Table of Contents

Comet Crashes * Jupiter Crash * Target Earth * Controversy * The Smoking Gun * Asteroids * Comets * Nemesis and Mass Extinctions * Spaceguard * Impacts and Evolution Exploding Stars * New Star * Stars Are Us * Secret Lives and Violent Deaths of Stars * The Peculiar Progeny of a Supernova * The Supernova Hunters Creation Of The Universe * Creation * The Fleeing Galaxies * Microwaves in the Sky * A Snapshot of Creation * Of Matter and Antimatter * Universes Finite and Infinite * Cosmological Candles * Three Big Bangs Revisited

About the Author

Philip M. Dauber's research includes work on time reversal and antimatter. Richard A. Muller's previous book, Nemesis: The Death Star, dealt with the theory that there is a companion star orbiting the sun light-years away, which periodically causes comets to strike the earth. He is the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" award.

Reviews

How did the universe begin? The Big Bang. How did our solar system start and where were the elements formed that make up our planet, not to mention our own species? From a supernova explosion. What force drives the pattern of punctuated equilibrium evolution that pervades the geologic record and includes the demise of the dinosaurs, which opened the way for mammals and eventually humans? A comet or asteroid that collided with the earth. In addition to the well-written descriptions of the phenomena mentioned above, we get a cogent synopsis of the pros and cons of developing a detection-and-destruction system to try to protect the earth from another cosmic collision and a defense of Muller's "death star" theory. That, in a nutshell, is the content of the book, but it is worth reading to see the whole story. Recommended for larger public libraries.‘Harold D. Shane, Baruch Coll., CUNY