Synopses & Reviews
The awesome wonder of the cosmos has inspired the human imagination for millennia: what we learn about the cosmos tells us not just where we are, but who we are and now, at the turn of this millennium, thanks to science and technology that were unimaginable only a century ago, a rich new portrait of our universe has emerged.
Magnificent Universe is the most complete, authoritative, and lavish celebration of the heavens ever created. No other book approaches its range of photographs, produced with uncompromising quality on a majestic scale. With more than one hundred full-color portraits, Magnificent Universe allows you to experience for yourself the beauty of the planets, moons, comets, constellations, stellar nurseries, red giants, WP, spiral galaxies, and quasars -- all the way to the edge of space and time.
Harvard-trained astronomer Ken Croswell stunned readers around the world with his previous book, Planet Quest, which Sir John Maddox called "a thrilling account of the discovery of planets in the solar system and elsewhere that stands out for its human interest and its accuracy." Now, after years of meticulous research, Dr. Croswell has brought together outstanding photographs from leading observatories around the world as well as from an armada of interplanetary spacecraft. Images from the Hubble Space Telescope have been digitally reprocessed to create a degree of definition never seen before. With these superb photographs, he guides us through lucidly organized chapters on the planets, the stars, the galaxies, and the universe. Unique color-coded tables on the planets, moons, brightest stars, nearest stars, and Local Group galaxies appear in a useful reference section, along with a glossary and suggestions for further reading.
Magnificent Universe catapults you through the vistas of space that future generations will explore. It is a landmark in the scientific visualization of the cosmos -- one that will surely inspire artists, philosophers, and adventures of the next century.
Review
Fred AdamsUniversity of Michigan, coauthor of The Five Ages of The UniverseCroswell takes us on an intriguing astronomical tour by presenting detailed views of the cosmos as seen through the four windows of astrophysics; planets, stars, galaxies, and the universe as a whole. The spectacular images make this book truly magnificent.
Review
Brian Greene
Columbia University, author of The Elegant Universe
Ken Croswell's lyrical prose and the artfully chosen array of stunning images create an informative and compelling tour through the cosmos.
Review
Owen GingerichHarvard-Smithsonian Center for AstrophysicsWith prose as evocative as these majestic celestial portraits, Ken Croswell has pointed word pictures that bring to life these extraordinary images from space. From our most precious blue planet to the ancient, infant galaxies of the fringes of the observable universe, this awesome tour can't fall to expand our horizons and inspire our imaginations. This is clearly the best cosmic photo album in recent memory.
Review
Allan SandageMt. Wilson, Palomar, and The Carnegie Institution of Washington ObservatoriesThis landmark book by Ken Croswell is a remarkable achievement. It brings the awesome beauty of modern astronomy out of the technical tomes and into the public realm. Ken Croswell himself maintains his reputation here as an equally awesome writer. He is a public treasure.
Review
Fred Adams
University of Michigan, coauthor of The Five Ages of The Universe
Croswell takes us on an intriguing astronomical tour by presenting detailed views of the cosmos as seen through the four windows of astrophysics; planets, stars, galaxies, and the universe as a whole. The spectacular images make this book truly magnificent.
Review
David Grinspoon
University of Colorado, author of Venus Revealed
A dazzling visual and intellectual journey. The combination of awe-inspiring imagery and Croswell's authoritative and graceful writing will leave readers feeling privileged to inhabit such a stunning, vast, and varied cosmos.
Review
Michael LiuUniversity of California at BerkeleyThis book is a glorious visual feast!
Synopsis
With a fleet of telescopes in space and giant observatories on the ground, professional astronomers produce hundreds of spectacular images of space every year. These colorful pictures have become infused into popular culture and can found everywhere, from advertising to television shows to memes. But they also invite questions: Is this what outer space really looks like? Are the colors real? And how do these images get from the stars to our screens?
Coloring the Universe uses accessible language to describe how these giant telescopes work, what scientists learn with them, and how they are used to make color images. It talks about how otherwise un-seeable rays, such as radio waves, infrared light, X-rays, and gamma rays, are turned into recognizable colors. And it is filled with fantastic images taken in far-away pockets of the universe. Informative and beautiful, Coloring the Universe will give space fans of all levels an insiderandrsquo;s look at how scientists bring deep space into brilliant focus.
About the Author
Travis A. Rector is professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He has created over two hundred images with the giant telescopes at Gemini Observatory, Kitt Peak National Observatory, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and others.Kimberly Kowal Arcand directs visualization efforts for NASAandrsquo;s Chandra X-ray Observatory, at the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Megan Watzke is the public affairs officer for the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Table of Contents
ContentsIntroduction
1 The Planets
2 The Stars
3 The Galaxies
4 The Universe
Table 1 The Sun's Planets
Table 2 Moons
Table 3 The Brightest Stars
Table 4 The Nearest Stars
Table 5 Local Group Galaxies
Glossary
Further Reading
Illustration credits
Index