The prophet and the astronomer : a scientific journey to the end of time

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Part I : End is near!

Skies are falling

Celestial messages ; Bridge to eternity ; Dreams of perfection ; Visions of doom and redemption ; Revelations of the end

Heaven's alarm to the world

Importance of being vague ; Wars of redemption ; Masque of the red death ; Re-creating heaven and hell ; Apocalypse now! ; Thus spoke the science apologist

Part II : Cosmic collisions

Making worlds

Stone of Aegospotami ; Evil also rises ; Cosmic boils ; Rationalization of doom ; Genesis of worlds ; Genesis of worlds, circa A.D. 2001

Impact!

Geology turns catastrophe ; Dinosaur doom ; Apocalyse now? ; Searching for killers ; Fighting doom in outer space ; Prepare or else!

Part III : Rise and fall of stars

Fire in the sky

Sun worshipers ; Solar chemistry ; Solar alchemy ; Red giants ; Shedding of the veil

Cosmic maelstroms

Unbearable heaviness of being ; New stars that are old ; Absurd idea ; Last bastions of normalcy ; Gravity redefined ; Descent into the maelstrom : prologue ; Descent into the maelstrom : a fantasy ; Descent into the maelstrom : Postscript

Part IV : To the end of time

Fire and ice

Cosmos, circa 1945 ; Cosmos, circa 1980 ; Short discourse on time : part I

Time regained

Cosmos, circa 1998 : building blocks ; Cosmos, circa 1998 : the quartet of fundamental forces ; Quest for unification : the inner-space/outer-space connection ; Quest for unification : toward the beginning ; Cosmos, circa 1998 : cosmic challenges ; Cosmos, circa 1998 : inflating the big bang ; Cosmos, circa 1998 : the quest for new cosmic origins ; Cosmos, circa 2002 : remembrance of fluctuations past ; Cosmos, circa 2002 : the return of the ether? ; Short discourse on time : part 2

Epilogue : Celestial wisdom