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Are we alone in the Universe? Was there anything before the Big Bang? Are there other universe? What are sunspots? What is a shooting star? Was there ever life on Mars? This book answers all these questions and hundreds more, making it a practical reference for anyone who has ever wondered what is out there, where it all comes from, and how it all works. Written in non-technical language, the book summarizes current astronomical knowledge, without overlooking the important underlying scientific principles. Richly illustrated in full color, it gives simple but rigorous explanations. About The Author Pierre-Yves Bely is an engineer specializing in the design and construction of large optical telescopes. He was Chief Engineer for the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, and has worked on the Hubble Space Telescope and the design of its successor. Carol Christian is an astrophysicist an Deputy of the Community Missions Office at the Space Telescope Science Institute. In addition to providing technical and outreach support to NASA missions, she is a collaborator on the Google Sky and World Wide Telescopes projects for exploration of the sky on the internet. Jean-Rene Royis an astrophysicist specializing in the evolution of galaxies and the formation of massive stars. He is senior Scientist at the Gemini Observatory, which hosts two of the largest telescopes in the world, one in Hawaii and the other in Chile. Table of Contents Stars The Solar System The Earth The Moon Celestial phenomena The Universe Life in the Universe History of astronomy Telescopes Amateur astronomy