James Webb's Ancient Cosmos
A Journey to the Beginning of Time
Will be published approx. on 13. October 2026
Book
Hardback
224 pages
978-1-78929-929-8 (ISBN)
Description
An essential companion for anyone wanting to discover the latest images from the James Webb Space Telescope and what these discoveries mean for our universe - and our understanding of human history.Can the James Webb Space Telescope really see the past? Pioneering space experts Maggie Aderin, PhD, and Sarah Wild take readers on a journey back in time to explore the creation and formation of our solar system, galaxies, and other exoplanetary systems in the universe.Beginning in our own galaxy, this stunning book uses the James Webb's cinematic images as route markers towards this cosmic dawn, revealing the mesmerizing pictures' secrets and explaining the scientific phenomena within them. Along the way, it explores some of cosmology's greatest mysteries, such as the shape of the universe, the nature of dark matter, and whether there is other life in the cosmos.Featuring mind-blowingly detailed images from NASA's telescope, Maggie Aderin, PhD, and Sarah Wild demystify the pictures from deep space and explain the essential science behind each discovery. James Webb's Ancient Cosmos explores not only the origins of the universe but also the evolution of scientific knowledge and humanity's future.
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Persons
Dame Maggie Aderin, PhD, is a space scientist, the founder of Science Innovation Ltd., and co-host of the world's longest-running science television program The Sky at Night (BBC). She has a degree in Physics and a PhD. in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London. After helping to build a spectrograph for Gemini South, one of the biggest telescopes in the world, she continued to work on telescope instruments, including one for JWST. Maggie also won the Institute of Physics gold medal for exceptional services to science education and physics communication and was made a Dame in the 2023 New Year's Honours list.
Sarah Wild studied physics, electronics, and English literature at Rhodes University, South Africa, and for an MSc in bioethics and health law, before becoming a freelance science journalist. She has also written books, won awards, and run national science desks. Her work has appeared in Nature, Science, Scientific American, and Undark, among others, and she has appeared on the BBC's World Service and the Inside Science program.