Whitehouse, David – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk Henley-on-Thames Wed, 28 Jun 2023 09:09:59 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-Bell-Background-Blue-32x32.png Whitehouse, David – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk 32 32 The Alien Perspective https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/the-alien-perspective/ Thu, 01 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=25552 ‘Often-complex ideas are explained with clarity and precision, but this is clearly a passion project for the author, and the book soars where he deploys more poetic language, as when musing on the deeper themes that arise from his central question. … If you’ve ever looked up at the sky and pondered on the big questions of life in the Universe, this is essential reading.’ BBC Sky at Night magazine

Astronomer and science writer David Whitehouse takes us on a journey through the evolving cosmos as he considers humankind’s place in the universe – and how our survival depends on otherworldly perspectives.

From the Earth to the depths of outer space, this inspiring book shows how human evolution has been intertwined with the workings of the cosmos from the very beginning, and what the far-distant future may hold, both for the universe and for ourselves.

Given enough time, Whitehouse contends, we must communicate with intelligent aliens whose divergent perspective will transform our understanding of the universe. First contact may even come sooner than we think. We have already transmitted signals towards promising exoplanets. If, say, Gliese 581d harbours life, the return signal could reach us in 2051.

Drawing the thread of human consciousness from the cave to the cosmos, the acclaimed author of Apollo 11: The Inside Story charts our future journey to the end of space and time and considers whether something of humanity could remain at the end of it all.

]]> Space 2069 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/space-2069/ Thu, 08 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=14749 ‘It is rare to read something that so closely mixes science fiction with reality, but Space 2069 does just that … [It’s] an intelligent portrait of where we may be in the next half-century. – BBC Sky at Night

Nearing half a century since the last Apollo mission, mankind has yet to return to the Moon, but that is about to change. With NASA’s Artemis program scheduled for this decade, astronomer David Whitehouse takes a timely look at what the next 50 years of space exploration have in store.

The thirteenth man and the first woman to walk on the Moon will be the first to explore the lunar south pole – the prime site for a future Moon base thanks to its near-perpetual sunlight and the presence of nearby ice.

The first crewed mission to Mars will briefly orbit the red planet in 2039, preparing the way for a future landing mission. Surviving the round trip will be the greatest challenge any astronaut has yet faced.

In the 2050s, a lander will descend to the frozen surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa and attempt to drill down to its subsurface ocean in search of life.

Based on real-world information, up-to-date scientific findings and a healthy dose of realism, Space 2069 is a mind-expanding tour of humanity’s future in space over the next 50 years.

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