| Description |
viii, 170 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm |
| Note |
Includes index. |
| Summary |
The glowing cloud in Orion's sword, the Orion Nebula is a thing of beauty in the night sky; it is also the closest center of massive star formation--a stellar nursery that reproduces the conditions in which our own Sun formed some 4.5 billion years ago. O'Dell has spent a lifetime studying Orion, and in this book he explains what the Nebula is, how it shines, its role in giving birth to stars, and the insights it affords into how common planet formation might be. To help his readers appreciate the Nebula and its secrets, O'Dell unfolds his tale chronologically, as astrophysical knowledge developed, and our knowledge of the Nebula and the night sky improved. |
| Contents |
Enter the hunter -- Views of our universe -- Henry Draper and the photographic revolution -- The toolbox of the astronomer -- Opaque skies on the clearest nights -- Why is a star a star? -- Bengt Stromgren's spheres --The explorers set sail --Where did all these stars come from? -- Hubble Space Telescope -- What orion really looks like -- What is happening to the Orion Nebula -- Are we alone? -- Outsmarting the fickle goddess of science. |
| Subject |
Orion Nebula.
|
| ISBN |
067401183X alkaline paper |
|
9780674011830 alkaline paper |
|
