Origins: Our Place in Hubble's Universe [Hardcover]

John Gribbin (Author), Simon Goodwin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Origins | Publication Date: January 1, 1998

The much-anticipated follow-up to "Hubble's Universe", this breathtakingly illustrated history of the universe from the big bang to the present presents stunning photographs of vents that previous generations of astronomers could only picture in their mind's eye--and which non-astronomers could not even imagine. 50 color illustrations Online publicity.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When most people hear the name "Hubble," they immediately think of NASA's costly snafu involving the flawed optics on the billion-dollar Hubble Space Telescope. Award-winning science writer John Gribbin and research astronomer Simon Goodwin have done their best to honorably exonerate pioneering astronomer Edwin Hubble's name by putting together this thoughtfully documented collection of eye-grabbing images, primarily from the now-corrected HST but also from other space- and ground-based telescopes and detectors.

Edwin Hubble made one of the most dramatic discoveries in all of science: that of the existence of galaxies beyond the Milky Way. This laid the groundwork for understanding the very origins of the universe (the Big Bang). For many years, evidence supporting the Big Bang hasn't been much to look at--just blurry photographs and squiggles from electronic detectors. But the current crop of detectors and telescopes, chief among them the Hubble, has changed all of that: this book takes advantage of that technology to map out the origins of our universe with a dazzling series of extraterrestrial images. Tracing the history of time through space, this series starts with distant quasars and then zooms in through swirling galaxies and murky nebulas, finally arriving back in our own solar system. These last shots, taken largely by somewhat outdated probes not far from home, are surprisingly among the most striking in the book. --Paul Hughes

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879518138
• ISBN-13: 978-0879518134
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,333,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice big pictures but many not from Hubble. Text is skimpy., March 19, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Marina Del Rey CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Origins: Our Place in Hubble's Universe (Hardcover)

With the title containing Hubble and Origins, I was hoping for lots of new information about what the latest data from Hubble ST would reveal about our origins. Instead the book is a compendium of very nice large format color photos of galaxies stars and the planets in our Solar system, accompanied by one paragraph captions - and a lot of white space where more information and analysis of "origins" could have been. I recommend this book for coffee table perusal, not for the serious reader of cosmology. Sidney Sheres

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hubble the Man, not the Telescope, May 3, 2001

By 

John R. Keller (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Origins: Our Place in Hubble's Universe (Hardcover)

The first thing to note about this book is that it is not about the Hubble Space Telescope, but about our universe. It's subtitled "Hubble's Universe", because Edwin Hubble was the first astronomer to show that universe was composed of many galaxies and not just the Milky Way. In other words, he might be considered the founder of modern cosmology.

In this book, the authors present many of the classic photographs of the universe, the Milky Way and the solar system plus many new pictures as well. Accompanying each photograph is a detailed description of what was discovered and why is important. While some of the these photographs are over twenty-five old, they have been digitally enhanced, but still show the graininess associated with the early planetary space probes. In addition, there is a nice introductory section, which describes many of the discoveries from the past hundred years.

In general, I found most of the photographs contained in the book to be a good representation of the objects found in our universe. The photographs cover the extreme, from very distant galaxies to the Earth and the Moon.

If you are looking for a good book that summarizes the universe, Milky Way and the solar system in pictures, this book would good addition to your collection. If you are looking for new photographs or new information you will not find much in this book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent description of how the Universe came into being., May 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Origins: Our Place in Hubble's Universe (Hardcover)

While the book is not heavy on text, its descriptions about the formation of stars, nebulae, galaxies and the universe in general are easy to read and understand. The supporting full page pictures at right are also well described. It is an excellent laymans guide to explaining how our world and the material that makes us who we are, came from the stars.