It far surpasses any previous explanation of Relativity for laypersons.

    They infinitely warp space and time, allowing nothing to escape: not matter, not even light. They are stellar corpses that have crushed themselves into oblivion, seemingly suspending the traditional laws of physics. The Big bang may have peppered the universe with primordial black holes, as small as protons but as massive as mountains. The universe itself may be disappearing into the final black hole. Black holes (BHs) and their warping effect on spacetime are described, beginning with a discussion on stellar evolution that includes white dwarfs, supernovas and neutron stars. The structure of static, rotating, and electrically charged BHs are considered, as well as the general theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, the Einstein-Rosen bridge, and wormholes in spacetime. Attention is also given to gravitational lenses, various space geometries, quasars, Seyfert galaxies, supermassive black holes, the evaporation and particle emission of BHs, and primordial BHs, including their temperature and lifetime. The author's engrossing, non-technical explanations are enhanced by numerous illustrations.

    Hawking and W. Israel -- The confrontation between gravitation theory and experiment / C.M. Will -- Gravitational-radiation experiments / D.H. Douglass and V.B. Braginsky -- The initial value problem and the dynamical formulation of general relativity / A.E. Fischer and J.E. Marsden -- Global structure of spacetimes / R. Geroch and G.T. Horowitz -- The general theory of the mechanical, electromagnetic and thermodynamic properties of black holes / B. Carter -- An introduction to the theory of the Kerr metric and its perturbations / S. Chandrasekhar -- Black hole astrophysics / R.D. Blandford and K.S. Thorne -- The big bang cosmology--enigmas and nostrums / R.H. Dicke and P.J.E. Peebles -- Cosmology and the early universe / Ya B. Zelʹdovich -- Anisotropic and inhomogeneous relativistic cosmologies / M.A.H. MacCallum -- Singularities and time-assymetry / R. Penrose -- Quantum field theory in curved spacetime / G.W. Gibbons -- Quantum gravity : the new synthesis / B.S. DeWitt -- The path-integral approach to quantum gravity / S.W. Hawking -- Ultraviolet divergences in quantum theories of gravitation / S. Weinberg.

    The writing style is friendly and carefully detailed. It serves as a valuable reference for both beginners and astronomy enthusiasts. This book is organized as a number of stories. Individual chapters often tell what used to be known, how space and other modern observations have transformed our understanding, and then what is scheduled for the future. This is done with each planet. Consequently, an instructor can easily add photos (available as slides, overheads, CD-ROMs, and on the World Wide Web) and movies and keep a student's interest for a whole lecture on each planet, if desired. Students learn about astronomy through concrete examples, rather than merely being given overarching concepts without enough underpinning.

    Using clear and logical

    Illustrates the assortment of 109 galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters known as the Messier objects.