The Universe in Thirteen Graphs

See the Universe as astronomers do: These thirteen graphs distill the cutting-edge discoveries of the cosmos—from planets and stars to galaxies, to ripples in spacetime itself.

From the front page of newspapers to your favorite t-shirt, the visual language of the cosmos is pervasive. Yet while you may have seen stunning images of planets, nebulae, and even the shadow of a black hole, pretty pictures alone cannot reveal the universe. Whether you’re looking for planets outside our solar system, searching for dark matter, listening for ripples in spacetime, or looking back to very early times, to truly understand the cosmos you need graphs.

In this fully illustrated and engaging book, astronomers Chris Lintott and Jeffrey Grube and data scientist Daina Bouquin focus on thirteen graphs to offer a tour of the major astronomical discoveries of the last century. Meet the HR diagram, which tells us about stellar lives; marvel at the Hubble diagram’s evidence for the expansion of the Universe; understand special relativity through Minkowski spacetime; and turn back time to the earliest visible light of the cosmic microwave background. With fascinating stories of discovery and accessible science for understanding ongoing debates, this book proves that while a picture may be worth a thousand words, a graph can show you the universe.