The Milky Way: Fifth Edition (Harvard Books on Astronomy)

A swirling spiral of 100 billion star-suns, star clusters, nebulae, and cosmic dust, the Milky Way is our home galaxy and, for astronomers, a source of endless fascination. Since 1941 The Milky Way has conveyed Bart and Priscilla Bok’s own fascination with our galaxy in an authoritative yet easily understandable account. For two generations this immensely popular book has been the standard introduction to the Milky Way, but once again, scientific advances have demanded a complete revision and thorough updating. In just the last decade an entirely new model of a much more massive Milky Way has emerged, and new techniques of radio and infrared astronomy have opened up the full study of the galactic center. As in earlier editions, presentation of new research and dynamic new theoretical advances will delight amateur and professional stargazers alike.

A swirling spiral of 100 billion star-suns, star clusters, nebulae, and cosmic dust, the Milky Way is our Home Galaxy; yet research during the past ten years have overturned assumptions about even its most fundamental characteristics.