The scientists seeking to unravel the mysteries of the universe are among the most imaginative and provocative explorers of our time. Like the geographic explorers of earlier centuries, they venture into uncharted spaces, come upon new worlds, expand the knowable, and challenge thinking about the place of humans in all things. Collected here are the most exciting moments of recent astronomical explorations, presented by the award-winning science reporters of The New York Times. Recent leaps in technology have allowed astronomers to peer deeply into the universe and to bring into focus fascinating and unsuspected phenomena. Cosmic Dispatches conveys in thrilling detail the meaning and significance of what scientists have been learning about our universe.

Refreshingly nonconformist and polemically incisive, Cosmic Apprentice challenges readers to reject both dogma and cliché and instead recover the intellectual adventurousness that should--and can once again--animate both science and philosophy. Informed by a countercultural sensibility, a deep engagement with speculative thought, and a hardheaded scientific skepticism, it advances controversial positions on such seemingly sacrosanct subjects as evolution and entropy.

There are many mysteries involving cosmic phenomena. Jerome Drexler used 14 of these and his analytical concept of dark matter (DM) relationism to discover a promising candidate for dark matter, the source of ultra-high energy cosmic rays, and theories for star formation, starburst galaxies, and the emergence of DM halos. To test the validity of his discoveries, Drexler used another 11 unexplained cosmic phenomena discovered by astronomers primarily during 2005. Utilizing his same promising dark matter candidate, Drexler was able to explain in a plausible manner all 11 of these recently discovered cosmic mysteries. Drexler's research has led not only to an identification of dark matter and to plausible explanations for the 25 cosmic phenomena, but also to a deeper understanding of many aspects of the cosmos, leading to a partial decoding of the cosmos.

The author, a cog in a profession sputtering and wheezing under decades of chaotic regulation, discovers his nemesis, the head of an obscure Beltway foundation that has managed to have its copyrighted code of conduct enshrined in federal and state law. All 50 states and many territories, even the tiny U.S. territories of Guam and the Mariana Islands, now must heed the foundation's continually changing standards and criteria. The nonprofit, known as the "Appraisal Foundation," acts as a U.S. taxpayer-subsidized standard-setting body but it holds a unique government franchise. Hoisting the ensign of waste and abuse, the author, Jeremy Bagott, delivers a clarion call. He takes the reader (and taxpayer) on a whirlwind tour of the grand salons of Europe and Asia as trustees and officers in this congressionally authorized and taxpayer-funded organization travel the world and make badinage with the likes of a former British Labour Party chancellor of the exchequer and other notables at droll receptions in places like Paris, London, Singapore and Dubai. The foundation's winter retreats in places like West Palm Beach, Scottsdale and Pasadena host top officials of the equally obscure U.S. federal agency that provides the nonprofit its public grant. The author, a former newspaper editor, interweaves skillful scene-setting and thoughtful analysis with the surprising comments of stone-honest civil servants, double-talking careerists and anonymous fixers found deep in the plumbing of state and federal government. On his journey, the author discovers a far greater potential menace: the growing and largely unexamined reliance on a practice called "incorporation by reference." Coupled with evidence of rogue regulating, abdication and routine corner-cutting in state and federal rulemaking, it is slowly creating a fourth branch of government.

Explains the fundamentals of astronomy together with the hottest current topics in this field, such as exoplanets and gravitational waves.

The articles in this collection focus on the revolution in cosmology that took place in 1998 that has shaken scientists' understanding of the universe. Until then, scientists believed that the universe had been expanding for billions of years but was slowing down. However, data collected and analyzed since 1998 points to an accelerating universe. Each article in this educational anthology covers the authors' insights into the new mysterious universe.

Learn how a world-class inventor-scientist is currently tackling the greatest scientific mysteries of the universe -- and succeeding. With his new book, Drexler provides a viable baseline to jump-start debate on a standard model for postmodern cosmology. It is the first book to not only address these seven unsolved cosmic mysteries, shown in this book's subtitle, but also offer plausible explanations for each of them. The correlation of these seven cosmic phenomena by Drexler offers a revolutionary advance in cosmological research and potentially broad acceptance and use of the related concepts. This book was written for open-minded cosmologists, astronomers, astrophysicists, physicists, engineers, students, enthusiasts and those at NASA, NSF, DOE and ESO who want to understand postmodern cosmology. The author's five years of cosmology research, and his successes, convinced him that his postmodern cosmology model is correctly based upon the relationships and linkages of these seven cosmic phenomena.