The Invisible Universe: The Story of Radio Astronomy

By Gerrit L. Verschuur

Book Overview

Hidden from human view, accessible only to sensitive receivers attached to huge radio telescopes, the invisible universe beyond our senses continues to fascinate us. 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. 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. This revised edition provides an update on the state of radio astronomy and those sections no longer regarded as cutting edge have been removed. With this book, aimed at a lay audience, you learn what astronomers are doing with those huge dishes dotted 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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0387308164
• ISBN13: 9780387308166
• Release Date: December 2006
• Publisher: Springer
• Length: 156 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Recommended for everyone

This is a fascinating book for the layman. The book present the precious history of what we know about the universe through the study of the radio signals. The author cover all the aspects of this field of astronomy, from the antennas used in the capture of those faint signals (thanks to interferometry) to the explanation of every single known source of radio waves in the vast universe, which include interstellar gas, pulsars, galaxies, black holes and quasars. Also the author cover some of the new radio telescope in construction such as the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array) project in the north of Chile, which by the way already have some engineers in a one-year training in the Unites States (I know two of them). This book makes you think about life in the universe, the vast of it even for light itself and the intriguing, slow and deadly way of its behavior. Last thing I want to write is that this is the first time I read a comment about some interesting phenomenon in theoretical research and is that if you know too much, you simply reduce your chances to contribute with a new discovery or innovation --- that is so true.

Intriguing and Fascinating

Gerrit L. Verschuur shares some of the knowledge he has gained as an impeccable radio astronomer. It's a powerful read for the science minded, especially since he uncovers some of his most recent intriguing findings which may soon turn the scientific community upside down!