Overview
- Completely updated revision of the successful Springer book, The Invisible Universe Revealed, 1987
- Will update the state of radio astronomy, world-wide, and remove those sections no longer regarded as cutting edge
- Is aimed at a lay audience
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Table of contents (17 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
Hidden from human view, accessible only to sensitive receivers attached to huge radio telescopes, giant versions of backyard satellite dishes, the invisible universe beyond our senses continues to fascinate and intrigue our imaginations. We cannot really comprehend what it means to say that a galaxy is exploding, yet that is the nature of some of the distant radio sources in the furthest reaches of space. Closer to home, in the Milky Way galaxy, radio astronomers listen patiently to the ticking of pulsars that tell of star death and states of matter of awesome densities. And between the stars, radio emission from a host of over 120 complex molecules radiate outward to reveal a tale about chemical processes that produce the very stuff of life. And all of this happens out there in the universe hidden from our eyes, even when aided by the Hubble Space Telescope.
This is the story of radio astronomy, of how radio waves are generated by stars, supernova, quasars, colliding galaxies, and by the very beginnings of the universe itself. In The Invisible Universe, you learn what astronomers are doing with those huge dishes in the New Mexico desert, in a remote valley in Puerto Rico, in the green Pocahontas Valley in West Virginia, as well as dozens of other remote sites around the world. With each of these observatories, the scientists collect and analyze their data, "listening" to the radio signals from space, in order to learn what is out there, and perhaps even if someone else may be listening as well.
Reviews
From the reviews of the second edition:
"In this new edition (1st ed., 1974), radio astronomer/science writer Verschuur (Univ. of Memphis) both entertains and informs about the contribution that radio astronomy is making towards an understanding of the universe. … A number of the excellent figure are in color; good appendixes cover definitions and the many terms unique to the field … . For reader interested in the development and status of this very interesting and important subfield of astronomy. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels." (W. E. Howard III, CHOICE, Vol. 44 (11), August, 2007)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Author of seven books, co-author or editor of 3 text books in radio astronomy and astronomy in general, has written over 80 scientific research articles, and 90 + popular astronomy articles. He lectures widely on astronomical topics, pioneered the study of the interstellar magnetic field and active in radio astronomical studies of interstellar matter for over 40 years. Published the first ever, full-length, technical paper on the radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence in 1973. Has taught in the physics departments of some half-a-dozen universities, world-wide. He is the holder of a dozen patents.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Invisible Universe
Book Subtitle: The Story of Radio Astronomy
Authors: Gerrit Verschuur
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-68360-7
Publisher: Springer New York, NY
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag New York 2007
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-387-30816-6Published: 07 December 2006
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4419-2156-7Published: 19 November 2010
eBook ISBN: 978-0-387-68360-7Published: 20 March 2007
Edition Number: 2
Number of Pages: XIII, 156
Additional Information: Originally published in the series: Heidelberg Science Library
Topics: Popular Science in Astronomy, Astronomy, Observations and Techniques, Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology