The Zoomable Universe, by Caleb Scarf with Illustrations by Ron Miller (Scientific American/FSG)

Ron Miller (Scientific American/FSG)

5W Infographics (Scientific American/FSG)

5W Infographics (Scientific American/FSG)

The Zoomable Universe, by Caleb Scarf with Illustrations by Ron Miller (Scientific American/FSG)

The Zoomable Universe, by Caleb Scarf with Illustrations by Ron Miller (Scientific American/FSG)

The Zoomable Universe, by Caleb Scarf with Illustrations by Ron Miller (Scientific American/FSG)

The Zoomable Universe, by Caleb Scarf with Illustrations by Ron Miller (Scientific American/FSG)

The Zoomable Universe, by Caleb Scarf with Illustrations by Ron Miller (Scientific American/FSG)

The Zoomable Universe, by Caleb Scarf with Illustrations by Ron Miller (Scientific American/FSG)

Sometimes we want science to show us the complexity and uncertainty of everything, but sometimes we just want it to dazzle us.

You'll get a heaping dose of dazzle in Caleb Scharf and Ron Miller's coffee table book The Zoomable Universe: An Epic Tour Through Cosmic Scale, from Almost Everything to Nearly Nothing. It recalls the wonder-laced scientific writing of Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan, and it reminds us that the scientific view of the world is gorgeous as well as rational.

Astrobiologist Caleb Scharf (Gravity's Engines) teamed up with award-winning science illustrator Ron Miller to revisit a theme that many of us remember from the mind-blowing 1977 short film Powers of Ten. In Powers of Ten, created for IBM by the designers at Eames, we start with human scale, then zoom out "10 times farther away every 10 seconds," until we're hovering at the edges of known space. Then we plunge back down, going smaller and smaller, until we're swimming through human cells.

Scharf and Miller have done the same with The Zoomable Universe, starting with the distant, foamy fabric of the assembling Universe and winding up blipping into and out of existence with subatomic particles.

Unlike Powers of Ten, however, The Zoomable Universe is packed with up-to-date scientific information. We learn the latest hypotheses about how the Universe was born (complete with multiverses), what dark matter might be, and how galaxies form clusters and bubbles. Then we head toward Earth, but not before we explore the lives of stars, exoplanets, nebulas, and more. Scharf is careful to explain how these astronomical bodies form and what we know about their life cycles.

Miller complements Scharf's readable, delightful prose with images that explain everything from types of matter to types of exoplanets. After working for decades in scientific illustration, focused especially on astronomy, Miller is adept at making science beautiful. The book is packed with his pictures of galaxies forming, stars jetting superheated matter, and planetary vistas that will take your breath away. In the gallery above, you can see several examples of his work. Plus, several charts from 5W Infographics are intriguing and data-rich.

Eventually we dive into the microcosm, plunging into the world of cells, bacteria, viruses, protons, and quarks. Scharf and Miller drive home that the Universe doesn't end at human scale. There is just as much mystery and craziness in the worlds we contain as there are in the worlds that contain us. With humor and obvious delight, they take us into the shimmering eyes of a louse and through the membranes of a bacterium.

Suitable for curious people of all ages, The Zoomable Universe is escapism done right. You'll find yourself transported to alien worlds, but, by the time you finish, you'll know far more about reality than ever before.

Listing image by Ron Miller (Scientific American/FSG)