The Three Big Bangs: Comet Crashes, Exploding Stars and the Creation of the Universe (Helix Books) - Hardcover

The universe was created in the first Big Bang, but according to Philip Dauber and Richard Muller that alone couldn't have been sufficient to set the stage for life on Earth today. Two more big bangs were needed: one in the form of a supernova that seeded the solar system with heavy elements; the second a devastating asteroid or comet impact 65 million years ago that exterminated the dinosaurs and permitted the evolution of mammals and ultimately humans. The Three Big Bangs describes the science behind each of these events in a colourful manner. It provides an easily accessible survey of key theories in cosmology, but readers more familiar with these principles may yearn for greater detail and rigour. Still, as an overview of three classes of cosmological cataclysms and their role in shaping the world as we know it, The Three Big Bangs succeeds.

Scientist believe that we would not be here if it were not for three great cataclysms in the early history of Earth and of the universe. This is the first book to explore the deep connection between the events that shaped life on Earth: the 'Big Bang' that spawned an entire universe; the explosion of a supernova, which seeded the solar system with heavy elements; and the crash of a comet or asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs and clear the way for the evolution of mammals.