The Sun's Heartbeat And Other Stories from the Life of the Star That Powers Our Planet

by Berman, Bob

• ISBN13: 9780316091015
• ISBN10: 0316091014
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-07-13
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Summary

Did you know that scientists are beginning to think that the sun is safer than sunscreen? That whenever we see the sun on the horizon, it's actually a phantom image because the sun has already set? That career pilots have a one percent higher incidence of cancer because of their time in the sky? Or that the sun's unusual dormancy is causing our climate to be cooler than it otherwise would be? Peppered with memorable anecdotes about spectral curiosities, THE SUN'S HEARTBEAT is a robust narrative that explores the sun's birth, its life as a self-sustaining ultra-H-Bomb fusion explosion, and its spectacular future death. Astronomer Bob Berman's expert observations tell a dramatic story about the familiar star that crosses our sky daily.

Author Biography

Bob Berman, one of America's top astronomy writers, is the author of Zapped, Zoom and The Sun's Heartbeat. He contributed the popular "Night Watchman" column for Discover for seventeen years and is currently a columnist for Astronomy, a host on Northeast Public Radio, and the science editor of The Old Farmer's Almanac. He lives in Willow, New York.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 3
Yon Flaming Orb	p. 7
Genesis	p. 15
A Strange History of Seeing Spots	p. 23
The Heartbeat Stops-and Other Peculiar Events	p. 40
The Unit	p. 51
Magnetic Attraction	p. 64
The Wild Science of the Bearded Men	p. 77
Cautionary Tales	p. 93
Why Jack Loved Carbon	p. 100
Tales of the Invisible	p. 115
The Sun Brings Death	p. 127
The Sun Will Save Your Life	p. 134
I'm an Aquarius; Trust Me	p. 143
Rhythms of Color	p. 157
Particle Man	p. 166
Totality: The Impossible Coincidence	p. 176
That's Entertainment	p. 194
Cold Winds	p. 210
The Weather Outside Is Frightful	p. 231
Tomorrow's Sun	p. 247
Acknowledgments	p. 255
Appendix: The Sun's Basics	p. 257
Notes	p. 259
Bibliography	p. 279
Index	p. 283
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