The Milky Way : an Insider's Guide / William H. Waller.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Waller, William H. (William Howard), 1952-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Spiral galaxies.

Milky Way.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (347 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, c2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book offers an intimate guide to the Milky Way, taking readers on a grand tour of our home Galaxy's structure, genesis, and evolution, based on the latest astronomical findings. In engaging language, it tells how the Milky Way congealed from blobs of gas and dark matter into a spinning starry abode brimming with diverse planetary systems--some of which may be hosting myriad life forms and perhaps even other technologically communicative species. William Waller vividly describes the Milky Way as it appears in the night sky, acquainting readers with its key components and telling the history of our changing galactic perceptions. The ancients believed the Milky Way was a home for the gods. Today we know it is but one galaxy among billions of others in the observable universe. Within the Milky Way, ground-based and space-borne telescopes have revealed that our Solar System is not alone. Hundreds of other planetary systems share our tiny part of the vast Galaxy. We reside within a galactic ecosystem that is driven by the theatrics of the most massive stars as they blaze through their brilliant lives and dramatic deaths. Similarly effervescent ecosystems of hot young stars and fluorescing nebulae delineate the graceful spiral arms in our Galaxy's swirling disk. Beyond the disk, the spheroidal halo hosts the ponderous--and still mysterious--dark matter that outweighs everything else. Another dark mystery lurks deep in the heart of the Milky Way, where a supermassive black hole has produced bizarre phenomena seen at multiple wavelengths. Waller makes the case that our very existence is inextricably linked to the Galaxy that spawned us. Through this book, readers can become well-informed galactic "insiders"--ready to imagine humanity's next steps as fully engaged citizens of the Milky Way.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

Preface / Waller, William H.

Chapter 1: First Impressions

Chapter 2: Historic Perceptions

Chapter 3: Panchromatic Vistas

Chapter 4: Neighbors of the Sun

Chapter 5: Beacons from Afar

Chapter 6: Star Birth

Chapter 7: Lives of the Stars

Chapter 8: Stellar Afterlives

Chapter 9: The Galactic Garden

Chapter 10: Monster in the Core

Chapter 11: Tales of Origin

Chapter 12: Life in the Milky Way

Glossary

Notes

Selected Readings

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Mai 2019)

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781299319158

1299319157

9781400847372

1400847370

OCLC:

824118002