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Shadow of a Star: The Neutrino Story of Supernova 1987A

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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.