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How Old Is the Universe?
How a great enigma of astronomy was solved
Astronomers have determined that our universe is 13.7 billion years old. How exactly did they come to this precise conclusion? How Old Is the Universe? tells the incredible story of how astronomers solved one of the most compelling mysteries in science and, along the way, introduces readers to fundamental concepts and cutting-edge advances in modern astronomy.
The age of our universe poses a deceptively simple question, and its answer carries profound implications for science, religion, and philosophy. David Weintraub traces the centuries-old quest by astronomers to fathom the secrets of the nighttime sky. Describing the achievements of the visionaries whose discoveries collectively unveiled a fundamental mystery, he shows how many independent lines of inquiry and much painstakingly gathered evidence, when fitted together like pieces in a cosmic puzzle, led to the long-sought answer. Astronomers don't believe the universe is 13.7 billion years old―they know it. You will too after reading this book. By focusing on one of the most crucial questions about the universe and challenging readers to understand the answer, Weintraub familiarizes readers with the ideas and phenomena at the heart of modern astronomy, including red giants and white dwarfs, cepheid variable stars and supernovae, clusters of galaxies, gravitational lensing, dark matter, dark energy and the accelerating universe―and much more. Offering a unique historical approach to astronomy, How Old Is the Universe? sheds light on the inner workings of scientific inquiry and reveals how astronomers grapple with deep questions about the physical nature of our universe.
Astronomers have determined that our universe is 13.7 billion years old. How exactly did they come to this precise conclusion? How Old Is the Universe? tells the incredible story of how astronomers solved one of the most compelling mysteries in science and, along the way, introduces readers to fundamental concepts and cutting-edge advances in modern astronomy.
The age of our universe poses a deceptively simple question, and its answer carries profound implications for science, religion, and philosophy. David Weintraub traces the centuries-old quest by astronomers to fathom the secrets of the nighttime sky. Describing the achievements of the visionaries whose discoveries collectively unveiled a fundamental mystery, he shows how many independent lines of inquiry and much painstakingly gathered evidence, when fitted together like pieces in a cosmic puzzle, led to the long-sought answer. Astronomers don't believe the universe is 13.7 billion years old―they know it. You will too after reading this book. By focusing on one of the most crucial questions about the universe and challenging readers to understand the answer, Weintraub familiarizes readers with the ideas and phenomena at the heart of modern astronomy, including red giants and white dwarfs, cepheid variable stars and supernovae, clusters of galaxies, gravitational lensing, dark matter, dark energy and the accelerating universe―and much more. Offering a unique historical approach to astronomy, How Old Is the Universe? sheds light on the inner workings of scientific inquiry and reveals how astronomers grapple with deep questions about the physical nature of our universe.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
28 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
About the author
David A. Weintraub
13 books4 followersProfessor of Astronomy, Vanderbilt University
David A. Weintraub is Professor of Astronomy and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Physics & Astronomy, at Vanderbilt University.
Weintraub is also Director of the Program in the Communication of Science and Technology (CSET) and Co-Director of the Scientific Computing Program.
Weintraub is author of several books, including:
-Religions and Extraterrestrial Life: How Will We Deal With It?;
-How Old is the Universe?; and
-Is Pluto a Planet?
David A. Weintraub is Professor of Astronomy and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Physics & Astronomy, at Vanderbilt University.
Weintraub is also Director of the Program in the Communication of Science and Technology (CSET) and Co-Director of the Scientific Computing Program.
Weintraub is author of several books, including:
-Religions and Extraterrestrial Life: How Will We Deal With It?;
-How Old is the Universe?; and
-Is Pluto a Planet?
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 6, 2012
Very good survey of cosmology as it regards the age of the universe. This book does a good job of explaining why cosmologists are so confident that the universe is 13.7 billion years old. Oops, was that a spoiler? The author does a good job of explaining several details that are glossed over in other, poorer tellings of the history of science. For example, I now feel like I understand the reason for the early confusion about the value of the Hubble constant; namely that there are multiple types of Cepheids, and there differences were not appreciated at first.
December 10, 2018
I just reread this over the spam of 48 hours to review for the astronomy final and I gotta say this book is brilliant when you read it as a whole and don’t treat it like a textbook. This information is so astounding and it’s crazy all the work, centuries of work, that go into such a seemingly simple question. The information is concise and organized in the best possible manner to help readers understand how we answer the ancient question. It’s also a good review for class!
December 15, 2019
Magnificient.
This is a must read. If you were once that kid that looked up to the sky, and asked questions about the origin, about the Earth, about Red giants, and of course, about the sun, well, let me tell you that the little kid inside you will be delighted. Turns out this book should be called "Astrophysics 101".
He explains absolutely everything about the Cosmos. Once you get to know about the physics of the stars, you will get to comprehend how scientists were able to measure their masses, their luminosity and consequently, what to do with that.
The whole book is amazing, there's nothing dull or completely hard to understand about it, there's just the proper amount of scientific explanations and equations. The book also covers the recents discoveries nof Physics concerning both Dark Energy and Dark Matter, and as it turns out, our actual Universe is made up of more than 70% of Dark Energy.
How the hell does everything exist with just a few 4.6% of atoms made up of normal matter?
This has to be on my Favorites shelf due to the fact that completely covers the explanations concerning the basis for astrophysics.
This is a must read. If you were once that kid that looked up to the sky, and asked questions about the origin, about the Earth, about Red giants, and of course, about the sun, well, let me tell you that the little kid inside you will be delighted. Turns out this book should be called "Astrophysics 101".
He explains absolutely everything about the Cosmos. Once you get to know about the physics of the stars, you will get to comprehend how scientists were able to measure their masses, their luminosity and consequently, what to do with that.
The whole book is amazing, there's nothing dull or completely hard to understand about it, there's just the proper amount of scientific explanations and equations. The book also covers the recents discoveries nof Physics concerning both Dark Energy and Dark Matter, and as it turns out, our actual Universe is made up of more than 70% of Dark Energy.
How the hell does everything exist with just a few 4.6% of atoms made up of normal matter?
This has to be on my Favorites shelf due to the fact that completely covers the explanations concerning the basis for astrophysics.
July 4, 2013
I majored in physics in college and was required to take one astrophysics or cosmology course as an elective. I took just one, and I hated it. I assumed it was the subject itself I hated, but I realize reading this book that it is in fact extremely interesting. Maybe I had a bad teacher or I was just a lazy student - I don't know, it's been too long.
"How Old Is the Universe?" purports to answer the question "how old is the universe?" (duh), but it's really much more than that. It touches on every aspect of astronomy and cosmology. The explanations are clear, but unlike some pop science books, they're not condescending. There are plenty of books out there to explain what we know about the universe, but this one is more interesting because it explains how we know what we know.
"How Old Is the Universe?" purports to answer the question "how old is the universe?" (duh), but it's really much more than that. It touches on every aspect of astronomy and cosmology. The explanations are clear, but unlike some pop science books, they're not condescending. There are plenty of books out there to explain what we know about the universe, but this one is more interesting because it explains how we know what we know.
June 5, 2020
Weintraub is a lovely man and great professor, but his assumptions of the general public’s basic knowledge of foundational STEM concepts is pretty steep. Much of the book was over my head and required a lot of extra legwork for me to keep up in class, and I know this was the case for many of my peers.
September 19, 2024
Muy interesante introducción histórica a la Astrofísica. Edades del Universo 13.700 -14.000 millones años, la Tierra 4.400 a 4.500, Sistema Solar unos 4.600 millones de años.
March 21, 2014
One of the best books on cosmology because of the lucidity with which the author explains extremely complicated subjects.
This relatively short book covers a lot of ground fluidly while retaining the fine balance between making things understandable but without making them boring or needlessly repetitive. The book contains some of the best explanations I have read on the Hubble's constant, dark matter (including Machos and Wimps) or even classical topics like relativity, quantum mechanics or religion (!)
This relatively short book covers a lot of ground fluidly while retaining the fine balance between making things understandable but without making them boring or needlessly repetitive. The book contains some of the best explanations I have read on the Hubble's constant, dark matter (including Machos and Wimps) or even classical topics like relativity, quantum mechanics or religion (!)
April 6, 2015
Bajo la premisa de conocer la edad del universo, hace un recorrido por el nacimiento vida y muerte de las estrellas en general, las enanas blancas en particular, los cúmulos globulares y la radiación de fondo de microondas. A mí personalmente me ha recordado en ciertos aspectos al libro "El Universo" de Isaac Asimov, pero evidentemente mucho más actualizado. Gran libro
July 19, 2013
Too bad for David the latest Planck Observatory data upped the "best guess" age from 13.7 to 13.8 this year but this is still a great read for anyone interested in astronomy in general and cosmology in particular.
October 27, 2015
Clearly based on the author's class lectures, but full of well-presented information, with many useful analogies to illustrate the physics to those of us mathematically challenged. The answer? 13.7 billion years, as demonstrated by a number of different techniques.
March 4, 2019
Outstanding
Give yourself the intellectual tools necessary to discuss how we know old the universe is by reading this book. Fascinating journey.
Give yourself the intellectual tools necessary to discuss how we know old the universe is by reading this book. Fascinating journey.
March 26, 2016
Ozellikle hic fizik bilmeyen okurlar icin harika bir astronomiye giris kitabi...
Want to read
December 13, 2010Rec'd by Mike Simonson.
August 9, 2011
A lot of good information.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews