Galaxies: a very short introduction

Galaxies: A Very Short Introduction explores the building blocks of the Universe. Standing like islands in space, each is made up of many hundreds of millions of stars in which the chemical elements are made, around which planets form, and where on at least one of those planets intelligent life has emerged. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is just one of several hundred million other galaxies. Yet it was only in the 1920s that we realised that there is more to the Universe. Since then, many exciting discoveries have been made about our own galaxy and about those beyond.