Early humans turned what they could see above them into rich creation myths. Later philosophers created cosmologies that pushed myth closer toward empiricism. The flat disc universe yielded to celestial spheres, and the stationary Earth at the center of it all yielded to a spinning planet in a heliocentric solar system that was one of only untold hundreds of billions of solar systems in hundreds of billions of galaxies. This expansion of the cosmos was further revolutionized by theoretical physics, including the theory of relativity. The mind-expanding history of humanity's understanding of the universe is related here with gorgeous full-color photographs, captivating primary source imagery, and loads of capsule information and infographics.

Space --Early ideas -- Telescopes -- Giant telescopes -- The electromagnetic spectrum -- Infrared telescopes -- Radio astronomy -- Special rays -- Hubble Space Telescope -- Space observatories -- Did you know? -- Your questions answered.