Know？•tHow Did the Universe Get to be This Way？•tHow Old is the Universe？•tWhat is the Universe Made Of？•tWhat is Life？•tAre We Alone in the Universe？•tHow Did It All Begin？•tHow Will It All End？•tWhat Does Nothing Have To Do With Everything？Sprinkled throughout are short， pithy observations from the New York Hayden Planetarium’s Tyson with his usual twinkle: “If Pinocchio said， ‘My nose is about to grow？’ I wonder what would actually happen。”With your family or by yourself， this is a treat to appreciate what we have learned and how much we have yet to know without the tinnitus of political distraction。 。。。more

John Gushue ，

A spin-off of the StarTalk podcast。 Accessible and engaging。

Geoff ，

Generally entertaining and educational。 I learned a few things （like the big bounce theory and false vacuum） that I hadn't know of before， but this was a generally standard tour through the history of cosmology and the development of answers to cosmological questions （like， where did the universe come from？ how big is it？ is there other life out there？）。 The inclusion of tweets was kind of annoying; Neil deGrasse Tyson is a far better educator than comedian。**Thanks to the authors， publisher， an Generally entertaining and educational。 I learned a few things （like the big bounce theory and false vacuum） that I hadn't know of before， but this was a generally standard tour through the history of cosmology and the development of answers to cosmological questions （like， where did the universe come from？ how big is it？ is there other life out there？）。 The inclusion of tweets was kind of annoying; Neil deGrasse Tyson is a far better educator than comedian。**Thanks to the authors， publisher， and Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Tala ，

This book is comprehensive and definitely NOT an easy read for beginners。

Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader ，

Several years ago， my family went to the Museum of Natural Sciences in New York City， and we attended a presentation narrated by Whoopi Goldberg and Neil deGrasse Tyson。 I can still hear their voices in my head， as I looked at the stars on the ceiling in that mesmerizing room。 His passion for the universe knows no bounds， and he shares scientific facts in an entertaining and approachable way。Because of that， I knew I had to read this book， and it was exactly what expected and more。 Smart， scient Several years ago， my family went to the Museum of Natural Sciences in New York City， and we attended a presentation narrated by Whoopi Goldberg and Neil deGrasse Tyson。 I can still hear their voices in my head， as I looked at the stars on the ceiling in that mesmerizing room。 His passion for the universe knows no bounds， and he shares scientific facts in an entertaining and approachable way。Because of that， I knew I had to read this book， and it was exactly what expected and more。 Smart， scientific， yet completely engaging， Cosmic Queries is astrophysics in consumable form。 It’s absolutely fascinating！This is a Nat Geo book， so of course I have to mention the stunning photography and overall appearance of this book！I received a gifted copy I will forever treasure。Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www。jennifertarheelreader。com and instagram: www。instagram。com/tarheelreader 。。。more

Braulio Mago ，

Gran libro para las y los amantes del universo y la ciencia。 Una versión muy actualizada de lo que su momento fue Cosmos。 El material gráfico es brutalmente bueno y la narrativa muy digerible。

Regina ，

Enjoyable listen made even better by the random facts， fruit for thought， and tweets interspersed throughout。 （Fun side note to watch out for if you listen to the audiobook: at one point Neil reads a dad joke and you can hear him try not to laugh as he’s reading it。）

LeAnn Morgan ，

Neil DeGrasse Tyson is always a delight。

Bret ，

This is exactly what I want from a Tyson book！ This is exactly what I want from a Cosmic Queries book！Look， I'm an avid StarTalk fan。 I'm also a big science fan， so a lot of this book was nothing new to me。 Some of it was， but that's really not the point。 It's the presentation！ This book is written almost like a conversation。 It isn't dry facts listed out about discoveries and the people who found them。 Instead it's laid out like a story， filling you in on the facts。 Wonderfully written！ The aud This is exactly what I want from a Tyson book！ This is exactly what I want from a Cosmic Queries book！Look， I'm an avid StarTalk fan。 I'm also a big science fan， so a lot of this book was nothing new to me。 Some of it was， but that's really not the point。 It's the presentation！ This book is written almost like a conversation。 It isn't dry facts listed out about discoveries and the people who found them。 Instead it's laid out like a story， filling you in on the facts。 Wonderfully written！ The audiobook has Tyson for bits of it， like his tweets pertaining to the chapter subject， the majority is read beautifully by Laura Fortgang。 She needs more VO work！ 。。。more

Cole Wright ，

All nonfiction March: Book 63。5 stars。。

Jody ，

（Copy provided by NetGalley）Neil DeGrasse Tyson continues to show why he is so well thought of in the popular science and astronomy world。 Great overall history of the universe and where it is going， written in a very clear and easy to understand， conversational way。 Highly recommended for anyone with a bit of interest in astronomy and astronomical history。

Jim Gleason ，

A read that will blow your mind in its wide range of extreme science with numbers that are beyond human imagination， both large and small describing our universe/cosmos。 Neil Tyson is a favorite of mine （and of the community as a whole） and this read again demonstrates why that is。 Offering a wide range of real-world science， both know and yet to be understood， this will expand the reader's sense of our amazing planet and all that lies beyond it。 A read that will blow your mind in its wide range of extreme science with numbers that are beyond human imagination， both large and small describing our universe/cosmos。 Neil Tyson is a favorite of mine （and of the community as a whole） and this read again demonstrates why that is。 Offering a wide range of real-world science， both know and yet to be understood， this will expand the reader's sense of our amazing planet and all that lies beyond it。 。。。more

Jon ，

This book is a fun listen as an audiobook， but is dominated is not dominated by Tyson， which could be a relief for some， but most likely a weakness for those who choose to listen。 It answers many of the most important questions about the universe with the most updated information on the topic。 While not a starting place on the topic， nor an exhaustive discussion of the topic， it is worth the read for those casually interested in the cosmos。

Hill Krishnan ，

Dr。 Tyson is as prolific as lucid in his writing about astrophysics。 You would learn about:1。 radio waves’ advantages over gamma waves。2。 one out of 3 conditions Pluto didn’t satisfy to be a planet。3。 Telescopes in Hawaii to Atacama desert and the advantages of placing them there。 Of course you learn about Hubble too。4。 What’s the universe made off and how it’s expanding at 70 Kms/sec， etc。Dr。 Tyson also made me think 🤔 differently: can life in other planets be non carbon based ？ Like silica bas Dr。 Tyson is as prolific as lucid in his writing about astrophysics。 You would learn about:1。 radio waves’ advantages over gamma waves。2。 one out of 3 conditions Pluto didn’t satisfy to be a planet。3。 Telescopes in Hawaii to Atacama desert and the advantages of placing them there。 Of course you learn about Hubble too。4。 What’s the universe made off and how it’s expanding at 70 Kms/sec， etc。Dr。 Tyson also made me think 🤔 differently: can life in other planets be non carbon based ？ Like silica based。 Can life non biological？ Like electromagnetic based。 Can life be non water dependent？ Like methane or ammonia。 Can life be non surface based？。 。。。more

Nursebookie ，

My first books I have ever had as a child were the Encyclopedia Britannica sets every family had in the 80's。 I loved learning about the vast universe， the unknowns and what is beyond the skies or what it's like in other planets and outer space。 I was very curious not just about the cosmos but also about things beyond what we can see with our naked eye。 When I received an opportunity to become one of the early readers for Cosmic Queries by Neil DeGrasse Tyson I was beyond excited。 I devoured thi My first books I have ever had as a child were the Encyclopedia Britannica sets every family had in the 80's。 I loved learning about the vast universe， the unknowns and what is beyond the skies or what it's like in other planets and outer space。 I was very curious not just about the cosmos but also about things beyond what we can see with our naked eye。 When I received an opportunity to become one of the early readers for Cosmic Queries by Neil DeGrasse Tyson I was beyond excited。 I devoured this book and the beautiful pages with its fantastic and stunning photographs within the book。 The illustrations really captures what may be a heavy read into a more pleasant learning experience。 The hard copy book is hefty and the pages just gorgeous。 This is definitely going to be a star in my collection。 The information presented are for anyone with interest in the science world， curious about astrophysics and have no experience with the lingos of quantum mechanics。 So if you ever want to be in the know about Big Bang， the dark matter， and other fascinating queries you didn't even know you wanted and needed to know， this is the book for you。 I highly recommend this book for everyone with curiosity no matter the age。 。。。more

Edgar Guedez ，

THE ANSWERS TO ALL OF OUR QUESTIONSThis book is a good summary of the "state of the art" concerning the actual level of human understanding of the origin and end of the universe。 The authors are very good at presenting understandables explanations of very complex subjects， especially， those related to quantum mechanics。 Nonetheless， some of the concepts are difficult to grasp and believe。 When trying to present an hypothesis for the state of things before the big bang， they introduce the concept THE ANSWERS TO ALL OF OUR QUESTIONSThis book is a good summary of the "state of the art" concerning the actual level of human understanding of the origin and end of the universe。 The authors are very good at presenting understandables explanations of very complex subjects， especially， those related to quantum mechanics。 Nonetheless， some of the concepts are difficult to grasp and believe。 When trying to present an hypothesis for the state of things before the big bang， they introduce the concepts of "false and true vacuum- very difficult， if not impossible， to imagine。 The tone of the book is sad， maybe because it tells us how it all probably would end。 In on billion years， earth would be no more！ Just around the corner。 。。。more

Robert Yokoyama ，

Neil Degrasse Tyson uses two methods to communicate information in the book。 Tyson does an excellent job of making science enjoyable through the text and photographs。 The first method Tyson uses to communicate information is through the text。 One interesting fact I learned is that there are 100 billion galaxies in the universe and that 10 stars are created each year。 Another interesting fact I learned from reading the test is that the planets are classified in three different ways。 The Earth， th Neil Degrasse Tyson uses two methods to communicate information in the book。 Tyson does an excellent job of making science enjoyable through the text and photographs。 The first method Tyson uses to communicate information is through the text。 One interesting fact I learned is that there are 100 billion galaxies in the universe and that 10 stars are created each year。 Another interesting fact I learned from reading the test is that the planets are classified in three different ways。 The Earth， the planet Mars and Venus are rocky planets。 Saturn is a gas planet。 Neptune and Uranus are icy planets I did not know that the planets could be grouped as such。 I learned that dark matter in the field of astrophysics like dark matter and dark energy that need to be explored。 Dark matter is a gravitational force that sucks matter in the universe in。 The last piece of information I learned from the text is the water is not only liquid that can be used to detect life on other planets The detection of liquid methane and ammonia are two other signs that life is possible on other planets。Neil Degrasse Tyson uses photographs to communicate information in this book。 I like the photograph of an European space probe called Gaia。 This probe's function is to photograph all of the stars in the sky。 There is a beautiful photograph of the surface of Antarctica。 This picture is a reference that meteorites landed on the continent and suggests that Antarctica is an starting point of origin of the earth。 There is a beautiful photograph of the sky in Acadia National park in Maine。 I like this picture because the natural beauty of Maine is on display here。 There is a picture from the movie Star Wars that illustrates the concept of exo sociology。 Exo sociology is the practice of human beings interacting with aliens from other worlds。 I did know there is a field of study called exosociology。 I had fun learning that a scene from a sci fi movie is an actual study。 I learned so much about the universe from reading Cosmic Queries。 。。。more

Anuraag Sharma ，

Missed Chuck！

Stephanie ，

Cosmic Queries expands on Neil deGrasse Tyson's StarTalk and aims to answer the big questions about the universe。  Tyson has a way of making these very big and difficult concepts easy to understand， bringing the universe down to earth。  Beginning from how we know what we know in space， measurements and some of the scientists who have led to these discoveries we are then led to ask questions of how the universe got to be how it is， what the universe is made out of， what life is， if we are alone， Cosmic Queries expands on Neil deGrasse Tyson's StarTalk and aims to answer the big questions about the universe。  Tyson has a way of making these very big and difficult concepts easy to understand， bringing the universe down to earth。  Beginning from how we know what we know in space， measurements and some of the scientists who have led to these discoveries we are then led to ask questions of how the universe got to be how it is， what the universe is made out of， what life is， if we are alone， how this all began and eventually， how it will end。  Whenever I read a book about space I am always amazed about how much I do not know。 I revel in being able to learn and understand more about our world and what is beyond。  Cosmic Queries not only gives me a good foundation to begin to understand the questions posed in the book， but reminds me of how much we don't know about what we don't know as well as the fact that "the most interesting questions are the ones we don't yet know to ask。"  As I read through each chapter， the knowledge from previous chapters was slowly built upon， helping to expand my thinking and ask further questions。 In addition， I learned about some of the pioneers of astronomy and the risks they took in order to get their knowledge out into the world。  Overall， Cosmic Queries is an excellent read for any curious mind。This book was received for free in return for an honest review。  。。。more

Mara ，

I pre-ordered the book and then went to the bookstore and found a random copy of the book 4 days early。。。this wasn't planned but I ended up buying the book and canceling my order。 From what I've read so far， it's a great summary of the history of astronomy， the origins of the universe， and our possible future while still being enjoyable to read。 It's not too technical so I would say beginners to this subject would love this book。 I pre-ordered the book and then went to the bookstore and found a random copy of the book 4 days early。。。this wasn't planned but I ended up buying the book and canceling my order。 From what I've read so far， it's a great summary of the history of astronomy， the origins of the universe， and our possible future while still being enjoyable to read。 It's not too technical so I would say beginners to this subject would love this book。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Cosmic Queries: StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Cosmic Queries: StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Cosmic Queries: StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0