Overview

The insights of relativity have illuminated a century of astronomical discovery, often going beyond the phenomena that Einstein lived to see. This book shows, in nonmathematical ways, how deeply these ways of viewing the Universe have informed our interpretations of it, and how many of the amazing discoveries of these decades have made sense only as part of Einstein's universe. The author brings together the ways in which we see the bizarre effects of relativity played out on a cosmic scale. None of this is particularly new to practicing astronomers, but much has yet to be seen outside technical journals. The presentation avoids mathematics (except for the most famous equation in all of physics!), and is designed to be accessible to the interested public. Gravitational lenses, the visible effects of light-travel delays, the search for black holes, the ways relativity in atomic nuclei makes stars shine, are all treated. In many cases, some of the principals are still alive and provided new commentary on the discoveries. Numerous illustrations are newly produced from data in the archives of such observatories as Hubble and Chandra.

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9780387261300

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From the reviews: <p> One hundred years ago Albert Einstein published his special theory of relativity. In the century following his breakthrough, his insights have illuminated astronomical discovery. Keel's book shows how deeply relativity has informed our interpretation of the Universe, and how many of the amazing discoveries of the last century can be properly interpreted only with the use of the special and general theories of relativity. Mercury Jan-Feb 2006 <p>[T]his book is a pleasant surprise in most respects... [T]his is the best and most accessible summary of relativistic effects in astronomy that I have had the pleasure of reading. I'm sure I'll inevitably dip back into it again. <p>--Roger Feasey, in Journal of the Auckland Astronomical Society <p> In a ~The Sky at Einsteina (TM)s feeta (TM), William Keel follows a different path and instead considers the impact that Einsteina (TM)s relativity has had on astrophysics. This is an enormous task, but Keel successfully covers several seemingly disparate areas a ] . Keel has done a good job of summarising Einsteina (TM)s impact. Noteworthy is his dedication to those who a ~have been unjustly forgottena (TM) a ] . this broad overview and historical content will appeal to the popular science market a ] . (Geraint F Lewis, Australian Physics, Vol. 43 (2), 2006) <p> The aim of this interesting book is to describe at a popular level how relativity theory has influenced the development of astronomy. a ] The style is lively and engaging. There are plenty of interesting anecdotes, some from the authora (TM)s own experience, which give a real idea of both the rigours and the excitement of astronomical research. a ] The book iscopiously illustrated, with some stunning images a ] . the book would make excellent motivational background reading for students struggling with a first relativity course. (Andrew King, The Observatory, Vol. 126 (1194), 2006) <p> Keel, in his book, wants to share with a wide audience the impact of relativity on astronomy. a ] clear, concise explanations introduce most new terms a ] . This, together with descriptive introductions to chapters and a good selection of illustrations make the book a well detailed, enjoyable read for the average amateur astronomer and those interested in the physics behind the pretty pictures of the night sky. With this book, Keel should achieve his objective a ] . (Mark Mortimer, www.universetoday.com, May, 2006)

Author Information

Bill Keel, the author of The Road to Galaxy Formation (Springer-Praxis 2002), has been involved in many areas of extragalactic astronomy, and for the last 18 years has worked at the University of Alabama. Of particular relevance to this book is his study of gravitational lensing since 1980, early calculations on microlensing of quasars, and an ongoing Hubble survey for gravitational lensing effects in silhouetted galaxies as a constraint on massive dark-matter candidates. His experience in serving on 16 NASA review committees for various space-astrophysics missions and higher-level programmatic issues has broadened his view of relativity in astronomy triggering the idea for this book.

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