The New Astronomy

The New Astronomy is a rich kaleidoscope of the finest images of planets, stars, galaxies and the universe. It presents a host of new information, gathered from right across the spectrum: spanning the colourful universe from X-rays, through ultraviolet, visible and infrared, and out to the radio waves. Nigel Henbest and Michael Marten take us on a journey in which we view the variety of the cosmos and its contents through every available window. The first edition of The New Astronomy created a sensation, as no accessible description of modern astronomy had attempted to assemble images from so wide a range. For the new edition there are almost 200 entirely new pictures, selected from the Hubble Space Telescope and orbiting X-ray detectors, as well as from very large telescopes based at Mauna Kea, Hawaii and in the Canary Islands. The new science includes intriguing images from gravitational lenses, which are natural telescopes created by black holes inside other galaxies, and a full description of the latest images of the background radiation of the universe. From the nearby planets to, quite literally, the edge of the observable universe, this book is a brilliant synthesis of all that is new in the astronomy of today. Each object described is displayed in a variety of wavelengths. The non-technical text explains the science behind the objects, and it has been substantially re-written for this second edition.