Cosmic Questions: Galactic Halos, Cold Dark Matter, and the End of Time

In a fresh exploration of intriguing questions in cosmology, Morris ( Dismantling the Universe ) presents new theories for popular understanding. He is expert at the primer-for-adults style that shapes the usual grab bag of questions: Did the Big Bang really happen? What is time? What is the universe made of? All of this has been discussed by popular science writers during the last decade. Morris contends that ``scientists now think they will be able to answer'' the old ``series of metaphysical-sounding questions,'' based to a large extent on the findings of NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer. If he is right and ``we are currently witnessing the beginning of the Golden Age of cosmology,'' then the publishers of popular science treatments are well ahead of the physicists. Newbridge Astronomy and QPB alternates. (Nov.)