| Astronomy is the oldest numerical science，crucial in ancienttimes for calendars and navigation．It is nOW experiencing asurRe of discovery．The enhanced foCUS on time as we enterthe new millennium is boosting interest in our cosmicenvironment．Astronomy is still the science of numbers，andthis book is the story of six that are crucial for our universe，and ourplace in it．On the blurred boundaries of ancient maps，cartographerswrote‘There be dragons’．After the pioneer navigators hadencircled the globe and delineated the main continents andoceans，later explorers filled in the details．But there was nolonger any hope of finding a new continent，or any expecta—tion that the Earth’S size and shape would ever be drasticallyreappraised．At the end of the twentieth century we have，remarkably，reached the same stage in mapping our universe：the grandoutlines are now coming into focus．This is the collectiveachievement of thousands of astronomers，physici sts and，engineers．using many different techniques．Modern tel6一scopes probe deep into space；because the light from distantobjects takes a long time journeying towards US，they also giveUS glimpses of the remote past；we have detected‘fossils’laiddown in the first few seconds of cosmic history．Spacecrafthave revealed neutron stars，black holes，and other extremephenomena that extend our knowledge of the physical laws．These advances have vastly stretched our cosmic horizons． |
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