The Modern Scholar

Astronomy II: Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe

By: Prof. James Kaler

Narrated by: Prof. James Kaler

"Over the past century, our vision has taken us far beyond the home Galaxy into the vastness of the Universe, where we find we are hardly alone. As far as we can see there are countless other galaxies of all shapes and sizes set within an ever-expanding space that was created in a "Big Bang" nearly 14 billion years ago. Along with solutions to old puzzles, however, come new riddles, as most of our Universe appears to be in the form of some kind of unseen "dark matter" and incomprehensible "dark energy" whose natures and origins remain unfathomable. Yet with all our questions - and knowing that there are questions still to be asked - we have learned the most important lesson: that all of this Universe is our home, that it took all of it to make us, that it is ours to behold and enjoy.While this course stands on its own, it is also an ideal complement to the first course of the set (Astronomy: Earth, Sky, and Planets), which covers celestial motions, constellations, telescopes, and planetary astronomy, all of it then integrated into a full picture of space and time.Download the accompanying reference guide.©2004 James Kaler (P)2004 Recorded Books

Fantastic!

What a great introduction to the stars and galaxies! The author does such a great job explaining technical intricacies that my 7 year old enjoyed listening.

Great Instruction

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Great for those that have common high school education background to build on.

Any additional comments?

If you are any Astronomy enthusiast that wants to build on his or her understanding.

By far my best science AudioBook ever...

If you could sum up The Modern Scholar in three words, what would they be?

Hugely Passionately Informative

What other book might you compare The Modern Scholar to and why?

richard panek's 4% universe for the voice, but actually better since we hear the professor himself

What does the narrator bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

his infectuous enthusiam for the subject

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no,...I just paid attention like a madman because the delivery is fast, admiring the enormous command of the subject, and knowing that at any rate I would have to and want to go for second listen the next time i walk the dogs to the beach, a long one.

Any additional comments?

Get it...it is the most pleasant way I found to be awe-inspired this month.

Awesome course!

The universe is strange and endlessly fascinating. There is so much we don't yet understand yet what we have learned so far is mindblowing. This course is a fast paced review of our current knowledge of the cosmos. If you like astronomy you will like this course. Prof Kaler does a great job here. Some of this stuff is pretty complex and just plain weird and he does a great job making it as understandable as possible. Not only does he explain what we think is out there he explains how we figured out what we know, which is very interesting in itself.

Excellent course. I really enjoyed it.

Absolutely awesome!

A can't say enough about how good this James Kaler is. His descriptions are so clear, so vivid, that listening to his "lectures" is more like watching a superbly narrated and vividly illustrated movie or video. As simply a demonstration of how interesting and enthusiastic a lecturer can be, this book/lecture is worth a listen. If you have any interest in astronomy, and the "wonders of the universe", this is it. It don't get 'no better!
I've gone on to research his books at Amazon, and they are uniformly highly reviewed. I just purchased his "Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Stars". He is better than the much more expensive lecture series I have watched from The Teaching Company on astronomy, which is given by Alex Filipenko of UC Berkeley, and that is excellent as well.