The cutting-edge science that is taking the measure of the universeThe Little Book of Cosmology provides a breathtaking look at our universe on the grandest scales imaginable. Written by one of the world's leading experimental cosmologists, this short but deeply insightful book describes what scientists are revealing through precise measurements of the faint thermal afterglow of the big bang--known as the cosmic microwave background, or CMB--and how their findings are transforming our view of the cosmos. Blending the latest findings in cosmology with essential concepts from physics, Lyman Page first helps readers to grasp the sheer enormity of the universe, explaining how to understand the history of its formation and evolution in space and time. Then he sheds light on how spatial variations in the CMB formed, how they reveal the age, size, and geometry of the universe, and how they offer a blueprint for the formation of cosmic structure. Not only does Page explain current observations and measurements, he describes how they can be woven together into a unified picture to form the Standard Model of Cosmology. Yet much remains unknown, and this incisive book also describes the search for ever deeper knowledge at the field's frontiers--from quests to understand the nature of neutrinos and dark energy to investigations into the physics of the very early universe.

• Cover
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter One. The Basics
• Chapter Two. The Composition and Evolution of the Cosmos
• Chapter Three. Mapping the Cosmic Microwave Background
• Color Plates
• Chapter Four. The Standard Model of Cosmology
• Chapter Five. Frontiers of Cosmology
• Appendixes
• Index