A01=James B. Kaler
Absolute magnitude
Alpha particle
Apparent magnitude
Asteroid belt
Astronomer
Astronomical unit
Astronomy
Atmosphere of Earth
Atomic nucleus
Author_James B. Kaler
Category=PDZ
Category=PGK
Chemical element
Comet
Coronal mass ejection
Cosmic dust
Cosmic ray
Earth's orbit
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eq_science
Escape velocity
Exoplanet
Gamma ray
Gamma-ray burst
Giant planet
Giant-impact hypothesis
Gravity
Hubble Space Telescope
Hypergiant
Hypernova
Impact event
Interstellar medium
Interstellar travel
Jupiter
Kirkwood gap
Kuiper belt
Light-year
Magnetar
Magnetic field
Meteorite
Milky Way
Naked eye
Neutrino
Neutron
Neutron star
Nova remnant
Nuclear fusion
Oort cloud
Orbit
Orbital period
Perihelion and aphelion
Planetary system
Planetesimal
R-process
Rotation period
Small Solar System body
SN 1987A
Solar cycle
Solar mass
Solar System
Spacecraft
Star
Star formation
Sunspot
Supergiant
Supernova
Tektite
Tide
Type Ia supernova
Uranus
Van Allen radiation belt
White dwarf
Wolf-Rayet star
X-ray
Year
Product details
- ISBN 9780691129464
- Weight: 652g
- Dimensions: 152 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 09 Aug 2009
- Publisher: Princeton University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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Did you know that as you read these words showers of high-speed particles from exploding stars are raining down on you? As you gaze into the starry sky, you might feel isolated from the Universe around you--but you're not. This book reveals the startling ways life on Earth is touched by our cosmic environment, and demonstrates why without such contact, life itself wouldn't be possible. Heaven's Touch embarks on an unforgettable journey across the cosmos, beginning in near space with a look at the gentle ebb and flow of lunar and solar tides. Acclaimed astronomer James Kaler describes their subtle effects on our world and also explores the Sun's more potent influences, such as solar storms that cause auroras, give comets their tails, and knock out power grids on Earth. He ventures across the Solar System to consider how the planets can act to produce climate change, even global disaster. Kaler shows how Jupiter's gravity can throw asteroids toward potentially devastating collision with Earth, and how even our whole Galaxy might hurl comet storms at us.
He then takes us into deepest space to describe the cosmic rays launched at us from exploding stars, and considers not just how these exploders might harm us, but how they also join together in the creation of stars and how they serve to populate the Universe with the very building blocks of life. Informative and entertaining, Heaven's Touch reveals how intimately connected we really are with the dynamic Universe in which we live.
James B. Kaler is professor emeritus of astronomy at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His many books include "The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Stars" and "The Hundred Greatest Stars".
