Galaxies in the Universe: An Introduction

Galaxies are the places where gas turns into luminous stars, powered by nuclear reactions that also produce most of the chemical elements. But the gas and stars are only the tip of an iceberg: a galaxy consists mostly of dark matter, which we know only by the pull of its gravity. The ages, chemical composition and motions of the stars we see today, and the shapes that they make up, tell us about each galaxy's past life. This book presents the astrophysics of galaxies since their beginnings in the early Universe. This second Edition is extensively illustrated with the most recent observational data. It includes new sections on galaxy clusters, gamma ray bursts and supermassive black holes. Chapters on the large-scale structure and early galaxies have been thoroughly revised to take into account recent discoveries such as dark energy.

John Gallagher is the W. W. Morgan Professor of Astronomy at the University of Wisconsin and is the editor of the Astronomical Journal.