The Violent Universe : Joyrides through the X-ray Cosmos
Editorial Reviews
Review
"The Violent Universe is sure to captivate beyond a readership of astronomy students alone." -- Library Bookwatch
"A complete and engaging history of astronomy as seen through X-ray eyes... Weaver's easy-to-understand text does an outstanding job of bringing high-energy science to a wide audience. Esoteric concepts like black-hole physics and active galactic nuclei are explained with grace and clarity. The Violent Universe stands out as an excellent look at the heavens in a way that only our space telescopes can capture by anyone can appreciate." -- Sky & Telescope
"Weaver's easy-to-understand text does an outstanding job of bringing high-energy science to a wide audience. " -- Sky & Telescope
Book Description
The universe is filled with extreme events: galactic collisions, supernovae eruptions, and stellar implosions. Although not always visible through optical telescopes, these processes generate x-rays, high-energy particles that travel at the speed of light. The Violent Universe reveals how astronomers use color to understand the energy and intensity of these x-rays -- in the process transforming invisible particles into gorgeous images of the cosmos -- and how these scientists discover more about the exotic objects that produce them.
Kimberly Weaver traces the development of x-ray astronomy from the 1950s, when the first artificial satellites began transmitting information from deep space. By juxtaposing a selection of images from optical telescopes with those of cutting-edge x-ray telescopes, she illustrates the way x-ray astronomy captures energy and activity that cannot be seen in visible light.
The book is illustrated with stunning four-color images of galaxies, quasars, pulsars, and black holes captured by Chandra, an enormous x-ray satellite that orbits Earth from a distance 200 times higher than that of the Hubble Space Telescope.
The Violent Universe makes plain the amazing new astronomy that has unmasked the thunderous cosmos -- a dynamic science that daily creates breathtaking art.
The Violent Universe : Joyrides through the X-ray Cosmos
The Violent Universe: Joyrides through the X-ray Cosmos,Kimberly Weaver,The Johns Hopkins University Press,0801881153,Astronomy - Universe,Nature,Physics,Science,Science/Mathematics,Star Observation,X-ray astronomy,Literary Criticism & Collections / American,Popular astronomy
Buy Best Books:
Recommended Books