* The starry sky was once seen as little more than a sphere dotted with lights that surrounded the Earth. It wasn't until a few centuries ago that people understood that the lights were distant suns in a much wider Universe. Since that time that Universe has continued to grow even wider, encompassing vast numbers of galaxies in a cosmos of unimaginable extent.
This document provides a history and description of the cosmos beyond our Solar System, discussing the stars and their lives, our Milky Way galaxy, galaxies beyond the Milky Way, and the broad order of the Universe -- at least as we understand such things at present.
