The Violent Universe
Subtitle: Joyrides through the X-ray Cosmos
Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: May 10, 2005
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 200
ISBN-13: 9780801881152
Subjects: Popular astronomy; X-ray astronomy; Science; Science/Mathematics; Astronomy - Universe; Science / Physics; Physics
Description: "The Universe is filled with extreme events: galactic collisions, supernova eruptions, and stellar implosions. Although not always visible through optical telescopes, these processes generate x-rays, high-energy particles that travel at the speed of light. The Violent Universe reveals how astronomers use color to understand the energy and intensity of these x-rays - in the process transforming invisible particles into gorgeous images of the cosmos - and how these scientists discover more about the exotic objects that produce them." "Kimberly Weaver traces the development of x-ray astronomy from the 1950s, when the first artificial satellites began transmitting information from deep space. By juxtaposing a selection of images from optical telescopes with those of cutting-edge x-ray telescopes, she illustrates the way x-ray astronomy captures energy and activity that cannot be seen in visible light." "The book includes four-color images of galaxies, quasars, pulsars, and black holes captured by Chandra, an enormous x-ray satellite that orbits Earth from a distance 200 times higher than that of the Hubble Telescope."--Book jacket.