*Revised and updated for the twenty-first century*
In this updated, illustrated companion volume to Merlin's Tour of the Universe, we visit again with Merlin, a timeless space traveler from Planet Omniscia, who answers a collection of imaginative questions about the cosmos from Earthlings of all ages. Whether waxing poetic about Earth and its environs, the Sun and its stellar siblings, the world of light, physical laws or galaxies near and far, Merlin's remarks are engaging, humorous, and clear as a starry night sky.
Merlin hasn't been stumped yet, responding to questions including:
If aliens exploded our moon, what effect would it have on us?
What are your thoughts on the theory that a star named Nemesis is circling our solar system and was responsible for killing off the dinosaurs?
If I leave a container on my roof for a period of time, can I collect particles from outer space?
Just Visiting This Planet is a timeless book for all travellers of the universe.
How do you explore distant stars, buried water on Mars or the first moments after the Big Bang - without leaving your back garden?
In The Radio Universe, award-winning astrophysicist Emma Chapman takes us on an electrifying voyage through the cosmos using one of the most powerful, yet overlooked, tools in science: the radio wave. With dazzling clarity and humour, Chapman reveals how these invisible messengers glide through space, bounce off planets, tunnel through clouds and slip past galactic dust - carrying secrets of the universe that no other kind of light can uncover.
We follow a single radio wave as it escapes Earth and travels outward - ricocheting off the Moon, tunnelling through Venus's furnace-thick atmosphere, tracing ancient ice hidden in Mercury's shadows and diving deep into the swirling arms of the Milky Way. Along the way, we meet black holes that roar louder than stars, pulsars more precise than atomic clocks and galaxies lit by the very first starlight. We explore volcanic pancake planets, death-defying neutron stars, the eerie possibility of alien broadcasts - and the fragile question of our own future in the cosmos.
A celebration of human ingenuity and cosmic curiosity, The Radio Universe reveals that the true frontier of space isn't 'out there' - it's humming quietly all around us, waiting to be heard.