The Supernova Story

by Laurence A. Marschall

Overview

Astronomers believe that a supernova is a massive explosion signaling the death of a star, causing a cosmic recycling of the chemical elements and leaving behind a pulsar, black hole, or nothing at all. In an engaging story of the life cycles of stars, Laurence Marschall tells how early astronomers identified supernovae, and how later scientists came to their current understanding, piecing together observations and historical accounts to form a theory, which was tested by intensive study of SN 1987A, the brightest supernova since 1006. He has revised and updated The Supernova Story to include all the latest developments concerning SN 1987A, which astronomers still watch for possible aftershocks, as well as SN 1993J, the spectacular new event in the cosmic laboratory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691036335
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	07/03/1994
Series:	Princeton Science Library , #14
Edition description:	With a New preface and epilogue by the author
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	7.75(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Laurence A. Marschall is Professor of Physics at Gettysburg College and the editor of CCD Astronomy. He is a contributor to The Sciences, Astronomy, Harper's, The New York Times Book Review, and Air and Space.

Table of Contents

Preface (1994)

Preface (1988)

Acknowledgments

Ch. 1 A View from Planet Earth

Stars and Stories 1

What Astronomers Do 4

Lights in the Sky 6

Taking Stock of the Sky 7

Ch. 2 Messages in Starlight

The Measure of the Stars 19

The Doppler Shift and the Motions of Stars 26

The Measure of the Universe 30

Ch. 3 New Stars in Ancient Times

The Early Records 42

The Chinese Records 45

How to Recognize a Supernova 50

First Millennium Supernovae 54

The Supernova of 1006 56

The Supernova of 1054 59

The Supernova of 1181 65

A Thousand Years of Watching 67

Ch. 4 Supernovae and the Revolution in Science

Aristotle and the Medieval Cosmos 69

Tycho and the Nova Stella of 1572 74

The New Star of 1604 82

The New Cosmos 86

Ch. 5 The Long Wait

The Unsteady Stars 90

A Bright Star in Andromeda 94

The Recognition of Supernovae 97

Supernovae Defined 101

The Search Begins 107

High Tech Enters the Picture 111

The Human Eye versus the Eye of the Machine 114

Still Waiting after All These Years 116

Ch. 6 Why Stars Explode

Supernovae Observed 119

The Life of a Star 125

Over the Brink 130

Light Curves and Spectra 136

Type I Supernovae 139

Growing Distinctions 140

The State of Present Knowledge 142

Ch. 7 Wisps and Tatters

Supernova Remnants 145

The Crab Nebula 146

The Secret Life of Cassiopeia A 155

Young Supernova Remnants 161

Old Supernova Remnants 164

Ch. 8 The Eye of the Storm

Looking for Phantoms 169

The Discovery of Pulsars 170

The Nature of the Beast 174

Pulsars, Neutron Stars, and Supernova Remnants 181

From Neutron Stars to Black Holes 186

A Partial Picture 194

Ch. 9 Seeding the Stars

Atoms and the Universe 197

In the Beginning 201

Element Formation in Stars 203

Seeding the Stars 206

The Journeywork of the Stars 212

Ch. 10 Cosmic Dimensions

A Universe of Galaxies 217

Probing the Depths of Space 218

Shaping the Galaxies 223

Primordial Supernovae 230

Ch. 11 A Death in the Neighborhood

A Dot in a Cloud of Light 235

Which Star Exploded? 243

Much Ado about Almost Nothing - The Neutrino Burst 249

Observations and Theories 256

Clues in the Spectra 260

The Mystery Spot 261

What Do We Know So Far? 264

What's Next? 265

Ch. 12 Into the Future

A New Science 269

New Ways of Looking 271

Prospects 274

Epilogue (1994) 277

Bibliographical Notes 299

Glossary 303

Index 311

Editorial Reviews

"This is a wonderful book about science, about astronomy, and, of course, about supernovae."

American Journal of Physics

"A wondrous romp through astro-physics written by an expert guide."

Publishers Weekly

"Marschall's supernova book is a superb piece of writing; it reads almost as easily as a good novel."

Nature

"Marschall's supernova book is a superb piece of writing; it reads almost as easily as a good novel."

Nature Lib

"A superb piece of writing; it reads almost as easily as a good novel."—Nature

From the Publisher

Reprint of the Plenum Press original of 1988 about which we wrote: "Recounts stories behind many supernova[e] and offers a look into the future." A popular work. Contains a new (1994) epilogue. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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