The ascent of gravity: the quest to understand the force that explains everything

Gravity is the weakest force in the everyday world yet it is the strongest force in the universe. It was the first force to be recognised and described yet it is the least understood. It is a 'force' that keeps your feet on the ground yet no such force actually exists. Gravity, to steal the words of Winston Churchill, is 'a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma'. And penetrating that enigma promises to answer the biggest questions in science: what is space? What is time? What is the universe? And where did it all come from? Award-winning writer Marcus Chown takes us on an unforgettable journey from the recognition of the 'force' of gravity in 1666 to the discovery of gravitational waves in 2015. And, as we stand on the brink of a seismic revolution in our worldview, he brings us up to speed on the greatest challenge ever to confront physics

Solar system: a visual exploration of the planets, moons, and other heavenly bodies that orbit our sun

Based on the latest ebook sensation developed by Theodore Gray and his company Touch Press, this beautiful print book presents a new and fascinating way to experience the wonders of the solar system Following the stunning success of both the print edition and the app of The Elements, Black Dog & Leventhal and Touch Press have teamed up again. Solar System is something completely new under the sun. Never before have the wonders of our solar system—all its planets, dwarf planets, the sun, moons, rocky Asteroid Belt, and icy Kuiper Belt—been so immediately accessible to readers of all ages. Beginning with a fascinating overview and then organized by planet, in order of its distance from the sun, Solar System takes us on a trip across time and space that includes a front-row seat to the explosive birth of the solar system, a journey to (and then deep inside) each of its eight planets, and even an in-depth exploration of asteroids and comets. With hundreds of gorgeous images produced especially for this project and through a collaboration between NASA and the graphics experts at Planetary Visions Ltd. and Joe Zeff Design, Solar System gives us page after page of unique, detailed, and never-before-seen views, both photographic and computer-generated. Take a dive down into the canyons of Mars; ride across the rings of Saturn; fly over the volcanoes of Io, Jupiter's so-called Pizza Moon; and sail through the fiery loops of gas that are constantly erupting from our sun. Every planet and moon is introduced with a big, beautiful, full-page image and a databox that shows the orbit and position of the planet or moon in relation to surrounding bodies, as well as the diameter, mass, volume, surface temperature, atmospheric makeup, and orbital period of the planet; a scale comparison graphic; and a planet cross-section for the eight planets. Throughout, award-winning author and CalTech radio astronomer Marcus Chown explains everything to us in his easy-to understand, exciting style. The result is a gorgeous and thoroughly entertaining—not to mention educational—book