Death from the Skies These Are the Ways the World Will End
Saturday, March 21st, 2009Death from the Skies These Are the Ways the World Will End
A lively astronomy primer that uses cataclysmic scenarios to explain the universe’s most fascinating events.
According to astronomer Philip Plait, the universe is an apocalypse waiting to happen But how much do we really need to fear from things like black holes, gamma-ray bursts, and supernovae? And if we should be scared, is there anything we can do to save ourselves? With humor and wit, Plait details the myriad doomsday events that the cosmos could send our way to destroy our planet and life as we know it. This authoritative yet accessible study is the ultimate astronomy lesson.
Combining fascinating—and often alarming—scenarios that seem plucked from science fiction with the latest research and opinions, Plait illustrates why outer space is not as remote as most people think. Each chapter explores a different phenomenon, explaining it in easy-to-understand terms, and considering how life on earth and the planet itself would be affected should the event come to pass. Rather than sensationalizing the information, Plait analyzes the probability of these catastrophes occurring in our lifetimes and what we can do to stop them. With its entertaining tone and enlightening explanation of unfathomable concepts, Death from the Skies! will appeal to science buffs and beginners alike.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Death - Maybe
Death from the Skies by Phil Plait is an entertaining look at the various methods the Universe can use to destroy life on Earth. It points out that, although there are numerous methods of destroying all life on a planet, most are unlikely to happen.
The ones that are most likely (Asteroid or Comet impact and Coronal Mass Ejection) are the ones we are able to prevent or, at the very least, mitigate while the ones we can do nothing about are so unlikely that there is no real need to worry about them.
The book is well written, clearly and logically laid out and has a fair degree of humour mixed with the more serious stuff. I reccommend this book to anyone interested in astronomy or any other branch of science.
5 Stars Great Book
Death from the Skies was a very well written book about various ways on how the Earth itself can come to an end. It is not only a book for science fiction lovers, but also for any students and adults alike. The author Phil Plait, PhD. is a renowned astronomer with more than two decades of professional experience. He has written articles in Astronomy, Muse and The Boston Globe and has also appeared on national television many times. He does an excellent job describing a variety of astrophysical catastrophes, but also gives ¬the reader the comfort that the odds of these catastrophes to happen are close to none. He describes complicated information in small bits and pieces so that even a freshman in high school, like myself, can understand and enjoy it. In each chapter he examines a different scenario, and how it would affect our life here on Earth. The author presents key phrases, for example intergalactic cosmic rays, asteroids and comet impacts, and stellar mass black holes and explains in great detail and quite easy to read facts. One of my favorite chapters in the book was when Phil Plait explains how the Earth can be completely destroyed by a black hole. Black holes are points in the sky where their gravitational pull is extremely strong. The gravity found in the black hole is so strong that light cannot escape it. With no light escaping from the black hole there are no visible traces of it. The only reason humans have figured out that black holes exists is from Hawkins radiation. This book really sparked my interest in black holes and quantum mechanics. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in outer space facts, or anyone willing to learn about the universe and how it effects the Earth from an amusing standpoint.
5 Stars What Me Worry, Indeed.
In these times of economic and political turmoil, it is well to maintain a sense of perspective. Phil Plait’s “Death From The Skies!” certainly fills that bill…..in spades. And the author does this without generating anything but wonder and amazement. It says a lot when the author presents physical situations that can never be explained by analogy. There is nothing in our human experience that can possibly relate to some of these cosmic events.
There is nothing new here but “Death…” presents an excellent summary and codification, if you will, of exactly what’s out there. As a retired engineer, I didn’t feel in anyway that the math and science involved could not be enjoyed by anybody. And its a good and satisfying read!
5 Stars Raging Universe
Here Philip Plait, a public-education intellectual like Carl Sagan, explores catastrophes from outer space and all of the potential death and destruction. Some are indeed possible in our lifetimes but mathematically unlikely, like direct hits from asteroids and comets that could wipe us all out like the dinosaurs. Others will definitely happen but not for unfathomable gazillions of years, like the collapse of the sun, the collision of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, and the complete death of the universe. Some of Plait’s scenarios are also just plain outlandish, like a wayward miniature black hole getting stuck in the center of the Earth and eating it from the inside out. Plait makes it obvious that none of us are likely to see any of these disasters first hand, but someday our descendants will be inflicted with severe cosmic pain. The stories here are fun to speculate upon, and Plait delivers serious scientific understanding. While it makes more sense in the short run to keep an eye on your fellow humans, those jerks won’t do much to you after our planet is fried to a crisp. You might just find that slightly reassuring. [~doomsdayer520~]
5 Stars Exceptionally clear and well thought out!
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1SB7WB8U2VPB6 Hi, this is Joanne, a bioengineering professor at the U of Illinois! I read science books and review them. See more at my youtube page http://www.youtube.com/user/joannelovesscience
This book was stellarly clear and enjoyable! You should be able to rest well at night armed with up to date info and best guesses as to when we might expect the universe to cross the boundary to destroy us! Funny, too!