The Hundred Greatest Stars
Stars are fantastically varied, as showcased in imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Some stars are old, dim, quiescent cinders; others are brilliant newbies violently interacting with neighbors. This continuum of stellar evolution, graphically embodied in the venerable Hertzsprung-Russell diagram of stellar classification, actuates astronomer Kaler's selections for his top 100 list. He picks a representative of the major star types, such as the red giant, and rounds out his group with a smattering of classical naked-eye stars: his choice of the red giant Betelgeuse combines the two approaches. Geared for popularity, the book's design presents one image of the star under discussion, either a field view of its position in a constellation or an exuberant HST close-up, faced by Kaler's one-page story about the star's characteristics and inferred history. For the astronomy buff, an alluring gallery of stars mysterious or simply odd awaits, from magnetars to pulsars to distended monsters on the verge of going supernova.Gilbert TaylorCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved