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The Universe and Beyond

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From the foreword of the fourth " The Universe and Beyond is a celebration of the human spirit of exploration. It is a majestic voyage to the most distant realms we can imagine. Prepare yourself for a great adventure."
-- Edward G. Gibson, Astronaut, Skylab 4 The Universe and Beyond is a fact-packed, up-to-date guide to the universe written by best-selling astronomy author Terence Dickinson. This new edition includes all the most recent astronomical discoveries and events and features imaginative astronomical illustrations and dramatic photography from the Hubble Space Telescope, space probes and the largest observatories on Earth. This fifth edition has been carefully revised and Every major aspect of modern astronomy technology is described in clear, non-mathematical language, and a special resource section lists books, associations and websites. The Universe and Beyond addresses the most common queries from those fascinated by the mystery and majesty of the cosmos. Brimming with color illustrations, this book is a one-stop guide to understanding the universe.

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

4 people are currently reading
95 people want to read

About the author

Terence Dickinson

67 books34 followers
Terence Dickinson is a prolific science writer specializing in astronomy. More than one million copies of his 14 books are in print in five languages. His best-known book, NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe, is widely regarded as the essential guidebook for beginning stargazers. NightWatch, first published in 1983, now has over 600,000 copies in print, making it the top-selling stargazing guide in the world during the past 20 years. Each new edition has outsold the previous one because of extensive revisions and the addition of new material.

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5 stars
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34 (31%)
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9 (8%)
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Jose Moa.
519 reviews78 followers
September 29, 2015
This book is a very good ,very readable,modern ,popular intoduction to astronomy that touch all the themes :solar sistema,stars extrasolar planets, pulsars ,galaxies and cosmology ,wonderfully and profusely illustrated whith beautifull realistic pictures,one of the awesome pictures is the deep field Hubble telescope picture where in a patch of sky the size of the moon one can see thousand of galaxies in the limits of observable universe
Profile Image for John Jeffcoat iii.
23 reviews2 followers
September 24, 2012
The magnitude of our universe is rivaled only by its beauty. The scale of what we see defies comprehension. Truly, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky shows His handiwork".
Profile Image for Steve.
371 reviews8 followers
January 6, 2025
I got this as a Christmas present from my wife who knows I love astronomy books. And this is a good one, filled with latest awe-inspiring pictures from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. A fantastic gift for the amateur or armchair astronomer! Another fantastic book of space telescope photos by Terence Dickinson is "Hubble's Universe".
223 reviews4 followers
December 14, 2019
A spectacular book brimming with beautiful images & wonderful ideas! Surprisingly relevant & up-to-date with a skeptical but open-minded approach to the cosmos. In love!
Profile Image for M.
124 reviews
March 14, 2023
Whole heartedly pleased my Astronomy side. The pictures were lovely to look at. Seeing artist impressions of what the planets could look like as habitable was cool :) a fun pass-the-time read
Profile Image for Kelly Whitt.
987 reviews10 followers
November 24, 2024
Great coffee table book for astronomy lovers. Really beautiful content and packed with information from the solar system to deep space to aliens and the end of time.
74 reviews
August 4, 2025
Magical! A good introduction to our mysterious and magical universe! Highly recommended!
44 reviews
September 6, 2025
A little like a text book but with better pictures. The photos and explanations will make that flat tire you got last week seem sooooo unimportant!
84 reviews3 followers
July 26, 2020
Beautiful illustrations and pictures, tasteful commentary on introductory cosmology, helpful tables at end.
Profile Image for Jeff.
353 reviews34 followers
April 19, 2016

1st Read: January 19, 2016 - February 1, 2016

I always found science to be a fascinating subject in high school, particularly anything about space intrigued me. It made me ask questions and had me gazing into the night sky - even to this day - looking at the brilliance of it all. There is so much out there and I never get tired of just scanning the stars and constellations, passing jets, satellites, meteors, etc.

This book should be used in high schools across the globe for educational purposes. I learned so much more information from The Universe...and Beyond than I ever did with my old high school text books. The illustrations and pictures were amazing! The text is easy to understand and holds your interest to where you just want to keep on reading this book. Many nights in a row, I'd wake up with the book somewhere in my bed, or still holding it while it rested on my chest.

Profile Image for Sof’s Shelves .
71 reviews
April 16, 2024
My favourite nonfiction/astronomy book so far!
(Hence why I’ve reread it 3 times)

Fun fact, I first got it as a used gift at an extended family gathering and spent the entire evening engrossed in it.
Profile Image for Anton.
47 reviews1 follower
May 3, 2009
Beautiful pictures and a great write-up on everything included in the cosmos.
Profile Image for Leigh.
1,358 reviews31 followers
November 27, 2011
Wow. An absolutely stunning book illustrating and explaining the complexities of astronomy and outer space. Gorgeous photographs and clear illustrations, and interesting text.
21 reviews
September 24, 2012
Thought some of the metaphors were a bit laboured but the explanations were good and pointed me towards other resources when I wanted to know more about specifics.
Profile Image for Barbara.
102 reviews13 followers
October 12, 2012
Brilliant. Full of colour photographs and easy-to-understand text brimming with details and explanations. Absolutely wonderful!
Profile Image for Monirul.
5 reviews
January 27, 2015
Wow.....Its precisely amazing.Reading forward and realizing how awesome is astronomy.
Profile Image for Adrienne.
Author 11 books6 followers
February 4, 2015
Beautifully written and visually stunning. I learned a lot from this book and I cannot wait to learn more. I'll definitely be reading more of Terence Dickinson's work in the future!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

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