Extreme Stars: At the Edge of Creation

by James B. Kaler

• ISBN13: 9780521158022
• ISBN10: 0521158028
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-11-25
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Over the past 200 years, our knowledge of stars has expanded enormously. From seeing myriad dots of different brightnesses, we moved on to measure distances, temperatures, sizes, chemical compositions, even ages, finding stars that dwarf our Sun and are dwarfed by it, some in their youth, others ancient. First published in 2001, Extreme Stars describes the lives of stars from a fascinating perspective. It examines their amazing extremes and results in an engaging overview of stellar evolution, suitable for anyone interested in viewing or studying stars. Ten chapters, generously illustrated throughout, explain the natures of the brightest, the largest, the hottest, the youngest, and so on, ending with a selection of the strangest stars the Universe has to offer. Taken as a whole, the chapters show how stars develop and die and how each extreme turns into another under the inexorable twin forces of time and gravity.

Table of Contents

Preface

Prologue

Sun and stars

The faintest (and coolest) stars

The coolest stars ...; continued

The hottest stars

The brightest stars

The largest stars

The smallest stars

The youngest stars

The oldest stars

The strangest stars

Index

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