From the beginning of humanity, people have looked up at the stars in the evening sky to wonder at the magnificence of what they saw and to imagine within the brilliance of the stars a separate existence in that place. It is human nature to want to understand being, and when not understood, to accept as a condition of faith that which is envisioned amid the mysteries of the unknown.

Like distant horizons that once enchanted seafaring adventurers of long ago, the opening of the universe captivates the human spirit and releases humanity from the provincialism of small realities. This book is a story of the parting of the veil of the universe, tales of the many frontiers of space that once silently beckoned previous generations.

This book describes the mysteries of the known universe and reveals its presence in a way that not only explains but also inspires. It is a story of astronomy told in a blend of history, art, science, philosophy, mythology, and personal insight, which takes the reader from our own planet to the edge of the unknown. It is about people, discoveries, ideas, and the connecting events that make the universe what humankind thinks it is.

Astronomy, 170 illustrations, index.