Extreme Stars: At the Edge of Creation [Hardcover]

James B. Kaler (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 052140262X | ISBN-13: 978-0521402620 | Publication Date: April 9, 2001

Over the past 200 years, our knowledge of stars has expanded enormously. From seeing myriad dots of different brightnesses, we haved moved on to measure their distances, temperatures, sizes, chemical compositions, and even ages, finding both young and ancient stars that dwarf our Sun and are dwarfed by it. Unique in its approach, Extreme Stars describes the lives of stars from a new perspective by examining their amazing features. The result is a refreshing, up-to-date, and engaging overview of stellar evolution, suitable for everyone interested in viewing or studying the stars. Ten chapters, generously illustrated throughout, explain the natures of the brightest, the largest, the hottest, and the youngest, among other kinds of stars, ending with a selection of the strangest stars the Universe has to offer. Extreme Stars shows how stars develop and die and how each extreme turns into another under the inexorable twin forces of time and gravity. James B. Kaler is Professor of Astronomy at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He has held Fulbright and Guggenheim Fellowships, has been awarded medals for his work from the University of Liège in Belgium and the University of Mexico, and most recently was selected to give the Armand Spitz lecture by the Great Lakes Planetarium Association. His research area, in which he has published over 100 papers, involves dying stars. Kaler has also written for a variety of popular magazines, including Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, and Scientific American. His previous books include The Ever-Changing Sky (Cambridge, 1996), Stars and their Spectra (Cambridge, 1997), Cosmic Clouds (Scientific American Library Paperback, 1998), and The Little Book of Stars (Copernicus, 2000). He is a current member of the Board of Directors of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and is a frequent guest on radio and television shows.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Astronomer Kaler gives a whirlwind tour of the Universe replete with diagrams and stellar images." Discover

"A superbly written and presented introduction to neophyte astronomers and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the nature of stars." Midwest Book Review

"Packed with accurate yet easy-to-digest scientific information...Almost every page is beautifully written, with text that sometimes verges on the poetic." Physics World

"...an unusual overview of stellar evolution." Morning News

"Wtihin a delicate balance of entertaining facts and useful information, armchair and professional astrono,ers alike will be pleased with the faintest, the coolest, the hottest, the brightest, the largest, the smallest, the youngest, the oldest, and the strangest that Extreme Stars^ has to offer." Mercury Nov-Dec 2001

"Extreme Stars is an interesting, engaging, and thorough presentation of stellar astronomy from a new perspective....this book's careful treatment and fresh outlook make it an excellent resource and a delightful read." Astronomy Jan 2002

"With a delicate balance of entertaining facts and useful information, armchair and prfessional astronomers alike will be pleased with the fainst, the coolest, the hottest, the brightest, the largest, the smallest, the youngest, the oldest, and the strangest that Extreme Star has to offer." MERCURY Review Nov-Dec 2001

"We are intrigued by superlatives: Longest, shortest, largest, smallest, brightest, dimmest- extremes that simultaneously defy and define the average...Extreme Star is rigorous enough to be used as an introductory textbook, but light enough for an amateur or scientist to read for pleasure, a rare and delicate balance for a trade book...Extreme Star is an interesting, engaging, and thorough presentation of stellar astronomy from a new perspective. Whether you enjoy casual stargazing or teach astronomy, this book's careful treatment and fresh outlook make it an excellent resource and a delightful read." ASTRONOMY Magazine Jan 2002

"Though Kaler's approach is unorthodox, don't be fooled into thinkig that he's cut corners...the book contains as much depth as any text on the subject. With a delicate balance of entertaining facts and useful information, armchair and professional astronomers alike will be pleased with the faintist, the coolest, the hottest, the brightest, the largest, the smallest, the youngest, the oldest, and the strangest that "IExtreme Stars has to offer." Mercury, Nov-Dec 2001

"...excellent...Kaler has put together a very readable, fascinating astronomy book." Planetarian

"...very readable, very clearly written [and contains] a lot of factual information. It gives the reader a good perspective on the wide range of phenomena coming under the subject of stellar astronomy." --Review from the Online Bookstore of the American Association of Variable Star Observers

Book Description

Extreme Stars is a unique book describing the lives of stars from a new perspective, for anyone interested in stars. It examines their amazing extremes and results in a refreshing, up-to-date and engaging overview of stellar evolution, showing how each extreme turns into another under the inexorable twin forces of time and gravity. 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.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (April 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052140262X
• ISBN-13: 978-0521402620
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #829,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adds a few dimensions to the night sky, April 17, 2002

By 

Joan Roch (Montréal, Qc Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Extreme Stars: At the Edge of Creation (Hardcover)

Even though this book is not a "backyard astronomer" type of book, those fortunate enough to have a clear view of the stars at night will enjoy the spectacle even more. Indeed, the author manages to add a three-dimensional sense to the familiar constellation patterns. Let me explain.

The title can be a little bit deceptive: "Extreme Stars" doesn't mean "catastrophic stars", but really "the whole family of stars, from one extreme to the other", which is much more interesting anyway. Especially interesting because James Kaler is a professional astronomer and university teacher; and a gifted writer by the way.

The book is neatly organized. Each chapter deals with one such extreme: faintest, coolest, hottest, brightest, largest, youngest, oldest, strangest. The first chapter is missing from my enumeration, the one that deals with our Sun, which is our reference star for all the other chapters. So, for each category, the author clearly describes the various star types that fit the description, how they were discovered and understood, the physical origin of such an extreme state, what may come after for the star, etc.

But beyond this neat organization, you will discover that stars are really a confusing matter: one star can fit several extremes at the same time, and even get from one extreme to the other during its life... and back. As we travel in (or out of) the main sequence, all types are explained: O, B, A, F, G, K, M, L (and T), DO, AGB, white dwarfs, giants, supergiants, hypergiants, neutron stars, Wolf-Rayet (WN and WC), planetary nebulas, novae, supernovae, black holes, etc. And if you are confused by the plethora of denominations and the apparent lack of unifying scheme in the naming of star types, understand that this is an heritage of a few centuries of equally confused astronomers (still) trying to understand what they were (are) observing.

And throughout the book (when possible), the author links an extreme star with one well know light in our night sky: Betelgeuse, Antares, Alpha Centauri, the Orion Nebula, Deneb, etc. Some of the visually brightest stars are bright because they are close to us, some because they are far but extremely active. Some constellations have many bright stars that are really physically close to each other. Some variables or binaries can be easily observed in action, while some other do move against the background in just a few years.

All those connexions of theories to the real sky gives a tremendous multi-dimensional perspective to the otherwise "flat" sky. Well done.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Astronomy Reading, July 31, 2003

By 

William Hopke (Titusville, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Extreme Stars: At the Edge of Creation (Hardcover)

This is the second book by James Kaler I have read. Prior to this I read his book Cosmic Clouds. A very good book, but this one on extreme stars is much better. If you like astronomy you owe it to yourself to read this book. I have never read such a full and comprehensive analysis of stellar evolution prior to this. Many other books treat star types as if they were like worms or dogs - one never evolves into the other. This book clearly ties together the progress of stars form one form to another. I can not recommend this book highly enough!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Stellar behaviour runs amok", August 10, 2003

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Extreme Stars: At the Edge of Creation (Hardcover)

Kaler's descriptive aptly summarises the theme of this fine work. Astronomy done well is always a fascinating read, and Kaler's done a masterful job. He takes us into the realm of the biggest, hottest, smallest, coolest, most dense and diffuse stars in our universe. Each chapter is devoted to a type, with examples, history, evolution and likely finales. The text is clear and unambiguous, obviously written for anyone interested in our stellar neighbours. Diagrams and photographs illuminate complex subjects throughout, including some spectacular colour plates in one section. Kaler deserves high praise for a comprehensive and exhaustive presentation untainted by weighty philosophy or arcane mathematics.

Kaler's uses the nearest star, our sun, to launch a comparative view of the more extreme versions of stellar objects. Placed in the middle of the band of stars fitting on the "main sequence", it's a valid starting point. Main sequence stars range from very large and bright to very small and dim. Within that range they follow fairly predictable patterns for a given size and type. Outside that stable range, however, loom some immense exceptions and a plethora of tiny, almost minuscule stellar objects. Orion's shoulder is marked by a star with a diameter nearly reaching the orbit of Jupiter. Another, even greater, reach nearly to Saturn's. Others, as Kaler notes, would "fit inside a small town". Even these minute objects have a life history that tells us much about the universe we inhabit. Kaler is vivid in his descriptions of these objects, but he's even more spirited when dealing with the nuclear processes going on within them. Some stars truly seem to "run amok"!

Stars are distant laboratories where reactions occur impossible to duplicate in Earth-bound facilities. Kaler describes the activities of chemical elements within stellar objects and how their signals tell us about the events occurring there. As stars burn away their hydrogen fuel, various options, some still not understood, may be followed. Electrons jump from shell to shell emitting or absorbing energy. These signals, he notes, are the indicators of luminosity, temperature and even distance. One such signal, of course, is the most significant of all - the "noise" indicating the Big Bang that started it all. One result, however, is clear - without these processes neither our planet nor we would exist. This is because the stars, which began as clouds of hydrogen and dust, become the forges of heavier elements. As Joni Mitchell once sang, "we are all made of star stuff". You don't have to be interested in astronomy to enjoy this book. You need only care about your origins and environment. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]