Shadow of a Star: The Neutrino Story of Supernova 1987A [Hardcover]

Alfred K. Mann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1997

Shadow of a Star commemorates the 10th anniversary of a supernova explosion. The author, a leading member of a prize-winning team of astrophysicists who followed the event, explains in everyday language its significance for scientists. The book tells the story of a single experimental discovery, how neutrinos carry the news of the death of a star in another galaxy, and explains how that news was intercepted by scientists on earth and what are its far-reaching implications.

Editorial Reviews

From Scientific American

Mann succeeds in capturing the drama of the successful search for the elusive neutrinos from exploding stars.

From The New Yorker

[Mann] is an ideal person to write such a book. He was personally involved in one of the successful experiments, and he has a good intuition for what is needed to explain to a general reader the wide range of ideas involved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 209 pages
• Publisher: W H Freeman & Co; First Edition edition (February 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0716730979
• ISBN-13: 978-0716730972
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,790,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Kept me up half the night . . . ., February 21, 2010

By 

Patrick J. Callahan (La Crosse, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shadow of a Star: The Neutrino Story of Supernova 1987A (Hardcover)

Shadow of a Star by Alfred Mann is a fine scientific detective story, and a first-person account of the high excitement of a major scientific breakthrough. I started the book at bedtime, and was still reading it hours later until I could not keep my eyes open. While I did not finish the book last night, I got through more than three-quarters of it.

Ten years after the excitement of Supernova 1987A had passed, Dr. Mann decided to write a journal of sorts detailing the events that led to his major science prizes, including the Bruno Rossi Prize of the American Astronomical Society. The result is this book. The discovery and measurement of the neutrino burst emitted by 1987A was an exciting scientific first, and confirmed the colossal output of neutrinos over a period of just 12 seconds when the supernova's core collapsed. The energy of this 12-second burst is described in the book as the equivalent of 1.4 solar masses of matter converted to energy in accord with Einstein's conversion forumula E= MC2. This burst at its peak emitted more energy than the total output of all the stars in the Milky Way. The supernova in question occurred in a different galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy, and yet even at that great distance, two neutrino detectors -- on in the USA, one in Japan -- registered a total of 20 incidents during the 12 seconds of the burst. This is an intense burst and might be popularly described as the detectors "going nuts!" In context, these instruments were previously recording just a couple of events per month. Moreover, the 20 incidents recorded consisted mainly of high-energy anti-neutrinos, a quite different item than the usual fare of solar neutrinos.

There was amazing serendipity to the detection of the neutrino burst. Both of the instruments consisted of colossal tanks of cleaning fluid and were located approx. one mile under the earth in abandoned mines. They were built to measure proton decay. However, after running for a couple of years, they had detected nothing, and it was decided that protons do not decay at a measurable rate. At that point, both detectors were redesigned for use as neutrino detectors. They had not been operational for very long when Supernova 1987A flared. Dr. Mann shows with numerous clear graphs exactly what the detectors captured, and he effectively explains the significance of the findings. His ability to recount the processes of supernova explosion in clear layman's terms is unexcelled.

I would like to mention that Dr. Mann's introductory chapter is a great window into his person. What an interesting and well balanced guy this man is! Mann describes the scientific quest as an artistic endeavor, and compares great science to great art or great literature. In writing this introductory chapter, Mann reveals wide reading and broad interests, and shows himself to be a person who ponders life's profound mysteries.

What a really interesting book! As I stated, a science adventure story and detective story all rolled into one. Tersely written, beautifully illustrated. Pick up a copy of this book -- you will not be disappointed.