Heaven's Touch: From Killer Stars to the Seeds of Life, How We Are Connected to the Universe

Erscheinungsjahr 2009
ISBN: 978-0-691-12946-4
Verlag: PRINCETON UNIV PR

Buch, Englisch, 264 Seiten, Format (B × H): 166 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 665 g

Did you know that as you read these words showers of high-speed particles from exploding stars are raining down on you? As you gaze into the starry sky, you might feel isolated from the Universe around you--but you're not. This book reveals the startling ways life on Earth is touched by our cosmic environment, and demonstrates why without such contact, life itself wouldn't be possible. Heaven's Touch embarks on an unforgettable journey across the cosmos, beginning in near space with a look at the gentle ebb and flow of lunar and solar tides. Acclaimed astronomer James Kaler describes their subtle effects on our world and also explores the Sun's more potent influences, such as solar storms that cause auroras, give comets their tails, and knock out power grids on Earth. He ventures across the Solar System to consider how the planets can act to produce climate change, even global disaster. Kaler shows how Jupiter's gravity can throw asteroids toward potentially devastating collision with Earth, and how even our whole Galaxy might hurl comet storms at us. He then takes us into deepest space to describe the cosmic rays launched at us from exploding stars, and considers not just how these exploders might harm us, but how they also join together in the creation of stars and how they serve to populate the Universe with the very building blocks of life. Informative and entertaining, Heaven's Touch reveals how intimately connected we really are with the dynamic Universe in which we live.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kaler, James B.

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Populärwissenschaftliche Werke
• Naturwissenschaften Astronomie Kosmologie, Urknalltheorie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface and Acknowledgments xi

Chapter 1: Reaching Out 1

Stars 2

Planets 4

Light 5

The Milky Way 8

Galaxies 11

The Universe 12

Darkness 14

Heaven's Touch 17

Chapter 2: Tides of Life 21

(1) Gravity 22

(2) Phases 25

Tidal Stretching 27

Tidal Lag 29

Tidal Clock 30

Now Add the Sun. 31

. And Elliptical Orbits 32

"Time and Tide." 34

How High the Moon 37

It's Mutual 39

Chapter 3: Solar Storm 42

Neutrinos Going to Get You

(Even If You Do Watch Out) 44

(1) Oatmeal 48

(2) Spin 51

Magnetism 51

Windy Crown 52

eturn to Earth. 56

. And Get Hit 57

Vanishing Act, Part I 60

Solar Cycle 61

Effects 62

Vanishing Act, Part II 64

Vibes 65

Chapter 4: Frozen Earth 67

Seasons 68

Wobbles 72

Planets 75

In Motion 77

The Celestial Mechanic 79

Planets Perturbed 81

God of the Sea 82

Changing Earth 85

Message from Mercury 86

Tip and Bend 87

Mister Milankovitch 90

Chapter 5: The Accidental

Asteroid 93

Numerology 94

Origins 96

Child on a Swing 100

Resonating Asteroids 102

Kick on Goal 103

A Shocking Story 104

Heaven's Rocks 107

Interpretation 108

A Steady Rain 110

And Then the Hailstorm 111

Wipeout 113

And Now? 116

Pitch and Catch 117

Chapter 6: Crashing Comets 120

Tale of the Chainsaw 120

A Tale of Two Tails 121

A Scary Tail Tale 123

Structure 125

Getting Back (Twice) 127

Breaking Up (Is Not

That Hard to Do) 128

"Passing Showers" 130

Twilight of the Dust 132

Pathways 133

Kuiper 134

So What's Pluto? 135

O ort 137

There and Back 137

Collision 139

Strikes and More Showers 141

Water 143

Spacefarers 144

Chapter 7: Atomic Rain 145

Radiation 145

Stumbling in the Dark 146

"Energy, People, Energy!" 149

Kinds 150

Composition 152

Long-Lost Origins 152

Star Lives 154

Boom 158

That Pesky High End 162

(1, 2) Star Formation 163

(3) Laundry 165

(4) From Lost Times 166 But 168

(5) Donner and Blitzen 169

(6) Bound for Space 171

Chapter 8: Super Star 173

Yesteryear 174

1054, 1572, 1885, and A' That 178

I and II 180

Chandra's Limit 181

March of the Supernovae 185

Closer Yet? 187

A Bad Tan and Other Disasters 189

Penguins, Soybeans, and Ants 192

Catch a Falling Neutrino 194

Shocks and Fields 195

Chapter 9: Hyperstars 199

In the Navy 199

Identification 202

Long Bursts 204

Hypernovae 205

Sliding into the Pit 207

Into a Black Hole 209

And What Does All

This Mean? 212

And in the Future? 213

Afterglow 216

Safety Zone 218

Quick Time 218

Magnetar: The Future Is Here 219

Chapter 10: Coming Home 223

In the Beginning 223

Ancient Stars and Forming Galaxies 225

At the Table 228

Neutrons 232

Rapid Capture 234

A Story from Other Worlds 236

Heaven's Touch 238

Index 241

Über Autor(innen)

Kaler, James B.
James B. Kaler is professor emeritus of astronomy at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His many books include "The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Stars" and "The Hundred Greatest Stars".