Purchase
And Other Stories from the Life of the Star That Powers Our Planet
Little Brown and Company
July 2011
On Sale: July 13, 2011
199 pages ISBN: 0316091014 EAN: 9780316091015 Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Non-Fiction
The beating heart of the sun is the very pulse of life on
earth. And from the ancients who plotted its path at
Stonehenge to the modern scientists who unraveled the
nuclear fusion reaction that turns mass into energy,
humankind has sought to solve its mysteries. In this lively
biography of the sun, Bob Berman ranges from its stellar
birth to its spectacular future death with a focus on the
wondrous and enthralling, and on the heartbreaking
sacrifice, laughable errors, egotistical battles, and
brilliant inspirations of the people who have tried to
understand its power. What, exactly, are the ghostly streaks of light astronauts
see-but can't photograph-when they're in space? And why is
it impossible for two people to see the exact same rainbow?
Why are scientists beginning to think that the sun is safer
than sunscreen? And how does the fluctuation of sunspots-and
its heartbeat-affect everything from satellite
communications to wheat production across the globe? Peppered with mind-blowing facts and memorable anecdotes
about spectral curiosities-the recently-discovered "second
sun" that lurks beneath the solar surface, the eerie majesty
of a total solar eclipse-THE SUN'S HEARTBEAT offers a robust
and entertaining narrative of how the Sun has shaped
humanity and our understanding of the universe around us.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
|