The Mysterious Universe: Supernovae, Dark Energy, and Black Holes (Scientists in the Field)

Human beings have always looked at the heavens and asked: Are we alone? Is there life elsewhere in the universe? What is that life like? Unfortunately, people canand#8217;t actually travel to other solar systems. Even the closest stars are too far away to visit.

Today, astrophysicists such as Jill Tarter are looking for other ways to search for extraterrestrial life. Jill is the director of Project Phoenix at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. SETI stands for and#147;Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.and#8221; Twice a year, Jill and her team travel to the mountains of Puerto Rico where they use the worldand#8217;s largest radio telescope to examine nearby stars. They search the sky, listening for radio signals that, if found and verified, would provide strong evidence that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe.

Author Ellen Jackson and photographer Nic Bishop introduce us to a dedicated scientist and her thrilling, rigorous, and awe-inspiring work in the field.

The universe is rapidly expanding. Of that much scientists are certain. But how fast? And with what implications regarding the fate of the universe?

Ellen Jackson and Nic Bishop follow Dr. Alex Fillippenko and his High-Z Supernova Search Team to Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii, where they will study space phenomena and look for supernovae, dying stars that explode with the power of billions of hydrogen bombs. Dr. Fillippenko looks for black holes--areas in space with such a strong gravitational pull that no matter or energy can escape from them--with his robotic telescope. And they study the effects of dark energy, the mysterious force that scientists believe is pushing the universe apart, causing its constant and accelerating expansion.

It looks like a bear, but isnt one. It climbs trees as easily as a monkey— but isnt a monkey, either. It has a belly pocket like a kangaroo, but whats a kangaroo doing up a tree? Meet the amazing Matschies tree kangaroo, who makes its home in the ancient trees of Papua New Guineas cloud forest. And meet the amazing scientists who track these elusive animals.

By following the footsteps of several bug scientists, we take a closer look at the extraordinary bugs that crawl, swim, and whiz past us. We travel from an outdoor classroom in Indiana to the rain forests of Costa Ricaand#151;all in pursuit of a better understanding of bugs, glorious bugs.

The extinction of dinosaurs some sixty-five million years ago is one of the greatest biological catastrophes in the history of our planet. Yet in recent years, paleontologists have turned up increasing evidence that ancestors of one group of dinosaurs still fly among us: birds. Join Cathy Forster, one of the few female paleontologists working today, on an expedition to Madagascar in search of clues to the mystery of bird evolution.

Nic Bishop, who holds a doctorate in the biological sciences, is an award-winning author and photographer known for his outstanding stop-action wildlife photographs. He lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with his wife and a bevy of animals under study.