The Stars of Heaven

"Clifford A. Pickover is the heir apparent to Carl Sagan: no one else does better popular science writing than Pickover."  -- Robert J. Sawyer, author of Calculating God "Pickover just seems to exist in more dimensions than the rest of us."  -- Ian Stewart, author of Flatterland Click here to see the book at Amazon.Com!

Why are we here?  Where did we come from?  Is the Universe designed?

A free-wheeling look at the science and spirituality of the stars, ranging from the center of our solar system to the farthest reaches of space

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, The Stars of Heaven, 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 explaining the mysteries of the cosmos with sections that dramatize mind-expanding concepts through a fictional dialog 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.

Told in Clifford Pickover's inimitable blend of fascinating state-of-the-art science and whimsical science fiction, and packed with numerous diagrams and illustrations, The Stars of Heaven unfolds a world of paradox and mystery, one that will intrigue anyone who has ever pondered the night sky with wonder.
 

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Table of Conents

        Introduction
1.      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

        Notes
        Appendix 1.  Stars in the Bible
        Appendix 2. Updates and Breakthroughs
        For Further Reading

Terms Indexed in The Stars of Heaven

Absorption lines, 21-22
Active galactic nucleus, 183
Adams, Fred, 174
AGN, 183
Algol, 83
Aliens, 33-34, 37
Alien senses, 37
Alpha capture, 152
Alpha Centauri, 12
Alpha particle, 152
Andromeda, 86, 186, 210
Antares, 19
Anthropic principle, 158, 193, 205, 207-208
Aristotle, 7
Asimov, Isaac, 192
Atoms, 20-29
AU, 32

Baby universes, 195
Baha'u'llah, vi
Balmer series, 23-26, 29, 38
Barrow, John, 194
Baxter, Stephen, 203
Bernard's star, 20
Beryllium-8, 151-153
Bessel, Freidrich, 10-11, 87
Betelgeuse, 78-79, 88, 124-125, 134
Bethlehem, xv-xvi, 199
Bible, xv, 8-10, 212-214
Big Bang, 57, 86-87, 119
Big Dipper, 49
Binary stars, 81-84, 114, 218, 221
Black dwarfs, 144, 147, 173
Black holes, 15, 159, 166, 181, 220
Blackbody, 36
Blue giants, 75, 124
Blue stragglers, 33-35
Blueshift, 46-48
Bohr, Niels, 20, 25, 28, 38
Boime, Albert, xv
Boltzmann, Ludwig, 36
Bracewell, Ronald, 133
Brahe, Tycho, xvii
Brightness, 60-65, 89, 117, 130
Brown dwarfs, 70, 77, 173-174, 178
Bünting, Heinrich, 189

Canis Major, 79, 82, 87
Cannon, Annie, 40, 54-55
Carbon, 158, 192, 221
    bomb, 221
    burning, 160, 192
    resonance, 154-157, 192, 210-211
Cash, Johnny, vi
Castor, 81-84
Cepheids, 129, 137
Chandrasekar limit, 163
Chown, Marcus, vii
Chromosphere, 93-116
Coincidence, 193, 205, 207-208
Color, 19
Constellations, 189
Contact, 30
Convective zone, 94
Copernicus, 7
Core, 83-116, 160-161
Corona, 93-116, 223
Corona Borealis, 48
Coronal mass ejection, 108-110
Cosmic microwave background radiation, 72, 86-87
Cygnus, 10

Davies, Paul, 194
Death of Universe, 172-177
Density of stars, 80, 94
Deuterium, 140
Dipper, Big, 49, 81-82
Distance modulus, 65, 130
Dog Star, 87
Doppler shift, 30, 46-48, 57, 70
Double stars, 81-84, 114, 218, 221
Drake, Frank, 13, 32
Dupree, Andrea, 78
Dwarfs, 70, 74-75, 80, 88-89, 114, 124, 136, 144-148, 160, 163, 172-174, 178, 219
    Brown, 70, 77, 173-174, 178, 219
    Yellow, 173
Dyson sphere, 32-33
Dyson, Freeman, xx, 32-33, 177, 192

Eagle Nebula, 122
Egyptians, 87-88
Einstein, Albert, 166
Electromagnetic radiation, 17-22, 36, 77, 86, 106
Elements
    generation of, 30, 87, 114, 128, 142-144, 153, 160-162, 191, 218
    in stars, 30, 41-42, 55, 73, 93,114, 128, 136, 142-144, 153, 160-162, 191, 218
Emission lines, 21-22
End of the World, xx
Energy levels, 20-24
Ethnocentric geography, 49
Evolution of stars, 80, 117-141
Extraterrestrials, 33-34, 37

Ferris, Timothy, 185
Feynman, Richard, 223
Flares, solar, 101, 106-108
Fraunhofer, Joseph von, 21
Fusion, helium, 126-127, 148, 151
Fusion, 34, 89, 103, 114, 121, 123-126, 139, 148, 151, 161

Gaiman, Neil, x, 57
Galaxies, 53, 57, 73, 86, 114-115, 186, 188, 210, 222
Galilei, Galileo, xvii, 7-10, 188
Geocentric theory, 7, 188
Giants, 54, 73-75, 78-80, 88, 114, 128, 146, 157, 217
God, 70, 147, 169, 185-186, 193, 207
Gold, 161
Goodricke, John, 130
Granulation, solar, 96-98
Gravity, 121

Hassan, Ihab, x
Hawking, Stephen, 193
Heliacal rising, 88
Heliocentrism 7, 188
Heliopause, 105-106
Heliosheath, 105
Heliosphere, 106
Helium, 30, 34, 87, 89, 93,103, 123-126, 139-140, 152, 194
    flash, 126, 138
    fusion, 126-127, 148
Hemicentrism, 49
Hertzsprung-Russell, 74, 80, 88-89, 122
Hipparchus, xvii
Hipparcos, 5
Hogan, Craig, 211
Hoyle, Fred, 154, 192
Hubble Space Telescope, 92
Hydrogen, 30, 34, 87, 93,103, 114, 123-124, 139, 152
Hydrostatic equilibrium, 120

Ice Age, 115
Integers, 38
Ionization, 23, 45, 55
Islam, viii
Isotopes, 33

Janssen, Pierre, 30
Jastrow, Robertk, 193
Jerusalem map, 189-190
Joshua, 8-9

Kant, Immanuel, 92
Kepler, Johannes, xvii, 68

Laughlin, Gregory, 174
Leavitt, Henrietta, 137-138
Lewis, C. S., 13
Lifetime of stars, 34, 41, 68, 80, 88, 103
Light emission, 20-24
Light-year (defined), 5
Limb (solar), 95
Lithium, 219
Local Group, 53, 57, 186
Luminosity, 60-65, 68, 74, 77, 80, 89, 117, 127, 130, 138
    method, 12
Lyman series, 23-26

Magnesium, 160
Magnetars, 220
Magnetic fields, 100-101, 107, 220, 223
Magnetograph, 101
Magnetosphere, 106
Magnitude, 62-63, 130
Main sequence, 75, 80, 86, 88, 123-124, 148
Maps, 190
Mass of stars, 76, 173
Mass-luminosity relation, 76, 130, 138
Maunder minimum, 102
Maxwell, James, 17
Megastars, 88, 217
Messengers, 132-133
Milky Way, 15, 53, 73, 186, 188
Mira variables, 129-131
Mirfak, 53
Mirror stars, 221
Mizar, 81-82
Moche, Dina, vii
Modulus, 65, 130
Motion, stars, 46-48, 53
Mu Cephei, 88
Multiple Universes, 188-190, 194

Nebulae, 42, 92, 116, 120, 122, 143-146
    planetary, 42, 92, 116, 136, 143-146
Nebular theory, 92, 116
Neon, 160
Nephilim, 117-118
Neutrinos, 204, 206, 221
Neutron star, 159, 163, 184, 218
Novas, 73, 114, 121, 147, 158-161, 221
Nucleosynthesis, 87, 114, 128, 142-144, 153, 160-162, 191, 218

Olbers' paradox, 68-70
Orion, 79, 87, 89, 120, 199
Oxygen, 157

Paradox, Olbers', 68-70
Parallax, 1-14, 65
Parsec (defined), 5
Paschen series, 23-26
Pauli exclusion principle, 162
Payne-Gaposhkin, Cecilia, 40-41, 54-55
Perignon, Dom, 1
Pfund series, 26
Photosphere, 22 93-116
Photosynthesis, 91
Piano, electromagnetic, 18
Planetary nebulae, 42, 92, 116, 136, 143-146
Plants, 89
Pleiades, 199
Poe, Edgar, Allan, 70
Population I and II stars, 73
Power 60-61
Prominences, 108
Proplyds, 92, 116, 120
Proton-proton reaction, 139
Protoplanetary disks, 89, 116, 120
Protostars, 120-122, 148
Proxima Centauri, 12
Ptolemy, xvii
Pulsars, 164, 180

Quantum mechanics, 168, 185

Radiation
    background, 72, 86-87
    electromagnetic, 17-22, 36, 77, 86, 106
Radiative zone, 94, 98
Red dwarfs, 74-75, 78, 88, 124, 135, 172, 173
Red giants, 114, 124, 128, 134, 146, 157, 222
Red shift method, 12
Redshift, 46-48
Reese, Martin, 194
Reeves, Hubert, 33-34
Resonance, 154-157, 210-211
R-process, 218
RR Lyarae, 129-131
Rydberg-Ritz, 27-29, 38

S-proces, 218
Sagittarius B2, 54
Sagittarius Dwarf galaxy, 222
Sawyer, Robert, 185
Schlesinger, Frank, 11-12
Schwarzchild radius, 166
Shadow matter, 221
Shklovsky, Samuilovich, 33
Shock waves, 114
Sirius, 1, 82, 87
Smilodon, x
Solar
    flares, 101, 106-108
    nebular theory, 92
    power, 61, 89
    prominences, 108-109
    system, 92-93, 114
    wind, 105
Spectra 17-29, 40-41, 53-54, 63
Spectroheliograph, 104
Starry Night, xiii-xv
Stars
    Bethlehem, xv-xvi, 199
    binary, 81-84
    black hole, 15, 159, 166, 181, 220
    brightness of, 60-65, 74-75, 89, 117
    classes of, 41-42, 53-54, 63,65, 73-75, 88, 134-135
    color, 19
    death of, 34, 177
    density of, 80, 94
    distances, 1-14, 140, 206
    dwarfs, 74-75, 80, 88-89, 114, 124, 136, 145-148, 160, 163, 172, 173-174, 178, 219
    elements in 30, 41-42, 55, 73-75, 128, 136, 142-144, 153, 160-162, 191, 218
    evolution of, 80, 117-141
    generation of, 114
    giants, 54, 73-75, 78, 88, 114, 128, 146, 157, 217
    in art, xiii-xv
    in Bible, xv, 212-214
    in Islam, xvii
    lifetime of, 68, 80, 88, 103
    luminosity of, 60-65, 68, 74-75, 77, 80, 89, 117, 130, 138
    mass of, 76, 173
    mirror, 221
    motion of, 46-47, 53
    neutron, 159, 163, 184
    number of, xvii, 70
    organic chemicals in, 54
    power of, 60-61, 89
    pulsars, 164
    rejuvenation of, 34
    size of, 78-80, 88-89
    spectra, 16-29, 40-41, 57, 65
    temperature, 16-19, 36, 46, 53, 65, 77, 95, 115, 144
    variable, 129, 148
    water in, 221
    Wolf-Rayet, 42-44
Stefan-Boltzman Radiation Law, 77
Steinbeck, John, 38
Stenger, Victor, 207
Strahl, 105
Sun, 45, 75, 78, 80, 89, 93-116, 114-115, 121, 124, 134 
    cycle, 102
    death of, 34, 135
    flares, 101, 106-108
    prominences
    rotation, 103
    wind 105
Sunspots, 99-103, 108, 115
Supergiants, 74, 78-80
Supernovas, xii, 114, 73, 121, 140, 147, 158-161, 221
Swedish Vacuum Solar Telescope, 97

Technetium, 32-33
Temperature, 16-19, 36, 40, 46, 53, 65, 74-75, 77, 80, 95, 115, 144
Tiger, x
Tipler, Frank, 194
Triple alpha process, 153, 158
Tucanae, 34-35
Tull, Jethro, 13
TX Camelopardalis, 131

UFOs, 13
Universe
    death of, 172-177
    expansion of, 57, 87
    multiple, 188-190, 194
    size of, xviii, 70

van Gogh, Vincent, xiii
Variable stars, 129, 148
Vega, 19, 30, 68
Verschuur, Gerrit, 12

Water in stars, 222
White dwarfs, 74, 80, 89, 114, 136, 145-148, 160, 163, 173
White giants, 78
Wien, Wilhelm, 36
Wind, solar, 105
Wolf-Rayet stars, 42-44
Women in astronomy, 54-55
Woodstock, xiii

Yellow dwarfs, 173

Zeta Geminorum, 130

7.6549, 155