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On July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the most powerful X-ray telescope ever built, was launched aboard the space shuttle Columbia. Since then, Chandra has given us a view of the universe that is largely hidden from telescopes sensitive only to visible light. In Chandra's Cosmos, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra science spokesperson Wallace H. Tucker uses a series of short, connected stories to describe the telescope's exploration of the hot, high-energy face of the universe. The book is organized in three parts: "The Big," covering the cosmic web, dark energy, dark matter, and massive clusters of galaxies; "The Bad," exploring neutron stars, stellar black holes, and supermassive black holes; and "The Beautiful," discussing stars, exoplanets, and life.… (more)
User reviews
I really appreciate the author's use of analogies to make some of the information more vivid and accessible. For instance, he describes the immense power produced by spinning supermassive black holes by saying it is as if an energy source the size of a blueberry could heat a gas cloud the size of Earth to millions of degrees Celsius. Later in that same chapter, Black Hole Feedback, he puts a particular sound wave in perspective by saying it could be translated to the note of B-flat, but a B-flat that is 57 octaves lower than the middle C on a piano.
The book does require some concentration to read, but it isn’t massive intimidating tome. My copy has just 238 pages of text, and many of the chapters are under 10 pages making them easier to follow.
I read a free advanced review copy of this book. Review opinions are mine.