The Cosmic Detective. Exploring the Mysteries of Our Universe.

This slim primer on Cosmology for general public is an Official Product of International Year of Astronomy 2009, declared by the UN General AssemblyAre you feeling a little lonely in this vast universe? Find out who your neighbors are in this spectacular and thrilling guide to the deepest mysteries of the cosmos.
International Best-selling author and world-renowned scientist Dr. Mani Bhaumik Takes readers on a whirlwind tour into space with The Cosmic Detective. Addressing his readers as cosmic detectives, the author actively enlists his sleuths in finding solutions to questions that have puzzled space scientists for ages.
How and when did the universe begin? What are the stars made of? How far away are the most distant galaxies? What is a quasar? Explore these fundamental cosmic riddles and more in this fascinating journey of discovery and wonder. Find out about nebulae and black holes, navigate the galaxies and the enormous expanses beyond, dive into the heart of neutron stars and walk on distant planet as you join the author in investigating the most bizarre aspects of the cosmos. And in the broader context of our own existence in the universe, Dr. Bhaumik reveals that when we explore the cosmos, we also explore ourselves.
What message is dispersed throughout the universe for us? What words are scrawled by the stars in the tablet of the night sky? You may come to see that the primary message from the biography of the universe is oneness, for it appears that we have all come from one single source. We can trace the roots of our family tree to the beginning of the universe 13.7 billion years ago. At that time, of course, there was no sign of life, but the potentiality of life was in the blueprint of the universe, just as the blueprint of a tree is contained in a seed.
Today, whether we are black, white, brown, or yellow or whether we are Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or Jewish, we are members of the same family. We are all cosmic kins tied from our birth to the sun, the stars, the planets, the moons, and the whole universe itself. There is no essential difference between us. If we remember that we share the same origin, all lines of division will be erased. This message of oneness has been forged in the fireball of the universe.
A related message comes loud and clear through the chapters of the cosmic biography. It is a message of empowerment: none of us is insignificant. We may be small, and our power limited, but if we have understood the story in the stars, we know that the universe is not complete without us. This is neither fable nor romantic fantasy, but scientific fact. We know also that we are not only an inseparable and necessary part of the physical universe, but that the very blueprint of the cosmos provided for our eventual emergence.
Are you wondering why we are so essential? Here we face probably the strangest and most wondrous fact of all. The eminent physicist John Wheeler said it most eloquently, It is incontrovertible that the observer is a participant in genesis. Let s contemplate that statement to be sure we understand how astounding it is. Genesis is the beginning of time, the birth of the cosmos. The observer consists of our conscious awareness, the faculty we employ when we look deep and far back into space and time. Are you beginning to get the picture? The distinguished British mathematician Sir Roger Penrose is bemused by the fact that the universe has developed in obedience of laws that our consciousness seems designed to grasp. Could it be that our consciousness is indeed inherently linked to the universal blueprint? So it is a circle, or a loop, which keeps coming back to you and me, emphasizing our significance time and again.
Packed with interesting facts and dazzling color photographs, this beautifully written primer is ideal for all ages.