{"title":"Or Graur","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"supernova-book-or-graur-9780262543149","title":"Supernova","description":"A concise illustrated introduction to the history and physics of supernovae, the brilliant explosions of stars; with striking color illustrations.    Supernovae are the explosions of stars. They are some of the most energetic phenomena in the Universe, rivaling the combined light of billions of stars. Supernovae have been studied for centuries, and they have also made appearances in popular culture: a glimpse of a supernova in a painting provides Sherlock Holmes with a crucial clue, for example. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, astrophysicist Or Graur offers a concise and accessible introduction to these awe-inspiring astronomical phenomena.    Graur explains that a deep observational understanding of supernovae—why and how they shine and how their brightness changes over time—allows us to use them as tools for experiments in astrophysics and physics. A certain type of supernova, for example, brightens and fades in such a predictable manner that we can measure the distances to their host galaxies. We owe our existence to supernovae—they give us iron for our blood and calcium for our bones. But supernovae may also have caused a mass extinction event on Earth 2.6 million years ago.   Graur shows how observations of supernovae played a role in the transformation of astronomy from astrology to astrophysics; surveys the tools used to study supernovae today; and describes the lives and deaths of stars and the supernova remnants, neutron stars, and black holes they leave behind. Illustrations in both color and black and white, many from Graur’s own Hubble Space Telescope data, make this account of supernovae particularly vivid.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49525236203793,"sku":"GOR012947281","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49741135184145,"sku":"NGR9780262543149","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50157145424145,"sku":"GOR013874216","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50961484972305,"sku":"CIN0262543141G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51000612290833,"sku":"NIN9780262543149","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0262543141.jpg?v=1751259001"},{"product_id":"galaxies-book-or-graur-9780262548755","title":"Galaxies","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn eminently readable overview of the history and physics of galaxies.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eGalaxies\u003c\/i\u003e, Or Graur offers a brief and fascinating overview of the history, physics, and astrophysical uses of galaxies. Starting with the history of the last two thousand years of galaxy studies, Graur discusses the types of galaxies we observe and the physics that drive them; the myths and physical structure of the Milky Way; how galaxies were used to discover and study the mysterious phenomena of dark matter and dark energy; and how scientists think galaxies formed shortly after the Big Bang and evolved to their present forms.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Tracing galaxy studies back thousands of years ago to their beginnings, Graur describes their origin in Ptolemy's book \u003ci\u003eAlmagest\u003c\/i\u003e, which was written in the first century CE. \u003ci\u003eAlmagest\u003c\/i\u003e catalogued hundreds of stars and a few hazy cloud-like objects, one of which was the Andromeda galaxy. The reader will also encounter in this book well-known figures such as William Herschel, who, along with his sister Caroline (the first professional female astronomer), discovered hundreds of galaxies and lay the foundations for modern galaxy studies, as well as lesser-known astronomers, including tenth-century Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, twentieth-century American astronomer Vesto Melvin Slipher, and others. \u003ci\u003eGalaxies\u003c\/i\u003e concludes by showing readers how they can get involved in galaxy studies themselves and do their part to fight the light pollution that today obscures the Milky Way and all but the brightest of stars.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Providing a brief but broad overview of galaxies for the nonspecialist, \u003ci\u003eGalaxies\u003c\/i\u003e shows just how modern science is done and what the future holds for this specific field of astronomy.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50100084244753,"sku":"NGR9780262548755","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51000615829777,"sku":"NIN9780262548755","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51430224134417,"sku":"CIN0262548755G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52416781484305,"sku":"CIN0262548755VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52780302958865,"sku":"GOR014618537","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0262548755.jpg?v=1751433143"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-or-graur.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}