The Mysteries of the Universe Revealed by the Hubble Space Telescope.
The Hubble Space Telescope's spectacular pictures of nearby planets, remote stars and distant galaxies capture the public imagination in a way not seen since the heady days of the Apollo programme in the 1960s. In 'Visions of Heaven' we see their full range, from the stellar nurseries where young stars are hatched out of immense clouds of gas and dust, to the magnificent remains, glowing across billions of miles, of once-mighty stars.
But Hubble has brought us more than just glorious pictures: it offers new insights into the cosmos, and with them the beginnings of an understanding of some of the most fundamental human questions. What really happened "in the beginning"? Is there life on planets outside our solar system? What does the future hold? These wonderful photographs speak of the splendour and unimaginable vastness of the universe and, by implication, remind us of our own insignificant position. But they also carry the message that we should be proud that we are able to understand so much of it.
To the astronomer's eye, each of the Hubble pictures may tell a clear story, but the lay reader needs a guide to see and appreciate the deeper order lying behind the images. 'Visions of Heaven' combines these remarkable pictures with a concise narrative to relate the thrilling and moving stories hidden in them.
