Download or read book Understanding the Heavens written by Jean-Claude Pecker and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2001-04-24 with total page 616 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From its beginnings, astronomy has attempted to explain not only what the universe is and how it works, but also its origins, evolution, and future. Richly illustrated, this book traces astronomical thought from Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece, through the European golden age of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton, and up to the latest modern theories of cosmology.