Aconciseillustratedintroductiontothehistoryandphysicsofsupernovae,thebrilliantexplosionsofstars;withstrikingcolorillustrations.Supernovaearetheexplosionsofstars.TheyaresomeofthemostenergeticphenomenaintheUniverse,rivalingthecombinedlightofbillionsofstars.Supernovaehavebeenstudiedforcenturies,andtheyhavealsomadeappearancesinpopularculture:aglimpseofasupernovainapaintingprovidesSherlockHolmeswithacrucialclue,forexample.InthisvolumeintheMITPressEssentialKnowledgeseries,astrophysicistOrGrauroffersaconciseandaccessibleintroductiontotheseawe-inspiringastronomicalphenomena.Graurexplainsthatadeepobservationalunderstandingofsupernovae--whyandhowtheyshineandhowtheirbrightnesschangesovertime--allowsustousethemastoolsforexperimentsinastrophysicsandphysics.Acertaintypeofsupernova,forexample,brightensandfadesinsuchapredictablemannerthatwecanmeasurethedistancestotheirhostgalaxies.Weoweourexistencetosupernovae--theygiveusironforourbloodandcalciumforourbones.ButsupernovaemayalsohavecausedamassextinctioneventonEarth2.6millionyearsago.Graurshowshowobservationsofsupernovaeplayedaroleinthetransformationofastronomyfromastrologytoastrophysics;surveysthetoolsusedtostudysupernovaetoday;anddescribesthelivesanddeathsofstarsandthesupernovaremnants,neutronstars,andblackholestheyleavebehind.Illustrationsinbothcolorandblackandwhite,manyfromGraur’sownHubbleSpaceTelescopedata,makethisaccountofsupernovaeparticularlyvivid.
