Facing Infinity
Black Holes and Our Place on Earth
Will be published approx. on 3. September 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-1-80546-469-3 (ISBN)
Description
'Combines science with journalism to weave a captivating account of the most extraordinary objects in the universe: black holes. A superior account.' Marcus Chown
'Facing Infinity is an especially attractive introduction to a wonderfully attractive subject.' Frank Wilczek
Black holes aren't just cosmic mysteries - they're surprisingly essential to life on Earth.
From GPS navigation to understanding climate change, these enigmatic objects shape our daily existence in ways you'd never imagine. They helped create the atoms in your body, mixed the chemical ingredients for life throughout the universe, and now help us measure our planet's changing surface with millimetre precision.
In Facing Infinity, astrophysicist Jonas Enander takes us on an extraordinary journey from eighteenth-century Britain to cutting-edge observatories around the world, revealing how the universe's darkest phenomena illuminate both our origins and future.
'Facing Infinity is an especially attractive introduction to a wonderfully attractive subject.' Frank Wilczek
Black holes aren't just cosmic mysteries - they're surprisingly essential to life on Earth.
From GPS navigation to understanding climate change, these enigmatic objects shape our daily existence in ways you'd never imagine. They helped create the atoms in your body, mixed the chemical ingredients for life throughout the universe, and now help us measure our planet's changing surface with millimetre precision.
In Facing Infinity, astrophysicist Jonas Enander takes us on an extraordinary journey from eighteenth-century Britain to cutting-edge observatories around the world, revealing how the universe's darkest phenomena illuminate both our origins and future.
Reviews / Votes
Combines science with journalism to weave a captivating account of the most extraordinary objects in the universe: black holes. A superior account. * Marcus Chown, author of The Ascent of Gravity * A book that makes the case that black holes are more than just an intellectual curiosity. * The Space Review * Reveals how human beings relate - personally and culturally - to the most extreme objects in the cosmos. Facing Infinity is a tribute to the human motivations and experiences that drive scientific discovery. -- Patchen Barss, author of 'The Impossible Man' A thorough book, grand and inclusive but never intimidating. Indeed, Enander's writing is so accessible that, at times, he seems like a travel writer who just so happens to speak the local language. * Forbes *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-80546-469-3 (9781805464693)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Jonas Enander has a PhD in physics, having conducted research in cosmology and astrophysics. He currently works as a research communicator at the Oskar Klein Centre in Stockholm. He has participated in the construction of the IceCube observatory at the South Pole, Antarctica and regularly writes about physics and astronomy for various popular science magazines. Facing Infinity is his first book.
Jonas runs two science podcasts about physics and astronomy: Spacetime Fika in English and Rumtiden in Swedish. In both podcasts, he meets scientists to discuss what we know about the universe and how we know it. He speaks fluent English and gives regular talks in Sweden and elsewhere.
Jonas runs two science podcasts about physics and astronomy: Spacetime Fika in English and Rumtiden in Swedish. In both podcasts, he meets scientists to discuss what we know about the universe and how we know it. He speaks fluent English and gives regular talks in Sweden and elsewhere.
Content
Foreword: Foreword by Frank Wilczek Prologue: The Ring of Light at the Edge of the Darkness Part I: Amid Stars, War and Darkness 1: The Priest Who Wanted to Weigh the Stars 2: The Dark Heart of the Milky Way 3: The Astronomer by the 'Mountain of Death' 4: Einstein and the Blind Beetle 5: Beyond the Event Horizon Part II: Black Holes in the Depths of Space 6: Dying Stars and Spacetime Vortices 7: A Cosmic Symphony 8: The Shadow Hunters 9: The Origin of the Giants Part III: Black Holes and Our Place on Earth 10: Powehi and the Right to the Land 11: Black Holes and Climate Change 12: Black Holes Are Our Fathers 13: Hawking's Last Journey 14: Are We Living in a Black Hole?