Cosmological Enigmas Pulsars, Quasars, and Other Deep-Space Questions

270 Pages·2008·31.669 MB·English

by  Kidger, Mark

Cosmological Enigmas
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Cosmological Enigmas
Pulsars, Quasars &
Other Deep-Space Questions
mark kidger
the johns hopkins university press
Baltimore
© 2007The Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved. Published 2007
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The Johns Hopkins University Press
2715North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363
www.press.jhu.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kidger, Mark R. (Mark Richard), 1960–
Cosmological enigmas : pulsars, quasars, and other deep-space questions /
Mark Kidger.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8018-8460-3(hardcover : acid-free paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8018-8460-8(hardcover : acid-free paper)
1. Cosmology—Popular works. I. Title.
QB982.K532007
523.1—dc22 2007014811
A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Page 225constitutes an extension ofthis copyright page.
Special discounts are available for bulk purchases ofthis book. For more information, please contact
Special Sales at 410-516-6936or [email protected].
To Sir Patrick Moore
For opening the author’s eyes to the wonders of the Universe
as a young child with his BBC program The Sky at Night
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1
chapter
How Are Stars Born and How Do They Die? 5
2
chapter
How Do We Know That Black Holes Exist? 24
3
chapter
Who Is the Strangest in the Cosmic Zoo? 39
4
chapter
How Far Is It to the Stars and Will We Ever Be Able
to Travel to Them? 61
5
chapter
How Old Is the Universe? 80
6
chapter
Is Anybody There? 96
7
chapter
How Will the Universe End? 117
8
chapter
Why Is the Sky Dark at Night? 136
9
chapter
How Do We Know There Was a Big Bang? 154
10
chapter
What Is There Outside the Universe? 174
193
Notes
217
Index
84 116
Color galleries follow pages and .
viii Contents
Acknowledgments
Many people have contributed directly or indirectly to this
book and its sister volume. In most cases, the help has been
anonymous or “E Pluribus”; in other cases, it has been so
direct and important that it would be churlish not to acknowledge it.
The team at Johns Hopkins University Press has been extremely sup-
portive and professional, starting with my editor, Trevor Lipscombe.
Most people do not realize how important an editor’s role is in a suc-
cessful book project: ideas, encouragement, suggestions, corrections, and
modifications all have come from Trevor and his encyclopedic knowl-
ff
edge. Other sta at JHUP, in particular Juliana McCarthy and Bronwyn
Madeo, have also gone well above and beyond the call of duty. I have
also been privileged to work with two eagle-eyed copy editors who have
done far more than just correct spelling mistakes and bad grammar. Fi-
nally, a vote of thanks to supportive colleagues, both former ones in
Tenerife and the amazing Herschel team in Madrid—the best team in
the world.