Extreme Cosmos

A top astronomer explores the universe through the lens of its most jaw-dropping extremes. 

The universe is all about extremes, and in this engaging and thought-provoking book, astronomer Bryan Gaensler gives a whirlwind tour of the galaxies, with an emphasis on its fastest, hottest, heaviest, brightest, oldest, densest, and even loudest elements. From supernova explosions a billion times brighter than the sun to an asteroid the size of a beach ball, Extreme Cosmos offers a fascinating, fresh, and informed perspective of the remarkable richness of the universe, and the incredible physics that modern astronomy has revealed.

Bryan Gaensler, PhD, an Australian astronomer, is currently the director of the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto. He was elected a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2013 and won the Scopus Young Researcher of the Year Award in Physical Science, as well as the Pawsey Medal. He is the author of Extreme Cosmos.