Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-178) and index

What is light? -- Old light -- Starlight -- Dark energy's imprint -- Black hole beacons -- Radio from the cosmic dawn -- Epilogue

"The story of the Universe is written in the light that travels through it--light that we can capture. Nearly everything we know about how the Universe works on its grandest scale comes from the analysis of the light--photons--that may have travelled nearly fourteen billion years from the Big Bang itself to reach us. Have you ever wondered what is the most distant source of light we can see, or how a star shines? Did you know that black holes can blaze like cosmic beacons across intergalactic space, and that ancient radio waves might herald the ignition of the very first stars? Have you ever thought about what light really is? Five Photons explains all with the tales of five fascinating astrophysical processes through the journeys of light across space and time. They are tales of quantum physics and general relativity, stars and black holes, dark matter and dark energy. Let yourself be swept away on a journey of discovery towards a deeper understanding of the Universe."--Publisher's description