Supernovae are the explosions of stars. They are some of the most energetic phenomena in the Universe, rivaling the combined light of billions of stars. Supernovae have been studied for centuries, and they have also made appearances in popular culture: a glimpse of a supernova in a painting provides Sherlock Holmes with a crucial clue, for example. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, astrophysicist Or Graur offers a concise and accessible introduction to these awe-inspiring astronomical phenomena. Graur explains that a deep observational understanding of supernovae—why and how they shine and how their brightness changes over time—allows us to use them as tools for experiments in astrophysics and physics. A certain type of supernova, for example, brightens and fades in such a predictable manner that we can measure the distances to their host galaxies. We owe our existence to supernovae—they give us iron for our blood and calcium for our bones. But supernovae may also have caused a mass extinction event on Earth 2.6 million years ago. Graur shows how observations of supernovae played a role in the transformation of astronomy from astrology to astrophysics; surveys the tools used to study supernovae today; and describes the lives and deaths of stars and the supernova remnants, neutron stars, and black holes they leave behind. Illustrations in both color and black and white, many from Graur's own Hubble Space Telescope data, make this account of supernovae particularly vivid.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Chapter
David A. Green;
(2015)
Historical Supernova Explosions in Our Galaxy and Their Remnants
(/isis/citation/CBB071357389/)
Book
Marcia Bartusiak;
(2015)
Black Hole: How an Idea Abandoned by Newtonians, Hated by Einstein, and Gambled on by Hawking Became Loved
(/isis/citation/CBB449495186/)
Book
Miller, Arthur I.;
(2005)
Empire of the Stars: Obsession, Friendship, and Betrayal in the Quest for Black Holes
(/isis/citation/CBB000550056/)
Book
Melia, Fulvio;
(2009)
Cracking the Einstein Code: Relativity and the Birth of Black Hole Physics
(/isis/citation/CBB001020068/)
Article
Bradley E. Schaefer;
(2023)
The recurrent nova T CrB had prior eruptions observed near December 1787 and October 1217 AD
(/isis/citation/CBB033842649/)
Chapter
Tessicini, Dario;
(2010)
Cornelius Gemma and the New Star of 1572
(/isis/citation/CBB001032025/)
Book
Granada, Miguel Ángel;
(2012)
Novas y cometas entre 1572 y 1618: revolución cosmológica y renovación política y religiosa
(/isis/citation/CBB001260564/)
Article
Stephenson, F. Richard;
Green, David A.;
(2005)
A Reappraisal of Some Proposed Historical Supernovae
(/isis/citation/CBB000773465/)
Book
Patrick J. Boner;
(2020)
Kepler’s New Star (1604): Context and Controversy
(/isis/citation/CBB360331519/)
Article
Farkas, Gábor F.;
Zsoldos, Endre;
(2007)
The New Star of 1572 and Hungary
(/isis/citation/CBB000773365/)
Article
Hoskin, Michael;
(2007)
Novae and Variables before the Spectroscope
(/isis/citation/CBB000720243/)
Book
Turatto, Massimo;
Benetti, Stefano;
Zampieri, Luca;
(2005)
1604--2004: Supernovae as Cosmological Lighthouses
(/isis/citation/CBB001232016/)
Article
Sauer, Tilman;
(2008)
Nova Geminorum 1912 and the Origin of the Idea of Gravitational Lensing
(/isis/citation/CBB000773886/)
Article
Granada, Miguel A.;
(2011)
After the Nova of 1604: Roeslin and Kepler's Discussion on the Significance of the Celestial Novelties (1607--1613)
(/isis/citation/CBB001023573/)
Chapter
Tessicini, Dario;
(2012)
Il dibattito italiano sulla nuova stella del 1572 (Con il testo del Discorso intorno a la stella di Giuseppe Valdagno, MS Ambrosiana R 95 sup)
(/isis/citation/CBB001260566/)
Article
Endre Zsoldos;
(2020)
From Mythology to Astronomy: Lists and Catalogues of Variable Stars
(/isis/citation/CBB430712834/)
Chapter
Barreca, Francesco;
Boner, Patrick J.;
(2013)
A Perfect Similitude: Science and Politics in Kepler's Dedicatory Letter to De stella nova and the Astronomia nova
(/isis/citation/CBB001201008/)
Book
Stephenson, F. Richard;
Green, David A.;
(2002)
Historical Supernovae and their Remnants
(/isis/citation/CBB000201557/)
Book
Ileana Chinnici;
(2019)
Decoding the Stars: A Biography of Angelo Secchi, Jesuit and Scientist
(/isis/citation/CBB547940053/)
Book
Helmut A. Abt;
(2021)
A Stellar Life
(/isis/citation/CBB614510975/)
Be the first to comment!