Extreme Stars: At the Edge of Creation - Hardcover

Kaler, James B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 052140262X ISBN 13: 9780521402620

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2001

Synopsis

Over the past 200 years, our knowledge of stars has expanded enormously. From seeing myriad dots of different brightnesses, we haved moved on to measure their distances, temperatures, sizes, chemical compositions, and even ages, finding both young and ancient stars that dwarf our Sun and are dwarfed by it. Unique in its approach, Extreme Stars describes the lives of stars from a new perspective by examining their amazing features. The result is a refreshing, up-to-date, and engaging overview of stellar evolution, suitable for everyone interested in viewing or studying the stars. Ten chapters, generously illustrated throughout, explain the natures of the brightest, the largest, the hottest, and the youngest, among other kinds of stars, ending with a selection of the strangest stars the Universe has to offer. Extreme Stars shows how stars develop and die and how each extreme turns into another under the inexorable twin forces of time and gravity. James B. Kaler is Professor of Astronomy at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He has held Fulbright and Guggenheim Fellowships, has been awarded medals for his work from the University of Liège in Belgium and the University of Mexico, and most recently was selected to give the Armand Spitz lecture by the Great Lakes Planetarium Association. His research area, in which he has published over 100 papers, involves dying stars. Kaler has also written for a variety of popular magazines, including Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, and Scientific American. His previous books include The Ever-Changing Sky (Cambridge, 1996), Stars and their Spectra (Cambridge, 1997), Cosmic Clouds (Scientific American Library Paperback, 1998), and The Little Book of Stars (Copernicus, 2000). He is a current member of the Board of Directors of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and is a frequent guest on radio and television shows.

About this title

Book Description

Extreme Stars is a unique book describing the lives of stars from a new perspective, for anyone interested in stars. It examines their amazing extremes and results in a refreshing, up-to-date and engaging overview of stellar evolution, showing how each extreme turns into another under the inexorable twin forces of time and gravity. Ten chapters, generously illustrated throughout, explain the natures of the brightest, the largest, the hottest, the youngest, and so on, ending with a selection of the strangest stars the Universe has to offer.

Review

"Astronomer Kaler gives a whirlwind tour of the Universe replete with diagrams and stellar images." Discover

"A superbly written and presented introduction to neophyte astronomers and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the nature of stars." Midwest Book Review

"Packed with accurate yet easy-to-digest scientific information...Almost every page is beautifully written, with text that sometimes verges on the poetic." Physics World

"...an unusual overview of stellar evolution." Morning News

"Wtihin a delicate balance of entertaining facts and useful information, armchair and professional astrono,ers alike will be pleased with the faintest, the coolest, the hottest, the brightest, the largest, the smallest, the youngest, the oldest, and the strangest that Extreme Stars^ has to offer." Mercury Nov-Dec 2001

"Extreme Stars is an interesting, engaging, and thorough presentation of stellar astronomy from a new perspective....this book's careful treatment and fresh outlook make it an excellent resource and a delightful read." Astronomy Jan 2002

"With a delicate balance of entertaining facts and useful information, armchair and prfessional astronomers alike will be pleased with the fainst, the coolest, the hottest, the brightest, the largest, the smallest, the youngest, the oldest, and the strangest that Extreme Star has to offer." MERCURY Review Nov-Dec 2001

"We are intrigued by superlatives: Longest, shortest, largest, smallest, brightest, dimmest- extremes that simultaneously defy and define the average...Extreme Star is rigorous enough to be used as an introductory textbook, but light enough for an amateur or scientist to read for pleasure, a rare and delicate balance for a trade book...Extreme Star is an interesting, engaging, and thorough presentation of stellar astronomy from a new perspective. Whether you enjoy casual stargazing or teach astronomy, this book's careful treatment and fresh outlook make it an excellent resource and a delightful read." ASTRONOMY Magazine Jan 2002

"Though Kaler's approach is unorthodox, don't be fooled into thinkig that he's cut corners...the book contains as much depth as any text on the subject. With a delicate balance of entertaining facts and useful information, armchair and professional astronomers alike will be pleased with the faintist, the coolest, the hottest, the brightest, the largest, the smallest, the youngest, the oldest, and the strangest that "IExtreme Stars has to offer." Mercury, Nov-Dec 2001

"...excellent...Kaler has put together a very readable, fascinating astronomy book." Planetarian

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 052140262X
• ISBN 13: 9780521402620
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 248