
The Stars of Heaven
Pickover(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 3. June 2004
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-0-19-517159-4 (ISBN)
Description
Do a little armchair space travel, rub elbows with alien life forms, and stretch your mind to the furthest corners of our uncharted universe. With this astonishing guide book, you need not be an astronomer to explore the mysteries of stars and their profound meaning for human existence.
Stars have fascinated humankind since the dawn of history and have allowed us to transcend ordinary lives in our literature, art, and religions. In fact, humans have always looked to the stars as a source of inspiration and transcendence that lifts us beyond the boundaries of ordinary intuition. In the tradition of One Two Three...Infinity, Pickover tackles a range of topics from stellar evolution to the fundamental and awe-inspiring reasons why the universe permits life to flourish. Where did we come from? What is the universe's ultimate fate? Pickover alternates sections that explain the mysteries of the cosmos with sections that dramatise mind-expanding concepts through a fictional dialogue between futuristic humans and their alien peers who embark on a journey beyond the reader's wildest imagination. This highly accessible and entertaining approach turns an intimidating subject into a scientific game open to all dreamers.
The Stars of Heaven will appeal to scientists and science-fiction enthusiasts, as well as astronomers, theologians, philosophers, and the curious.
Stars have fascinated humankind since the dawn of history and have allowed us to transcend ordinary lives in our literature, art, and religions. In fact, humans have always looked to the stars as a source of inspiration and transcendence that lifts us beyond the boundaries of ordinary intuition. In the tradition of One Two Three...Infinity, Pickover tackles a range of topics from stellar evolution to the fundamental and awe-inspiring reasons why the universe permits life to flourish. Where did we come from? What is the universe's ultimate fate? Pickover alternates sections that explain the mysteries of the cosmos with sections that dramatise mind-expanding concepts through a fictional dialogue between futuristic humans and their alien peers who embark on a journey beyond the reader's wildest imagination. This highly accessible and entertaining approach turns an intimidating subject into a scientific game open to all dreamers.
The Stars of Heaven will appeal to scientists and science-fiction enthusiasts, as well as astronomers, theologians, philosophers, and the curious.
Reviews / Votes
"The journey helps readers understand where humans came from, the probable fate of the universe, and what stars tell us about our very being."--Science News "An ambitious overview of astronomy.... The 'stars of heaven' yield the essential secrets of existence itself, and, in so doing, are a spiritual as well as scientific resource."--Kirkus ReviewsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Illustrations
numerous halftones and line drawings
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
395 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-517159-4 (9780195171594)
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
Other editions
Additional editions

Clifford A. Pickover
The Stars of Heaven
E-Book
05/2004
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€23.49
Available for download

Clifford A. Pickover
Stars of Heaven
E-Book
03/2004
1st Edition
Oxford University Press
€18.00
Available for download
Person
Clifford A. Pickover received his PhD from Yale University and is the author of twenty highly-acclaimed books on such topics as computers and creativity, art, mathematics, astronomy, human behaviour and intelligence, time travel, alien life, and science fiction. Pickover is a prolific inventor with dozens of patents, is the associate editor for several journals, and puzzle contributor for a variety of print and on-line venues. Pickover's computer graphics have been featured on the cover of many poplular magazines and on TV shows. His website, www.pickover.com, has received over 400,000 visits.
Content
Introduction1: Stellar Parallax and the Quest for Transcendence
2: The Joy and Paschen of Starlight
3: Spectral Classes, Temperatures, and Doppler Shifts
4: Luminosity and the Distance Modulus
5: Hertzsprung-Russell, Mass-Luminosity Relations, Binary Stars
6: Last Tango on the Heliopause
7: Stellar Evolution and the Helium Flash
8: Stellar Graveyards, Nucleosynthesis, and Why We Exist
9: Some Final Thoughts
Appendices1: Stars in the Bible
2: Updates and Breakthroughs
Further Reading
About the Author
2: The Joy and Paschen of Starlight
3: Spectral Classes, Temperatures, and Doppler Shifts
4: Luminosity and the Distance Modulus
5: Hertzsprung-Russell, Mass-Luminosity Relations, Binary Stars
6: Last Tango on the Heliopause
7: Stellar Evolution and the Helium Flash
8: Stellar Graveyards, Nucleosynthesis, and Why We Exist
9: Some Final Thoughts
Appendices1: Stars in the Bible
2: Updates and Breakthroughs
Further Reading
About the Author