Dawn of the Stars, The Story of the Seven Sisters

A Primer on Stellar and Gravitational Astrophysics and the Interplay Between Them
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-06830-3
Verlag: Taylor & Francis

Buch, Englisch, 312 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Series in Astronomy and Astrophysics

This book offers a unique approach to learning astrophysics by combining rigorous scientific content with an engaging narrative. It introduces readers to the fundamental principles of stellar evolution, star formation, binary interactions, and gravitational astrophysics through the story of seven stars, the Seven Sisters, who were born in the Pleiades cluster and travel through the Milky Way.

The Pleiades can be seen with the naked eye from Earth, near the Orion and Taurus constellations. They are the brightest stars in the cluster and have a rich Greek mythology that accompanies them. The authors use this to educate readers about astrophysical concepts and the often-complex interplay between them.

It introduces and explains astrophysical concepts in an accessible and enjoyable way without sacrificing scientific accuracy. A tiered format, supported by color-coded educational boxes, allows readers to explore topics at three levels of depth, making the book suitable for learners with varying backgrounds. The integration of narrative, dialogue, and visualizations illustrate key concepts and reinforce over-arching themes throughout.

It will be a valuable resource for senior high school students seeking an introduction to astrophysics, in addition to undergraduate and graduate students looking for a conceptual primer. It can also be enjoyed by educators and enthusiasts interested in the topic.

Key features:

- Melds together education and fiction to offer an introduction to stellar and gravitational astrophysics.

- Structured with tiered, colour-coded boxes for three levels of conceptual depth.

- Incorporates a story and character-driven dialogue alongside numerous illustrations and visualizations to enhance understanding.

Zielgruppe

AS/A2, Academic, Postgraduate, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core

Autoren/Hrsg.

Leigh, Nathan W. C.

Geller, Aaron M.

Ryu, Taeho

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1 Life Emerges,  Chapter 2 A Gust of Wind,  Chapter 3 The Triplets,  Chapter 4 From a Lonely Road, to a Crowded Cluster,  Chapter 5 A Tale of Two Black Holes,  Chapter 6 A Bond Forged of Fire,  Chapter 7 The Making of a Millisecond Pulsar,  Chapter 8 Taming the Beast,  Chapter 9 The Beast Awakens,  Chapter 10 A Long Awaited Reunion

Über Autor(innen)

Dr. Nathan W. C. Leigh is a Professor of astrophysics at the Universidad de Concepcion in Chile, and a Research Scientist at the American Museum of Natural History. He works as a theorist using a combination of computational simulations and analytic methods. His primary research interests include gravitational dynamics, chaos, the three-body problem, black holes, star cluster evolution and both single and binary star evolution. He has worked at the European Space Agency, the American Museum of Natural History, the Flatiron Institute, and many more.

Dr. Aaron M. Geller holds a PhD in astrophysics and is a research faculty member at Northwestern University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and the Lead Data Scientist within Northwestern IT Research Computing and Data Services (RCDS), USA. His research combines multi-wavelength observations, including stellar photometry and spectroscopy, with numerical simulations, often incorporating advanced statistical, data science, and computational techniques.

Dr. Taeho Ryu is a Professor in astrophysics and JILA Associate fellow at the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA. He is a theoretical astrophysicist studying interactions between black holes and their surroundings, as well as interactions between stars in various environments, which can lead to the generation of electromagnetic radiation and gravitational waves. His expertise lies in numerical modeling of short-lived, observable astronomical phenomena.