This unique atlas contains 248 charts of more than 300 of the brightest galaxies, each specially prepared to facilitate the discovery of supernovae. The comparison of these charts with the field seen in a telescope enables any extragalactic supernova to be spotted immediately. The charts include 345 galaxies printed on translucent paper for use on a light-box, each one carrying an explanation of the constellation in which the galaxy lies, special characteristics of the galaxy, observing instructions, expected maximum brightness for the supernovae in each galaxy, and the reference for the sequence. A handbook accompanies the charts advising on their use, on how to make and record supernova discoveries, and reviewing the present understanding of supernovae. Published for an international market, these charts carry real potential for numerous discoveries of supernovae. Supernova Search Charts are is a must for both serious observers and the growing number of deep sky enthusiasts around the world.

This revised 1985 edition tells the story of supernovae, capturing the flavour of ancient astronomy.

Written by a leading expert, this monograph presents recent developments on supernova remnants, with the inclusion of results from various satellites and ground-based instruments. The book details the physics and evolution of supernova remnants, as well as provides an up-to-date account of recent multiwavelength results. Supernova remnants provide vital clues about the actual supernova explosions from X-ray spectroscopy of the supernova material, or from the imprints the progenitors had on the ambient medium supernova remnants are interacting with - all of which the author discusses in great detail. The way in which supernova remnants are classified, is reviewed and explained early on. A chapter is devoted to the related topic of pulsar wind nebulae, and neutron stars associated with supernova remnants. The book also includes an extended part on radiative processes, collisionless shock physics and cosmic-ray acceleration, making this book applicable to a wide variety of astronomical sub-disciplines. With its coverage of fundamental physics and careful review of the state of the field, the book serves as both textbook for advanced students and as reference for researchers in the field.

For millennia mankind has watched as the heavens move in their stately progression from night to night and from year to year, presaging with their changes the changing seasons. The sun, the moon, and the planets move in what appears to be an unchanging firmament, except occasionally when a new "star" appears. Among the new stars there are comets, novae, and finally supernovae, the subject of this book. Superstitious mankind regarded these events as significant portents and recorded them carefully so that we have records of supernovae that may reach back as far as 1300 B. C. (Clark and Stephenson, 1977; Murdin and Murdin, 1985). The Cygnus Loop, believed to be a 15,000-year-old supernova remnant at a distance of only 800 pc (Chevalier and Seward, 1988), must have awed our ancestors. Tycho's supernova of 1572, at a distance of 2500 pc, had a magnitude of -4. 0, comparable to Venus at its brightest, and Kepler's supernova of 1604 had a magnitude of - 3 or so. Thus the Cygnus Loop supernova might have had a magnitude of - 6 or so, and should have been readily visible in daytime. A supernova in Vela, about 8000 B. C. was comparably close, as was SN 1006, whose magnitude may have been -9. While most of the supernova records come from the Old World, the supernova of 1054 is recorded in at least one petroglyph in the American West.

What happens at the end of the life of massive stars? At one time we thought all these stars followed similar evolutionary paths. However, new discoveries have shown that things are not quite that simple. This book focuses on the extreme –the most intense, brilliant and peculiar– of astronomical explosions. It features highly significant observational finds that push the frontiers of astronomy and astrophysics, particularly as before these objects were only predicted in theory. This book is for those who want the latest information and ideas about the most dramatic and unusual explosions detected by current supernova searches. It examines and explains cataclysmic and unusual events in stellar astrophysics and presents them in a non-mathematical but highly detailed way that non-professionals can understand and enjoy.

This book is intended for amateur astronomers who are readers of Sky & Telescope magazine or similar astronomy periodicals – or are at least at the same level of knowledge and enthusiasm. Supernovae represent the most violent stellar explosions in the universe. This is a unique guide to supernova facts, and it is also an observing/discovery guide, all in one package. Supernovae are often discovered by amateur astronomers, and the book describes the best strategies for discovering and observing them. Moreover, it contains detailed information about the probable physics of supernovae, a subject which even today is imperfectly understood.