23 Best Astrophysics, Science Books
Astrophysics, Science is a popular category for many book lovers. Our team at Speechify has curated a list of the top Astrophysics, Science audiobooks everyone must read.
See the top 23 Astrophysics, Science audiobooks below.
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Cosmos
- By: Ann Druyan
- Length: 10 hours 46 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: February 25, 2020
- Language: English
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4.38(1967 ratings)
4.38(1967 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.99 USDThis new and long-awaited sequel to Carl Sagan’s international bestseller continues the electrifying journey through space and time, linking worlds within and worlds billions of miles away and envisioning a future of science tempered withThis new and long-awaited sequel to Carl Sagan’s international bestseller continues the electrifying journey through space and time, linking worlds within and worlds billions of miles away and envisioning a future of science tempered with wisdom.
Based on National Geographic’s internationally-renowned television series, this groundbreaking and visually stunning book explores how science and civilization grew up together. From the emergence of life at deep-sea vents to solar-powered starships sailing through the galaxy, from the Big Bang to the intricacies of intelligence in many life forms, acclaimed author Ann Druyan documents where humanity has been and where it is going, using her unique gift of bringing complex scientific concepts to life. With evocative photographs and vivid illustrations, she recounts momentous discoveries, from the Voyager missions in which she and her husband, Carl Sagan, participated to Cassini-Huygens’s recent insights into Saturn’s moons. This breathtaking sequel to Sagan’s masterpiece explains how we humans can glean a new understanding of consciousness here on Earth and out in the cosmos–again reminding us that our planet is a pale blue dot in an immense universe of possibility.
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The End of Everything
- By: Katie Mack
- Narrator: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 6 hours 21 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2020
- Language: English
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4.26(6276 ratings)
4.26(6276 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0017.99 USDA NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2020 NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY * THE WASHINGTON POST * THE ECONOMIST * NEW SCIENTIST * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY * THE GUARDIAN From one of the most dynamic rising stars in astrophysics, an “engrossing,A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2020
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NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY * THE WASHINGTON POST * THE ECONOMIST * NEW SCIENTIST * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY * THE GUARDIAN
From one of the most dynamic rising stars in astrophysics, an “engrossing, elegant” (The New York Times) look at five ways the universe could end, and the mind-blowing lessons each scenario reveals about the most important concepts in cosmology.
We know the universe had a beginning. With the Big Bang, it expanded from a state of unimaginable density to an all-encompassing cosmic fireball to a simmering fluid of matter and energy, laying down the seeds for everything from black holes to one rocky planet orbiting a star near the edge of a spiral galaxy that happened to develop life as we know it. But what happens to the universe at the end of the story? And what does it mean for us now?
Dr. Katie Mack has been contemplating these questions since she was a young student, when her astronomy professor informed her the universe could end at any moment, in an instant. This revelation set her on the path toward theoretical astrophysics. Now, with lively wit and humor, she takes us on a mind-bending tour through five of the cosmos’s possible finales: the Big Crunch, Heat Death, the Big Rip, Vacuum Decay (the one that could happen at any moment!), and the Bounce. Guiding us through cutting-edge science and major concepts in quantum mechanics, cosmology, string theory, and much more, The End of Everything is a wildly fun, surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know. -
The Black Hole War
- By: Leonard Susskind
- Narrator: Ray Porter
- Length: 12 hours 46 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2008
- Language: English
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4.12(9849 ratings)
4.12(9849 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0022.95 USDThis is the inside account of the battle over the true nature of black holes–with nothing less than our understanding of the entire universe at stake. What happens when something is sucked into a black hole? Does it disappear? Three decadesThis is the inside account of the battle over the true nature of black holes–with nothing less than our understanding of the entire universe at stake.
What happens when something is sucked into a black hole? Does it disappear? Three decades ago, a young physicist named Stephen Hawking claimed that it did–and in doing so, put at risk everything we know about the fundamental laws of the universe. Leonard Susskind and Gerard ‘t Hooft realized the threat and responded with a counterattack that changed the course of physics.
The Black Hole War is the thrilling story of their united effort to reconcile Hawking’s theories of black holes with their own sense of reality, an effort that would eventually result in Hawking admitting he was wrong and Susskind and ‘t Hooft realizing that our world is a hologram projected from the outer boundaries of space. A brilliant book about the deepest mysteries of modern physics, The Black Hole War is mind-bending and exhilarating reading.
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Black Holes
- By: Scientific American
- Narrator: Alex Boyles
- Length: 5 hours 36 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2021
- Language: English
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4.11(9 ratings)
4.11(9 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0016.95 USDOnce dismissed as a mathematical curiosity, black holes are so strange they almost defy belief. Since their existence was confirmed, research into the nature of black holes has opened up new vistas in physics. In this audiobook, we examine some ofOnce dismissed as a mathematical curiosity, black holes are so strange they almost defy belief. Since their existence was confirmed, research into the nature of black holes has opened up new vistas in physics. In this audiobook, we examine some of the most fascinating discoveries about black hole formation and behavior, the new and evolving research in gravitational wave astronomy, theoretical possibilities such as wormholes, and much more.
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Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrator: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Length: 3 hours 41 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2017
- Language: English
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4.09(153162 ratings)
4.09(153162 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0014.95 USDThe essential universe, from our most celebrated and beloved astrophysicist. What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There’s no better guide through these mind-expandingThe essential universe, from our most celebrated and beloved astrophysicist.
What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There’s no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and bestselling author Neil deGrasse Tyson.
But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in digestible chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.
While waiting for your morning coffee to brew, or while waiting for the bus, the train, or the plane to arrive, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry will reveal just what you need to be fluent and ready for the next cosmic headlines: from the Big Bang to black holes, from quarks to quantum mechanics, and from the search for planets to the search for life in the universe.
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Mars Rover Curiosity
- By: Rob Manning
- Narrator: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 7 hours 44 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2014
- Language: English
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4.08(1030 ratings)
4.08(1030 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDIn the course of our enduring quest for knowledge about ourselves and our universe, we haven’t found answers to one of our most fundamental questions: Does life exist anywhere else in the universe? Ten years and billions of dollars in theIn the course of our enduring quest for knowledge about ourselves and our universe, we haven’t found answers to one of our most fundamental questions: Does life exist anywhere else in the universe? Ten years and billions of dollars in the making, the Mars rover Curiosity is poised to answer this all-important question.
Here, Rob Manning, the project’s chief engineer, tells of bringing the groundbreaking spacecraft to life. Manning and his team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, tasked with designing a lander many times larger and more complex than any before, faced technical setbacks, fights over inadequate resources, and the challenges of leading an army of brilliant, passionate, and often frustrated experts.
Manning’s fascinating personal account–which includes information from his exclusive interviews with leading Curiosity scientists–is packed with tales of revolutionary feats of science, technology, and engineering. Listeners experience firsthand the disappointment at encountering persistent technical problems, the agony of near defeat, the sense of victory at finding innovative solutions to these problems, the sheer terror of staking careers and reputations on a lander that couldn’t be tested on Earth, and the rush of triumph at its successful touchdown on Mars on August 5, 2012. This is the story of persistence, dedication, and unrelenting curiosity.
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Thirteen
- By: Henry S. F. Cooper Jr.
- Narrator: Christopher David
- Length: 5 hours 8 minutes
- Publisher: Dreamscape Media
- Publish date: April 15, 2021
- Language: English
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4.06(633 ratings)
4.06(633 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0017.99 USDOn the evening of April 13, 1970, the three astronauts aboard Apollo 13 were just hours from the third lunar landing in history. But as they soared through space, two hundred thousand miles from Earth, an explosion badly damaged their spacecraft.On the evening of April 13, 1970, the three astronauts aboard Apollo 13 were just hours from the third lunar landing in history. But as they soared through space, two hundred thousand miles from Earth, an explosion badly damaged their spacecraft. With compromised engines and failing life-support systems, the crew was in incomparably grave danger. Faced with below-freezing temperatures, a seriously ill crewmember, and a dwindling water supply, a safe return seemed unlikely. Thirteen is the shocking and miraculous true story of how the astronauts and ground crew guided Apollo 13 back to Earth. Expanding on dispatches written for The New Yorker, Henry S. F. Cooper Jr. brings listeners unparalleled detail on the moment-by-moment developments of one of NASA’s most dramatic missions.
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Destination Mars
- By: Andrew May
- Narrator: Mike Cooper
- Length: 4 hours 23 minutes
- Publisher: Dreamscape Media
- Publish date: July 20, 2021
- Language: English
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4.04(118 ratings)
4.04(118 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0017.99 USDWhen the Apollo astronauts walked on the Moon in 1969, many people imagined Mars would be next. However, NASA’s Viking 1, which landed in 1976, was just a robot, and the much-anticipated crewed mission failed to materialize, defeated by aWhen the Apollo astronauts walked on the Moon in 1969, many people imagined Mars would be next. However, NASA’s Viking 1, which landed in 1976, was just a robot, and the much-anticipated crewed mission failed to materialize, defeated by a combination of technological and political challenges. Four decades after Viking and almost half a century after Apollo, technology has improved beyond recognition–as has politics. As private ventures like SpaceX seize center stage from NASA, Mars has undergone a seismic shift–it’s become the prime destination for future human expansion and colonization. But what’s it really like on Mars, and why should anyone want to go there? How do you get there, and what are the risks? Astrophysicist and science writer Andrew May answers these questions and more, as he traces the history of our fascination with the Red Planet.
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If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens … Where Is Everybody? Second Edition
- By: Stephen Webb
- Narrator: Dan Woren
- Length: 16 hours 41 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2021
- Language: English
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4(3 ratings)
4(3 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.95 USDGiven the fact that there are perhaps 400 billion stars in our galaxy alone, and perhaps 400 billion galaxies in the universe, it stands to reason that somewhere out there, in the fourteen-billion-year-old cosmos, there is or once was a civilizationGiven the fact that there are perhaps 400 billion stars in our galaxy alone, and perhaps 400 billion galaxies in the universe, it stands to reason that somewhere out there, in the fourteen-billion-year-old cosmos, there is or once was a civilization at least as advanced as our own. The sheer enormity of the numbers almost demands that we accept the truth of this hypothesis. Why, then, have we encountered no evidence, no messages, no artifacts of these extraterrestrials?
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Gravity’s Century
- By: Ron Cowen
- Narrator: John Patrick Walsh
- Length: 4 hours 57 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2019
- Language: English
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4(229 ratings)
4(229 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDA sweeping account of the century of experimentation that confirmed Einstein’s general theory of relativity, bringing to life the science and scientists at the origins of relativity, the development of radio telescopes, the discovery of blackA sweeping account of the century of experimentation that confirmed Einstein’s general theory of relativity, bringing to life the science and scientists at the origins of relativity, the development of radio telescopes, the discovery of black holes and quasars, and the still unresolved place of gravity in quantum theory.
Albert Einstein did nothing of note on May 29, 1919; yet that is when he became immortal. On that day, astronomer Arthur Eddington and his team observed a solar eclipse and found something extraordinary: gravity bends light, just as Einstein predicted. The findings confirmed the theory of general relativity, fundamentally changing our understanding of space and time.
A century later, another group of astronomers is performing a similar experiment on a much larger scale. The Event Horizon Telescope, a globe-spanning array of radio dishes, is examining space surrounding Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. As Ron Cowen recounts, one foremost goal of the experiment is to determine whether Einstein was right on the details. Gravity lies at the heart of what we don’t know about quantum mechanics, but tantalizing possibilities for deeper insight are offered by black holes. By observing starlight wrapping around Sagittarius A*, the telescope will not only provide the first direct view of an event horizon–a black hole’s point of no return–but will also enable scientists to test Einstein’s theory under the most extreme conditions.
Gravity’s Century shows how we got from the pivotal observations of the 1919 eclipse to the Event Horizon Telescope, and what is at stake today. Breaking down the physics in clear and approachable language, Cowen makes vivid how the quest to understand gravity is really the quest to comprehend the universe.
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Exoplanets (Goldsmith)
- By: Donald Goldsmith
- Length: 7 hours 52 minutes
- Publisher: Dreamscape Media
- Publish date: September 10, 2018
- Language: English
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4(67 ratings)
4(67 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0017.99 USDAstronomers have recently discovered thousands of planets that orbit stars throughout the Milky Way. Much of what has captured the imagination of planetary scientists and the public is the unexpected strangeness of these distant worlds. The sizes,Astronomers have recently discovered thousands of planets that orbit stars throughout the Milky Way. Much of what has captured the imagination of planetary scientists and the public is the unexpected strangeness of these distant worlds. The sizes, masses, and orbits of exoplanets detected so far raise new questions about how planets form and evolve. Still more tantalizing are the efforts to determine which exoplanets might support life. Astronomers are steadily improving their means of examining these planets, using advanced spacecraft sent into orbits a million miles from Earth. These instruments will provide better observations of these planetary systems, which are nestled close enough to their dim red stars to maintain Earthlike temperatures. The quest to find other worlds brims with possibility, and Donald Goldsmith presents the science of exoplanets and the search for extraterrestrial life in a way that even Earthlings with little to no background in astronomy or astrophysics can understand and enjoy.
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Physics
- By: Scientific American
- Narrator: David Marantz
- Length: 6 hours 30 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2020
- Language: English
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3.95(61 ratings)
3.95(61 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0016.95 USDScience fiction has imagined some pretty wild ideas about how the universe could work–from hidden extra dimensions in Interstellar to life as a mental projection in The Matrix. But these imaginings seem downright tame compared to theScience fiction has imagined some pretty wild ideas about how the universe could work–from hidden extra dimensions in Interstellar to life as a mental projection in The Matrix. But these imaginings seem downright tame compared to the mind-bending science now coming out of physics and astronomy, and in this book, we look at the strange and fascinating discoveries shaping (and reshaping) the field today.
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How to Die in Space
- By: Paul M. Sutter
- Narrator: Paul M. Sutter
- Length: 12 hours 41 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2020
- Language: English
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3.9(211 ratings)
3.9(211 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0022.95 USDA brilliant and breathtakingly vivid tour of the universe, describing the physics of the dangerous, the deadly, and the scary in the cosmos So you’ve fallen in love with space and now you want to see it for yourself, huh? You want to witnessA brilliant and breathtakingly vivid tour of the universe, describing the physics of the dangerous, the deadly, and the scary in the cosmos
So you’ve fallen in love with space and now you want to see it for yourself, huh? You want to witness the birth of a star, or visit the black hole at the center of our galaxy? You want to know if there are aliens out there, or how to travel through a wormhole? You want the wonders of the universe revealed before your very eyes?
Well stop, because all that will probably kill you.
From mundane comets in our solar backyard to exotic remnants of the Big Bang, from dying stars to young galaxies, the universe may be beautiful, but it’s treacherous. Through metaphors and straightforward language, How to Die in Space breathes life into astrophysics, unveiling how particles and forces and fields interplay to create the drama in the heavens above us.
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Escaping Gravity
- By: Lori Garver
- Narrator: Lori Garver
- Length: 10 hours 53 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2022
- Language: English
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3.9(138 ratings)
3.9(138 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDThe inside look at how the battle of the space billionaires began and why it matters, Escaping Gravity is former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver’s firsthand account of how a handful of revolutionaries outmaneuvered the system ofThe inside look at how the battle of the space billionaires began and why it matters, Escaping Gravity is former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver’s firsthand account of how a handful of revolutionaries outmaneuvered the system of political patronage and bureaucracy that threatened the space agency. The success of Elon Musk‘s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, and countless other commercial space efforts were preceded by decades of work by a group of people Garver calls “space pirates.
As the head of the NASA transition team for President-elect Barack Obama and second-in-command of the agency, Garver drove policies and funding that enabled commercial competition just as the capabilities and resources of the private sector began to mature. She was determined to deliver more valuable programs, which required breaking the self-interested cycle controlled by Congress, the aerospace industry, entrenched bureaucrats, and hero-astronauts trying to protect their own profits and mythology.
Garver reveals how–like the military–the space industrial establishment preferred to spend billions of taxpayer dollars on programs aimed to sustain jobs and contracts in key congressional districts over those that were more efficient and could deliver greater progress. Garver details how her quest to transform NASA put her in the crosshairs of these established, powerful interests who viewed her as a threat to the system that has centralized and controlled power since the 1950s.
Including insider NASA conversations and insights on the epic battles that transitioned space access to private resources for a fraction of the cost, Escaping Gravity offers a blueprint for how to drive productive and meaningful government change.
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The 4 Percent Universe
- By: Richard Panek
- Narrator: Ray Porter
- Length: 10 hours 7 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2011
- Language: English
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3.89(227 ratings)
3.89(227 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDOver the past few decades, a handful of scientists have been racing to explain a disturbing aspect of our universe: only four percent of it consists of the matter that makes up you, me, our books, and every star and planet. The rest is completelyOver the past few decades, a handful of scientists have been racing to explain a disturbing aspect of our universe: only four percent of it consists of the matter that makes up you, me, our books, and every star and planet. The rest is completely unknown.
Richard Panek tells the dramatic story of the quest to find this “dark” matter and an even more bizarre substance called “dark energy.” This is perhaps the greatest mystery in all of science, and solving it will bring fame, funding, and certainly a Nobel Prize. Based on in-depth reporting and interviews with the major players—from Berkeley’s feisty, excitable Saul Perlmutter and Harvard’s witty but exacting Robert Kirshner to the doyenne of astronomy, Vera Rubin—the book offers an intimate portrait of the bitter rivalries and fruitful collaborations, the eureka moments and blind alleys, that have fueled their search, redefined science, and reinvented the universe.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Our view of the cosmos is profoundly wrong, and Copernicus was only the beginning: not just Earth, but all common matter is a marginal part of existence. Panek’s fast-paced narrative, filled with original reporting and behind-the-scenes details, brings this epic story to life for the very first time.
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How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog
- By: Chad Orzel
- Narrator: Will Collyer
- Length: 9 hours 54 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: February 11, 2020
- Language: English
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3.88(463 ratings)
3.88(463 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.98 USDThey say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But what about relativity? Physics professor Chad Orzel and his inquisitive canine companion, Emmy, tackle the concepts of general relativity in this irresistible introduction toThey say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But what about relativity?
Physics professor Chad Orzel and his inquisitive canine companion, Emmy, tackle the concepts of general relativity in this irresistible introduction to Einstein’s physics. Through armchair- and sometimes passenger-seat-conversations with Emmy about the relative speeds of dog and cat motion or the logistics of squirrel-chasing, Orzel translates complex Einsteinian ideas — the slowing of time for a moving observer, the shrinking of moving objects, the effects of gravity on light and time, black holes, the Big Bang, and of course, E=mc2 — into examples simple enough for a dog to understand.
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A lively romp through one of the great theories of modern physics, How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about space, time, and anything else you might have slept through in high school physics class. -
Cosmic Impact
- By: Andrew May
- Narrator: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 3 hours 59 minutes
- Publisher: Dreamscape Media
- Publish date: August 03, 2021
- Language: English
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3.86(30 ratings)
3.86(30 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0017.99 USDAs end-of-the-world scenarios go, an apocalyptic collision with an asteroid or comet is the new kid on the block, gaining respectability only in the last decade of the 20th century with the realization that the dinosaurs were wiped out by just suchAs end-of-the-world scenarios go, an apocalyptic collision with an asteroid or comet is the new kid on the block, gaining respectability only in the last decade of the 20th century with the realization that the dinosaurs were wiped out by just such an impact. Now the science community is making up for lost time, with worldwide efforts to track the thousands of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects and plans for high-tech hardware that could deflect an incoming object from a collision course–a procedure depicted, with little regard for scientific accuracy, in several Hollywood movies. Astrophysicist and science writer Andrew May disentangles fact from fiction in this fast-moving and entertaining account, covering the nature and history of comets and asteroids, the reason why some orbits are more hazardous than others, the devastating local and global effects that an impact event would produce, and–more optimistically–the way future space missions could avert a catastrophe.
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The Accidental Universe
- By: Alan Lightman
- Narrator: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 3 hours 51 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2014
- Language: English
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3.85(3347 ratings)
3.85(3347 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDFrom the acclaimed author of Einstein’s Dreams and Mr. g comes a meditation on the unexpected ways in which recent scientific findings have shaped our understanding of ourselves and our place in the cosmos. With all the passion, curiosity, andFrom the acclaimed author of Einstein’s Dreams and Mr. g comes a meditation on the unexpected ways in which recent scientific findings have shaped our understanding of ourselves and our place in the cosmos.
With all the passion, curiosity, and precise yet lyrical prose that have marked his previous books, Alan Lightman here explores the emotional and philosophical questions raised by discoveries in science, focusing most intently on the human condition and the needs of humankind. He looks at the difficult dialogue between science and religion, the conflict between our human desire for permanence and the impermanence of nature, the possibility that our universe is simply an accident, the manner in which modern technology has separated us from direct experience of the world, and our resistance to the view that our bodies and minds can be explained by scientific logic and laws. And behind all of these considerations is the suggestion–at once haunting and exhilarating–that what we see and understand of the world is only a tiny piece of the extraordinary, perhaps unfathomable whole.
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Mapping the Heavens
- By: Priyamvada Natarajan
- Narrator: Elisabeth Rodgers
- Length: 8 hours 27 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2016
- Language: English
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3.85(264 ratings)
3.85(264 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDMapping the Heavens provides a tour of the “greatest hits” of cosmological discoveries–the ideas that reshaped our universe over the past century. The cosmos, once understood as a stagnant place filled with the ordinary, is now aMapping the Heavens provides a tour of the “greatest hits” of cosmological discoveries–the ideas that reshaped our universe over the past century. The cosmos, once understood as a stagnant place filled with the ordinary, is now a universe that is expanding at an accelerating pace, propelled by dark energy and structured by dark matter. Priyamvada Natarajan, our guide to these ideas, is at the forefront of the research–an astrophysicist who literally creates maps of invisible matter in the universe. She not only explains for a wide audience the science behind these essential ideas but also provides an understanding of how radical scientific theories gain acceptance.
The formation and growth of black holes, dark matter halos, the accelerating expansion of the universe, the echo of the big bang, the discovery of exoplanets, and the possibility of other universes–these are some of the puzzling cosmological topics of the early twenty-first century. Natarajan discusses why the acceptance of new ideas about the universe and our place in it has never been linear and always contested even within the scientific community. And she affirms that, shifting and incomplete as science always must be, it offers the best path we have toward making sense of our wondrous, mysterious universe.
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Strange New Worlds
- By: Ray Jayawardhana
- Narrator: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 6 hours 38 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2014
- Language: English
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3.83(305 ratings)
3.83(305 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDIn Strange New Worlds, renowned astronomer Ray Jayawardhana brings news from the front lines of the epic quest to find planets–and alien life–beyond our solar system. Only in the past two decades, after millennia of speculation, haveIn Strange New Worlds, renowned astronomer Ray Jayawardhana brings news from the front lines of the epic quest to find planets–and alien life–beyond our solar system. Only in the past two decades, after millennia of speculation, have astronomers begun to discover planets around other stars–thousands in fact. Now they are closer than ever to unraveling distant twins of the Earth. In this book, Jayawardhana vividly recounts the stories of the scientists and the remarkable breakthroughs that have ushered in this extraordinary age of exploration. He describes the latest findings, including his own, that are challenging our view of the cosmos and casting new light on the origins and evolution of planets and planetary systems. He reveals how technology is rapidly advancing to support direct observations of Jupiter-like gas giants and super-Earths–rocky planets with several times the mass of our own planet–and how astronomers use biomarkers to seek possible life on other worlds.
Strange New Worlds provides an insider’s look at the cutting-edge science of today’s planet hunters, our prospects for discovering alien life, and the debates and controversies at the forefront of extrasolar-planet research.
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Einstein’s Shadow
- By: Seth Fletcher
- Narrator: Sean Pratt
- Length: 7 hours 28 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: October 09, 2018
- Language: English
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3.75(204 ratings)
3.75(204 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.004.99 USDEinstein’s Shadow follows a team of elite scientists on their historic mission to take the first picture of a black hole, putting Einstein’s theory of relativity to its ultimate test and helping to answer our deepest questions aboutEinstein’s Shadow follows a team of elite scientists on their historic mission to take the first picture of a black hole, putting Einstein’s theory of relativity to its ultimate test and helping to answer our deepest questions about space, time, the origins of the universe, and the nature of reality.
Photographing a black hole sounds impossible, a contradiction in terms. But Shep Doeleman and a global coalition of scientists are on the cusp of doing just that.
With exclusive access to the team, journalist Seth Fletcher spent five years following Shep and an extraordinary cast of characters as they assembled the Event Horizon Telescope, a virtual radio observatory the size of the Earth. He witnessed their struggles, setbacks, and breakthroughs, and along the way, he explored the latest thinking on the most profound questions about black holes. Do they represent a limit to our ability to understand reality? Or will they reveal the clues that lead to the long-sought Theory of Everything?
Fletcher transforms astrophysics into something exciting, accessible, and immediate, taking us on an incredible adventure to better understand the complexity of our galaxy, the boundaries of human perception and knowledge, and how the messy human endeavor of science really works.
Weaving a compelling narrative account of human ingenuity with excursions into cutting-edge science, Einstein’s Shadow is a tale of great minds on a mission to change the way we understand our universe–and our place in it.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
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Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs
- By: Lisa Randall
- Narrator: Carrington MacDuffie
- Length: 12 hours 32 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: October 27, 2015
- Language: English
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3.67(2146 ratings)
3.67(2146 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.99 USDIn this brilliant exploration of our cosmic environment, the renowned particle physicist and New York Times bestselling author of Warped Passages and Knocking on Heaven’s Door uses her research into dark matter to illuminate the startlingIn this brilliant exploration of our cosmic environment, the renowned particle physicist and New York Times bestselling author of Warped Passages and Knocking on Heaven’s Door uses her research into dark matter to illuminate the startling connections between the furthest reaches of space and life here on Earth.
Sixty-six million years ago, an object the size of a city descended from space to crash into Earth, creating a devastating cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs, along with three-quarters of the other species on the planet. What was its origin? In Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Lisa Randall proposes it was a comet that was dislodged from its orbit as the Solar System passed through a disk of dark matter embedded in the Milky Way. In a sense, it might have been dark matter that killed the dinosaurs.
Working through the background and consequences of this proposal, Randall shares with us the latest findings–established and speculative–regarding the nature and role of dark matter and the origin of the Universe, our galaxy, our Solar System, and life, along with the process by which scientists explore new concepts. In Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Randall tells a breathtaking story that weaves together the cosmos’ history and our own, illuminating the deep relationships that are critical to our world and the astonishing beauty inherent in the most familiar things.
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Origins of the Universe
- By: Jack Arnold
- Narrator: Edwin Newman
- Length: 2 hours 38 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2006
- Language: English
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3.57(14 ratings)
3.57(14 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.009.95 USDThe story of the cosmos—its beginning and its changes through time—has been a topic of much speculation and myth. It also has attracted intense attention from scientists. There are many questions about the universe’s size,The story of the cosmos—its beginning and its changes through time—has been a topic of much speculation and myth. It also has attracted intense attention from scientists. There are many questions about the universe’s size, stability, growth, and its ultimate cause. This presentation also addresses such colorful cosmic topics as red shifts, white dwarfs, black holes, super strings, and the “big bang”.
The Science and Discovery Series recreates one of history’s most successful journeys—four thousand years of scientific efforts to better understand and control the physical world. Science has often challenged and upset conventional wisdom or accepted practices; this is a story of vested interests and independent thinkers, experiments and theories, change and progress. Aristotle, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Einstein, and many others are featured.
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Cliff Weitzman
Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.
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