More Things in the Heavens: How Infrared Astronomy Is Expanding Our View of the Universe

by Michael Werner, Peter Eisenhardt

Overview

A sweeping tour of the infrared universe as seen through the eyes of NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope

Astronomers have been studying the heavens for thousands of years, but until recently much of the cosmos has been invisible to the human eye. Launched in 2003, the Spitzer Space Telescope has brought the infrared universe into focus as never before. Michael Werner and Peter Eisenhardt are among the scientists who worked for decades to bring this historic mission to life. Here is their inside story of how Spitzer continues to carry out cutting-edge infrared astronomy to help answer fundamental questions that have intrigued humankind since time immemorial: Where did we come from? How did the universe evolve? Are we alone?

In this panoramic book, Werner and Eisenhardt take readers on a breathtaking guided tour of the cosmos in the infrared, beginning in our solar system and venturing ever outward toward the distant origins of the expanding universe. They explain how astronomers use the infrared to observe celestial bodies that are too cold or too far away for their light to be seen by the eye, to conduct deep surveys of galaxies as they appeared at the dawn of time, and to peer through dense cosmic clouds that obscure major events in the life cycles of planets, stars, and galaxies.

Featuring many of Spitzer’s spectacular images, More Things in the Heavens provides a thrilling look at how infrared astronomy is aiding the search for exoplanets and extraterrestrial life, and transforming our understanding of the history and evolution of our universe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691175546
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	06/25/2019
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	2.70(w) x 4.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Michael Werner is a senior research scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. He has been the lead scientist for the Spitzer Space Telescope since 1984. He lives in Pasadena, California. Peter Eisenhardt is a senior research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He received NASA’s Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal for his work on Spitzer. He lives in Altadena, California.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 Exploring the Universe in the Infrared 1

2 The Sky as Seen by Spitzer 13

3 The Birth of Stars and Planetary Systems 28

4 Planetary Debris Disks-Windows on Exoplanetary Systems 45

5 A Torrent of Exoplanets 62

6 Probing the Solar System in the Infrared 79

7 Comets Are Not Forever 91

8 The Milky Way and Interstellar Matter: Stars and the Space Between 100

9 Just Beyond the Milky Way 115

10 Meet the Milky Way's Neighbors 128

11 Polling the Universe 141

12 Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei 153

13 Galaxy Clusters: The Nodes in the Cosmic Web 164

14 The Light of Other Days 177

15 The Dim Boundary 192

16 Returning Home 204

Appendix A A Short History of the Spitzer Space Telescope 211

Appendix B How Spitzer Works and How Spitzer Is Used 219

Acknowledgments 229

Notes 233

Further Reading 257

Credits/Permissions 261

Credits for Epigraphs 268

Index 269

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Had we known how wonderful the infrared is, we would have been born with infrared-sensitive eyes. Fortunately, NASA gave us just that with the Spitzer Space Telescope, and it is a joy to have Werner and Eisenhardt share with us what astronomers have discovered with it and how. From the black hole at the center of the Milky Way to the farthest galaxies and quasars, this insightful book describes how these infrared observations are revealing exciting celestial objects."—Jay M. Pasachoff, coauthor of The Cosmos: Astronomy in the New Millennium

"The Spitzer Space Telescope opened up a new window on the cosmos, yielding new perspectives and crucial insights into the genesis of planets, stars, and galaxies. Werner and Eisenhardt, two leading scientists who each committed decades to the project, describe these discoveries while also giving due weight to the intense planning and prolonged campaigning that turned their vision into such a spectacular success."—Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, author of On the Future: Prospects for Humanity

"A magnificent tour of a wonderful history. Werner and Eisenhardt vividly describe what we saw with the Spitzer Space Telescope's small but mighty infrared eye, from distant galaxies shrouded in dust to glowing clouds making new stars and planets. Spitzer and its human masters will amaze you."—John C. Mather, Nobel Prize–winning astrophysicist

"Werner is fond of using the Shakespeare quote 'Though she be but little, she is fierce' to describe the Spitzer mission, and this book aptly demonstrates that a telescope less than a yard in diameter can achieve results that are fierce in revolutionizing our view of the universe."—Marcia Rieke, University of Arizona

"This is a lucid, vivid, and accessible synthesis of the cosmic discoveries made by the Spitzer telescope. Crafted with verve by two pioneering explorers of the infrared universe, it captures the excitement and enthusiasm of the thousands of scientists who contributed to this outstanding mission."—Simon Mitton, coauthor of Heart of Darkness: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Invisible Universe

“This exceptional book blends good storytelling and readable prose to describe our modern view of the cosmos from the unique vantage point of the Spitzer Space Telescope. Werner and Eisenhardt have devoted three decades of their lives to Spitzer and are highly qualified to provide this account of one of NASA’s most successful missions.”—Ian McLean, University of California, Los Angeles

“More Things in the Heavens is engagingly written for general audiences, but also features a lot of substantial science—enough that I learned quite a bit, on diverse topics ranging from exoplanets to high-redshift galaxies. A pleasurable read.”—Bruce T. Draine, Princeton University

Editorial Reviews

Finalist for the PROSE Award in Cosmology and Astronomy, Association of American Publishers

"Spitzer . . . merits a detailed and authoritative account of its successes, and More Things in the Heavens is just that."—-Michael Rowan-Robinson, Nature

From the Publisher

"For serious space fans, this ode to NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope reveals what we’ve learned by looking at the universe through an infrared lens."

Science News