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OverviewWritten by William Sheehan, a noted historian of astronomy, and Christopher J. Conselice, a professional astronomer specializing in galaxies in the early universe, this book tells the story of how astronomers have pieced together what is known about the vast and complicated systems of stars and dust known as galaxies. The first galaxies appeared as violently disturbed exotic objects when the Universe was only a few 100 million years old. From that tortured beginning, they have evolved though processes of accretion, merging and star formation into the majestic spirals and massive ellipticals that dominate our local part of the Universe. This of course includes the Milky Way, to which the Sun and Solar System belong; it is our galactic home, and the only galaxy we will ever know from the inside. Sheehan and Conselice show how astronomers’ understanding has grown from the early catalogs of Charles Messier and William Herschel; developed through the pioneering efforts of astronomers like E.E. Barnard, V.M. Slipher, Henrietta Leavitt, Edwin Hubble and W.W. Morgan; and finally is reaching fruition in cutting-edge research with state-of-the-art instruments such as the Hubble Space Telescope that can see back to nearly the beginning of the Universe. By combining archival research that reveals fascinating details about the personalities, rivalries and insights of the astronomers who created extragalactic astronomy with the latest data gleaned from a host of observa tions, the authors provide a view of galaxies – and their place in our understanding of the Universe – as they have never been seen before. Full Product DetailsAuthor: William Sheehan , Christopher J. Conselice , Julian BaumPublisher: Springer-Verlag New York Inc. Imprint: Springer-Verlag New York Inc. Edition: 1st ed. 2015, Corr. 2nd printing 2016 Dimensions: Width: 21.00cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 27.90cm Weight: 1.678kg ISBN: 9780387853468ISBN 10: 0387853464 Pages: 385 Publication Date: 14 October 2016 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Awaiting stock  The supplier is currently out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out for you. Table of Contents"Acknowledgements.- Preface.- Chapter 1: Setting the Scene.- Chapter 2: Catchpole of the Nebulae.- Chapter 3: ""I Have Looked Farther.""- Chapter 4: Chimneys and Tubules of the Galaxy.- Chapter 5: Of Leviathans, Spirals and Fire-Mists.- Chapter 6: The Various Twine of Light.- Chapter 7: Fields of Glory.- Chapter 8: What Stuff Stars Are Made Of.- Chapter 9: The Nebula is Leaving the Solar System.- Chapter 10: The ""Galactocentric"" Revolution.- Chapter 12: W.W. Morgan and the Discovery of the Spiral Arms of the Milky Way.- Chapter 13: To Forge a Galaxy.- Chapter 14: Over the Dark Side: Dark Matter, Black Holes and the Origin of the Universe.- Chapter 15: Dark Energy.- Chapter 16: Afterglows.- Index."ReviewsFrom the book reviews: The book is written starting from the earliest observations and scientists and continues all the way to twenty first century. ... The book is also suitable for general readers with maybe less background in physics or astronomy, as you don't need any mathematics to fly through the book and observations described within. ... 'Galactic Encounters' is very interesting, thorough and well-illustrated. (Kadri Tinn, AstroMadness.com, December, 2014) The book follows a roughly chronological timeline from the late eighteenth century to the present day. ... The text is aimed at the general reader, though there are plenty of references to scholarly sources for those who want to explore further. ... All in all, Galactic Encounters is an excellent work that will appeal to everyone interested in the deep sky, as well as to historians of astronomy. (Lee Macdonald, Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Issue 3, 2015) Galactic Encounters consists of three distinct parts, each with its own voice. ... the material is written at a level accessible to enthusiasts looking for a narrative introduction. ... If you enjoy reading stories about astronomers, or if you want an excellent introduction to galaxies and cosmology, then much of Galactic Encounters is perfect: fun to read and full of information. (Louise Edwards, Physics Today, June, 2015) Sheehan (astronomy historian/writer;psychiatrist) and Conselice (astronomer, Univ. of Nottingham, UK) do this in an informative and engaging style by choosing prominent scientists who made significant contributions and then giving biographical information about these individuals. In this way, the authors not only maintain the scientific standard of the writing at a high level but also convey a flavor of how research is undertaken. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers. (D. E. Hogg, Choice, Vol. 52 (8 ), April, 2015) In an accessible and gripping way, the authors tell the story of the history of modern astronomy from its beginnings to the present. This book can be read either casually, as an entertaining introduction to astronomy in its human, historical context, or it can be read in detail to absorb what science has to say about the universe and how this knowledge was achieved. It can also be perused for the aesthetics of its fantastic photographs of the universe. For me, it was an opportunity to renew and expand on my childhood fascination with astronomy. However you read it, you won't be disappointed. This is a book that you will return to many times. (John Kounios, Drexel University, Amazon, March 2, 2015) Galactic Encounters ... is a beautifully written and illustrated compilation of our progressive understanding of the cosmos since Galileo first pointed his telescope at the Milky Way and saw multitudes of stars. ... Galactic Encounters is an informative and enjoyable read ... . (Klaus Brasch, The Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Vol. 109 (1), February, 2015) The book is written starting from the earliest observations and scientists and continues all the way to twenty first century. ... The book is also suitable for general readers with maybe less background in physics or astronomy, as you don't need any mathematics to fly through the book and observations described with in. ... 'Galactic Encounters' is very interesting, thorough and well-illustrated. (Kadri Tinn, AstroMadness.com, December, 2014) Author InformationWilliam Sheehan is an American astronomical historian and writer, who has written the authoritative (and much-acclaimed) biography of Milky Way photographer and pioneering astronomer E. E. Barnard, The Immortal Fire Within (Cambridge University Press, 1995). A regular scholar-in-residence at leading observatories including Yerkes, Lick, Lowell, and Mt. Wilson, he is currently working on a biography of stellar spectroscopist and galaxy morphologist W. W. Morgan, who discovered the spiral-arm structure of the Milky Way in 1951. As a professional psychiatrist as well as an astronomer, he has a unique insight into the personalities of the pioneering figures of the history of science. He has published a number of books on the history of Solar System studies, especially on the Moon and Mars, and is a consulting editor of Sky & Telescope, a 2001 fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (for his research on the Milky Way), recipient of the Gold Medal of the Oriental Astronomical Association (the first Caucasian to receive that award), etc., etc. Asteroid no. 16037 is named in his honor (Sheehan). Christopher Conselice, an astronomer at the University of Nottingham, is one of the world's leading experts on galaxy formation and evolution. He was educated at the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconson-Madison, and has held post-doctoral positions at the California Institute of Technology and the Space Telescope Science Institute. He was a regular contributor to Mercury, the magazine of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. He has published his research in the leading professional journals of astronomy, including Science, Nature, and the Astrophysical Journal. Julian Baum is one of the worldaaC--(t)s most highly regarded astronomical artists. His work was featured in Heather Couper and Nigel Henbest, The Guide to the Galaxy. He lives in Chester, England. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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