How Far is Up?: The Men Who Measured the Universe - Hardcover

Award-winners Mary and John Gribbin unravel the history of modern astronomy. How far is it to the edge of the Universe? It is less than eighty years since astronomers began to realise that even the distances to the stars are tiny steps on a truly cosmic scale, and that the Milky Way Galaxy in which we live is just one island in an immense ocean of space. John and Mary Gribbin tell the story of how the cosmic distance scale was measured, the personalities involved and the increasingly sophisticated instruments they used. Astronomers can now study light from objects so distant that it has taken ten billion years on its journey across space to us, travelling all the time at a speed of 300,000 kilometres per second: that's how far up is!

John Gribbin; is one of the best known popularisers of science in the world. He the author of numerous bestsellers including In Search Of Schrodinger's Cat, Stardust and most recently Science: A History and (with Mary Gribbin) Ice Age. He worked on the New Scientist for many years and has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship at the University of Sussex for his work promoting science to the public. Mary Gribbin; writes for the New Scientist, Family Circle, Here's Health, Cosmopolitan and The Guardian. She has also co-authored five science books for adults.