Death Stars, Weird Galaxies, and a Quasar-Spangled Universe: The Discoveries of the Very Large Array Telescope
In 1931, Karl Jansky was hired by AT&T to search for sources of static that might interfere with radio waves for transatlantic communications. Jansky identified static from thunderstorms and random radio noise from devices on Earth, but he also found a radio hiss from the Milky Way galaxy.

After World War II, astronomers constructed more radio telescopes with greater sensitivity to faint radio signals from space. In the 1970s, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory built the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope, on the plains of San Agustin, New Mexico. The VLA is well equipped to hunt for strange objects and solve astronomical mysteries.

The VLA receives radio signals from outer space. Most are so faint, a blastingly strong signal would be a cell phone ringing on the moon, 238,900 miles away from Earth. The VLA has shown ice on the burning-hot planet of Mercury, has discovered a burst of brand-new star formations, and has probed dying and exploding stars.

Karen Taschek introduces young readers to the wonders revealed by the VLA. She begins with basic information on our solar system and our own Milky Way galaxy and then extends the discussion to galaxies billions of light-years from Earth.

Reading level: 14 years and up

1112376454
Death Stars, Weird Galaxies, and a Quasar-Spangled Universe: The Discoveries of the Very Large Array Telescope
In 1931, Karl Jansky was hired by AT&T to search for sources of static that might interfere with radio waves for transatlantic communications. Jansky identified static from thunderstorms and random radio noise from devices on Earth, but he also found a radio hiss from the Milky Way galaxy.

After World War II, astronomers constructed more radio telescopes with greater sensitivity to faint radio signals from space. In the 1970s, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory built the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope, on the plains of San Agustin, New Mexico. The VLA is well equipped to hunt for strange objects and solve astronomical mysteries.

The VLA receives radio signals from outer space. Most are so faint, a blastingly strong signal would be a cell phone ringing on the moon, 238,900 miles away from Earth. The VLA has shown ice on the burning-hot planet of Mercury, has discovered a burst of brand-new star formations, and has probed dying and exploding stars.

Karen Taschek introduces young readers to the wonders revealed by the VLA. She begins with basic information on our solar system and our own Milky Way galaxy and then extends the discussion to galaxies billions of light-years from Earth.

Reading level: 14 years and up

19.95 In Stock
Death Stars, Weird Galaxies, and a Quasar-Spangled Universe: The Discoveries of the Very Large Array Telescope

Death Stars, Weird Galaxies, and a Quasar-Spangled Universe: The Discoveries of the Very Large Array Telescope

by Karen Taschek
Death Stars, Weird Galaxies, and a Quasar-Spangled Universe: The Discoveries of the Very Large Array Telescope

Death Stars, Weird Galaxies, and a Quasar-Spangled Universe: The Discoveries of the Very Large Array Telescope

by Karen Taschek

Hardcover

$19.95 
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Overview

In 1931, Karl Jansky was hired by AT&T to search for sources of static that might interfere with radio waves for transatlantic communications. Jansky identified static from thunderstorms and random radio noise from devices on Earth, but he also found a radio hiss from the Milky Way galaxy.

After World War II, astronomers constructed more radio telescopes with greater sensitivity to faint radio signals from space. In the 1970s, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory built the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope, on the plains of San Agustin, New Mexico. The VLA is well equipped to hunt for strange objects and solve astronomical mysteries.

The VLA receives radio signals from outer space. Most are so faint, a blastingly strong signal would be a cell phone ringing on the moon, 238,900 miles away from Earth. The VLA has shown ice on the burning-hot planet of Mercury, has discovered a burst of brand-new star formations, and has probed dying and exploding stars.

Karen Taschek introduces young readers to the wonders revealed by the VLA. She begins with basic information on our solar system and our own Milky Way galaxy and then extends the discussion to galaxies billions of light-years from Earth.

Reading level: 14 years and up


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780826332110
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Publication date: 05/16/2006
Pages: 88
Product dimensions: 7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range: 14 Years

About the Author

Karen Taschek is the author of fourteen young adult books on horses, including Horse of Seven Moons, the prequel to The Risen Horse. She is the author of Death Stars, Weird Galaxies, and a Quasar-Spangled Universe and Hanging with Bats, and is coeditor for the Barbara Guth Worlds of Wonder Science Series for Young Readers (University of New Mexico Press).

Table of Contents

AcknowledgmentsIX
1A Tour of the Very Large Array1
Sidebar: Other Famous Telescopes10
2Probing the Planets: Red-Hot, Icy Mercury, Killer Winds on Jupiter, and Summering on Uranus17
3Doughnuts in Space: The Life and Explosive End of Stars Like the Sun29
4Death Stars and Starving Black Holes41
5A Zoo of Galaxies51
Sidebar: The Big Bang of the Universe64
6The Future of Radio Astronomy67
Glossary71
Illustration Credits75
Index76
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